《無上祕要》Vol. 35

Interpretation

The Supreme Secret Essentials, Scroll Forty-Four (excerpt)

The True Three Primordial Ones: Precepts and Admonitions of the Upper Primordial

(Zhen Sanyuan Pinjie Yi · Shangyuan Pinjie)

Ritual Canons for Judging Merit and Fault in the Titles, Rank, and Standing of the High Perfected

(Ritual procedures by which the true gods of the upper realm judge merit and fault concerning titles, rank, and standing.)

Ritual Canons for Judging Merit and Fault in the Court Ceremonies and Processional Circumambulations of the High Perfected

(Ritual procedures for judging merit and fault in the court ceremonies and circumambulating bows of the assembled sages of the upper realm.)

Ritual Canons for Judging Merit and Fault in the Journeys, Feasts, and Retinues of the Great Sages of the High Perfected

(Ritual procedures for judging merit and fault in the outings, feasts, and ceremonial retinues of the great sages of the upper realm.)

The High Perfected’s General Review of the Registers of Life and Death and Their Merits and Faults

(The true gods of the upper realm collectively review and correct the registers of life and death, judging merit and fault.)

The High Perfected’s General Charge over the Records of Life, Death, and Lifespans, and Their Merits and Faults

(The true gods of the upper realm oversee the registers of life and death and records of allotted years, judging merit and fault.)

The High Perfected’s General Charge over Judging the Weight of Merits and Faults in Life and Death

(The true gods of the upper realm oversee the weighing and judgment of merits and faults in matters of life and death.)

The High Perfected’s General Charge over the Merits, Retributions, and Cycles of Ghosts and Spirits

(The true gods of the upper realm oversee the merits and retributions of ghosts and spirits, and the records of their cycles of rebirth.)

The High Perfected’s General Charge over the Hidden Punishments and Deliverance of Ghosts and Spirits

(The true gods of the upper realm oversee punishments in the underworld and the deliverance and rescue of ghosts and spirits.)

The High Perfected’s General Charge over the Ascent and Deliverance of Departed Souls and the Weighing of Their Rebirths

(The true gods of the upper realm oversee the ascent and deliverance of departed souls and judge the circumstances of their rebirth.)

The High Perfected’s General Charge over the Refinement of Departed Souls and the Pacification of Spirits

(The true gods of the upper realm oversee the refinement of departed souls and the pacification of their spirits.)

The High Perfected’s General Charge over the Years of Attainment and Ranks of Gods and Immortals

(The true gods of the upper realm oversee the years in which gods and immortals attained the Dao and their ranks, judging merit and fault.)

The High Perfected’s General Charge over the Songs and Voices of the Myriad Demons

(The true gods of the upper realm oversee the songs and voices of the myriad demons, judging merit and fault.)

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Offenses Committed by Those Who Study the Highest Dao

(Violations of precepts by those who practice the Highest Dao.)

Offense	Plain-language explanation
Offense of Disbelieving the Scriptures and Precepts and Harboring Doubt	Studying the Dao while disbelieving its scriptures and precepts, and remaining hesitant and divided in one’s convictions.
Offense of Disrespecting Sacred Writings and Passing Judgment on the Classics	Treating sacred scriptures with contempt, discussing them carelessly, or making unfounded judgments about them.
Offense of Disrespecting One’s Master and Breaking Oaths of Allegiance	Disrespecting one’s teacher and elders, and breaking sworn oaths.
Offense of Slandering One’s Master and Failing to Honor the Great Righteousness	Slandering one’s teacher and failing to revere the great righteousness of the Dao.
Offense of Stealing Scriptures and Having No Lineage of Transmission	Stealing scriptures and lacking a formal teacher or lineage.
Offense of Teaching Disciples Without Having Had a Teacher	Transmitting teachings to disciples without having received instruction and authorization from a teacher oneself.
Offense of Procuring Scriptures by Deception and Passing Them on to Disciples	Deceiving others to obtain their scriptures, then transmitting them to disciples.
Offense of Receiving Scriptures Without a Teacher’s Oath and Transmission Rite	Obtaining scriptures without a teacher transmitting them through the prescribed ritual oath and initiation.
Offense of Failing to Transmit Scriptures According to the Prescribed Dates and Procedures	After receiving scriptures, failing to transmit them at the times prescribed by their ritual rules.
Offense of Transmitting Teachings to an Unfit Recipient	After receiving scriptures, transmitting the teachings to someone unsuitable.
Offense of Entering a Teacher’s Lineage Without Accomplishing the Work of Deliverance	Entering a teacher’s lineage but failing to carry out the work of deliverance, such as rescuing departed souls.
Offense of Transmitting Teachings to Disciples Without Merit	Transmitting teachings to disciples despite having no merit or virtuous accomplishments oneself.
Offense of Transmitting Teachings Despite an Improper Preliminary Report	Transmitting teachings even though the report made to the gods on the preceding night did not conform to the ritual rules.
Offense of Transmitting Scriptures Without First Reporting to the Five Emperors	Transmitting scriptures without first observing a vegetarian fast and reporting to the Five Emperors—the heavenly emperors of the five directions—on the preceding night.
Offense of Receiving Scriptures Without Faith and Devaluing the Dao	Receiving scriptures without reverence or faith, and treating the Dao and its teachings as worthless.
Offense of Blocking the Worthy from the Path and Seeking Fame for Oneself	Obstructing worthy people from studying the Dao in order to gain a reputation for oneself.
Offense of Failing to Pay Respects to One’s Teacher on New and Full Moon Days and the Eight Seasonal Festivals	Failing to honor one’s teacher on the first and fifteenth days of the month and at the eight seasonal festivals, such as the Beginning of Spring and the Spring Equinox.
Offense of Failing to Observe Fasting and Purification	Failing to observe ritual fasting and precepts or to maintain a state of ritual purity.
Offense of Observing Fasting and Purification Carelessly	Observing ritual fasting and maintaining purity without diligence.
Offense of Omitting Passages When Reciting Scriptures	Skipping sections or leaving passages out when reciting scriptures.
Offense of Disrupting the Order and Quarreling During Processional Circumambulations	Jostling to get ahead, disrupting the order of circumambulating bows, or quarreling during them.
Offense of Becoming Angry with One’s Master	Giving way to anger and resentment toward one’s teacher.

Offense of Scholars’ and Commoners’ Sons Attacking Good People

(The offense committed by the sons of scholars and ordinary people when they attack good people.)

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Note: This section is an index of ritual canons for judging merit and fault and a list of violations under “Offenses Committed by Those Who Study the Highest Dao,” both belonging to the Precepts and Admonitions of the Upper Primordial. The entries concerning the High Perfected classify the procedures by which the true gods of the upper realm judge merit and fault in matters of life and death, ghosts and spirits, and refinement and deliverance. The offenses under “Study of the Highest Dao” concern violations of ritual rules for receiving scriptures, transmitting teachings, honoring teachers, and observing fasting and purification. The text consists of entries in a ritual precept catalogue rather than narrative scripture, so the items have been translated in list form for comparison with the original.

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Interpretation

Classic: The Secret Essentials of the Supreme

General meaning of the scripture in plain language

The following are offenses that scholars and the children of commoners may commit. They are offered as precepts for self-examination:

Offenses listed in the First Origin Precepts

• Harsh speech and a slanderous tongue: speaking maliciously and stirring up disputes.
• Criticizing one’s teacher or superior: making reckless accusations against teachers, elders, or other superiors.
• Drinking until one loses control: getting drunk, behaving improperly, and corrupting one’s character.
• Killing and secretly stealing: taking the lives of living beings and committing theft in secret.
• Greed, arrogance, and indulgence: seeking without limit and giving oneself over to arrogance and excess.
• Defiling Daoist teachings and rites: sullying or showing contempt for Daoist rituals and methods.
• Cursing spirits and ghosts: reviling divine beings and ghosts.
• Killing living beings: taking the lives of any creatures.
• Deceitful and divisive speech, and faithlessness: using smooth words and speaking differently to different people, while lacking faith in cause and effect or in sworn pledges.
• Sexual misconduct and depravity: engaging in promiscuous or debased acts.
• Stealing people’s property: taking what belongs to others.
• Envying the worthy and resenting the capable: begrudging people of virtue and pushing aside the talented.
• Betraying one’s teacher’s kindness: failing to honor one’s teacher’s benevolence.
• Deceiving one’s teacher and turning away from the Dao: misleading one’s teacher and abandoning the Great Dao.
• Revealing heavenly patterns: disclosing celestial signs, secret arts, or matters in the scriptures that should not be shared.
• Slandering scriptures and precepts: speaking ill of scriptures and disciplinary rules.
• Growing doubtful while practicing the scriptures: becoming regretful, wavering, or losing resolve while reciting and practicing.
• Being disloyal to those above: failing in one’s duty of loyalty to superiors.
• Neglecting or oppressing those below: failing to care for subordinates or treating them unjustly.
• Deceiving fellow disciples: misleading members of one’s own community.
• Deceiving the common people: misleading ordinary people.
• Speaking kindly while harboring evil intentions: professing goodness while acting with malice.
• Pointing out others’ faults: dwelling on and exposing other people’s shortcomings and wrongdoings.
• Showing contempt for the Three Lights: slighting the sun, moon, and stars.
• Profaning and neglecting spirits and ghosts: treating divine beings and ghosts with disrespect or indifference.

These sixty offenses are administered respectively by the thirteen bureaus in the palace of the Heavenly Official, the fourteen bureaus in the palace of the Earthly Official, the fourteen bureaus in the palace of the Water Official, and the Wind and Blade Tribunal, the divine office whose officials investigate and assess wrongdoing.

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Precepts of the Middle Origin

• Envying fellow disciples: begrudging members of one’s own community.
• Vanity and reckless speech: speaking emptily and without regard for the truth.
• Taking profits for oneself without satisfaction: hoarding wealth for personal gain and never knowing when to stop.
• Hoarding stipends and treasures without giving: accumulating one’s income and precious goods without offering any in charity.
• Delighting when others’ treasures become one’s own: being glad when others lose their valuables and their property falls into one’s hands.
• Wishing harm, ruin, and displacement upon others: hoping that others will suffer loss, fall into hardship, or be driven from their homes.
• Keeping knives, staves, and weapons in secret: privately storing knives, staves, and other weapons.
• Butchering the six domestic animals and killing living beings: slaughtering domestic livestock and killing creatures indiscriminately.

The remaining offenses in the Precepts of the Middle Origin follow the same format and likewise serve as precepts for scholars and the children of commoners.

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Interpretation

The following is a plain-language explanation of the passage in the Wushang Miyao concerning offenses committed by “students of the Dao and the children of common people.” “Students” refers to people who have entered the Daoist path to practice and study the scriptures and teachings; “children of common people” refers to ordinary believers or laypeople. Here, “offense” means a breach of precepts that harms one’s cultivation and virtue, and does not necessarily mean a crime under secular law.

Hunting and taking life

For students and laypeople to shoot and kill wild animals or birds with bows and arrows is an offense.

To set fires on hillsides and drive animals into a hunt is an offense.

To fish or set fish traps is an offense.

Luxury and food

To eat or drink from gold or silver vessels is an offense.

To covet status and emoluments, become absorbed in power, and govern harshly is an offense.

To throw leftover food into water after eating is an offense.

To crave rich, fatty foods and meat is an offense.

To crave the five pungent foods—such as scallions, garlic, chives, shallots, and asafoetida, which Daoism commonly forbids—is an offense.

Destroying things and writing

To burn or damage objects or works that others have completed is an offense.

To write carelessly in cursive while harboring deceitful and dishonest intentions is an offense.

Gatherings and schemes

To gather a crowd without cause is an offense.

To scheme to take another person’s wife is an offense.

To plot privately over matters of state, meddling presumptuously in government affairs, is an offense.

To scheme to take another person’s property or possessions is an offense.

To exchange inferior goods for another person’s fine goods through coercion or unfair dealing is an offense.

Associations and forbidden studies

To curry favor with or associate with the emperor, princes, or lords is an offense.

To meddle presumptuously in celestial timing and the stars, overstepping one’s place to observe the heavens and make predictions, is an offense.

Burning forests and cutting plants

To set fire to fields or forests is an offense.

To cut down trees or pick flowers and plants at will is an offense.

Friendships and worldly competition

To keep company with evil people and cultivate close ties with them is an offense.

To form worldly social ties and compete in splendor and adornment is an offense.

To eat alone among a group, contrary to the precept of sharing a meal rather than claiming food for oneself, is an offense.

To indulge in worldly entertainments, music, song, and dance is an offense.

Speech and privacy

To praise someone to their face and slander them behind their back is an offense.

To discuss the good and bad qualities of another person’s elders is an offense.

To disclose another person’s private or shameful affairs is an offense.

To attack a good person without cause is an offense.

To look without permission at another person’s letters or private correspondence is an offense.

Precepts concerning men and women

To walk alone with a woman or speak to her in an improper, suggestive manner is an offense.

For men and women to sit together or live together in one place is an offense.

For men and women to eat together or exchange and use each other’s clothing is an offense.

To instruct men and women in an improper way that does not accord with ritual norms is an offense.

To form marriage ties with worldly laypeople, contrary to the Daoist path’s commitment to pure cultivation, is an offense.

Cultivating the mind

To presume oneself superior and wear an arrogant expression is an offense.

The passage as a whole lists precepts for students of the Dao and laypeople: refrain from killing and hunting, luxury, improper speech, reckless schemes, worldly associations, gossip, improper mixing between men and women, and marriage alliances; also refrain from arrogance. The original closes each item with the word “offense.” This plain-language version uses “is an offense” to convey that meaning, without adding or omitting any items.

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Interpretation

The Supreme Mystery Essentials (Excerpt, in Modern Language)

The Offense of Repaying Resentment with Hatred

A Daoist student or a child of the common people commits this offense by taking revenge on another out of resentment.

The Offense of Abandoning One’s Household

A Daoist student or a child of the common people commits this offense by leaving their family without cause and separating from their relatives.

The Offense of Causing Miscarriage or Harm to a Pregnancy

A Daoist student or a child of the common people commits this offense by causing a miscarriage or otherwise harming a pregnancy.

The Offense of Neglecting One’s Clan and Relatives by Marriage

A Daoist student or a child of the common people commits this offense by distancing themselves from relatives of their own clan and neglecting relatives of other surnames.

The Offense of Poisoning Water and Harming Living Beings

A Daoist student or a child of the common people commits this offense by putting poison into water and harming the creatures that live there.

The Offense of Lustful Attachment to Disciples

A Daoist student or a child of the common people commits this offense by feeling an improper, lustful attachment to a disciple.

The Offense of Gathering a Following

A Daoist student or a child of the common people commits this offense by secretly assembling a group and forming a faction for private gain.

The Offense of Writing to Slander People

A Daoist student or a child of the common people commits this offense by writing letters that make false accusations against others and bring them to harm.

The Offense of Presuming to Act as One Pleases

A Daoist student or a child of the common people commits this offense by arrogantly boasting and behaving recklessly as they please.

The Offense of Arbitrarily Inventing Taboos

A Daoist student or a child of the common people commits this offense by carelessly imposing prohibitions and inventing taboos.

The Offense of Coveting Others’ Property

A Daoist student or a child of the common people commits this offense by coveting other people’s possessions.

The Offense of Criticizing Teachers and Friends

A Daoist student or a child of the common people commits this offense by discussing the faults and shortcomings of teachers, elders, and friends.

The Offense of Disrespecting Scriptures and Teachings

A Daoist student or a child of the common people commits this offense by showing contempt for scriptures and the words of the teachings.

The Offense of Mistreating the Elderly and Sick

A Daoist student or a child of the common people commits this offense by treating the elderly and sick with neglect and contempt.

The Offense of Spurning Beggars

A Daoist student or a child of the common people commits this offense by rejecting and mistreating beggars.

The Offense of Using One’s Power to Oppress Others

A Daoist student or a child of the common people commits this offense by relying on their power and influence to oppress others.

The Offense of Favoring One’s Own Circle

A Daoist student or a child of the common people commits this offense by showing favoritism to their own relatives and associates, and shielding them from blame for personal reasons.

The Offense of Separating Parents and Siblings into Different Households

A Daoist student or a child of the common people commits this offense by separating parents and siblings, making them live apart, and failing to fulfill the duties of filial piety and fraternal respect.

The twelve departments of the Left Palace and Left Office of the Celestial Official, the fourteen departments of the Left Palace and Left Office of the Earth Official, the fourteen departments of the Left Palace and Left Office of the Water Official, and the examining officers of the Solar Water Official are in charge of judging these sixty offenses. (The Celestial, Earth, and Water Officials are deities in Daoist belief who govern fortune and misfortune and keep records of merits and faults. The departments are subordinate offices responsible for investigation.)

Precepts of the Lower Origin

The Offense of Angrily Rebuking a Disciple

A Daoist student or a child of the common people commits this offense by angrily scolding a disciple.

The Offense of Angrily Rebuking Others

A Daoist student or a child of the common people commits this offense by angrily scolding others.

The Offense of Failing to Release Living Creatures and Deliver the Dead

A Daoist student or a child of the common people commits this offense by failing to perform meritorious acts such as releasing living creatures or conducting rites to deliver the dead.

The Offense of Forgetting One’s Teacher after Becoming Wealthy and Powerful

A Daoist student or a child of the common people commits this offense by forgetting their teacher’s kindness after becoming wealthy and powerful.

The Offense of Failing to Remember the Dao on the Celestial Fast Days

A Daoist student or a child of the common people commits this offense by failing to remember the Dao or practice its observances on the fast days of the various heavens.

The Offense of Becoming Angry with One’s Teacher after Heeding Others’ Words

A Daoist student or a child of the common people commits this offense by listening to what others say and becoming angry with their teacher or master.

The Offense of Publicizing and Discussing Others’ Misdeeds

A Daoist student or a child of the common people commits this offense by spreading and discussing the misdeeds of others.

The Offense of Mocking Others for Being Dull or Poor

A Daoist student or a child of the common people commits this offense by mocking others for being dull-witted or poor.

The Offense of Associating with Evildoers

A Daoist student or a child of the common people commits this offense by associating with and indulging others who do evil.

The Offense of Preventing Others from Doing Good

A Daoist student or a child of the common people commits this offense by stopping others from doing good.

The Offense of Taking Pleasure in Others’ Failings

A Daoist student or a child of the common people commits this offense by gloating over others’ mistakes.

The Offense of Fickle Conduct and Betrayal

A Daoist student or a child of the common people commits this offense by being unreliable in staying or leaving, and by repeatedly turning against those they have pledged to support.

The Offense of Visiting the Five Marchmounts and Three Rivers without a Name Slip

A Daoist student or a child of the common people commits this offense by visiting the Five Marchmounts (the five famed sacred peaks, including Mount Tai in the east) or the Three Rivers (sacred waterways such as the Yangtze, Yellow, and Huai Rivers) without carrying a name slip or registering according to the proper procedure. (A name slip is a document presented to the gods when visiting a sacred mountain or performing a dragon-offering rite.)

The Offense of Defiling the Five Marchmounts and Three Rivers

A Daoist student or a child of the common people commits this offense by polluting the Five Marchmounts, the Three Rivers, or other sacred places.

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Interpretation

The following is a plain-language explanation of the offenses that the Wushang Miyao (“Supreme Secret Essentials”) lists as things that students of the Dao and ordinary people should refrain from:

Covetousness and worldly competition

• Seizing by force or coveting something another person loves.
• Indulging in worldly customs and competing with others for fame and profit.
• Going along with social customs and attending celebrations, funerals, and other social gatherings to win people’s favor.

Deceiving the world and mistreating others

• Claiming another person’s achievements as one’s own virtue.
• Using food and drink to win people over for wrongful purposes, or holding banquets excessively.
• Frightening or distressing ordinary people when they face hardship or disaster.
• Frightening birds and beasts and driving them into places from which they cannot escape.
• Frightening the elderly and children.
• Disrespecting or bullying officials and government clerks.

Irresponsible talk and insincere generosity

• Gossiping about right and wrong in the world and stirring up disputes.
• Speaking recklessly about the nation’s fortunes or misfortunes and the auspicious or inauspicious course of current affairs.
• Giving alms and then regretting it, demanding them back, or begrudging the gift.

Self-indulgence and delighting in others’ misfortune

• Roaming about without restraint or moderation.
• Looking down on others from a high place with contempt, or hoping they will suffer misfortune.
• Capturing birds and beasts in cages.
• Feeling secretly pleased when others suffer bereavement or calamity.
• Blocking roads with thorn branches and making it difficult for others to pass.

Disrespect toward Heaven, Earth, spirits, and the Three Lights

• Failing to bow in reverence to spirits.
• Exposing oneself naked beneath the sun, moon, and stars—the Three Lights.
• Cursing the wind and rain.

Borrowing and seeking fame through deceit

• Borrowing things and failing to return them.
• Deceiving people to gain honor and praise.

Disrespect toward the Three Treasures and violations of moral bonds

• Arrogantly disregarding the Three Treasures—the Dao, the scriptures, and the teacher—and showing disrespect to the Celestial Worthies.
• Plotting to harm the ruler, elders, teacher, or parents.
• Watching others fail to honor their parents or live in harmony with their siblings without trying to correct them, or taking pleasure in their conduct.

Impersonating a perfected person and following heterodox teachings

• Putting on a false appearance, adopting an unusual title, and falsely claiming to be a “Perfected Person.”
• Following heterodox, miscellaneous arts and erroneous views.

Scriptural precepts and the teacher’s lineage

• Claiming to study the Dao without transmission from a teacher of the scriptures, thereby deceiving spirits and people.
• Having more clothing than one needs while failing to give any to the poor.
• Secretly copying another person’s scriptures and precepts, then treating them with disrespect.
• Wearing splendid clothes and pursuing outward adornment.
• Ascending the seat to expound the teachings or receive reverence while physically unclean.
• Defiling and neglecting the teacher’s lineage, and failing to show respect to one’s teacher.

In the original, each of these offenses is introduced with the phrase “the offense of a student of the Dao or an ordinary person,” meaning that both practitioners and common people are at fault if they commit them, and should refrain from doing so.

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Interpretation

Plain-language interpretation of the relevant passages in the Wushang Miyao

The following are “offense articles” concerning violations of the teacher’s community and rules of purification by “scholars and commoners’ children”—that is, scholars and lay disciples who have received the Dao from a teacher and practice within the Daoist tradition—along with the explanation at the end of the volume.

Offenses concerning service to one’s teacher

Failing to hold a purification rite and pray for forgiveness when one’s teacher is grieving: When the teacher suffers a bereavement or other distress, the disciple does not observe purification or pray for forgiveness and blessings.

Abandoning one’s teacher to pursue worldly prestige: Leaving one’s teacher to chase wealth, status, and power in the world.

Following one’s teacher when he is wealthy and powerful in hopes of gaining favor: When the teacher is affluent and prominent, the disciple attaches himself to him with the intention of advancing his own interests.

Failing to attend to one’s teacher during illness or hardship: When the teacher falls ill or encounters misfortune, the disciple neither serves him nor visits him.

Seeking ease and pleasure after escaping danger: Once personally clear of urgent trouble, one thinks only of comfort and pleasure, neglecting the teacher’s community and fellow practitioners.

Offenses concerning the Daoist residence and purification rites

Failing to secure or open the Daoist residence properly: When entering or leaving the “Daoist residence”—a fixed place where Daoist priests practice and perform rites, comparable to a private room or ritual precinct—one fails to lock or open it according to the rules.

Carelessly bringing outsiders into the Daoist residence to talk: Taking outsiders into the residence for casual conversation, thereby profaning a restricted place.

Failing to dedicate the merit of a purification rite to the Three Officials: During a Zhaijiao (purification ritual), failing to dedicate its merit to the Three Officials—the Heavenly Official, Earthly Official, and Water Official, divine officials who oversee merit and wrongdoing and keep records.

Offenses concerning the mind and other people

Worrying only about one’s own household and giving no thought to others in hardship: Concerned only for one’s own family, one fails to care about other people’s poverty and distress.

Blaming the Dao and one’s teacher when illness or death comes to the family: When bereavement or illness occurs at home, one resents the Dao and holds the teacher responsible.

Offenses concerning the transmission of scriptures and methods

Claiming to have gained something independently after receiving scriptures and the Dao from one’s teacher: Having received scriptures and methods from a teacher, one tells others that these were realized independently or belonged to oneself, failing to acknowledge the teacher’s kindness.

Transmitting the teacher’s Daoist methods without reporting back and dedicating merit: Passing on methods received from one’s teacher without “sending back” an account and dedicating merit and sincere intent to the teacher.

Failing to ask one’s teacher to pronounce the names of the Five Emperors during the Eight Seasonal Nodes: The “Eight Seasonal Nodes” are important dates in the year for purification rites. Failing to ask one’s teacher on these occasions to recite the names of the Five Emperors and conduct the related liturgy shows disrespect toward both the teacher and the seasonal observances.

Institutional explanation at the end of the volume

These offenses belong to a group known as the “sixty articles above.” Their examination and adjudication are overseen by the twelve departments of the Right Office of the Right Palace of the Heavenly Official, the fourteen departments of the Right Office of the Right Palace of the Earthly Official, the fourteen departments of the Right Office of the Right Palace of the Water Official, and the examining clerks of the Great Yin Water Official.

The entire work is the “Three Sections of Admonitions,” consisting of sixty articles. Together with the other two sections, it forms a total of 180 admonitions. Their examination is carried out by officials of Yin-Yang, left and right, water and fire, wind and blade, and other divine officials assigned to assess merit and wrongdoing.

Note: These articles focus on regulating disciples’ conduct toward their teachers, Daoist residences, purification rites, and the transmission of teachings. The Three Officials, Five Emperors, and Eight Seasonal Nodes are familiar concepts in Daoist purification rites and calendrical practice. The specific divine names and liturgies depend on the ritual manuals preserved in the Daoist Canon of the period.

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