《太平經》Vol. 97

Source note

This passage comes from juan 97 of the Taiping Jing (Scripture of Great Peace), the fifth text in the “Instructions” category, titled “The Formula for Assisting Transformation by Not Transmitting the Dao to the Jealous Recluse,” number 150. It continues the section marked “Four.” In the passage, the “foolish student” asks the “Celestial Master” whether the secret Dao and De should be made available to “small people.”

Plain-language interpretation

I, your foolish disciple, am truly ignorant, and my confusion grows heavier by the day. I do not understand the great principles or how life arises from the great Dao. I bow twice and ask about one matter. If I speak, I fear I may say something wrong; if I do not ask, I cannot put my mind at rest, so I must speak. I have heard in private that the secret Dao and essential De are treasures of Heaven and Earth, rare wonders under Heaven. That is why they are called the “Supreme Dao”: they are not things ordinary people should hear, speak of, or put to use. Yet now the Celestial Master has flung open the path of learning about Great Peace and ordered the writing of essential texts on Dao and De. Nothing is to be concealed. It is said that even the crime of incurring Heaven’s condemnation, punishable by death, cannot be expunged and will extend to later generations. Yet you still transmit the secret Dao and De to everyone. What an enormous undertaking! I believe the secret Dao and De should not be made known to small people. Small people will talk about them; small people will put them to use. Alas! What you say now carries a responsibility before august Heaven and sovereign Earth so grave that it merits ten thousand deaths and can never be erased.

Since Heaven and Earth were first formed, people in later generations have grown increasingly shallow. Small people who begrudge the Dao cut off the treasures of Heaven and Earth, bringing loss upon the world. Over time this has built up into a calamity, giving rise to “inherited burden,” so that disasters from Heaven never cease. The world within Heaven and Earth is often unsettled year after year, with many calamities and upheavals, many thieves and rebels, and great hardship for states. This is where it all begins. If what you say today is true, then you are throwing Heaven and Earth into disorder, confusing the Dao of governance and making the people difficult to govern. That is exactly what this amounts to. What you say today has made a grave enemy of Heaven. You are wrong! You are wrong! My child, your merit and De will be destroyed by this.

Why is that? If essential Dao and good De are brought forth to teach small people, they may gain them and uphold Dao and De, learning by imitating one another and daring not to do wrong. Those among them with a little wisdom may acquire good Dao and De and become upright, obedient officials. Those with great wisdom may rise to become ministers who assist the state. Even those at the very bottom, utterly lacking in understanding, may still become good people. Heaven uses essential, true Dao to bring forth living things, extending even to the six domestic animals and wild creatures. The four seasons and Five Phases are the essential Dao and treasures of Heaven and Earth, the stored Qi of Heaven and Earth. The six domestic animals and wild creatures all carry this within them as their inborn nature, and so do plants and trees.

Brief notes on terms used in the passage: “Celestial Master” is a title for a revered teacher who transmits the Dao in the Way of Great Peace. “Learning of Great Peace” and “essential texts on Dao and De” refer to the scriptures and teachings used to guide the community. “Heaven’s condemnation” means punishment or blame sent down by Heaven. “Inherited burden” is the traditional idea that later generations bear the consequences of the wrongs committed by their predecessors. Here, “small people” and “gentlemen” generally refer to common people lacking De and virtuous, worthy people, respectively; the terms do not simply mean immoral people and moral people.

A Modern Interpretation of the Taiping Jing

If later generations are to grow and endure, how could they give life and growth to one another if Heaven does not grant them the complete essential Way?

The Perfected One said: “Petty people should not hear the essential Way, speak of it, or put it into practice.

“The spirits of Heaven and Earth seek to preserve humankind to the end of its generations. Yet people are not even as good as the six domestic animals and the plants and trees. How utterly lacking in goodness they are!

“The Perfected One knows that to speak at this moment would incur a crime punishable by ten thousand deaths, one that could never be expiated.

“This foolish student has served his teacher only a short time and cannot deeply understand the Way of Heaven. Only after seeing the Celestial Master’s words did I realize how grave my offense is: I have failed Heaven above, Earth below, and the ruler of great De (Virtue/Power) in our midst. The disciple withdrew and reproached himself. This is exactly what happened. How can anyone fail to be careful in all things?

“Heaven constantly watches people’s words alone. Why does it make the echo follow each person’s voice and determine good or ill fortune? The echo answers the sound without the slightest deviation. Have you not often observed this proof in the sounds of Heaven and Earth? You must be careful. If your strength does not suffice, do not force yourself to speak recklessly; the harm it causes is grave.”

The disciple asked: “Now you say the highest Way is not to be passed on to people. How, then, can it be passed on and made known? The highest Way of the final generations cannot be transmitted. The Way of Heaven is impartial, yet it should be practiced alone. For whose sake, then, does it give life?”

The disciple warned himself: “This conduct is utterly improper. Would I, like a common man or petty person, go on teaching others while resenting Heaven’s Way? I dare not, I dare not.”

The Perfected One carefully admonished himself: “When Heaven’s anger breaks out, the offense is set down and cannot be erased. Is the Way of Heaven to be ruined by these very words? And would you add to that together with me? The reason emperors cannot govern well and often suffer many calamities is simply that they are all like you. If this could be spoken of today, it would cause the true Way to be cut off and the false Way to arise. That is why good government is impossible. Do you understand this in your heart?” “Yes, yes. I understand now. I am ashamed to have failed the Celestial Master. I must always be careful in my conduct.” “Yes, yes.”

Now, thinking that every word brings fault, I want to say nothing, yet I do not know what it is right to say. What is it that people today should not hear, should not speak of, and should not put into practice?

In truth, ordinary people should not hear anything that is not the true essential Way or true De. That is why foolish teachers throughout the world, in educating petty people, neglect what matters. Instead of instructing them with the essential secret Way and true De, they teach ordinary people with empty, showy, false writings and clever arguments. Among them, those of great ability acquire these perverse and false writings, learn them well, and then join together to deceive their ruler. Those of middling ability learn the false writings and become corrupt officials, joining together to flatter and deceive their superiors.

Modern-language interpretation:

People in positions of authority join together in using cunning and deceit against the cautious, good people. Foolish petty men receive the essential Dao and De, but use them to commit unjust acts, deceive their parents, and scheme against their neighbors. Some become thieves and cannot stop. Worthy and unworthy officials and commoners alike engage in treachery and deceit, and none can restrain the others. When they encounter what is evil and improper, they disrupt the patterns of heaven and earth, violate the Five Phases (Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, Water) and the four seasons, and join in deceiving their superiors. The state falls into disorder, and the resulting harms are beyond reckoning.

Yet the Perfected One says that petty men should not hear the essential Dao and De. Instead, they should be taught through deviant, cunning, and deceitful practices, so that the people of the world become confused and all learn deception without realizing it, until they have all become Dao-less. For this reason, the Perfected One’s crime, deserving ten thousand deaths, cannot be absolved. What should not be heard, spoken, or put into practice in the world is precisely what should not be heard about these false writings and deviant tricks born of great deceit. Therefore, I set forth the law on behalf of Heaven and teach on behalf of the lord of De. I dare not go down that path. I open only the gate of Dao and De and shut off the road of cunning. My book sets out the roots of Dao and De; it leaves out and rejects the methods of deviant writings, cunning, and deceit. Do you not find this strange? Heaven and earth regard such things as a blight, and emperors and kings as a calamity.

Let me explain this further to the Perfected One. If petty men were taught through the essential Dao and De, the most worthy would uphold Confucian goodness; those of middling worth and above would serve the state as virtuous ministers and assistants; those of middling and lesser worth would be transformed into obedient, good officials; and even the most foolish would remain cautious subjects who did not know how to harm one another. Heaven and earth, the four seasons, the Five Phases, the sun, moon, and stars all nurture the myriad things through the true Dao and essential De. Even the dung of the six domestic animals and the grasses follow this secret Dao and thus grow and thrive. Are the kinds of people the Perfected One now describes any better than the six domestic animals, dung, or grasses? Do you know that you bear a crime deserving ten thousand deaths, one that cannot be absolved? If one has committed a fatal offense, one must not excuse it by claiming not to understand. What is to be done about the offense? To atone for it, on a day of removing misfortune, go to an open place where roads lead out in all four directions. Face each direction in turn, bow your head five times, first looking up to Heaven, then turning and bowing down to Earth, saying, “Yes, yes—Heaven…” (The text continues below.)

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

Why is the master so urgent with his foolish and slow-witted disciple? The Perfected One explains that his urgency does not arise from any personal attachment to the disciple. Rather, he understands a grave matter: since remote and more recent antiquity, the teachings given to people have often been hostile to the true Dao and good De. Instead, people have been taught to avoid, conceal, and sever themselves from the proper Way, and to instruct one another in crooked arts and schemes, leading the foolish astray and drawing people into wrongdoing together.

Among them, the great worthies often withdraw far from worldly life and keep their virtue to themselves. The lesser worthies enter government service, yet lack the true Dao and instead disturb the people. Those at the lowest level of folly then take this lack of the Way as license for reckless conduct and become bandits; subjects and rulers alike join in wrongdoing. Petty people gather in growing numbers, their clamor rising like thunder, and together they violate the patterns of Heaven, damage the heavenly Way, and overturn the intent of Earth. They turn the Qi of the four seasons upside down and throw the Five Phases into disorder. As a result, countless anomalies and calamities arise, and the sun, moon, and stars lose their proper brightness. Rulers suffer great anguish over this, and the world falls into confusion and unrest. This is its root cause. The Perfected One knows how grave this offense is. If Heaven does not put an end to it, how could I fail to teach you to admit your fault and make amends?

That is why the teaching must be spoken in open wilderness, in a bright and spacious place, and on a great road that extends in all directions. The Dao governs the passage through all things; the four directions are to be entrusted to the four seasons. This is the Qi sent by Heaven as it circulates, and it also enables the disciple to reach upward to Heaven. The four seasons embody benevolence and nurture all things; they can also dispel your offenses against Heaven and Earth. In the future, all who have done wrong will take you as their example. From now on, Heaven will deeply abhor people’s evil deeds. Therefore, a noble person should constantly seek the highest good and must not fall into great evil. Be sure to act with care! If even you are as you are, how much more so are ordinary, foolish people? This is precisely how people teach one another to resent the true Dao and conceal good De.

What you call “constant goodness,” expressed in just one sentence today, may already be called a grave offense against Heaven and Earth. This is what rulers have worried over most from ancient times to the present. The Perfected One asks: How could people of earlier times have been born as noble persons? They all learned. Learn the Dao, and a person attains the Dao; learn De, and a person attains De; learn goodness, and a person attains goodness. Learn the highest Dao and good De, and a person grows ever more virtuous even in old age. Those who hold fast to the essential Dao and good De are called recluses alongside the emperor. They are the foremost among people in goodness and can assist noble persons in transforming the world through teaching. Those among them who do not take office are the most cautious and discerning. Learn evil, and a person becomes evil; learn to adorn oneself with words, and a person becomes shallow and ostentatious.

A Plain-Language Interpretation of the Taiping Jing

If people take a crooked path in their study of the Dao, they too will become crooked. Study through deceitful methods, and you become deceitful; study through cunning techniques, and you become cunning. Those called “great worthies” are often skilled at manipulating words, while those accustomed to reading books are often adept at dressing things up with fine language. If petty people learn these ways, they will become sly and deceitful. Consider this in your heart: can such people truly be said to bring about moral transformation?

The Great Dao and hidden De were originally meant to receive Heaven’s intent and accord with Earth’s will, so that the state might enjoy lasting peace and its ruler might live with a calm and joyful heart. Today, things are done the other way around: the true Way is suppressed, and people are not guided and transformed through the power of the Great Dao. Heaven therefore sends down punishment, and the offenses are hard to erase. Heaven acts through the “Ultimate Dao,” while Earth takes the “Ultimate De” as its destination. Together, Heaven and Earth bring forth and transform the myriad things, concealing nothing and acting without private purpose. The sages of antiquity modeled their conduct on Heaven and Earth, and used the Ultimate Dao and essential De to guide the ignorant with all their strength, making them cautious and good. Today, governing should be easier, yet instead much has been neglected and cut off. The ignorant have all become cunning, turning away from the Way of Heaven without knowing they are in the wrong. The crux is that the true Way and good De cannot be put into practice. Many people suffer Heaven’s condemnation; they deserve death, yet cannot find release.

The ignorant lack the Way and pay no heed to what should be avoided. They even join together in offending Heaven and Earth, all because they do not understand what is essential in the Way and De. I have written book after book of reminders and repeated admonitions because I fear that people have been steeped in ignorance for so long that they will not believe a single word of my writing; that is why I keep stressing the point. People who have long grown used to wicked customs may even claim that my words are wrong. Meanwhile, the gates of the true Way and hidden De are shut and left unused. Heaven’s anger does not subside, rulers suffer for a long time, and officials and common people have nowhere to turn. They crowd together in confusion, surging like clouds, unable to save one another. Look: I have laid my grievance before Heaven precisely to avert such calamities and establish this Way. People have been misled by wicked writings for so long that I often command the Perfected Ones to transmit my Way, entrust it to a virtuous ruler, and make it known to the worthy. Put this Way to the test at once, and you will see that my book can be trusted and accords with Heaven and Earth. If you neither use it nor test it, how can you know its effects? Now I have preserved my Way intact and without error. Those who seek to test it cannot be fully satisfied by the words of a single scroll. Perfected Ones, be cautious and obey faithfully. Transmit it; do not hide it. Let ordinary people learn through speech and study where they have gone right or wrong, and stop acting recklessly. Obey faithfully.

(Commentary) People often encounter things they should not hear, say, or use. Put an end to wicked writings and bring forth true writings.

Serve your teacher as you would your father; let your words become a formula for practice (Chapter 105)

Whenever I speak, my words fail to please the Celestial Master, and I am often harshly rebuked for it. I dare not make the same mistake again. Now the year is drawing to a close, and I still have no answer. May I ask one more question: what is there to be modest about in the plain and simple Way? Surely it is right to ask when one does not know.

The Celestial Master teaches ordinary people the essentials and virtue of the highest grade of the Way, yet most of them cannot grasp it deeply.

The Celestial Master said, “Well put! What sort of person is this so-called ‘greatly wise’ one? Why do you doubt this?”

I have heard that when a son’s understanding surpasses his father’s, a disciple’s surpasses his teacher’s, or a minister’s surpasses his ruler’s, it is called “the worthy below surpassing those above.” It is considered improper for those below to outshine their superiors. What you say is both right and wrong. When we speak of those below surpassing those above in understanding, we mean that those below must not be allowed to use crafty and deceitful methods. If their understanding outstrips that of their superiors, they will in turn deceive them. You wish to know the consequences more fully. Consider a household that teaches cunning and deceit: if a disciple’s understanding surpasses his teacher’s, he may bring disaster upon the teacher. When people in lower positions learn crafty and deceitful ways, those below them will all become confused and deceive those above.

For this reason, the great sages of antiquity dared not casually pass on the ornate teachings of cunning and deceit. They often reflected deeply on the root, cut off the branches, and kept foolish people from learning them. Governing a state through cunning is the state’s greatest danger. Thus the ancients devoted themselves to teaching the true Way. They did not pass on empty show, false adornment, or crafty tricks. Knowing how deeply harmful these were, they kept malicious and deviant teachings at bay and worked to open a path toward good fortune and goodness, so that the people would always be cautious and would not know how to do wrong.

You wish to understand more fully why this is trustworthy. In ancient times, the Three Sovereigns treated their ministers like fathers. Their ministers each upheld the true Way and its essential virtues; none were crafty, deceitful, or given to artifice. Their understanding therefore surpassed that of their rulers, and they could serve as teachers to emperors. Their instruction was like that of a father, so they were treated with the respect due to teachers and fathers. This was the principle by which virtue could surpass that of a ruler. In this way, rulers could sit at ease, govern without exertion, and have no cause for worry. Thus it is said: one whose words prove right ten times out of ten can assist an emperor; one right nine times out of ten can aid a high minister; one right eight times out of ten can serve as a minor official. Below this level, a person is not worth consulting. If one’s words prove wrong, one is called a reckless speaker who confuses and misleads those above. Do you understand?” The disciple replied, “Yes, yes.”

The Celestial Master continued, “If you wish to understand the far-reaching consequences more fully: by the time of the Five Emperors, the Way had declined somewhat, and the virtue of rulers and ministers no longer matched…”

Those who can ask one another for guidance are companions within the same school; those who share the same aims are friends. They understand one another, and ruler and minister are united in purpose.

If they cannot seek guidance from one another and each shuts themselves off, they cannot serve as one another’s teachers. In the Xia, Shang, and Zhou dynasties, masters grew jealous of their disciples and kept the true Dao hidden. The disciples became ever more ignorant, yet pursued flowery words that dazzled and confused their rulers. Their De was too shallow for them to be honored as masters or embraced as friends; they could only be treated as juniors. Their wisdom was too limited to advise emperors on great plans for governing the state and securing its peace. Thus Heaven and Earth grew furious, and disasters followed one after another, beyond anyone’s power to stop. This is where great calamity begins. Do you understand? (The disciple replies:) Yes. I have understood.

I will explain this further. The ministers of today’s Five Hegemons possess no true De. They excel at pretense, deceit, and cunning. Most of them know deviant arts and treacherous ways, and can use them to startle and mislead others—sometimes surpassing their rulers in these skills. They then turn traitor: sons kill fathers, ministers kill rulers, and subordinates kill their superiors. All harbor unrighteous, barbarian-like intentions; everyone has a clever trick, and each conceals a treacherous heart. Without the true Dao, rebellions occur again and again. So punishments with axes, drills, and other implements are used, and ministers are treated like livestock. This is plain proof!

The sages of antiquity therefore followed Heaven’s will. They appointed men of true De and benevolence, and demoted the treacherous, false, and cunning, in keeping with the will of August Heaven. Our Dao opens every gate of good fortune and closes every door of misfortune. We would never dare let cunning people learn how to surpass their rulers. Do you understand? (The disciple replies:) Yes. I will be cautious.

In the most ancient times, many ministers became immortals and lived long lives, so they could help their rulers live long as well. In the middle antiquity, most ministers understood the Dao and De, and so their rulers were often free of worry. In later antiquity, most ministers lacked the true Dao and were ignorant, and so they often made their rulers deeply foolish. When a ruler is foolish, the state is often thrown into disorder and loses Heaven’s favor. The ministers of hegemonic rulers are all treacherous, false, cunning, and deceitful. Together they mislead their rulers, turning them away from Heaven’s proper path of governance and toward the gates of misfortune. Thus they incur Heaven’s great resentment. Do you understand? Their way of governing is therefore perilous and cannot endure.

A Perfected One, a person who has attained the Dao, asks Heaven about matters. They must grow ever more cautious and never speak carelessly.

If words meant to serve as lasting standards cannot truly be established as a “classic” (a rule that can be followed), it is better to keep silent.

To speak without getting to the point or at the right time is a grave offense, difficult to atone for.

Sometimes all one can do is nod in agreement and quietly withdraw. You should already understand these principles.

The title in essence: “The Difficult Art of Addressing a Ruler When One’s Wisdom and Virtue Surpass His”

This passage concerns how a worthy and wise person should approach a ruler: words that go too far or arguments that are too profound may be hard for the ruler to understand. One must therefore know where to draw the line: speak if one’s words can become a “classic”; if they cannot, remain silent. Speaking inappropriately brings deep guilt, so sometimes one can only agree and withdraw.

A brief explanation of terms

“Words of principle” are statements that can serve as standards and guide later generations.

“Classic” here means a principle or rule that can be put into practice over time and become a lasting norm, not simply the title of a particular scripture.

“To speak without hitting the mark” means to speak in a way that does not suit the ruler’s wishes, is ill-timed, or misses the point.

“To agree and leave” means to give a submissive assent and then depart, without continuing to remonstrate.