《太平經》Vol. 92

Taiping Jing, Volume 92, Instruction 2

The Method for Understanding Eclipses of the Three Lights (133)

Question: May I ask why the Three Lights in the sky—the sun, moon, and stars—are sometimes eclipsed?

Answer: A good question. What you ask about is a sign of great resentment and conflict between Heaven and Earth, whose effects fall upon the sun, moon, and stars. Sometimes they are eclipsed and sometimes they are not; the key is whether the two Qi, Yin and Yang, are in conflict. Why do they conflict? Because Yin and Yang oppose each other and take turns trying to prevail.

Yin and Yang ought to benefit and protect one another, joining together in harmony. Instead, they fight. The fault lies in their lack of harmony. If they were truly in harmony, there should be no eclipses. In ancient times, when governance was at its greatest and best, eclipses were rare. In later generations, people increasingly turned away from the intentions of Heaven and Earth. Yin and Yang gradually ceased to be close and loving, and so they came into conflict.

If you think I am wrong, let a virtuous ruler put my Jing into practice fully and grasp its true meaning: the conflict will stop. Grasp a little of the true meaning, and a little of the conflict will stop; grasp half, and half will stop. If people refuse to make the effort, they will remain in their present distress.

May I ask: do eclipses of the sun and moon happen because certain “cycles of fortune” happen to coincide?

Answer: Alas, how confused you are! The perfected ones are about to bring forth Heaven’s anger again. On what grounds do you call eclipses “cycles of fortune”? The foolish see only that the heavenly bodies occupy the same part of the sky. Your mind is truly dark! If, as you say, “cycles coincide,” why are there so many eclipses of the sun and moon in some years, while in other years they do not occur for several years running? How can “cycles” explain that? When emperors practice Dao and De, the sun and moon are not eclipsed and the stars do not fall into disorder. How can “cycles” explain that?

Besides, by nature Yin and Yang share the same space and ought to love one another. Why, then, do they harm each other? They ought to give rise to one another in turn and help one another flourish. Why, then, do they injure and destroy one another? That is your foolishness.

If you wish to know the truth, consider people. When people are close to one another but have not met for a long time, they are delighted when they meet again. They support, praise, and enlighten one another even more. But when strangers meet, they immediately fight. If they are complete strangers, they fight fiercely, even to the death; if they are only slightly unfamiliar, they fight less fiercely. How alarming and frightening!

The foolish one: I understand now. May I ask: the sun is the essence of Taiyang and Fire, and the moon is the essence of Taiyin and Water. Water and Fire do not share the same place, so why do they harm each other?

Note: This passage explains eclipses of the Three Lights through disharmony between Yin and Yang, and rejects the common view that eclipses are simply caused by “cycles of fortune coinciding.” The final question—why Water and Fire, which occupy different places, harm one another—sets up the discussion that follows, which continues with the harmonizing of Yin and Yang and the virtue of rulers. The passage ends here with the question.

A Plain-Language Interpretation of the Taiping Jing (excerpt)

Question: What does it mean to say that when things clash with one another, they destroy one another?

Answer: Well said. You have grasped the main point.

Water and fire each follow their own principles and go their own way. Only when they work together appropriately can they accomplish their purpose. It is like the Five Phases (Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, Water): none can be left out, and they give rise to one another in a cycle. If you wish to know how this truly works, compare it with the five organs in the human body. They are all in the same place inside the abdomen: the heart belongs to fire, and the kidneys to water. Does their presence in one place mean they fight and wear one another down every day?

Disciple: Yes, I understand.

Therefore, when the Qi of peace arrives, the sun, moon, and stars—the Three Luminaries—no longer fight or obscure and harm one another. Only when the Three Luminaries do not harm one another can we speak of understanding the heart of Heaven and Earth. Here is proof: if you wish to know whether your own conduct is good or poor, observe the signs in the heavens while your practice of Dao and De remains incomplete. If people outwardly speak the same words of benevolence and righteousness but inwardly undermine and harm one another, they have merely memorized phrases about “unity of heart”; they have not grasped the true meaning. Even if there are spirits, written teachings, and the Way of Heaven, they still have not truly seen how things are. Do you understand?

Disciple: I understand.

Answer: You have awakened to it. After this text is passed on, emperors and virtuous rulers should reflect on Heaven’s intent and never forget these words. They are words meant to call forth Heaven’s heart. Only by obtaining Heaven’s intent can one preserve nature and life for a long time. Failing to obtain Heaven’s intent opens the way to disorder and death. To act without accord with Heaven’s heart is also a grave calamity. Since ancient times, all sage emperors have taken this as a warning. Keep my words firmly in your heart: within these subtle words, one may see the Dao and attain the Dao. I now entrust them to rulers of high De, to save the Three Luminaries from the calamity of fighting and eclipsing one another.

Disciple: I obey. If doubts remain after I take my leave, I will come back and ask.

Disciple: I obey.

The Method of the First Fire and First Qi in the Twelve Thousand Kingdoms (134)

Question: May I ask: under the same sun and moon, all under the great domain of the Dipper and the Pole, there are twelve thousand kingdoms. Within them are eighty-one regions, which are further divided into smaller states, each its own kingdom. The territory claimed by those with superior De extends for twelve thousand li; the next extends for ten thousand, followed by nine thousand, eight thousand, seven thousand, six thousand, five thousand, four thousand, three thousand, two thousand, one thousand, five hundred, and one hundred li. These are ordinary lands, whose boundaries are claimed and guarded according to the quality of a ruler’s De. Those with inferior De, however...

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

Question: If a whole country’s land is struck by disaster, does that mean the sun and moon will be eclipsed and the stars grow dim across all twelve thousand kingdoms? The sun and moon shine on all twelve thousand kingdoms; would they all be eclipsed and darkened? This is a truly profound, far-reaching, and subtle question. Why ask about this particular kind of disaster? If one country undergoes a change, must the other twelve thousand kingdoms change along with it? Such strange matters are hard to get to the bottom of. Perhaps no one since ancient times has been able to explain them clearly, so you have come to ask the Celestial Master (Tianshi). Yours is a good question; you have entered the Dao.

Answer: When the sun grows dim over one country, this is called a “solar eclipse,” and people in neighboring lands can see it from afar. Countries at the far edges of the world are too distant to be eclipsed. If the Big Dipper and the other stars grow dim, it is only the country that has lost Heaven’s intent that lies in darkness; distant places remain unaffected.

Question: What exactly blocks the light, so that only that country is left in darkness?

Answer: Ah, you still think like a young child, like an ordinary person. Heaven is far from Earth. A country that has lost the Dao and has no De lies below; when its corrupt Qi rises, it veils the heavens. Heaven, the sun, the moon, and the stars—the Three Lights—each follow their own course, yet their light is blocked, just as the Three Lights appear dim through fog: where there is fog, they are dark; where there is none, they remain bright. To make this clearer: in a place of Yin, people alone do not see a lunar eclipse; in a place of Yang, people alone see a solar eclipse. It is also like a year when the Grand Marshal (Tai Sui) is in the Rat position: a country with De alone enjoys a good harvest, while a country without De alone suffers a bad year. It is the same country and the same year, yet good and ill fortune differ. Or consider people who live under the same sky and on the same land: their circumstances of safety and danger differ, as do their customs. Do you understand?

Yes, yes. Good, good. The sun and moon travel and shine upon all twelve thousand kingdoms in common, but whether their light is clear or dim varies from place to place. A country with De has clear and peaceful governance and few malevolent influences; there, the Three Lights shine especially brightly, and the Yin below does not rise to obscure them. Darkness arises when those below deceive those above and corrupt Qi rises to veil the heavens. In a country without the Dao, governance is murky, treachery and evil abound, and people deceive themselves; there, the Three Lights are dim. To investigate this further, compare looking at the sun with narrowed eyes to looking at it with your eyes open: if you open your eyes wide, you will see clearly.

Note: “Twelve thousand kingdoms” is a familiar image in the scripture for the many lands of the world. “The Three Lights” refers to the sun, moon, and stars. “The Grand Marshal in the Rat position” is a metaphor linking the year’s fortunes with virtue and disaster or good fortune. By saying that good and ill fortune differ under the same sky and in the same year, and that the light shared by all may appear bright in one place and dim in another, the passage explains that disaster does not strike the whole world uniformly. Instead, it is connected to whether each country follows the Dao and to the clarity or corruption of its government.

An Accessible Interpretation of the Taiping Jing

On Observing the Sun

This means covering the eyes with thin silk and looking at the sun. Can you grasp it?

“I can, and that is good. It is truly astonishing! If you know what ‘astonishing’ means, you can attain long life.”

“Yes. Yes.”

The Three Luminaries and the Rise and Decline of Nations

In a declining state, the sun, moon, and stars—the Three Luminaries—are all dim. It is like a blind person who alone cannot see them. The Three Luminaries shine as usual; that person cannot see them only because they are blind.

It is also like a young adult who alone sees the Three Luminaries shining brightly, while an old person alone cannot see them. This is the proof of flourishing and decline. Do you understand?

“Yes. Yes. I am leaving. May I ask what the ‘One Severing Formula’ means? I do not understand what ‘One’ really is.”

“Ah, Perfected One, you have kept to the writings for so long. Why do you still doubt this? You are confused now. Know how to guard the One, and all things are settled. Why ask anything more? This is too small a matter; you should think carefully about these words.”

“Yes.”

Guarding the One: Heart, Intention, and Will

The “One” is the heart, intention, and will: what you hold in mind is the Shen within your own body. All things in the world are accomplished through this. From ancient times to the present, worthy sages have nurtured and shaped people into capable and renowned beings because they knew early on what they needed to learn: to direct their heart, intention, will, and thoughts toward goodness, and to keep to good deeds. Fools end up steeped in wickedness because they keep to and learn evil deeds. This is the nature of Heaven and Earth, and so it is for all creatures, even those that crawl.

Thus, by studying the Dao within a teacher’s lineage, one may attain long life. What Dao should one study? One may follow the pattern of Heaven and Earth in all things.

Gathering millions of people is not as good as serving one worthy person. Millions of foolish people will only bring swift calamity and ruin. If you can truly guard the One, what harm can come to the worthy person alone?

A person with a body cannot look within and reflect on themselves as in a mirror. When thoughts are reflected back onto the body, if the will and thoughts wander far away, the body quickly withers and declines. Keep the will and thoughts close, and the body will be nourished and radiant. The results of the will and thoughts are many; there is no need to record them one by one. This is how all things in the world work. Do you understand?

“Yes. Yes.”

Drought, Freezing, Famine, and “Fierceness”

May I ask: when drought and freezing cause people to die, and the people suffer from hunger and cold, what is it that kills those who die from “fierceness”?

It is the killing of August Heaven and the sun. The Six Yang are all enraged, and so they can harm people. What does this mean? I would like to hear.

Within the six myriad extremes of the Caverns, the Great Firmness has long been enraged with people for their disorder and wickedness, and so it kills. How does it harm people? It has no name. It strikes when a person has reached the utmost limit of inherited burden, when Heaven’s anger surges, and when goodness and wickedness are not being distinguished. To encounter it then is to meet great calamity.

If you want to know the truth—

A Plain Language Interpretation of the Taiping Jing

Suppose a person, consumed by anger, takes it out on a kind person named A. A should not have to suffer, yet in turn harms B, C, and D as if they were enemies. What have B, C, and D done wrong that they should have to face another person’s rage? When Heaven grows angry, the same thing happens. This is why 承负 (chengfu, the burden of wrongdoing passed down from earlier generations and borne by their descendants) is so grave: it often leads people to their deaths, with good and evil no longer distinguished. This is where great calamities arise.

Therefore, this book should accord with Heaven’s will and bring the burden of inherited wrongdoing to a complete end. If Heaven continues to err, the resulting disasters will be grave: the innocent will suffer, and Heaven itself will be troubled. So Heaven commanded me to instruct the Perfected One to deliver the scripture to a virtuous ruler, so that treacherous and deceitful people may be brought to an end and the principles of Heaven made clear. Does the Perfected One understand? The Perfected One replied: “I understand.” I would like to ask: Since Heaven and Earth first came into being, people have died in their entirety from plague, flood, or war. What wrong did they commit? Were these calamities caused by the great conjunction of Heaven and Earth, or by the burden of inherited wrongdoing?

The reply: People in ancient and modern times often say these were caused by the conjunction of Heaven and Earth, Yin and Yang. In truth, they were not; they were all calamities brought about by the burden of inherited wrongdoing. When the harmonizing Qi of the seasons grows angry, the spirits contend and people die of plague: Heaven is punishing them. When people drown, Earth is punishing them. When they die by weapons, other people are punishing them.

I would like to know: Why do you say that those who die of plague are killed by Heaven? Heaven is the ruler of the spirits and the leader of spiritual beings, so it commands spirits and ghosts to kill people. Earth is the lowly place of Yin. Water is Yin at its extreme; it belongs to Earth’s Yin and governs gestation. Whenever something is gestating and is injured, blood must flow, and blood belongs to the category of water. When gestation is harmed, there is inevitably anger and distress, and the blood that spills also soils and harms others. Water is Earth’s blood and its Yin Qi. When Yin Qi, being lowly, grows angry, it must go out in person to fight and kill, just as a minister who goes to arrest a criminal must seize them himself, rather than staying in his place and issuing commands like a ruler.

中和 (zhonghe, the harmonizing Qi that brings Heaven, Earth, and humanity into accord) governs the four seasons and the Five Phases on behalf of humankind. People should act in harmony. When they lose the Dao and cannot follow it, the seasons’ Qi turns contrary and the Five Phases contend, causing people to attack and kill one another. These disasters all arise because the harmonizing Qi of Heaven and Earth has become resentful and displeased; over time, it accumulates into illness and becomes knotted and stagnant. Excellent! Without asking earnestly, there would be no way to learn this. I would like to know: Have all these matters now been fully understood?

This passage discusses calamities arising from "inherited karma" (chengfu), the accumulated merits and demerits passed down through ancestral lines. When people are not burdened by ancestral transgressions, death occurs as a natural phenomenon. However, those who attain the true Dao through cultivation can transcend the cycle of birth and death, thereby overcoming the natural law of inherited karma.

The sudden mass deaths we witness are not part of normal destiny. These occur when the harmonious interaction between yin and yang energies (zhonghe qi) becomes disrupted, or when the Five Phases (Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, Water) fall into conflict with seasonal cycles. Since the separation of heaven and earth, such disasters have existed, though their causes remained obscure. Now that innocent people perish in great numbers, the celestial realm has sent me to elucidate this principle.

By following the celestial laws I expound, all beings may fulfill their natural lifespans without suffering mass extinction. Your question touches upon profound truth—this is no simple matter of cosmic cycles. Chaos emerges when heaven and earth interact improperly, disasters strike when the Five Phases clash violently, and crises appear when the divine powers of the Five Thearchs become exhausted.

The operation of heaven and earth follows rhythms like seasonal rotation; all creatures should continue naturally like human generations, not destroy each other through conflict. The reason floods, droughts, and plagues cause widespread death lies in prolonged deviation from the Dao by rulers and ancestors. When accumulated negative consequences erupt at critical moments, entire communities face annihilation.

The Three Powers (heaven, earth, and humanity) form an interdependent trinity, just as a human body requires head, feet, and abdomen to be complete.

The Taiping Jing: A Plain-Language Interpretation

Main Meaning of the Scripture

“When one of the three foundations is destroyed, all three are ruined.” If a person loses the head, feet, or belly, one of the three vital parts is gone, bringing disaster. When the Great Dao is gravely damaged, the three foundations of Heaven and Earth are also destroyed, and all things perish as a result. Once everything has perished, it cannot immediately come back to life. From this we can see how much is lost and how much is wiped out: some things may soon return, while others suffer prolonged ruin and take a very long time to recover. A lesser destruction, then, is quickly repaired.

If you wish to understand this clearly and know for certain, let the virtuous rulers of later generations examine how great an effect Heaven and Earth’s grievances can have. Consider a household making its living. A family with large reserves can survive even if, by chance, it encounters a bad year brought on by misfortune inherited from the past and harvests nothing. A household with very large stores can usually stay alive even after several bad years in a row. A household with only modest reserves will starve and perish if it has several failed harvests in succession. A household that is always poor will be wiped out by a single bad year: its people will die, with no way to get through it.

The Dao of Heaven follows fixed laws; its turns are not mere chance encounters. It is like this: in summer and autumn, one must work hard to gather the harvest; in winter and spring, one must live from what has been stored. If one fails to gather well in summer and autumn, then in winter and spring one will starve and perish. The sages of old recorded this in the heavenly books as an “appointed turning.” This is what the perfected person wishes you to understand.

Now that the Qi of Great Peace has arrived, peace should endure. We should no longer speak of people dying when an “appointed turning” comes around. Heaven has ordained emperors to govern. It therefore awakens virtuous rulers and ordinary people to the workings of the Dao, so that everyone may see and understand this. If, from the beginning, rulers and ordinary people had consistently upheld the essential Dao and essential De, then even when an appointed turning came, they would not have perished.

Heaven’s mandate for emperors to govern a country is founded on this principle: having the Dao and De is the greatest wealth of a state; lacking the Dao and De is extreme poverty. Those called people without the Dao and without De may be unable to bring peace to Heaven and Earth, and may lose their place within them. Rulers have gradually joined in abandoning and destroying the Dao and De. This has continued for a long time, until people began to pass misfortune on to one another. Those who came later suffered the resulting injustice and poison, and disasters grew severe and came to pass in full. In the absence of the Dao, governance reached an appointed turning that brought extinction; people could not escape it. This is the great fault. Do you understand? Yes.

How terrifying! How terrifying! I will explain one more thing to the perfected person. The Dao and De given to people are the very heart of Heaven. This is like a person having a heart: the human heart is good when it steadfastly upholds the Dao.

Section-by-Section Explanation

The Main Point in One Sentence

The three foundations of Heaven, Earth, and humanity are destroyed together, just as a person cannot survive the loss of a vital part; a household with reserves can endure bad years, while one that is always poor may be wiped out in a single bad year. The Dao of Heaven follows regular laws: one must harvest in summer and autumn and live from stored food in winter and spring. Those who fail to gather enough will starve. The sages of old therefore recorded such crises as “appointed turnings.” When the Qi of Great Peace arrives, peace should endure, and people should no longer die in such turnings; if they uphold the essential Dao and De, they can survive even when one comes. Emperors must make the Dao and De the foundation of the state. If they abandon them for too long, misfortune is passed down, disasters intensify, and the appointed turning brings extinction. The Dao and De given to people are the heart of Heaven, just as the human heart is at its best when it upholds the Dao.

Plain-Language Interpretation

The Heart, the Dao, and Good or Bad Fortune

Those whose hearts incline toward goodness and who abide by the Dao often receive good fortune. Those whose hearts are evil and who do not abide by the Dao often meet with decline and danger. When the heart’s spirit departs, the person dies. When the Dao and De are severed, people die, and Heaven and Earth fall into chaos and ruin.

Shared Concerns, Shared Benefits, Shared Fate

The Dao makes Heaven, Earth, and humanity share the same concerns and undertakings from the beginning. In this way, they can sustain and give rise to one another. If they do not share concerns and undertakings, and are unwilling to give rise to one another, there can be no mutual care or benefit. The Dao and De bind them together, giving them a shared fate. When Heaven and Earth see people possess Dao and De and do good, they rejoice greatly; when they see people do evil, they grow angry and resentful.

The Perfected One says: How could this be taken lightly? Foolish people should be deeply afraid. If you know to be afraid, you may live long and avoid misfortune. If you do not, Heaven has already replaced you. You must be all the more careful.

Dao, De, Ritual, Righteousness, and Punishment

The Perfected One explains further: the course of good or bad fortune is like the relationship between Dao, De, ritual, and righteousness on the one hand, and punishment on the other. When people uphold Dao, De, ritual, and righteousness, punishment does not arise. When they abandon them, punishment follows. Those who follow the good way find the road to misfortune closed of itself; no one needs to teach them to take that way, for they will go there on their own. For those who follow the bad way, the road to goodness closes of itself. It is like the sunrise that sends the stars fleeing, or the appearance of stars as the sun sets: not the slightest error.

How good! In this age, people are deeply ignorant and confused about the good or bad fortune of the times. They pass on the saying, “The cycle of time turns, bringing good fortune and bad.” If that were so, what benefit would there be in doing good, and what harm in doing evil? If the times themselves naturally determine events, what merit would doing good have? As for good fortune, the sages have always received Heaven’s intention and taught people to do good; this is precisely the point. To speak of the times in a way that throws the Dao of Heaven into disorder is to speak disorderly words.

When Heaven and Earth are continually displeased, this is in fact caused by people’s actions. Yet people instead claim that the times themselves are evil. They will not admit their own evil, but blame Heaven and Earth—as when a family’s unfilial child will not admit fault, but instead says the parents are at fault. This is the same sort of thing. Thus Heaven is always troubled and resentful, and through the workings of the times it kills and sets people against one another, gladly changing the generations of humankind.

The Passing of the Old and the Young, and Changes in Form

It is not only a matter of following one another. The old depart and the young grow up; each undergoes change when the span of their allotted years is exhausted. This is just as human forms have changed and differed since Heaven and Earth first opened.

The foolish person says: How good! How frightening! If we fear it, we may live long.

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

1. Human forms differ, but their Qi is connected

The nurturing and growth of all things depend on this great opening and resolution—the fundamental means by which things are brought into harmony. From ancient times to the present, people’s outward forms have differed, yet the Qi within them has the same source.

Consider this further: the four seasons and the Five Phases (Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, Water) each have their proper place. They look different on the surface, yet within they share the same Qi, give rise to one another, and support one another. A person’s head and feet are also unlike each other, but together they make a complete human being.

2. Heaven sends calamities when people go against the Way

Realized One, let me tell you something important once more: when sickness and calamity gather in the human world, it is often because people do evil, act against what is proper, and speak recklessly. Ill fortune and danger arise for the same reason.

The Qi of the High Sovereign is soon to arrive, bringing help to the virtuous ruler as he governs the world. Heaven fears that people will still refuse to change, continue doing evil, disturb the righteous Qi, and destroy Heaven’s treasures. So it sent me down to write these words for the virtuous ruler, to warn everyone: regularly put these scriptures into practice. Do not merely fret at Heaven and blame Earth, while violating Heaven’s prohibitions.

From now on, those who act in accordance with the heavenly pattern will receive the spirits’ help in supporting the virtuous ruler’s governance. Those who violate the prohibitions should be executed; if people do not execute them, the spirits will. You know this is an evil path, so you should humbly obey and dare not transgress again.

3. The policies of the nations have one foundation

Now that the scripture has brought us this far, give a brief summary and think through its essential points for yourself. The Realized One asks: Celestial Master, the talismanic policies of the twelve thousand nations all differ. How should their meaning be understood? If each nation follows its own customs, where should it begin?

Begin with the rise of Fire Qi in the southeast of the Dipper’s Pole. Please explain its key principles and purpose.

4. Fire, the heart, and the myriad affairs

Fire belongs to Yang. Its talismanic meaning is this: “now” governs the heart of Heaven; “harmony” governs giving; “opening” governs illumination and understanding; and “governing” means setting things in order.

Whatever pertains to Fire belongs to the heart. The heart governs Shen (spirit). Only when the heart is in harmony can it lead the work of transformation and nurture. All things begin to flourish from the heart. The heart governs what is right, relies on benevolence for its clarity, and is also endowed with divine light.

Though the talismanic policies of the twelve thousand nations differ, they can all be understood through one principle. Set them down in a document and submit it to Heaven, and the Qi of Heaven will also flow in response. Realized One, strive to bring this about and do not go against it; those who do will bring calamity upon themselves.

5. Heaven’s joy sends down the text; put it into practice and calamities will end

Heaven’s joy has sent down this text, which is why I speak to you in this way. If you do not trust my words, it is as though you do not trust the results that should be evident in your own person.

Put these teachings into practice, and calamities will diminish day by day. This is the joy of Heaven’s teachings being carried into the world, and so calamities are dispelled. If you fail to act on them, you will suffer many illnesses and calamities: Heaven’s intention will be angered and obstructed. You will also be hindering the Great Dao.

The Fire image signifies misfortune. Do not simply ask other people; the results are here, as clear as the sun and moon. You must be careful with what Heaven intends to bring about.

6. Going against the order unsettles the heart

If you do not act and do not follow the order, people’s hearts will fall into disorder. Be careful, Realized One. Yes, I will obey.

Let me warn you once more, Realized One: Heaven does not want you to act entirely on your own judgment. If you make decisions and act on your own, illness will be the first consequence.

Note: This passage uses the four seasons and Five Phases, and the analogy of head and feet forming a person, to illustrate that forms differ while Qi is one. It stresses putting the scriptures into practice, the spirits’ support for the virtuous ruler, and punishment for those who violate the prohibitions. It also explains the meaning of talismans through the Fire Qi of the southeast of the Dipper’s Pole: Fire, the heart, Shen, benevolence, and the idea that all affairs begin in the heart. The policies of the nations can be brought together in one document and submitted to Heaven. The central teaching is to follow Heaven’s joy, dispel calamities and illness, and avoid obstructing the Great Dao. The source text contains broken sentences and corrupt characters; the translation follows common interpretations of the Taiping Jing. Names such as the Dipper’s Pole, the Qi of the High Sovereign, and the virtuous ruler have been retained.

Plain-Language Interpretation of the Taiping Jing

The scripture follows the text presented here; the same applies from this point onward. Since the text has already been repeated, it will not be written out again, lest adding more words make the Dao harder to understand. Yes, yes. Very well, I repeat this warning to you: this disaster and illness are not the fault of people in only one generation; their causes go back a long way. Do not turn against it and bring harm upon yourself in the end. Instead, you should practice the Way of Heaven to dispel and end it. This is what is called understanding Heaven’s intent. If you do not follow what I have said, and instead impose harsh punishments in haste, disasters will grow more frequent, and Heaven will not be pleased. Do you understand, Perfected One? Yes, yes.

The Secret of Rectifying the Spirit Way When Fire Qi Is Strong, Chapter 135

Question: In ancient times, people followed the Fire Phase and shared in peace, yet did not rectify the Spirit Way. Today, the Celestial Master alone commands those who follow the Fire Phase to rectify the Spirit Way. Why?

Answer: Your question is good. A hundred people have a hundred opinions, a thousand people a thousand opinions, and ten thousand people ten thousand opinions. They use different strategies and each differs from the others; therefore, many fail to understand Heaven’s intent. The Perfected One speaks truly.

Question: Now the Qi of Fire is at its strongest, and the Qi of the High Sovereign has arrived. This is the Qi of peace that ordinary people share with the ancients who followed the Fire Phase. Nothing like it has existed since Heaven and Earth were first created. When the Qi of Fire is strong, the Spirit Way must be rectified. Why? I wish to hear the meaning of this.

Answer: Yes. Fire is the heart of Heaven. The heart governs the spirit; when the heart is upright, the spirit should be bright. That is why Heaven has sent me down to set the Spirit Way in order.

Question: The Spirit Way is already spiritual by its own nature. Why must it be set in order?

Answer: Your words are good. Spirits are Heaven’s upright officials. Now there are many邪 spirits, so the upright spirits cannot occupy their proper places. Within Heaven’s Spirit Way, there is great disorder; all have lost their dwelling places. The Qi of Heaven is now out of balance, and the emperors and kings are troubled by this, while people still fail to understand its essential meaning. You wish to know it clearly. It is like this among people: today, many wicked people hold positions of authority and together disrupt the rule of emperors and kings, leaving upright people unable to take their proper places. Their evil Qi throws the order of Heaven and Earth out of balance. When wickedness is widespread, it joins forces to harm what is upright; when uprightness is widespread, it joins forces to restrain wickedness. These are the natural principles of Heaven and Earth. Do you understand? That is why the sun is now at its strongest—something never before seen. Yang is associated with the spirit, so Heaven is called spiritual; Yin is associated with wickedness. Thus, treacherous Qi usually moves about within Yin. It does not dare to commit treachery openly in broad daylight; when it does so in broad daylight, this is called Yin riding upon Yang.

Key Terms

Overall, the passage says that when the Qi of Fire is strong, the Spirit Way must be rectified because Fire resembles the heart of Heaven. When wicked spirits are numerous, upright spirits lose their proper places and the order of Heaven and Earth is disrupted. Yang and what is upright must therefore restrain Yin and what is wicked, just as an emperor selects upright officials to govern the realm.

The Yang path is afflicted, yet this is written as “Yin flourishing,” as the rise of Yang’s failure to follow its proper course, and as the decline of the ruler. This state of affairs has lasted a long time. Therefore Heaven’s Way requires me to rectify the spirit realm, so that people will no longer dare to act this way. Do you understand? (The disciple replies:) Yes, yes. Excellent, excellent.

Cavern’s Ultimate: When the Supreme Leveling Qi Arrives, There Are No Worms

(Repeated-Character Formula, No. 136)

May I ask: When the Supreme Leveling Qi of the Cavern’s Ultimate arrives, nothing remains untreated. The Celestial Master then uses worms that feed on people, such as those causing carbuncles and scabies, as a test. What is meant by the other kinds of worms?

(The Celestial Master says:) Excellent, Perfected One. This morning you asked whether Heaven is in haste. Was Heaven urging you to ask this? Heaven is in haste because of people: people do evil; corrupt officials and commoners betray Heaven and oppose Earth, joining together to deceive their superiors. They conceal themselves in Yin and plot wrongdoing, which accumulates over time like worms eating people. Heaven loathes this evil, so it has made you ask about it repeatedly. Worms that eat people—what is meant by worms that treat people? Their disasters are the most severe: they are the most violently rebellious Qi, disrupting what is right. Now that the Leveling Qi of the present age has arrived, this response should not occur. Perfected One, you have entrusted the De Lord with the desire to know how the Cavern’s teaching reaches everywhere. Why have you not yet had the people fully explain which worms are responsible, and what kinds and sizes cause harm?

Carbuncles, sores, wounds, and scabies all come from the kinds of three worms inside the belly. Their names are all transferred to the responsible agents: when there are many, the worms below are numerous and treat people; when there are none, there are no worms below to treat people; when there are few, only a few worms treat people.

Excellent. This lesser student is foolish and unenlightened. I saw this and took it to be part of Heaven’s nature, so I mistook the response for a treatment of evil. How foolish I was—what a dreadful pain! In the nature of Heaven and Earth, human beings are the noblest, and worms the basest. Yet both end up eating people. This is an image of rightness turned upside down: base people lack the Way, and worms eat people. Heaven therefore reveals this image clearly, so that the worthy and the sages may devise a plan to restore what is right. Every calamity and anomaly appears according to its kind; this is how the sages of old came to understand them. If they did not take visible form according to their kind, no plan could be conceived.

Thus they hide within, an image of those below conspiring together and not daring to show themselves openly. What is outside belongs to Yang; Yang is Heaven and the ruler. Heaven is the righteous sovereign. So the worms hide within and secretly eat people, like ministers without merit who hide within and secretly devour the people. How terrifying! This foolish student is deeply afraid. You are right to fear Heaven. If you did not fear Heaven, you would already be dead. Truly.

One must act with caution and must not answer rashly. Thus, when the ancients governed the spirits, they brought the spirits back to what is genuine; when they governed ghosts, they caused each ghost to return to its own kind; when they governed the myriad things, they set each thing at rest in its proper place; and when they governed insects, they dealt with them according to their circumstances. Why should there be these differences? Hear me explain.

When a person’s conduct accords with Heaven and the heart-mind communicates with Shen (spirit), one can move and reach the spirits; the spirits are the envoys of Heaven above. Ghosts, by contrast, habitually avoid people. They lurk in dark places, speak in secret, and leave traces like those of ghosts, and so they resonate with the ghostly kind. Those who govern things conduct themselves by deceiving their superiors and are as cunning as things themselves, and therefore they draw things to them. Those who govern insects act only for profit, contend with their superiors over gain, and keep disordered minds, and so they draw insects to them. The changes of celestial signs and the affairs of human beings respond to one another; in every case it is so.

After the Lord of Great Peace and De (Virtue/Power)—the sovereign who governs the world by the De of Great Peace—has gained the realm, everything set forth in the memorials he submits can be traced back to the root of each calamity and anomaly, and the meaning of those portents is reported upward. His judgments are as exact as those of the divine spirits, and this is truly admirable. The Qi (vital energy) of calamity has already wholly dispersed, and harmony extends everywhere. How does one know? Because, seeing that the Celestial Master (Tianshi) keeps to the Dao (the Way) with uprightness, one knows there will be no more insect plagues running loose and harming people; the Qi of calamity has therefore already subsided. You may be said to understand the intent of the Dao.

Someone asked what use there is in characters written over and over. The reply was that they serve to guide upright Qi and to open spiritual illumination, and that they are meant to make a person reflect. One first rectifies the heart and mind, then enters the quiet chamber, and takes these characters as a credential that protects the body. May the precise method be stated? The matter is not hard to grasp, yet it is fine and hidden; the words are few, but their weight is great, and they must not be transmitted at random.

One who recites and holds these characters with pure sincerity is called “Shen”; one who recites them without pure sincerity cannot be called Shen; and if one recites them without a unified mind, the recitation becomes idle talk. Thus the Dao can be carried out only when it is transmitted to a suitable person, and any matter becomes clear only when it is entrusted to a suitable person. If it is passed to someone unsuitable, it turns into reckless action, and the fault returns in the end upon that person. Does the Perfected (Zhenren) know these principles? The answer was: I know them, and I dare not act recklessly. Since you have sincerely given your allegiance and entrusted yourself to me, I shall explain them for you.

The character “dan” is to be used as the character that is written. The first time it is written, place it below; the second time, write it separately, beginning anew. When one is about to make it known to others, one must first bathe and compose mind and spirit, then announce it while facing in turn north, west, south, and east, and render the rite solemn. Use fine wine, pure as clear water. After drinking it, at once hold this character in the mind, treat it for a long time as a matter of cultivation, and recite: “May upright, even, and good Qi arrive; illness is removed thereby, and the face and features are made still more lustrous.” If one sees this character, one visualizes it in the mind at the place where the illness lies. This is called “returning Jing (essence) to nourish the form” (gathering in essential Qi and nurturing the body). One who is not ill, doing the same, will also gradually grow calm and still.

If a powerful malign influence or a ghost is afflicting the body, it may resist and contend. Even if conflict arises, remain composed, concentrate the intention, and do not be led astray. With sustained concentration, one will gradually settle.

In time, people will depart. From then on, Heaven delights in people conducting themselves with uprightness, and the celestial spirits also help those in the world below, coming and going in response to the intentions of the human heart. When a superior adept—one who has succeeded in cultivating the Dao (the Way) and who possesses a higher innate capacity—sees someone swallow a single character into the mouth, he knows that one’s thoughts ought to be brought back to what is right. Likewise, simply by swallowing a single character, one can instruct others on that basis. Thus it is said that the Dao of Heaven can be put into practice within a single day.

The Dao of which I speak does not consist in imitating words, but in actions that correspond to the Dao of Heaven, as an echo answers a sound. Those who take this as the way of divine persons and perfected persons—those who have attained the Dao—must be scrupulously careful. Once the way of the celestial spirits is opened, it returns to De (Virtue/Power). The ruler should entrust affairs to the worthy and the good, so that each person establishes himself and conducts himself uprightly. This is of great benefit to the governance above, and the point is already quite clear. The ruler of De and the enlightened teacher admonish people with solemn authority, and whatever they admonish can be improved. If one has a vision and beholds spirits, one must be careful and must not speak of it casually.

By this means the superior adept can attain transcendence of the world—a state of rising above the mundane and achieving long life; the middling adept can attain Wuwei (non-action), according with what is natural and refraining from reckless action; and the inferior adept can attain balance, uprightness, and security. What each person receives is sometimes ample and sometimes slight. The celestial spirits arrange matters for people according to the talismanic documents—sacred writings that bear Heaven’s mandate and its statutes. Therefore it is said: do not broadcast what you yourself think, for what one person receives differs from what another receives. Since each differs, it is not fitting to force arguments upon one another. The Dao is indeed trustworthy and easy to practice; the key lies in conciseness. If one resolves to cultivate the Dao, one may seek long life. Therefore one ought to study and cultivate in accordance with this. Those who do so will naturally follow the correct Dao and return to goodness, and the divine luminaries will also change their intentions, causing joy to arise in their hearts.

Some people swallow today the characters I transmit, and afterward are able to teach others with different writings. The teaching passes from ten people to a hundred, each responding to the others. In a moment the Dao can spread throughout the eight directions and the six conjunctions—the space of heaven and earth formed by the four quarters together with above and below. Essence and spirit (Jing and Shen) move along with it and are used to treat illness. Therefore, from this time on, all people under heaven can set themselves right at an early time, change their conduct, cherish the true Jing (scripture/classic), and no longer practice what is deviant, perverse, and false.

The perfected person wishes to bring peace to heaven and earth and hopes that the Dao of Heaven will quickly return to what is correct. What matters most is first to put into practice the “documents circulated by the three ways of the Dao”—writings promulgated according to three methods of the Dao. I should like to hear how this begins. The reply was: “You have asked well. Foolish people find it hard to set themselves right and often allow disorder to continue. Those who govern disorder are therefore anxious, and so they first issue the circulating documents, so that superiors and inferiors, elders and the young, may correct one another. If ordinary people have no words they can take as a standard, those skilled in argument may seize the chance to harm the correct Dao.”

He asked again: “That is well said. May I ask what the documents circulated by the three ways of the Dao actually are? Why should only one kind be promulgated? One ought to gather the circulating documents and put them into practice, and there must certainly be multiple documents that succeed one another in sequence.” The reply was: “Well said; your words accord precisely with the heart of Heaven. The reason for arranging a succession from one document to the next, and for questioning layer upon layer, is to lead worldly people to recognize their own faults in depth. To state only a single principle in isolation is a great failing. If one does not see the harm of isolated words and one-sided writings, one cannot understand the purpose of gathering many explanations and checking them against one another.”

The Taiping Jing, Volume 92: A Modern Interpretation

The scriptures should be carefully passed down, but their errors must not be passed down with them. The purpose of distinguishing the major mistakes in them is to help people truly understand in their hearts.

Only once people understand in their hearts can they be saved. If they do not understand, they act recklessly, and in time this can lead to grave mistakes. Once people awaken, it is easy for them to return to the right path.

The Perfected One, a title for someone who has attained the Dao, said: “Everything I have written follows this principle; it does not apply only to this passage.” A disciple asked, “Does the disciple understand?” The reply was, “Yes, yes,” in respectful assent. The Perfected One then said, “Go. You understand now.” The Perfected One conducts his affairs with care.

The scripture has already been written in full. Do not carelessly seize on a few lines and question them over and over, worrying that I may refuse to say more and that you will regret it later. Since you still wish to listen, I will explain the larger passage once more. I must also remind you: the Way of Heaven cannot be fully grasped by picking apart the words and probing every line to its utmost. If you grasp it, Heaven rejoices greatly; if you do not, you go against the Way of Heaven and make an enemy of Heaven. So I dare not say more. Go.

Right-hand column heading (the title of the section this passage belongs to): “A Great Gathering of Difficult Questions; the Destruction and Rebirth of Heaven and Earth; Eclipses of the Sun, Moon, and Stars; the Violent Death of People; the Talismanic Writings and Divine Secrets for the Twelve Thousand Kingdoms.”

Taiping Jing, Volume 92.