《警世功過格》

This passage from the Admonitory Treatise on Merit and Demerit contains essential cultivation teachings revealed by the Sovereign of Fu You (one of the Daoist Eight Immortals, Lü Dongbin), focusing on refining the heart-mind and nurturing one's nature:

The human heart-mind resembles the sun in heaven—its purity or corruption determines whether one becomes a true human or a ghostly being. The heart is the source of all virtuous deeds. Confucianism speaks of "rectifying the heart-mind," Daoism emphasizes "preserving the heart-mind," and Buddhism teaches "illuminating the heart-mind"—yet these Three Teachings share the same fundamental truth. Mencius taught that the key to cultivation lies in recovering one's original heart-mind that has gone astray.

The concrete method for refining the heart-mind involves three essential points:

1. Eliminating illusory thoughts (to stabilize the heart)

2. Eradicating wicked intentions (to clarify the heart)

3. Focusing on ethical human relationships (to rectify the heart)

Achieving these leads to the realm of sages, worthies, and enlightened beings. Choosing the virtuous path begins with human relations—maintaining inner purity, avoiding agitation, and cultivating constant joy. One should regularly:

• Silently contemplate the teachings of sages
• Remember parental and mentor guidance
• Feel inspired upon witnessing good deeds and words
• Become self-vigilant when encountering evil actions and speech
• Remain unmoved by seductive beauty and lewd talk
• Moderate joy and anger
• Reflect on others' virtues to dissolve resentment
• Forbear revenge when wronged
• Resist vengeful thoughts when schemed against
• Honor commitments
• Frequently consider repaying kindness
• Maintain detachment amid wealth and honor
• Avoid bitterness in poverty and low status
• Empathize with others' misfortunes
• Rejoice sincerely in others' successes
• Admire others' talents and learning
• Feel compassion seeing hunger and cold

These represent the practical work of heart-mind cultivation, emphasizing constant awareness in daily life and nurturing virtue in every circumstance.

This scripture expounds on the virtuous mindsets practitioners should cultivate and the harmful thoughts they must eliminate. It is divided into two main sections:

Virtues to cultivate:

• Show empathy when seeing others' hardships, refrain from mocking their mistakes
• Harbor no greed upon encountering valuables, nurture no envy toward the prosperous
• Neither fawn over the powerful nor belittle the destitute
• Never compromise integrity due to poverty nor resort to deceit in urgency
• Respect those of high virtue, bear no resentment toward the dull or impolite
• Remain patient with baseless talk, unshaken by threatening words
• Remember to repay others' merits, show understanding for their faults
• Trust virtuous deeds without doubt, withhold judgment of alleged misdeeds
• Claim responsibility for errors, attribute good deeds to others
• Endure injustice without anger, face slander without contention
• Engage in constant self-reflection, act with cautious discernment

Harmful thoughts to eliminate:

• Irreverence in ancestral worship, insincerity in serving parents
• Pretending compliance with teachers' guidance while doubting parental fairness
• Nursing grudges against relatives from selfish desires, coveting material wealth
• Forgetting virtuous inspirations quickly, growing lax in good intentions
• Doubting reports of others' kindness while readily believing their faults
• Disrespecting the upright, behaving arrogantly toward elders
• Constantly competing with others in anger, fostering jealousy from self-concern
• Becoming conceited with incomplete learning, excusing one's own mistakes
• Complaining in adversity, growing prideful in prosperity
• Hesitating when seeking advantage while boasting of pretended admiration
• Nursing grudges over denied loans, resenting creditors when indebted
• Feigning arrogance despite inferior ability, criticizing without true insight
• Persisting in known errors, flattering openly while gossiping secretly
• Recurring lust, greed, malice, envy, and sycophancy
• Cyclical anger, impatience, arrogance, resentment, and cunning
• Blaming others for poor planning

The scripture reveals that sustained cultivation of virtue and elimination of harmful thoughts can transform one's Qi (vital energy), purifying the heart like crystalline snow, filling every thought with loyalty and sincerity. This practice enables higher attainment of Dao (the Way) and immortality, while securing blessings for one's family. Conversely, failure leads to endless cycles of destructive thoughts.

This scripture explains how human thoughts and actions of good and evil bring corresponding blessings or retributions. When a person blames others for their misfortunes, envies well-behaved children in other households, harbors lustful thoughts upon hearing women's voices, constantly schemes to deceive others, nurtures harmful intentions, prides themselves on cleverness yet invites universal dislike, and frequently wallows in frustration and irritability—though these evil thoughts may not yet manifest in words or deeds, they already anger the gods and spirits. Not only will the individual face retribution, but their descendants will also suffer the consequences.

Good and evil are as distinct as white silk dyed black, with retribution following like a shadow. If one can reform and turn toward goodness, misfortune transforms into blessing; if one persists in delusion, calamity will inevitably follow. In truth, both good and evil originate in the mind. By rectifying one’s thoughts, every action becomes virtuous; by maintaining an upright heart, all affairs are conducted with integrity. The essence of the sages’ countless teachings lies precisely in this. The Ling Shu Jing (Numinous Pivot Scripture) states: "Those who grasp the essence can explain it in a single phrase, while those who do not will remain lost." This essence is simple: whether walking, standing, sitting, or lying down, one must preserve the purity of the mind. When thoughts remain untainted, no impurities arise, and every impulse is naturally good. In this way, heaven, earth, and the spirits will protect you, and misfortune or evil influences cannot draw near.

Attached are specific guidelines for the "Ledger of Merit and Demerit," divided into two main categories: the Merit Ledger (recording good deeds) and the Demerit Ledger (recording misdeeds). Each is further subdivided into three aspects: "intention" (thoughts), "speech" (words), and "conduct" (actions). These include:

• Merit Ledger: 56 entries on good intentions, 39 on virtuous speech, and 72 on righteous conduct.
• Demerit Ledger: 59 entries on evil intentions, 57 on harmful speech, and 121 on wrongful conduct.

A special note: For those who repent and reform, merit can offset tenfold the original demerit. Practitioners are advised to keep the ledger on their desk and maintain a separate notebook to record daily thoughts, words, and deeds, settling accounts each month. Initially, demerits may outweigh merits, but with persistence, they will balance and eventually reach a state where every thought is virtuous. At that point, the ledger becomes unnecessary—roots of goodness run deep, and blessings naturally become immeasurable.

(Note: The "Ledger of Merit and Demerit" is a Daoist practice for self-cultivation, using daily records of good and evil to encourage virtue and accumulate merit.)

The Admonitory Record of Merit and Fault scripture outlines practical methods for cultivating mind and nature in daily life, using a "merit-fault" system to track virtuous and harmful behaviors. It primarily teaches how to accumulate merit through rectifying one's thoughts:

Maintaining inner purity throughout the day without distracting thoughts counts as 10 merits. Cherishing constant reverence and affection for family members counts as 10 merits. Holding benevolent intentions toward others counts as 10 merits. Avoiding anger and maintaining joy counts as 10 merits. Frequently contemplating and earnestly applying the teachings of sages counts as 10 merits.

Particular emphasis is placed on purity of thought: When initiating any thought or intention, remembering that heaven, earth, and spirits are observing counts as 10 merits per instance. Hearing lewd words without stirring the mind counts as 5 merits; seeing beautiful women without stirring desire counts as 50 merits. In interactions with others, emulate the virtuous: When witnessing good deeds or kind words from others and feeling inspired to follow their example counts as 1 merit; when seeing bad behavior or harmful speech and using it as self-admonishment also counts as 1 merit.

In handling relationships: Remembering others' kindness and intending to repay it counts as 3 merits. Taking others' entrusted matters seriously and not failing them counts as 10 merits. Restraining anger counts as 10 merits; moderating joy counts as 3 merits. Maintaining detachment amidst worldly splendor counts as 5 merits; enduring poverty without complaint earns 1 merit daily.

Special emphasis is placed on forbearance: When treated rudely, not harboring thoughts of revenge counts as 10 merits per incident (doubled for serious offenses). When schemed against, not entertaining thoughts of contention also counts as 10 merits. For those you resent, reflecting on their good qualities to dissolve hostility counts as 10 merits. When feeling unsettled, examining your own faults to restore peace counts as 10 merits.

Maintain proper attitudes toward others' circumstances: Feeling sympathy for others' misfortunes counts as 1 merit; rejoicing sincerely in others' successes counts as 3 merits. Admiring others' talents counts as 1 merit. Feeling compassion for those suffering hunger or cold counts as 1 merit (practical assistance may be recorded as additional merits based on contribution). Appreciating others' diligence counts as 5 merits. Refraining from mocking others' mistakes counts as 1 merit (offering sincere correction counts as 10 merits). Not coveting valuable objects counts as 1 merit; not envying others' wealth and status counts as 10 merits.

Finally, the text emphasizes steadfastness: Not flattering the powerful counts as 30 merits. Not looking down on the unfortunate counts as 50 merits. Maintaining integrity in poverty earns 10 merits daily. Avoiding deceit in emergencies counts as 30 merits.

(Note: The Daoist "merit-fault record" [Gongguoge] is a cultivation method documenting good and bad deeds, where "merit" [gong] refers to accumulated virtue from good actions, and "fault" [guo] denotes transgressions.)

The Admonitory Ledger of Merit and Demerit outlines concrete methods for accumulating merit in daily life, divided into two main sections: interpersonal conduct and virtuous guidance.

[Interpersonal Conduct]

1. Respect virtuous elders (3-5 merit points); refrain from anger toward foolish or impolite individuals (3 points); show no disdain toward those who overeat (1 point).

2. Listen patiently to absurd remarks (1 point); remember others' kindness with intent to repay (5 points); empathize with others' difficulties when they err (10 points).

3. Believe good deeds without suspicion (1 point); withhold judgment when hearing of misdeeds (5 points); remain calm when wronged without cause (10-50 points).

4. Refrain from defending against slander (10-50 points); voluntarily take responsibility for mistakes (10-100 points); credit others for achievements (10-100 points).

5. Maintain reverence and caution daily (10 points/day); leave room for flexibility in actions (5 points); engage in frequent self-reflection (5 points).

6. Accept unwelcome but honest advice (5-50 points); grow more vigilant when praised (5 points); respond with humility to flattery (5 points).

7. Remain indifferent to worldly fickleness (1 point); maintain a gentle demeanor throughout the day (1 point); restrain temper with servants (1 point).

[Virtuous Guidance]

1. Dissuade harmful acts (10-1000 points); successfully guide others toward goodness: ordinary people (30 points), scholars (100 points), officials (500 points).

2. Encourage family thrift and diligence (100 points); reform wayward youths (100 points); prevent gambling or prostitution (50 points each).

3. Stop abortions (200 points); prevent female infanticide (500 points); advocate filial piety: ignored (10 points), heeded (100 points), reformed (1000 points).

4. Mediate family conflicts (100 points/case); persuade hunters or butchers to change occupations: ignored (1 point), considered (10 points), fully reformed (100 points); personally changing one's own profession (1000 points).

5. Redress injustices for others (50-200 points); publicize others' good deeds (1-5 points).

(Note: The Ledger of Merit and Demerit [Gongguoge] is a Daoist cultivation tool for recording good and evil deeds, quantifying behavioral value through points to aid practitioners in self-examination.)

"Admonitions for Worldly Conduct: A Modern Interpretation"

[Encouraging Virtue]

• Concealing another’s faults (depending on severity): 10–50 merits
• Mediating disputes: Persuading someone to withdraw a lawsuit: 10–50 merits; resolving a quarrel: 5 merits; calming anger: 3 merits (if involving family ethics or kinship bonds, merits are doubled)
• Guiding the hot-tempered: Attempting persuasion (even if unsuccessful): 1 merit; if they listen: 10 merits; if they reform completely: 50 merits
• Spreading teachings of sincerity and rectitude: Each explanation: 10 merits; if it leads someone to repent and turn toward the Dao (the Way): 100 merits
• Fostering family harmony: 50 merits
• Expressing noble words: 5 merits
• Recommending virtuous individuals: 50–100 merits

[Everyday Good Deeds]

• Dissuading wrongdoing: 5–50 merits
• Instructing household members or servants: Daily kind words: 1 merit
• Secretly aiding others: Providing unnoticed assistance: 5–50 merits
• Honesty in interactions: Answering truthfully: 1–5 merits
• Patiently giving directions or lodging advice: 1 merit
• A full day without false speech: 5 merits
• Maintaining measured silence: 3 merits
• Stopping gossip about others’ private affairs: 30 merits
• Deterring slander of sages: 10 merits
• Preventing the spread of others’ faults: 3 merits

[Merits of Moral Instruction]

• Sharing karmic retribution stories: Each instance: 1 merit
• Composing maxims to encourage virtue: Each line: 1 merit
• Teaching methods for household management and self-preservation: Each lesson: 1 merit
• Comforting the frightened or anxious: 1 merit

[Major Acts of Virtue]

• Establishing public welfare systems (e.g., fair-price granaries, orphanages, elder care): Each person helped: 1 merit
• Saving an innocent life: 500 merits
• Preserving a woman’s chastity (including resisting temptation or aiding her in keeping virtue): 500 merits (if involving maidens, widows, or nuns, merits are doubled)
• Helping continue a family line (e.g., assisting an elder in marriage and offspring): 500 merits
• Returning lost valuables without claim: 50–500 merits
• Publishing and disseminating supreme moral texts: 100–500 merits
• Donating to print virtuous texts: Each volume funded: 1 merit
• Sparing someone from exile or grave punishment: 300 merits

(Note: This "Ledger of Merit and Demerit" (功过格) is a Daoist cultivation tool for tracking good and bad deeds, quantifying daily conduct to refine one’s practice.)

The Vernacular Interpretation of The Ledger of Merit and Demerit for Awakening the World:

(This Daoist cultivation manual records merits and demerits through detailed point systems for various actions)

Preserving family integrity brings great merit:

• Preventing wife-selling: 300 merits
• Preventing child-selling: 200 merits

Purifying social customs:

• Banning obscene books/paintings/aphrodisiacs: 200 merits
• Repenting after creating obscene content: 1,000 merits

Assisting human development:

• Helping others complete education/cultivate virtue/revive family fortunes: 200 merits
• Arranging marriages for orphans: 200 merits

Continuing family lineages:

• Securing heirs for childless families: 100 merits
• Secretly supporting relatives' cherished ones: 100 merits

Judicial righteousness:

• Exonerating the wrongly convicted or reducing sentences: 100 merits

Social welfare:

• Honoring models of loyalty/filial piety/chastity/righteousness: 100 merits
• Advocating bridge/dangerous road construction: 100 merits
• Helping homeless return home: 100 merits
• Selling grain at fair prices (1 merit per 100 coins)

Initiating good deeds:

• Leading public projects (rest pavilions/ferry boats/charity porridge/paper recycling/animal liberation etc.): 10-100 merits

Protecting the vulnerable:

• Rescuing bullied widows/elderly: 50 merits
• Burying unclaimed remains: 50 merits
• Reducing debts for the poor: 10-50 merits
• Facilitating others' good deeds: 10-50 merits
• Arranging dignified marriages for adult maidservants: 50 merits

Medical assistance:

• Saving someone from punishment: 30 merits
• Nursing the sick to recovery: 30 merits
• Curing severe illness through medical skill: 20 merits

Funerary kindness:

• Publicizing others' good deeds: 10-30 merits
• Donating burial land: 20 merits
• Providing coffins: 20 merits
• Burying servants properly: 10 merits

Integrity in relationships:

• Fulfilling entrusted matters successfully: 10 merits
• Discharging erring servants discreetly (without humiliation): 10 merits

Infrastructure:

• Digging wells: 10 merits
• Protecting virtuous people: 10 merits
• Daily tea/ginger soup offerings: 10 merits
• Charity porridge (per serving): 1 merit

Resolving grievances:

• Repaying kindness: 5-50 merits
• Mediating feuds: 5-50 merits
• Emergency relief: 5-50 merits

Business ethics:

• Refusing to exploit disasters for cheap purchases: 5-50 merits
• Forgiving and educating erring servants: 5-50 merits

Animal welfare:

• Saving beneficial livestock (oxen/horses/dogs etc.): 5-50 merits

Cultivation guidance:

• Keeping company with wise teachers/friends (daily): 3 merits
• Almsgiving to orphans/elderly/disabled (per person): 3 merits

(Note: "Merit" serves as the Daoist cultivation metric for virtuous deeds, with accumulated merits aiding spiritual progress)

Vernacular Interpretation of The Ledger of Merit and Demerit to Admonish the World

[Accumulating Merit Section]

• Saving a domestic animal incapable of self-preservation (such as pigs or sheep) records 3 merits
• Feeding a hungry person records 1 merit
• Quenching the thirst of someone in need records 1 merit
• Rescuing a small creature like a bird, fish, or insect records 1 merit
• Lending clothing or utensils to someone in urgent need records 1 merit
• Voluntarily taking on laborious tasks records 1 merit
• Donating a dose of medicine records 1 merit
• Sincerely observing a day of purification (zhaijie, referring to cultivating purity of body and mind while restraining desires) records 1 merit
• Living contentedly with simplicity and cherishing blessings for a day records 1 merit
• Lighting a lamp at night to guide passersby records 1 merit
• Lending rain gear to another records 1 merit
• Cherishing food: Picking up ten grains of rice that fell in a dirty place records 1 merit; washing and eating ten grains records another merit
• Picking up a scrap of paper with written characters records 1 merit
• Giving alms to a monk, Daoist priest, or beggar records 1 merit
• Showing consideration for the difficulties of subordinates records 1 merit
• Conducting business with generosity for a day records 1 merit
• Assisting the elderly, weak, sick, or disabled across hazardous paths records 1 merit
• Repairing ten feet of road records 1 merit
• Paving one foot of pathway records 1 merit
• Taking care of borrowed items and returning them on time records 1 merit
• Helping someone preserve their belongings records 1 merit (doubled for valuable items)
• Copying one exhortation to virtue or karmic tale records 1 merit
• Clearing debris or thorns from a road records 1 merit
• Burying an animal carcass records 1 merit
• Monks or Daoist priests guiding others to do good records 1 merit (doubled for encouraging filial piety and fraternal duty)
• Pouring hot water carefully to avoid harming insects records 1 merit

[Recording Demerits Section]

• Disrespect toward Heaven records 1,000 demerits
• Deceiving one’s ruler records 1,000 demerits
• Disrespect toward ancestors records 1,000 demerits
• Harboring resentment against parents due to perceived favoritism records 1,000 demerits
• Complaining or neglecting duties while serving parents, causing them distress records 500 demerits
• Deliberately slighting someone favored by one’s parents records 500 demerits
• Hating siblings over property disputes records 500 demerits (1,000 if taken to court)
• Harboring malicious schemes records 500 demerits
• Assisting others in harmful acts records 100–1,000 demerits
• Conceiving plans that endanger the public records 100–1,000 demerits
• Deceiving the masses through schemes records 50–500 demerits
• Concealing faults and refusing repentance records 10–100 demerits

(Note: The Ledger of Merit and Demerit is a Daoist practice for tracking good and evil deeds, quantifying daily conduct to encourage virtue and eliminate wrongdoing.)

This scripture enumerates various negative behaviors and mental states corresponding to "transgressions" (recorded faults in Daoist practice), warning practitioners to guard against these offenses. The classifications include:

I. Interpersonal Conduct:

• Acting arrogantly and obstinately clinging to one's opinions (10-100 transgressions)
• Paying lip service to parental guidance while disobeying in practice (50 transgressions)
• Failing to show deference to elders (50 transgressions)
• Ingratitude (50 transgressions, doubled for significant debts of kindness)
• Defaulting on loans while resenting creditors (50 transgressions)
• Rejoicing at hearing of virtuous deeds but quickly forgetting them (50 transgressions)
• Abandoning good works midway (50 transgressions)

II. Greed and Malice:

• Hoarding grain to inflate prices (50-500 transgressions)
• Coveting wealth upon seeing it (30 transgressions)
• Harboring lustful thoughts upon seeing beauty (30 transgressions)
• Envying others' success (30 transgressions)
• Taking pleasure in others' misfortune (30 transgressions)
• Belittling others or acting arrogantly despite knowing one's inferiority (30 transgressions)

III. Daily Mental States:

• Irreverence in ritual offerings (20-50 transgressions)
• Delighting in witnessing killing (20 transgressions)
• Blaming heaven and others for misfortunes (10 transgressions)
• Acting haughtily due to wealth and status (10 transgressions)
• Sustaining lustful or greedy thoughts for a full day (10 transgressions)
• Maintaining anger or arrogance for a full day (10 transgressions)
• A full day spent in laziness and mental dullness (10 transgressions)

IV. Additional Details:

• Disbelieving reports of virtuous deeds (10 transgressions)
• Constantly seeking to surpass others (10 transgressions)
• Pursuing self-interest exclusively (10 transgressions)
• Duplicity between speech and intention (1-10 transgressions)
• Flattering to one's face while gossiping behind backs (10 transgressions)
• Taking anger out on unrelated parties (10 transgressions)
• Becoming distracted by lust upon hearing a woman's voice (3 transgressions)
• Failing to improve despite knowing one's shortcomings (1 transgression/day)

The numerical weight assigned to each transgression reflects the severity of the behavior or mental state, reminding practitioners to constantly examine their words, deeds, and mental cultivation.

The Admonitory Ledger of Merit and Demerit (Jingshi Gongguo Ge) primarily addresses common faults in daily conduct and their corresponding penalties (in Daoist practice, "demerits" or guo quantify karmic transgressions). The text categorizes them into three aspects: emotional regulation, interpersonal conduct, and verbal taboos.

I. Emotional Regulation

• Losing temper over trivial matters: 1 demerit
• Meddling in others' affairs and losing temper: 1 demerit (additional penalties for unreasonable behavior)
• Dwelling on past grievances or obsessing over the future: 1 demerit
• Indulging in unrealistic daydreams: 1 demerit

II. Interpersonal Conduct

• Failing to show compassion for servants' hunger, cold, or exhaustion: 1 demerit per day
• Disdaining simple meals: 1 demerit
• Resenting others' candor: 1 demerit
• Envying others' better fortune: 1 demerit

III. Verbal Taboos (Ranked by Severity)

Most Severe:

• Insulting one's parents: 1,000 demerits per utterance
• Spreading doctrines opposing sages and worthies: 1,000 demerits
• Complaining about parents' faults: 500 demerits
• Slandering a woman's chastity: 500 demerits (1,000 if it causes her displacement or death)

Moderately Severe:

• Sowing discord among relatives: 500 demerits
• Obstructing virtuous deeds or inciting wrongdoing: 100 demerits
• Exposing others' secrets: 10–100 demerits
• Falsely accusing others: 10–100 demerits
• Speaking harshly to elders or teachers: 50 demerits

Less Severe:

• Lying in the presence of elders: 50 demerits
• Mocking ancient sages: 50 demerits
• Defaming deities or buddhas: 50 demerits
• Complaining about the weather: 50 demerits
• Prying into others' privacy: 5–50 demerits
• Teaching others to commit misdeeds: 5–50 demerits
• Boastful speech: 5–50 demerits

Special Notes:

• Telling lewd jokes: 10 demerits (doubled if young people are present)
• Giving others insulting nicknames: 30 demerits
• Discussing government affairs: 20 demerits
• Publicly humiliating others: 20 demerits
• Speaking with cutting sarcasm: 10 demerits

(Note: Daoism holds that these faults diminish one's blessings (fu). Practitioners are advised to reflect on and record them daily.)

The Admonitory Ledger of Merit and Demerit scripture meticulously enumerates various transgressions in speech and conduct, quantifying their corresponding penalties in "demerit" units. The content primarily divides into two categories: verbal offenses and behavioral misconduct.

Verbal Offenses:

• Using deceitful words to mislead others: 10 demerits per instance
• Speaking absurd or irrational words contrary to Dao (the Way): 10 demerits
• Insulting others under the guise of righteousness while violating common decency: 10 demerits
• Gossiping about others' faults, harming the virtue of tolerance: 10 demerits
• Uttering hypocritical or insincere words: 10 demerits
• Rambling with excessive, pointless speech: 10 demerits
• Speaking a single phrase that damages virtue (De): 10 demerits
• Cursing others: 5 demerits
• Retorting with harsh language: 5 demerits
• Failing to endure provocation and retaliating verbally: 5 demerits
• Speaking recklessly without basis: 5 demerits
• Denying someone's virtuous deeds: 5 demerits
• Spreading news of another's misdeeds: 5–50 demerits (depending on severity)
• Falsely disseminating information: 5–50 demerits
• Spreading unverified rumors: 5 demerits
• Making malicious jokes: 5 demerits
• Boasting without restraint while intoxicated: 5 demerits
• Speaking without regard for propriety or taboos: 5 demerits
• Cursing someone behind their back: 3 demerits
• Criticizing others privately: 1 demerit (doubled if reputation is harmed)
• Jesting disrespectfully: 1 demerit
• Deceiving the ignorant: 1 demerit (increased for severe cases)
• Mocking the foolish or timid: 1 demerit (increased for severe cases)
• Insulting beggars: 1 demerit (doubled for the elderly, children, women, or disabled)
• Boasting about one's talents: 1 demerit
• Revealing another family's private scandals: 100 demerits

Behavioral Misconduct:

• Defying grandparents or parents: 1,000 demerits
• Ruining a respectable woman's chastity: 1,000 demerits
• Corrupting a virtuous youth: 1,000 demerits
• Creating or distributing obscene literature/art (including printing): 1,000 demerits
• Committing acts that endanger a community: 1,000 demerits
• Causing someone's death: 1,000 demerits
• Making someone heirless: 1,000 demerits
• Selling a maidservant into prostitution: 1,000 demerits
• Drowning a female infant: 1,000 demerits per instance
• Causing someone's exile or penal servitude: 500 demerits
• Arson of another's home: 500 demerits
• Seizing others' farmland by force: 500 demerits
• Scheming to take a widow or nun as a concubine: 500 demerits
• Favoring a concubine over abandoning one's wife: 500 demerits
• Indulging descendants in wickedness: 500 demerits
• Failing to bury a deceased relative's coffin: 500 demerits
• Desecrating graves: 500 demerits
• Damaging ancestral tombs for geomancy (Feng Shui): 500 demerits (1,000 if damaging one's own ancestral tomb)

(Note: Daoist "merit-demerit ledgers" (Gongguoge) are cultivation methods documenting good and evil deeds, using quantified demerits to awaken moral vigilance.)

The Admonitory Ledger of Merit and Demerit enumerates various transgressions along with their corresponding "demerits" (guo), effectively serving as a negative inventory of moral conduct. Here is a modern interpretation:

Harm to Life:

• Inducing an abortion counts as 300 demerits (doubled if resulting from illicit relations).
• Employing gu poison, casting malevolent spells (yanmei), or teaching debased sexual arts each incur 300 demerits.

Disrupting Families:

• Causing another household's financial ruin, damaging ancestral fengshui, or rendering people homeless each count as 300 demerits.
• Ruining a marriage or instigating lawsuits also incur 300 demerits (doubled if bankruptcy results).
• Forcing someone to sell their wife counts as 300 demerits.

Sexual Ethics:

• Adultery with a social inferior or a woman who has lost her virtue counts as 300 demerits.
• Keeping attractive servants that lead to licentiousness counts as 300 demerits.
• Preventing a maidservant from marrying counts as 200 demerits.

Instigating Misconduct:

• Luring someone into prostitution or gambling each counts as 300 demerits.
• Encouraging others to commit wrongdoing counts as 300 demerits.
• Aiding in evil acts counts as 100 demerits (increased for major offenses).

Abuse of Others:

• Permitting servants to commit misdeeds counts as 300 demerits.
• A wife mistreating concubines without restraint counts as 100–300 demerits (1,000 if death results).
• Abusing servants counts as 50 demerits.

Social Responsibility:

• Ruining someone’s career or spiritual practice each counts as 200 demerits.
• Using counterfeit silver counts as 200 demerits (doubled if severe consequences follow).
• Causing others to sell their children counts as 200 demerits.
• Leading to someone’s imprisonment counts as 200 demerits.
• Failing to educate an adopted child counts as 200 demerits.

Other Transgressions:

• Operating a gambling den once counts as 100 demerits.
• Forcing respectable women into prostitution counts as 100 demerits.
• Destroying scriptures counts as 100 demerits.
• Allowing a spouse to estrange kin counts as 100 demerits.
• Defrauding others of property counts as 100 demerits.

Failure to Act Justly:

• Withholding help when able to rectify an injustice counts as 50 demerits (doubled if reputation or ethics are involved).
• Refusing aid in emergencies counts as 50 demerits (increased for matters of property or life).

Note: In Daoist tradition, "demerits" (guo) serve as units for measuring moral accountability. These guidelines reflect traditional societal values concerning family ethics, social order, and self-cultivation, with particular emphasis on protecting vulnerable groups such as maidservants and servants.

Interpretation of The Admonitory Merit and Demerit Ledger in Plain English:

This Daoist system records good and bad deeds with assigned "demerit" points for each action:

Major offenses (50 demerits):

• Recommending immoral persons for official positions
• Taking advantage of others' emergencies for personal gain
• Desecrating the Three Luminaries (sun, moon, stars - important Daoist objects of worship)
• Causing others to receive corporal punishment
• Abusing judicial or household authority to inflict unjust punishment
• Visiting prostitutes or engaging in male prostitution
• Prescribing medicine without cause (referring to harmful misuse of drugs)

Family ethics (30-50 demerits):

• Taking concubines while having sons (30)
• Taking concubines before age 30 without heir (30)
• Teaching fishing/hunting (harming nature, 30)
• Poisoning fish (30)
• Excessive revenge (30-100)

Financial misconduct (20-30 demerits):

• Fraud (30, increased for larger sums)
• Embezzling taxes (20, more for wealthy)
• Accepting bribes (20)
• Keeping lost property (20)
• Usury (5 per tael of silver)

Religious taboos:

• Allowing women in temples for worship/entertainment (30, reflecting historical gender norms)
• Performing lewd plays (20)
• Neglecting sacrifices (20)

Common misdeeds:

• Illegal slaughter of plow oxen/dogs (20)
• Gambling (20)
• Peeping at respectable youth (20)
• Opening others' letters (10)
• Ignoring greetings (5)
• Duplicity (5)
• Wasting food (5)
• Killing animals without reason (5)

Social relations:

• Associating with bad company (10 per person daily)
• Bullying (10)
• Looking down on the poor (5)
• Flattering the rich (5)
• Breaking promises (5, more for serious matters)

Special notes:

• All offenses are cumulative with heavier penalties for greater severity
• Even married couples incur 5 demerits for excessive indulgence
• Discarding paper with writing (reflecting traditional respect for written words) counts as offense

(Note: These standards reflect historical Daoist social ethics; some aspects like temple restrictions on women no longer align with modern values)

The Admonitory Ledger of Merit and Demerit enumerates common faults in daily life along with their corresponding penalties, accompanied by Ming Dynasty scholar Tao Wangling's commentary. Here is a simplified interpretation:

[Standards for Daily Transgressions]

• Drunkenness: 1 demerit per occurrence
• Associating with immoral individuals: 1 demerit per instance
• Improper interactions between men and women: 3 demerits per incident
• Pressuring debtors harshly: 3–300 demerits (penalty increases if it leads to selling children or property)
• Killing animals or insects: 3 demerits per life
• Wasting time without study: 3 demerits per day
• Living extravagantly: 1 demerit per day (penalty heavier for the poor)
• Negligence in teaching: 3–30 demerits per incident
• Handling books with dirty hands: 3 demerits per occurrence
• Using books as pillows: 3 demerits per instance
• Reading scriptures while lying down: 1 demerit per time
• Using counterfeit silver: 3 demerits per coin
• Taking petty advantages: 1 demerit per incident
• Confining animals: 1 demerit per day (penalty increases if death occurs)
• Worshipping deities while neglecting filial piety: 30 demerits per day
• Performing tasks carelessly for others: 10 demerits per incident (heavier for important matters)
• Mishandling borrowed items: 10 demerits per occurrence (penalty increases if damaged)
• Delaying others' correspondence: 5 demerits per instance (heavier if consequences arise)
• Relieving oneself or bathing under sunlight/moonlight without discretion: 3 demerits per time
• Monks, Daoists, or shamans swindling money: 1 demerit per 100 coins (1,000 demerits if causing family separation)
• Eavesdropping on private conversations: 3 demerits per occurrence (heavier if spreading rumors)

[Tao Wangling's Commentary]

Some argue that cultivating virtue and eliminating vice depend solely on intention—why keep records? Tao refutes this, stating: Just as studying requires a syllabus, rewards and punishments need laws, and finances require ledgers. Without concrete standards, diligence or laziness becomes arbitrary, and claims of "doing good and avoiding evil" are meaningless.

When asked, "What if someone records only merits and hides faults?" the response is: Fear not—humans may deceive others, but not the divine. Each night, I reverently record my deeds with incense and brush, sensing spirits observing my solitude. Thus, every entry must be truthful.

(Note: The Ledger of Merit and Demerit is a Daoist practitioner's register for tracking good and bad deeds, where "demerit" quantifies penalties for transgressions.)

This passage discusses the importance of keeping a moral ledger (功过格 Gongguoge) to record merits and faults. The general meaning is as follows:

Someone worries: "If I record a small good deed today but a major fault tomorrow, won't this constant tallying end up frightening me?"

The response advises: "Don't be afraid. How can you be certain the merit is small and the fault large? Only through recording do our virtues and shortcomings become visible. Minor good deeds accumulate into significant merit, while major faults diminish through correction - this is how one draws nearer to the Dao. Persist in keeping this record, and you'll naturally reap the benefits."

Another question arises: "If my merits are great and faults minor, does Heaven truly take notice?"

The reply offers an analogy with eating: "Simply focus on eating your meal without worrying whether it will satisfy you." It then quotes Confucius: "Those with great De (virtue) will inevitably receive corresponding status, sustenance, fame and longevity. But if you seek things beyond these, I cannot make guarantees. Just fulfill your proper role and await the outcome quietly."

(Note: The Gongguoge is a Daoist cultivation method where practitioners record daily good and bad conduct as a form of moral self-supervision to refine their ethical cultivation.)

Postscript to The Ledger of Merit and Demerit for Awakening the World:

Having studied the Supreme Secret Treasury of Truth Scripture, I found it particularly emphasizes the importance of precept cultivation. The Celestial Worthy of Primordial Beginning (Daoism's supreme deity) stated: "If sentient beings indulge in worldly desires without observing precepts, even longevity becomes meaningless, like an old hollow tree. But by upholding precepts, practicing righteousness, and walking the Dao, every day becomes virtuous, every month becomes virtuous, every moment becomes virtuous. Accumulating virtuous De (Virtue/Power), perfecting cultivation, and guarding body-mind with wholesome thoughts lead to realizing the Dao's true essence."

Sovereign Fu You (Lü Dongbin), transmitting teachings from the Jade Pure Realm (Daoism's highest heaven), has delivered countless beings, always taking precepts as fundamental. Whether establishing over 1,700 ritual platforms or teaching the profound "Seven Awakenings" practice, all center on precepts. Buddhism says "precepts are the unsurpassed foundation of enlightenment," Confucianism teaches "the noble person observes three restraints"—all sages across traditions instruct cultivation through precept-keeping.

This Ledger combines two cultivation recording methods, comprehensively systematizing precept guidelines. Recalling how Sovereign Fu You also transmitted the "Seven Alchemical Precepts"—a supreme treasure for attaining immortality—I feel compelled to append them here for all practitioners. With reverent heart, I kneel to present:

First Precept: "Mechanism" (Ji) — refers to the subtle trigger of mental activity. A single thought inevitably manifests in action. Clinging to wicked thoughts creates "death mechanisms" (roots of hell-rebirth), while virtuous thoughts, though "life mechanisms," ultimately lead from life to death, potentially still becoming hell-seeds. The true mystery lies in "non-mechanism"—forced pursuit loses authenticity; forgetting calculative thinking is most precious.

Second Precept: "Turbidity" (Zhuo) — denotes obstructions from the Five Aggregates (form, sensation, perception, volition, consciousness) and Seven Turbidities (kalpa-turbidity, view-turbidity, etc.), with lust being most severe. Most humans emerge from turbid wickedness—only superior sages discern purity. Like muddy water in a cracked vat: daily stirring drains clarity through leaks, leaving only sediment. People know turbidity, not purity; even knowing, few clarify it. Dying in excruciating pain, with confused Shen (spirit) and inverted awareness, final cravings drag one back to desire-realms. Like moths to flames, unaware fire consumes them—all from unremoved turbid obstructions.

Third Precept: "Restlessness" (Zao) — The human heart-mind should be empty, serene, bright and leisurely, but worldly clutter fills it with confusion...

The Admonitory Record of Merits and Faults scripture primarily addresses seven detrimental states that practitioners must abstain from:

The fourth precept warns against impatience. Impatience disrupts inner tranquility, damages the primordial harmonious Qi (innate vital energy), and is the root cause of self-abandonment.

The fifth precept cautions against contentiousness, which manifests in two forms: mental fixation on distinguishing right and wrong depletes the Shen (spirit), while verbal disputes to prove superiority unsettles the Qi. Once Shen and Qi are impaired, a person's Jing (essence) gradually dissipates.

The sixth precept advises against spiritual obscurity. The innate luminous awareness (original nature) becomes like a mirror covered in dust or clear water muddied with silt. Prolonged indulgence in desires leads to a drunken, dreamlike cycle of rebirth without self-awareness.

The seventh precept discusses the relationship between Shen and form. The innate Yuanshen (original spirit of pure Yang nature) dwells within the acquired physical body like a host residing in a temporary lodging. Yet the two often harm each other: an agitated Shen exhausts the body, while excessive physical indulgence disperses the Shen. True cultivation requires "forgetting the form to nourish the Shen, forgetting the Shen to return to emptiness" (an advanced state of Daoist practice).

The final precept emphasizes perseverance in practice. Though some may suddenly awaken to their true nature (realizing the original pure mind in an instant), most abandon the path midway like countless grains of sand in the Ganges. Genuine attainment requires sustained cultivation, persisting like sifting gold from sand.

The Admonitory Ledger of Merit and Fault expounds crucial points on the path of cultivation:

The innate luminous true nature (primordial pure essence) within humans is originally unstained, yet to achieve genuine realization, one must vow to repent karmic obstacles and sever worldly attachments. When first embarking on cultivation, practitioners often demonstrate fervent determination, yet mundane desires resemble a treacherous river of passion or a bitter sea where one easily drowns—wealth and status lead to indulgence, while poverty and hardship create entrapment, both capable of shaking one's resolve. Even diligent practitioners may grow discouraged if they see no immediate results. Know this: the pure Yang immortal body can only be attained through complete purification of all Yin Qi impurities, requiring decades of disciplined practice—maintaining transcendence amidst worldly dust without letting emotions like joy or anger defile one's heart-mind. Initial efforts demand conscious restraint, gradually progressing to natural purity, until finally achieving unimpeded freedom and unity with the Dao.

Intermittent practice is worse than never hearing the Dao; abandoning the path midway deepens karmic burdens; while those who first learn orthodox methods then stray into heterodoxy risk eternal damnation. Alas, humanity's spiritual roots are constantly eroded by countless worldly entanglements, while the mortal body is ultimately consumed by the six desires. Those of superior capacity need no disciplinary reminders, while average practitioners require constant vigilance. Thus the author established these precepts as a precious raft for crossing worldly delusions—precise as a golden needle, containing all essentials for attaining immortality. Even the perfected Golden Elixir (Daoist Neidan) must be tempered through precept observance.

The text concludes: these sacred scriptures from the Three Caverns (core Daoist canons) and the mysteries of the Seven-Return Golden Elixir (highest alchemical achievement) contain pearls of wisdom in every character. May they be widely disseminated to promote virtue through precepts, fulfilling the compassionate vow to universally aid beings. It enumerates both Buddhist and Daoist disciplinary systems: Buddhism's "Threefold Training" (precepts, meditation, wisdom) and Daoism's rigorous framework from the Ten Precepts for Initial Truth to the Seven Hundred Twenty Precepts of the Dongshen Tradition.

(Note: "Canghu Jiebao" refers to revered Daoist scriptures, while "four continents" metaphorically denotes the entire world.)

This passage comes from the Daoist scripture Admonitions on Merit and Fault, which outlines the precepts practitioners must observe:

The essential precepts of Jade Perfection Temple (a Daoist monastery) primarily require abstaining from evils such as sexual indulgence, killing, theft, and false speech. These precepts constitute the necessary path for attaining immortality and realizing the Dao (cultivating perfection and reaching the sacred realm). Since ancient times, no one who indulged their desires without restraint has ever truly entered the realm of heart-mind cultivation.

The text mentions the Sovereign Deity of Divine Assistance (a revered Daoist divinity) and the True Buddha of Literary Nirvana (a Buddhist cultivation achiever), who share the same compassionate vows as the Great Being Guanyin (the Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara). The transmitted precepts of the past shine as clearly as the sun and moon. Now, by combining the merit-fault ledger (a practice method recording good and bad deeds) with seven cultivation precepts, this canonical text of Daoist discipline has been formed. Its principles are profound and its provisions exhaustive.

If people can sincerely incline toward goodness, reverently keep this book at hand, read it morning and evening to keep the precepts constantly before their eyes and minds, examine themselves and put them into practice, tempering themselves daily—progressing from forced observance to natural virtuous action until reaching the state of having merit without fault—then the goals of nurturing one's original mind, awakening true nature, and cultivating the heart-mind will all be contained therein.

The conclusion contains the colophon written by disciple Tongren after collating this scripture, along with the reverent postscript by disciple Shangkai.