《太上感應篇》Vol. 26

This scripture passage discusses the proper attitude toward one's spouse and children, as well as the karmic consequences of mistreating family members.

The Book of Rites states that in families marrying off daughters, lamps remain lit for three days to express the sorrow of separation, while in families welcoming brides, music is suspended for three months to contemplate the continuation of family lineage. This shows the great expectations parents place on both sons-in-law and daughters-in-law. Yet today some men neglect their wives after marriage, leaving them lonely in empty chambers, trapped between impossible choices. Such heartless individuals are destined for misfortune, as Heaven will not tolerate such behavior.

Two cautionary examples are given: Yang Datong encountered a woman holding a child in his official residence. After engaging in an illicit affair, he gradually wasted away. The woman later revealed she was Yang's wife from a previous life, who had drowned herself in a well after he abandoned her during his merchant travels. Heaven's punishment decreed that though he might attain official rank, he would meet no peaceful end—a prophecy that later came true.

Another case tells of Shi Tang who, after passing the imperial examinations, despised his first wife and refused to share her chamber for years. When she died of melancholy, he wouldn't even see her one last time. After her death, he even employed dark arts to suppress her spirit. In a dream visitation, the wife told her father: though she suffered misfortune, Shi Tang's lifespan and blessings were consequently diminished—he died the following year.

The scripture warns: Never disrespect family or mistreat spouse and children. Even the smallest talent—compared here to "gnats in the air" as something minute yet precious—is Heaven's gift. Those who mistreat their closest kin will ultimately forfeit all blessings, regardless of their great abilities.

This scripture uses two cautionary tales to warn people about the importance of filial piety toward parents-in-law, lest they incur heavenly punishment.

The first story recounts how Yu, wife of Zhi Zuyi, dreamed of a deity revealing her past life as Mou Rong's wife. Though her mother-in-law brought meals daily while she was ill, Yu found this bothersome—she would spit out the food and curse the elderly woman. On her deathbed, she even pointed skyward shouting, "How unjust that my mother-in-law lives to seventy while I must die at thirty-nine!" For this blasphemy, the Jade Emperor ordered thunder gods to strike her dead. Only her present-life filial devotion spared her retribution. Waking in tears, Yu repented deeply and ultimately received divine forgiveness.

The second tale concerns Lady Zhang during the Shaoxing era, who similarly dreamed of deities condemning her past-life unfilial behavior with a warning of impending lightning strike. Donning mourning clothes, she awaited death beneath a mulberry tree—her only concern being how the thunder might frighten her aged mother-in-law. Then a voice from heaven declared: "For this filial concern, the Jade Emperor grants you pardon." Thereafter, she redoubled her virtuous deeds and spread this story widely.

The scripture concludes by emphasizing that exemplary women like Gan Xuanfu—who never complained despite harsh-tempered in-laws—ultimately received celestial elixirs from immortals. This illustrates how filial piety forms the foundation of spiritual cultivation, attracting divine favor. Conversely, the unfilial inevitably face heavenly retribution—an immutable cosmic law governing all under heaven.

This passage recounts several stories about filial piety and karmic retribution.

There was a man named Wei Meng whose wife, Madam Xu, served her parents-in-law with utmost devotion. Their intelligent daughter suddenly died but later revived, claiming to have met the Director of Destinies (a netherworld official overseeing fate) in the afterlife. The deity revealed: "Nine generations of your ancestors performed meritorious deeds for the state. Recently they were promoted to 'Netherworld Officials' and will soon ascend as terrestrial immortals. Your great-grandfather, grandfather and father have already ascended to heaven. Your mother, due to her devotion to the Dao and filial service to her in-laws, will also join the immortal ranks. You are destined to dwell in the Crimson Mound Immortal Palace—return now to purify yourself through bathing and fasting, for the Great Unity Emissary (a Daoist immortal) will soon guide you." The next day, Madam Xu and her daughter indeed ascended together. This illustrates how those who disregard ritual propriety cannot escape misfortune.

Several cautionary tales follow: When Xianyu of Meizhou accidentally killed bat pups while preparing medicine, the next morning he found several blind baby bats wailing around the powder, making the whole family weep in remorse. A Chenzhou hunter who shot a mother ape watched as her infant seized the skin and starved to death clinging to it. If even animals demonstrate such profound affection, how much more should humans?

"Disrespecting ancestral spirits" includes negligent sacrifices, delayed burials, and infrequent tomb-sweeping. Gao Bangzuo was taken to the netherworld on his father's fourteenth-day memorial, where the deceased reproached him for unclean Buddhist monks and kitchen staff during rituals—only the sutras chanted by Monk Zongshun that night, particularly the Great Luminous Divine Incantation Scripture and Nine Heavens Life-Giving Chapters, brought significant merit to the departed.

Lastly, Wang Jingfen's clever son suddenly pleaded before death: "Don't bury me yet—when I grow up I'll conduct proper funeral rites..." hinting that children's premature deaths may relate to parental neglect of burial customs. These stories collectively emphasize: Ancestors and funerary rites demand sincere reverence. When even beasts understand gratitude, humans must all the more carefully honor the departed and uphold tradition.

Weng Po Jingfen was deeply alarmed and began making plans to bury her parents. But can burial be put off? After Kong Jiongding’s mother died, he did not hurry to bury her. Later, when he had risen to the post of Assistant Director of the Palace Secretariat, he returned home to perform the ritual of burning yellow paper for his ancestors. His mother suddenly appeared before him and reproached him: “You abandoned me and went away. Grave robbers dug open my tomb and even broke my arm. At festivals, when you make offerings, you leave your two daughters in other people’s care. Is this how a son should behave?” The officials of the underworld had intended to punish him as a warning to others, but because he had been conscientious in office, they let him go for the time being. From then on, he made sure to tend the grave diligently and hold a memorial offering once a year, to appease the mountain spirit and let me rest in peace. So, can tomb tending be neglected? Besides, treating it lightly is even worse than the three failings described earlier.

The eulogy says: The Son of Heaven has seven ancestral temples, and officials and common people make offerings to their ancestors according to different ranks of ritual. Yet the reverence in their hearts is the same. They stand before the temple steps in court robes, fearful of making a noise. They carve wooden images and serve them as though they were honoring Heaven. Do not say that the ancestors have passed away: their spirits are right before you.

Disobeying One’s Superiors

The text says: “Superiors” means the ruler and one’s father. To fall even slightly short in diligence and respect is disobedience. Have you not heard what the Scripture for Deliverance from the Ninefold Abyss and the Scripture on Transforming the Hells say?

The Scripture of the Ninefold Abyss says: In the past, there were sinners in the Prison of Universal Plunder who were driven up a mountain of knives. One person walked on the blades and edges without feeling any pain. The Northern Emperor was puzzled, and the Celestial Worthy said: “In life, this person received the wondrous Nine True Precepts and the true talisman for saving those in distress, so I protect him with divine power. The first is to respect, yield to, and care for one’s parents; the second, to serve the ruler loyally and diligently; the third, not to kill, but to act compassionately and save living beings; the fourth, not to engage in sexual misconduct, but to conduct oneself with integrity among others; the fifth, not to steal, but to uphold righteousness even at one’s own expense; the sixth, not to give way to anger or bully others; the seventh, not to deceive, flatter, or harm the good; the eighth, not to be arrogant or disregard the true Dao; the ninth, to keep the precepts faithfully and with undivided commitment.” This is the Daoist teaching.

The Scripture of the Hells says: The suffering sinners in the hells clasped their hands in sorrow and said to the Buddha: “What good deeds must we perform to be freed from this suffering?” The Buddha replied: “You should diligently care for and provide for your parents, respectfully serve your teachers and elders, and take refuge in and honor the Three Treasures (the Dao, the scriptures, and the teachers). Diligently practice giving, upholding the precepts, patience, effort, meditation, wisdom, compassion, joy, and equanimity. Regard enemies and loved ones equally, without making distinctions. Do not deceive orphans or the elderly, do not look down on the lowly, protect others as you would yourself, and do not entertain evil thoughts. Practice in this way, and you will attain liberation.”

This scripture first mentions the Buddhist concept of karmic retribution: performing good deeds can repay the Buddha's grace and eternally deliver people from the sufferings of hell (the Three Wretched Realms). However, it immediately emphasizes that in Daoism, the decrees of Heaven are even more inviolable.

It then enumerates the benevolent deeds of several historical officials: Su Shi (Su Wenzhong) dredged waterways and constructed embankments (Su Causeway) during his tenure in Hangzhou, benefiting the people; Shao Ye dug typhoon shelters in Guangzhou to protect merchant ships from storms; Yu Zhongkuan abolished the cruel practice of "washing infants" (drowning babies) in Shunchang, Fujian, saving thousands of newborns; Zhang Zhongding implemented grain relief systems in Chengdu to safeguard people's livelihoods during famines; Chen Yaozuo promoted medicine and dispelled superstitions in Lingnan; Wang Di reformed funeral customs in Chengdu.

These examples illustrate that all worldly matters are illusory, while only the karmic blessings accumulated through virtuous deeds are truly enduring. The wise refrain from meaningless actions, instead emulating these exemplary figures by accumulating merit through concrete acts benefiting the people. The text particularly stresses that evil deeds defying Heaven's mandate (such as opposing fate or infanticide) will incur severe punishment in both the yang world of the living and the yin realm of spirits.

This scripture recounts two karmic retribution tales that emphasize the importance of maintaining moral integrity and personal purity.

The text begins by stating that humans, alongside heaven and earth, form the Three Powers (tian, di, ren) and should assist in the nurturing of all things. If one loses the great virtue (De) of moral conduct, even other merits become meaningless. For women in particular, while virtues like wifely virtue, speech, diligence, and appearance are commendable, the most crucial is chastity. Once improper thoughts arise, one gradually loses propriety, righteousness, modesty, and shame, ultimately inviting calamity. Thus, a noble person must practice vigilance in solitude (shen du), and Heaven judges people accordingly.

Two physicians' stories follow:

The first concerns Nie Congzhi of Yizhou (modern-day Gansu). When Li, the wife of a local official, attempted to seduce him, he sternly refused. The underworld authorities recorded this act, and Heaven rewarded Nie with twelve additional years of life, along with generations of descendants succeeding in imperial examinations. Meanwhile, Li was punished in the underworld with horrific tortures—having her belly sliced open and her intestines scalded with boiling water.

The second story involves the renowned physician He Cheng. During the Zhenghe era (Emperor Huizong of Song), while treating Sun Si, Sun’s wife, Yu, offered herself in exchange for medicine due to poverty. He Cheng solemnly refused, saying, "Madam, you must not do this!" Later, he dreamed of being led to an underworld court, where he was told that due to his medical skill and moral restraint, he would be granted an official post. The following year, he indeed received an appointment.

Both tales illustrate that no act in secret escapes divine scrutiny. Upholding virtue brings blessings, while wicked thoughts invite retribution.

A Plain Language Interpretation of The Taishang Ganying Pian (Treatise on the Response of Heaven and Earth)

Chengzheng said: “Why would you say such a thing, madam? Please set your mind at ease and do not worry. I will treat your husband’s illness. But using your body to defile yourself is absolutely out of the question. That would make me forever a petty man, and you would no longer be a virtuous wife. Even if we escaped the blame of other people, how could we escape Heaven’s condemnation?” Madam Yu was deeply disheartened and had no choice but to leave.

One day, Cheng dozed off and, in a daze, saw a spirit lead him to a government office. The judge said, “Your skill in treating illness and prescribing medicine has earned merit, and you did not take advantage of a woman in her time of crisis. By the command of the Lord on High, you are granted an official post and fifty thousand strings of official silver.” Before long, the Crown Prince fell ill. An edict called for physicians from among the common people, and Cheng answered the summons. With a single dose, the Crown Prince recovered. Cheng was granted an official post and money in the same amounts he had seen in his dream. From then on, he became wealthy and his medical practice flourished. People in the capital called him “Physician He of the Medical Office.” Alas! The two women were willing to admire them so greatly, and the two men refused them so firmly. Such conduct is beyond what most people can manage; that is why the Lord on High chose to reward them. How, then, could those two women stand between Heaven and Earth?

Eulogy

The loyal minister and the upright woman have but one purpose in their hearts. In Zhuge’s family, those who served Wu, Shu, and Wei each upheld their own honor and integrity; they neither enticed nor recruited one another. Better to remain unmarried and suffer punishment than to stain one’s hands and lose an arm. Every word speaks of a woman’s resolve; this account stands second only to tales of loyalty and righteousness.

“Cursing Oneself and Cursing Others”

The text says that cursing and invoking calamity are mentioned four times in this treatise. In general, people value life and death, and they value deliverance. If, while alive, they curse and call down calamity, they may be brought swiftly to death. After death, if they remain attached and in conflict, they may be confined and held back, with no way to depart. Often, the curse comes true at once, before the person even dies.

Long ago, there was a man named Yandian. His wife had been secretly involved with another man, and had also stolen a towel from a neighbor. When the neighbor cursed and scolded him, Yandian cursed himself and the neighbor, saying, “If my wife really has been unfaithful and has stolen your towel, may I be struck by thunder. If not, may the same happen to you.” That evening, thunder roared violently, and both were killed by the thunderbolt. Beneath Yandian’s ribs appeared the words, “A fool stakes his life to prove his wife’s chastity.” Beneath his wife’s ribs appeared the words, “She committed adultery and theft; let everyone know.”

In the year Ji Mao, during the Shaoxing era, Guo Yinfeng was summoned into the underworld. He saw a woman whose mouth or body had been stuffed by a ghostly officer with an iron ball as large as a steamed cake.

This scripture recounts two karmic retribution stories about verbal transgressions and partiality.

The first part depicts a man being punished in the underworld. During his lifetime, he habitually cursed others, and after death, underworld attendants torment him by repeatedly pouring molten bronze into his mouth. The author reflects: Cursing others may seem a minor offense, yet it actually involves cosmic principles of heaven and earth—being the easiest sin to commit yet the hardest to remedy. This truly should be avoided.

The second part presents two cautionary tales about stepmothers mistreating children from previous marriages. In the first story, the deceased first wife of Jian'an resident Zhang Xing manifests to warn his new wife, who repents out of fear. In the second account, when Zhang Xing's subsequent wife Li mistreats his five children from ex-wife Kong, the deceased mother emerges from her grave to comfort them and leaves a warning poem. Quoting Cheng Yi (Cheng Zhengshu), the author emphasizes: A woman's most important virtue is maintaining moral integrity—once lost, nothing else merits praise. These stories collectively warn how partiality invites retribution.

The text mentions "Yinfu" (the underworld bureaucracy) and "Jian'an" (an ancient place in modern Fujian). These narratives embody the Daoist core tenet of "retribution for good and evil," using concrete examples to exhort people to abandon wickedness and cultivate proper conduct.

This passage recounts a cautionary tale about family ethics. A stepmother treated her husband's five children from his previous marriage with extreme cruelty, prompting the children to compose a sorrowful poem for their father. The father reported the situation to the local magistrate (Lianshuai), and eventually the imperial court exiled this cruel stepmother to Lingnan.

The text pointedly asks: Should a stepmother ever treat her stepchildren this way? Is favoritism and partiality truly acceptable?

The author reflects: When we dislike someone, we must still recognize their merits; when we love someone, we must acknowledge their flaws. Viewing matters too one-sidedly leads to distorted judgments. Just as Emperor Dezong remained oblivious while favoring the treacherous minister Lu Qi of the Tang dynasty, or how virtuous officials like Li Ying (styled Yuanli) and Fan Pang (styled Mengbo) suffered unjust persecution during the Donglin Partisan Prohibitions of the Eastern Han.

The Supreme Venerable Sovereign (Taishang, referring to the highest Daoist deity) admonishes us: Deal with others fairly and impartially, never acting from personal bias. The entire passage emphasizes maintaining balance and integrity in human affairs, avoiding extremes of partiality—only thus can calamities be averted and virtuous merit accumulated.