性理題釋

Ji Gong (濟公活佛, "the Living Buddha") is the principal spirit-teacher of Yiguandao, the Way of Unity — the largest Chinese syncretic religion, blending Confucian, Buddhist, and Daoist teaching into a single path of return to the Eternal Mother. The Explanation of Nature and Principle is Yiguandao's foundational catechism, composed through spirit-writing in the twenty-sixth year of the Republic (1937 CE). In ninety questions and answers, Ji Gong sets out the whole system: what the Dao is, why it must be received from a living teacher, the three cosmic eras, the Eternal Mother's universal salvation, the unity of the three teachings, and the inner work of cultivation. His voice is the voice of the street sage — colloquial, warm, sharp, sometimes funny, always direct. No complete English translation has ever existed.

The Chinese source text is from a Yiguandao community blog preserving Ji Gong's spirit-writings. The text is in modern vernacular Chinese (白話) with extensive Classical Chinese quotations from Confucian, Buddhist, and Daoist scripture. A Good Works Translation by the New Tianmu Anglican Church, 2026. Gospel register.

Preface by Ji Gong, the Living Buddha

The Dao is Principle. Without understanding Principle, how can one cultivate the Dao? Therefore whoever would cultivate the Dao must first understand Principle. The method of understanding Principle is nothing other than this: whenever you have a doubt, you must ask.

Alas, people of the world are ashamed to ask those below them, and so their doubts multiply into confusion, and their confusion deepens without awakening, and they drift ever farther from the Dao. Since the Great Dao opened the Universal Salvation, there has been no shortage of original souls who have received the Dao — yet those among them who truly understand Principle and cultivate the Dao are as rare as morning stars. Why? Because they have doubts but do not ask, or they ask but cannot comprehend.

Seeing this, I have composed the Explanation of Nature and Principle. In answering each question, I have striven for clarity of meaning and simplicity of expression. These several dozen questions may not be perfect in every way, yet they cover the essential principles and may serve as a reference.

In short, my purpose is this: that those who cultivate the Dao, reading this, may thoroughly awaken to the truth and find a guide for their advancement; that those who admire the Dao, reading this, may have their doubts resolved and find a gateway to seeking the Dao; and that if everyone can put these words into practice, even if they cannot reach the summit, they may at least dissolve the karmic debts of past lives, escape together from the sea of suffering, and ascend together upon the path of awakening. This is my deepest hope.

1. The True Meaning of the Dao

In the beginning of heaven and earth, there was only an undifferentiated whole — dim and indistinct, without a single thing, without sound or scent, supremely empty and supremely divine. The Patriarch of the Dao said: "What is nameless is the beginning of heaven and earth" — this is the image of the Circle, ○. "What is named is the mother of all things" — this is the image of the One.

The Great Dao has no name; we force it into the word "Dao." The Dao has no form; we force it into the shape of a circle. The circle is the still image of the One — a sphere of empty principle, the complete body of the Dao. The One is the moving image of the circle — the One scatters into the ten thousand distinctions; this is the Dao in function. When the circle moves, the One is born. When the One contracts, it becomes a Point. When the Point extends, it becomes the One.

Circle, One, Point — these are simply motion and stillness, extension and contraction, infinite transformation. Released, it fills the six directions — this is the One. Drawn in, it hides in the most secret place — this is the Point. Great beyond all outsides, small beyond all insides, penetrating everything, containing everything, encompassing heaven and earth, embracing all phenomena — the wondrous existence within true emptiness, the sovereign of all spirits.

In heaven it is called Principle. In humanity it is called Nature.

Principle is the unified nature of all things. Nature is the particular principle of each thing. Every person possesses it, yet no one knows they do. One who knows this becomes a sage of great transformation. One who is lost in it falls through the gate of ghosts. Therefore it is said: "Read ten thousand scriptures and ten thousand classics — they are not worth a single pointing from an Illuminated Teacher." This pointing unifies the Four Beginnings and encompasses all goodness. The feeling of compassion is the beginning of humaneness. The feeling of shame is the beginning of righteousness. The sense of right and wrong is the beginning of wisdom. The feeling of deference is the beginning of propriety.

Within humaneness, righteousness, propriety, and wisdom, there is trustworthiness. Confucius said: "A person without trustworthiness — I do not know what use they can be."

Contemplate its meaning and it is inexhaustible. Therefore Laozi said: "The formless Great Dao gives birth to heaven and earth. The passionless Great Dao sets sun and moon in motion. The nameless Great Dao nurtures all things." Before heaven and earth existed, the Dao established its body. After heaven and earth came to be, the Dao expanded its function.

2. What Is the Relationship Between the Dao and Humanity?

The Doctrine of the Mean says: "The Dao cannot be separated from you for a single instant. If it could be separated from you, it would not be the Dao."

The Dao is Principle — the road that every person must walk. Humans depend on the Dao as a train depends on its track, as a ship depends on water, as an airplane depends on air. If the train leaves the track, if the ship leaves the water, if the airplane leaves the air — danger springs up everywhere. If a person departs from the Dao, in the world of the living they suffer the judgment of law, and in the realm of the dead they suffer the verdict of King Yama, and they fall into the wheel of rebirth — the four births and six paths, revolving without cease. The sea of suffering has no shore.

Confucius said: "The superior person guards the good Dao unto death." "The superior person worries about the Dao, not about poverty." "The superior person delights in the Dao." Yan Hui received it and clasped it to his breast, never losing it his whole life. Zengzi received it and held it with fear and trembling, examining himself three times each day. From all this we see that the Dao and humanity are intimately connected — yet people of the world cast this aside! Confucius sighed: "Who can go out except through the door? Why does no one follow this Dao?"

3. The Historical Evolution of the Great Dao

The Dao De Jing says: "The formless Great Dao gives birth to heaven and earth" — proof enough that the origin of heaven and earth lies in the Dao. Before heaven and earth existed, this Dao already was.

The Records of the Historian say: "Heaven opened in the Assembly of Zi and dissolves in the Assembly of Xu. Earth was established in the Assembly of Chou and dissolves in the Assembly of You. Humanity was born in the Assembly of Yin and dissolves in the Assembly of Shen."

At the Assembly of Yin, when humanity first appeared, human nature was originally good — heaven was producing humanity, the authority lay with heaven, and there was no Dao to speak of.

When the Dao descended to the Middle Heaven and humans began producing humans, the authority passed to humanity. Fu Xi was the first to appear. Gazing upward and examining below, he understood the movements of heaven and earth and drew the Earlier Heaven Eight Trigrams to reveal their hidden workings. This was the beginning of the Great Dao's descent into the world. The Yellow Emperor's age brought writing, palaces, and garments — civilization was complete. This is the maturation of the Dao.

Afterward, Yao, Shun, Yu, Tang, Kings Wen and Wu, and the Duke of Zhou carried on the Dao Lineage in succession, the heart-method passing from one to the next. This is the Blue Sun dispensation — the Dao was whole.

In the age of Kings You and Li, the Five Hegemons rose one after another. The Son of Heaven's decrees could no longer reach the realm. The Dao turned into the Red Sun dispensation and divided into three teachings.

Laozi descended to proclaim the Dao teaching. Crossing east, he visited Confucius, who sighed at the Dragon. Going west, he converted the barbarian king. At the pass, Yin Xi saw the purple mist and compelled Laozi to compose the Dao De Jing in five thousand words. He became the ancestor of the Dao teaching.

Confucius traveled the kingdoms, teaching in every direction, editing the Odes, compiling the Rites, continuing the past and opening the future. The subtle essence of the Great Dao is set forth in full in the Great Learning and the Doctrine of the Mean. He became the ancestor of the Confucian teaching. Confucius transmitted to Zengzi, Zengzi to Zisi, Zisi to Mencius.

After Mencius, the Lineage moved west and the heart-method was lost. Through Qin, Han, Jin, Sui, and Tang, though arguments were loud, no one reached this domain. Only in the Song did Chen Tuan appear, followed by Zhou Dunyi, the Cheng brothers, Zhang Zai, and Zhu Xi. They upheld authentic Confucianism — yet the timing was not right, and they never continued the Dao Lineage. For by Mencius's time, the Lineage had already transferred west, where the Buddhist teaching carried it forward.

Shakyamuni Buddha received the Dao Lineage in the west and transmitted it to Mahakasyapa, the First Patriarch. The Dao divided into three teachings, each transmitting to one region, each leaving behind its scriptures. The Buddhist teaching passed singly through twenty-eight patriarchs to Bodhidharma. In Emperor Wu of Liang's time, Bodhidharma came east, and the true mechanism returned to the Middle Kingdom — "the old water returning to its source."

From Bodhidharma in China, the true Dao continued: Bodhidharma to Huike, Huike to Sengcan, Sengcan to Daoxin, Daoxin to Hongren, Hongren to the Sixth Patriarch Huineng. At the Sixth Patriarch's time, the robe and bowl were lost, Chan split into Southern Sudden and Northern Gradual — but in truth the Dao returned to the common people.

The Sixth Patriarch transmitted to Sun Furen at the White Horse Temple. The Dao descended to the household. This was a secret — the monks were not to know it, and the Platform Sutra does not record it.

Bai Yuchan and Ma Duanyang are the Seventh Patriarch. Then: Luo Weiqun the Eighth, Huang Dehui the Ninth, Wu Zixiang the Tenth, He Liaokou the Eleventh, Yuan Tui'an the Twelfth, Yang Huanxu and Xu Huanwu together the Thirteenth, Yao Hetian the Fourteenth, Wang Jueyi the Fifteenth, Liu Qingxu the Sixteenth. With the sixteenth, the Red Sun dispensation was complete. The Dao turned to the White Sun.

Maitreya presides over the era. Lu Zhongyi was the Seventeenth Patriarch, opening the Universal Salvation. Zhang Tianran, the Eighteenth Patriarch, carries on the final work — salvation of the three realms, the ten thousand teachings returning to one.

In the three eras before the Xia, the Dao resided with rulers — one person transforming the world. This was the Blue Sun. After the three eras, the Dao resided with teachers — the three teachings emerged in turn. This was the Red Sun. Now, at the end of the third dispensation, the world's ways have decayed and a great catastrophe sweeps the earth. The Dao resides with the common people — every person may receive the Dao, every person may become a Buddha. This is the White Sun. Such is the historical evolution of the Great Dao.

4. (Temporarily omitted.)

5. Does Transmigration Exist?

A wheel — it goes away and comes back again. Heaven is a wheel. Earth is a wheel. Heaven and earth grind against each other — cold and heat alternate, wind and rain revolve. This is the great wheel of heaven and earth. The sun is a wheel. The moon is a wheel. Sun and moon take turns shining — they move without rest, day and night cycling endlessly. This is the small wheel of sun and moon.

The pivot of heaven and earth, of sun and moon, is the waxing and waning of yin and yang. When yin reaches its extreme, yang grows. When yang reaches its extreme, yin grows. Thus there are north and south poles.

Humans receive the true qi of heaven and earth and are born. They receive the refined essence of sun and moon and grow. Embracing yin and cradling yang, there is not a moment when they are not within the canopy of heaven and earth, not an instant when they are not beneath the gaze of sun and moon. Can they escape transmigration?

Therefore humans follow yin when yin prevails and yang when yang prevails. Night belongs to the moon — yin, stillness — and humans follow it into rest. Day belongs to the sun — yang, motion — and humans follow it into work. All things follow the flow of heaven and earth. When yang reaches its extreme and yin is born, one may turn into a ghost in the realm of darkness. When yin reaches its extreme and yang is born, one may return to the realm of the living as a human. This is the mechanism of yin and yang's waxing and waning — the principle of transmigration through heaven, earth, sun, and moon.

The paths of transmigration are six: womb, egg, moisture, and transformation; birth and death. Among humans there are four conditions: wealth, nobility, poverty, and lowliness. When wealth reaches its extreme, poverty is born. When poverty reaches its extreme, wealth is born. When nobility reaches its extreme, lowliness is born. When things reach their limit they reverse. Humans turn to beasts; beasts turn to humans. Womb turns to moisture; moisture turns to womb. Birth to death, death to birth. Great wheels, small wheels, evil wheels, good wheels, human wheels, beast wheels, spirit wheels, ghost wheels — look at the wheels inside a clock, turning without number. Turn and turn, and it is a maze for lost souls. However brave the hero, no one can leap out of this cage.

The scripture says: "Recite the Diamond Sutra a thousand times, chant the Great Compassion Mantra through and through — plant melons and you still get melons, plant beans and you still get beans. Without a pointing from an Illuminated Teacher, you stay forever in the wheel."

6. What Is Transcending Birth and Death?

The Emperor Shunzhi's renunciation poem says:

"Before I was born, who was I? When I was born, who am I? Grown to adulthood, I know myself at last — but when my eyes close in the blur of death, who am I then? I came in confusion and I leave in bewilderment. I walked the world for nothing. Better not to come, and not to go — then there is no vexation and no grief."

Zhuangzi said: "I did not wish to be born, yet suddenly I was born into the world. I did not wish to die, yet suddenly the time of death arrived." From this we see: ghosts fear birth but cannot avoid being born. Humans fear death but cannot avoid dying. Death and birth, birth and death — true and false cannot be told apart. Drifting through birth and death, the sea of suffering has no shore. If you wish to resolve death, first resolve birth. If you wish to resolve birth, you must first transcend birth. If you meet an Illuminated Teacher who points directly to the Great Dao — your name is struck from the registers of the underworld and written in the ledger of heaven. You escape King Yama. You are no longer in the hands of impermanence.

Were it not the Final Catastrophe of the Third Era, the true Dao would not descend. To transcend birth and death otherwise would be truly difficult. The scripture says: "You wore out iron shoes searching and found nothing — then it came to you without the slightest effort." How true those words are!

7. The Four Difficulties of Receiving the Dao

The four difficulties are: (1) A human body is hard to obtain. (2) The Third Era is hard to encounter. (3) Birth in the Middle Kingdom is hard to achieve. (4) The true Dao is hard to meet.

Laozi said: "I fear this body; I love this body." I fear it because the body of flesh has six thieves — eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, and mind. The eyes crave color, the ears crave sound, the nose craves scent, the tongue craves taste, the body craves touch, the mind craves greed and delusion. Wealth and beauty lure from without, feelings and consciousness stir from within. Inner and outer feed on each other — the will toward goodness cannot hold, the impulse toward evil cannot be checked, and a bottomless hell is made. This body is truly fearsome.

Yet humans are the most spiritual of all beings. Our nature is preserved through this body. This body lives through our nature. The true cannot leave the false, and the false cannot leave the true. True and false are forged into one piece. "Shariputra — form is not different from emptiness, emptiness is not different from form." Only through this body can our nature be transcended. Without this body, how would we transcend it? This is why I love this body. Therefore a human body is hard to obtain.

Without the ultimate Dao, we cannot tell true from false or benefit from harm — we muddle through one life and that is all. The Final Catastrophe of the Third Era is also called the Three Suns Opening Fortune — catastrophe and fortune moving together, the turning of the Blue, Red, and White Suns. The Dao descends only at its appointed time, is transmitted only to the right person. When the three disasters and eight hardships appear together in an unprecedented crisis, only the true Dao can save us. The fortune lies in the true Dao descending into the world to rescue all spirits. Therefore the Third Era is hard to encounter.

The Middle Kingdom sits at the center of Asia. The character for "Asia" (亞) is a white cross. It is the pivot of heaven and earth — called the Middle Kingdom, the Middle Flower, the Central Plain, the Center. "The Center is the great foundation of heaven and earth." Sages have appeared in unbroken succession, civilization began earliest here, and the ancients called it the Celestial Court — the place where the true Dao first descended. Therefore birth in the Middle Kingdom is hard to achieve.

In the Third Era, ten thousand teachings spring up at once. The true one admits no second gate. The false ones are everywhere. The Buddha said: "Those who grasp the root become Buddhas and Patriarchs. Those who cannot grasp the root practice blindly." Without deep Buddha-affinity and the sheltering merit of ancestral virtue, the true Dao is genuinely hard to meet.

8. When a Person Attains the One, They Become a Sage

Wuji moves and the One is born. The One scatters into the ten thousand distinctions. Heaven attains the One and is clear. Earth attains the One and is tranquil. A person attains the One and becomes a sage.

Therefore the Buddha says: illuminate the mind, see the nature — the ten thousand dharmas return to the One. The Daoist says: cultivate the mind, refine the nature — embrace the origin, guard the One. The Confucian says: preserve the mind, nurture the nature — hold to the center, thread the One.

The One is Principle. A person receives heaven's Principle and forms their nature. They receive heaven's One and take their shape. In the pre-heaven state, one's nature is perfectly luminous — a pure sphere of heavenly Principle. Without food, without drink, without thought, without anxiety, breathing with the mother, a single qi flows unbroken.

Then comes birth — waa! — and with that first cry, the two qi of yin and yang enter through mouth and nose, and the One divides into two. In the pre-heaven there was only nature; in the post-heaven there is also life-destiny. Nature and life-destiny split apart, each losing its One.

When nature loses the One, Qian becomes Li — Li means separation. Separation leads to scattering. Scattering leads to emptiness. The single point of spiritual nature leaves its original seat — and that seat is empty. The spirit scatters to the eyes and learns to see color. It scatters to the ears and learns to hear sound. It scatters to the nose and learns scent. It scatters to the mouth and learns speech and taste. It scatters to the limbs and learns to move. It scatters to the skin and learns pain and itch. It scatters to the pores and learns cold and heat. It scatters to the organs and learns hunger and fullness. It scatters to the heart and gives rise to the six desires. It scatters to the mind and produces the seven emotions. Drifting east and west, living drunk and dying in dreams, sinking into darkness, falling into danger.

Then life-destiny also loses the One — Kun becomes Kan. Kan means pitfall. This point of spiritual nature is trapped in the seven emotions and six desires, drowned in wine and beauty, buried under wealth and temper, turning through the four births and six paths, unable to return to the root.

When heaven loses the One, the stars fall from their courses. When earth loses the One, mountains collapse and seas overflow. When a person loses the One, they fall into the wheel.

Nature is Principle. Principle without the One becomes "buried" (理 becomes 埋). Attain the One and you have Principle. As the saying goes: "With Principle you can walk anywhere under heaven. Without Principle you cannot take a single step."

9. Why Is the True Dao Slandered?

"The higher the melody, the fewer who can sing along. The loftier the Dao, the more slander comes. The deeper the virtue, the more criticism arises."

The Dao is great and its Principle is subtle — how can ordinary scholars fathom it? Doubts multiply and slander flows. Confucius said: "If others do not understand you and you are not troubled — is that not the mark of a superior person?" The Dao is not the Dao unless it is slandered. The Buddha said: "Each round of slander settles one portion of karmic debt." When Confucius was transmitting the Dao, everyone slandered him. Afterward the Dao was accomplished in heaven, his name remained in the world, and his temples spread across the land — not a country on earth that does not honor him.

10. Why Does the True Dao Still Have Trials?

The true Dao goes against the current. Going with the current makes ghosts. Going against the current makes immortals. The old saying goes: cultivating the Dao is like climbing a tall pole — coming down is easy, climbing up is hard.

The Living Buddha said: "Great dharma is greatly hidden and greatly revealed. The true Dao's true trials reveal the true heart."

"Jade unpolished cannot become a vessel. Gold unrefined is worth nothing." The Daoist school speaks of the alchemy of fire. The Confucian school speaks of cutting, filing, carving, polishing. Trials are simply tests of resolve.

Confucius was trapped between Chen and Cai. "If you have never climbed a high mountain, you do not know the danger of falling. If you have never stood at the edge of an abyss, you do not know the danger of drowning. If you have never faced the open sea, you do not know the danger of wind and waves. Orchids grow in the hidden forest and do not cease to be fragrant because no one is there. The superior person cultivates virtue and does not abandon principle because of poverty."

When Confucius escaped the danger, he turned to his disciples and said: "The trouble between Chen and Cai — that was our good fortune! My students, you are fortunate too." Know that hardship is the beginning of resolve. Is it not in such moments that achievement is forged?

Mencius said: "When heaven is about to place a great burden on a person, it must first embitter their heart, exhaust their muscles, starve their body, and deprive them of everything." Trials are heaven's way of completing you. It is as if the provincial government tests candidates for magistrate — only those with qualifications may sit the examination. Confucius said: "Rotten wood cannot be carved; a wall of dung cannot be plastered." Only those of deep Buddha-affinity are tested by heaven. Without that affinity, how could anyone merit a heavenly trial?

Appendix: Take Awakening as Your Teacher

In this final era, beings who are turned upside-down should enter the true Dao and cultivate self-awareness — not merely take precepts as their teacher. In this time, take awakening as your teacher. Awaken to the Buddha, awaken to the nature, ferry all beings across — self-awakening that awakens others. When everyone takes awakening as their teacher, they can break through all outward constraints. The outward methods and gates exist to receive people conveniently. Students — you must complete yourselves. If you still need rules, precepts, and strictures to restrain you, then you are still learning the Dao on the outer path, learning the Dao passively.

11. The Divinity of the Dao

Principle is the sovereign of heaven, earth, and all things — supremely empty, supremely still, supremely divine, supremely luminous, supremely honored, supremely holy. It may be honored as the Supreme Lord on High. It may be honored as the True Sovereign of All Spirits. It can produce heaven and earth and nurture all things; as the mother of all things, it is honored as the Eternal Mother.

The Greater Odes says: "So long as Yin had not lost its multitudes, it could stand before the Supreme Lord." The Lesser Odes says: "The Majestic Supreme Lord." The Supreme Lord on High is the one and only supreme divinity. Heaven and earth, sun and moon, all spirits and all things, birth and death and transformation — all are governed by the Supreme Lord. Without this, the world would cease and all things would end.

In recent times, science has advanced and material civilization flourishes. People no longer believe in spirits or Buddhas. They attribute natural phenomena to human invention and every modern creation to human skill. But who created these natural phenomena? Who gave humans these skills? Who brought forth light, sound, and electricity? Lightning produces thunder, clouds and vapor produce rain — who is the agent behind these workings? To simply say "natural forces" is to fail to reach the bottom. To say "natural forces" is to fail to grasp the essential truth.

Can Principle be trusted? Can Nature be trusted? See light and know there is a sun. See a person and know there are things. See grandchildren and know there is an ancestor. See heaven and earth and all things and know there is a True Sovereign who made them all.

When you drink water, think of the source. Tracing back to the Assembly of Yin when humanity was born — father to son, generation after generation, life without end — we know we have an ancestor but do not know the First Ancestor. Our spiritual nature comes and goes — we know our birth-mother but do not know the Mother who gave birth to our spirit. Alas that human nature grows dimmer by the day! Alas that the world's way sinks ever deeper!

People are lost to this root. They drift through birth and death. What they see with their eyes they call real. What they cannot see they call nothing. Like a fish in water that sees only other fish, like a person in air who perceives only what air holds — the affairs of the two realms are infinite, but one person's knowledge is limited.

12. The Three Vehicles

The three vehicles are upper, middle, and lower — hence the distinctions of sudden and gradual, provisional and true.

The true dharma has a lineage and a school, hidden and manifest. It points directly to the seeing of nature. Transmitted by mouth, sealed upon the heart. One pointing and you become a Buddha. One step and you leap straight beyond. You leave qi behind and return to Principle. This is the sudden method. Those who hear it become sages and Buddhas — the secret treasure untransmitted for a thousand ages. Confucius said: "If I hear the Dao in the morning, I can die content in the evening." This is the supreme upper vehicle.

Sitting in meditation, turning the dharma wheel, circulating the celestial orbit, extracting and refining, harvesting and cooking — refining the winter solstice's single yang and the summer solstice's single yin. Even if you succeed, you do not escape the two qi of yin and yang. From faith to understanding, from understanding to practice, from practice to realization — the gradual method that spirals toward emptiness. Those who practice it become worthy people and immortals of the qi-heaven. This is the middle vehicle.

Chanting and drumming, building bridges and paving roads, relieving the poor and aiding disaster victims — this follows the principle of the turning wheel. Do good in this life, enjoy blessings in the next. When blessings are exhausted and goodness spent, you still fall into transmigration. The scripture says: "If you ask about the causes of the past life, look at what you receive in this life. If you ask about the fruits of the next life, look at what you do in this life." Like an arrow shot into empty sky — when its force is spent, it falls. Those who practice this become good people, but they cannot become immortals or Buddhas. This is the lower vehicle.

13. How to Cultivate Merit After Receiving the Dao

To preserve the Dao in your heart is called virtuous nature. To practice the Dao through the constant relationships is called the moral bonds. To have the Dao without virtue is certain to produce demons. Confucius said: "Without the highest virtue, the highest Dao will not crystallize."

Virtue means attainment. Cultivating merit means establishing virtue. You must do work that helps people and benefits all beings. You must have a heart that rescues from disaster and saves the world. You must follow the teachings of the sages of the three teachings and practice them with all your strength.

Copying sacred texts, establishing Buddha-halls, spreading the teaching far and wide, opening new ground, proclaiming the meaning of the Dao, kindling the wisdom of others — to transform one person and bring them into the Dao is merit of no small measure. When outer merit is complete, inner merit naturally follows.

As for worldly matters: relieve the urgent, rescue the endangered, aid disaster victims, support the faltering — sometimes funding it alone, sometimes collecting funds together. Act according to the place, the person, the time, the circumstance — guide in whatever way will help.

With fathers, speak of kindness. With children, speak of filial devotion. With elder brothers, speak of friendship. With younger brothers, speak of respect. With husband and wife, speak of harmony. With friends, speak of trustworthiness. With officials, speak of loyalty and uprightness.

Transform evil into good, transform foolishness into wisdom — this is true merit. Do not harbor thoughts of fishing for fame and reputation. Do not display harsh words or angry looks. If you fish for fame, there is no merit. If you lecture others with a hot temper, you are not a person of the Dao.

14. What Is the Universal Salvation of the Three Realms?

The scope of the Great Dao's universal salvation of spiritual beings is immense. Above, it can save the celestial beings among the stars of the Milky Way and the immortals of the qi-heaven. In the middle, it can save the teeming multitudes of the human world. Below, it can save the ghosts and souls in the darkness of the underworld. This is what is meant by the Universal Salvation of the Three Realms.

15. How Are the Celestial Beings Saved?

Now is the time of the Final Catastrophe of the Third Era, when three Buddhas govern the world — hence the Universal Salvation of the Three Realms. Those who cultivated in the past, the practitioners who refined their qi, who never encountered heaven's grace to be ferried back and ascend to the Heaven of Principle — as well as loyal ministers, filial sons, heroic women, and chaste wives who after death could not be left to oblivion — they may have risen to become immortals of the qi-heaven or gods among the spirits. Yet without receiving the Heavenly Dao, they still cannot escape the suffering of transmigration and return to the root.

Now, at the Final Catastrophe of the Third Era, when the Heavenly Dao is universally bestowed, these celestial immortals often descend with the spirit-Buddhas to the altar, or manifest everywhere, searching for those with affinity from past lives, serving as sponsors and guarantors so they may receive the Heavenly Dao and return to the Heaven of Principle, forever free of the wheel. Therefore saving the stars of the Milky Way is even more difficult than saving humans.

16. How Are the Ghosts and Souls of the Underworld Saved?

To live in this world, filial devotion is the foundation. The Classic of Filial Piety says: "To establish oneself and practice the Dao, to make one's name known to posterity and thereby bring honor to one's parents — this is the culmination of filial devotion."

If we truly wish to leave no gap in our filial duty, we must of course exhaust our devotion while our parents live — but after they die, we must also undertake the merit of elevating their departed spirits, so that they may forever escape the suffering of transmigration and enjoy the pure blessings of the Heaven of Principle.

But how exactly does one elevate the nine generations of ancestors and the departed ghosts? One must cultivate the Dao with constancy, accumulate merit and virtue, and demonstrate one's commitment to the Dao. Only then can the departed be elevated. As the saying goes: "When one child enters the Dao, nine generations of ancestors are honored. When one child completes the Dao, nine generations ascend."

17. (Temporarily omitted.)

18. What Is the Final Catastrophe of the Third Era?

From the opening of heaven and earth to the exhaustion of heaven and earth — that span is called one Epoch. One Epoch contains twelve Assemblies: Zi, Chou, Yin, Mao, Chen, Si, Wu, Wei, Shen, You, Xu, Hai. Each Assembly lasts 10,800 years. Each Assembly, as conditions change, brings catastrophes of varying number.

We are now in the middle of the Assembly of Wu — the Assembly of Wei has not yet arrived. Since the Assembly of Wu began, some 4,000-odd years have passed, and three dispensations have emerged.

The first dispensation is the Blue Sun Catastrophe, corresponding to the age of Fu Xi. The second is the Red Sun Catastrophe, corresponding to the age of King Wen. The third is the White Sun Catastrophe, corresponding to the time when the Dao is transmitted from the Middle Heaven.

In each dispensation, Dao and catastrophe descend together: the good are gathered into the Dao; the wicked are caught in the catastrophe.

Since the Assembly of Yin when humanity was born until now, the original souls have lived and died again and again, clinging to the false scenery of the red dust, losing their original spiritual nature. They do not know where they came from, nor do they seek the road back. The deeper they sink, the more lost they become, and the worse the world grows. The world's treachery has reached its extreme, and from this a catastrophe unprecedented in history has been forged. This is the Final Catastrophe of the Third Era.

Appendix: The Three Eras

The Blue Sun Era — from the time of Fu Xi to King Tai Ding of Shang (the time of King Ji of Zhou), a span of 1,886 years. The Supreme Lord, weighing the gravity of humanity's sins, ordained nine catastrophes called the Dragon-Han Water Catastrophe. Nine great wars occurred, all through floods — hence "water catastrophe." Nine ages followed in succession: Shennong, the Yellow Emperor, Shao Hao, Zhuan Xu, Emperor Ku, Emperor Yao, Emperor Shun, Yu of Xia, Tang of Shang. The celestial masters transmitted nine beads called the "Nine-Turn Golden Elixir" — each bead representing one catastrophe. The Supreme Lord dispatched the Wood Spirit to descend as Fu Xi, who established the cosmic standard and transmitted the true teaching to save the original souls.

The Three Treasures of the Blue Sun Era: (1) The True Teaching — the Mysterious Pass where our true nature resides. (2) The True Scripture — the four-character mantra of the celestial masters. (3) The True Credential — the Lotus Leaf Seal.

The Red Sun Era — from King Yi of Shang (the time of King Ji of Zhou) to the Republic of China, a span of 3,114 years. The Supreme Lord ordained eighteen catastrophes called the Red Clarity Fire Catastrophe — eighteen great wars, all through flames. Eighteen ages followed: Eastern Zhou, Spring and Autumn, Warring States, Qin, Western Han, Eastern Han, Later Han, Western Jin, Eastern Jin, Northern and Southern Dynasties, Northern Tang, Southern Tang, Five Barbarians, Northern Song, Southern Song, Yuan, Ming, Qing.

The Buddhist masters transmitted eighteen beads called the "Eighteen Arhat Beads." The Supreme Lord dispatched the Gold Spirit to descend as Jiang Taigong, who transmitted the true teaching.

The Three Treasures of the Red Sun Era: (1) The True Teaching — the Mysterious Pass where our true nature resides. (2) The True Scripture — the six-character mantra of the Buddhist masters. (3) The True Credential — the Lotus Flower Seal.

The White Sun Era — from the Republic of China onward for 10,800 years. The Supreme Lord has ordained eighty-one catastrophes called the Extending-Felicity Wind Catastrophe. Great wars across the world — the Battle of Xuzhou, the Battle of Shanghai, the Battle of Changsha, the Battle of Hengyang, the Battle of Leningrad, the Battle of Berlin, the Battle of Paris, the Battle of the Atlantic, the Battle of the Pacific, and more. The "extending wind catastrophe" means destruction by fierce winds — like the atomic bombs of uranium and hydrogen, and the future comets, and the great wind that will sweep the world to dust.

The White Sun opens its course for 10,800 years — this cannot be altered. Maitreya presides over the celestial administration. The Water-Fire Spirit presides over the Dao administration, establishing the cosmic standard, transmitting the true teaching, saving the original souls, opening the Universal Salvation across all three realms, the ten thousand teachings returning to one.

The Three Treasures of the White Sun Era: (1) The True Teaching — the Mysterious Pass where our true nature resides. (2) The True Scripture — the wordless true scripture of the White Sun. (3) The True Credential — the Lotus Root Seal.

19. Why Do Some People Never Fall Ill While Others Are Never Free of Disease, Though They Eat the Same Food?

The human body is flesh — how can it be free of misfortune? Yet great illness comes from karmic retribution, and small illness from carelessness. In the underworld there are spirits dispatched to spread disease; in the heavenly palace there are gods appointed to send calamity — all acting under orders.

Moreover, disease does not come only from poor regulation of warmth and cold. The seven emotions and six desires can all produce illness. Not only food and lust cause harm — unfulfilled cravings and thwarted ambitions do even greater damage.

The common saying goes: "When the heart is at peace, a thatched hut is steady. When the nature is settled, vegetable broth tastes sweet." The sacred scripture says: "Wealth adorns the house; virtue adorns the body. When the heart is broad, the body is at ease." Therefore the superior person, when living in the world, thinks of Principle before speaking and lets things pass before acting — half human effort, half heaven's will.

What heaven has assigned to a human life, heaven itself cannot take away. What heaven bestows, no human can force. Therefore: "The superior person accepts their destiny."

In the time of the Three Kingdoms, a great famine struck Luoyang and the people bore the marks of hunger — yet one man alone was radiant as ever. Cao Cao asked the reason. The man said: "I have kept a vegetarian fast for thirty years." Therefore, those who sincerely cultivate the Dao should abstain from garlic, onions, alcohol, and meat. When the blood and qi thus produced are clean, illness naturally decreases.

20. After Entering the Dao, What Comes First for Those Who Wish to Advance?

To advance, you must first establish firm faith. Faith is the mother of cultivation and the source of merit. Without faith, even divination has no power — how much less the cultivation of the Dao!

Know this: every person is endowed with heavenly nature. Sage and commoner share the same substance. The difference lies only in awakening versus confusion. The head is round like heaven, the feet square like earth. Each breath mirrors yin and yang. The two eyes are sun and moon. The five organs are the five elements. Joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness are wind, thunder, cloud, and rain. Humaneness, righteousness, propriety, and wisdom are originally the four virtues of heaven.

A newborn child shares the body of heaven and earth. Yao, Shun, Confucius, and Mencius were no different from ordinary people. One who understands Principle becomes an immortal or a Buddha. One who defies Principle becomes a ghost. To follow one's nature and cultivate it — this is the Dao. This is a fixed and immovable truth.

21. Is There a Simple Method for Beginners, Since the Dharma Is Boundless?

The Confucian method of preserving the mind and nurturing the nature can be practiced by beginners immediately. When the mind dwells in goodness, blessings come. When the mind dwells in evil, misfortune comes. When the mind dwells in stillness, longevity is preserved. At all times, dwell at the Mysterious Pass — this is called "the superior person abiding in the center at every moment." Then both nurturing the nature and preserving the mind are accomplished.

Have you not heard Mencius say? "What distinguishes the superior person from others is that they preserve their mind. The superior person preserves their mind through humaneness and through propriety. One who is humane loves others. One who is wise benefits others. One who is proper respects others. One who loves others will always be loved. One who respects others will always be respected."

In our study of the Dao, we need only add the thought of the Dao — and that is enough.

22. Is There a Method of Forward and Reverse Cultivation?

This is post-heaven practice, yet it too must be known. The human essence, qi, and spirit — along with what the ears hear and eyes see — when these pour outward, that is the ordinary. When they are gathered inward, that is the sage. Pouring outward is the forward course. Gathering inward is the reverse course. Therefore Mencius said: "The way of learning is nothing other than seeking the lost heart."

The practice of preservation is a single matter: the pure stillness of the heart-mind. Turn the light back and look within — the fire of Li naturally descends. Curl the red tongue upward — sweet dew rises through the groove. Let it accumulate and swallow it down into the cinnabar field, where it meets the fire at the Gate of Life. Water transforms into qi, and qi fills the spirit. You can labor without exhaustion. Descending in front, ascending behind — ceaselessly, ceaselessly.

When essence is full, desire for lust ceases, and essence transforms into qi. When qi is full, desire for food ceases, and qi transforms into spirit. When spirit is full, desire for sleep ceases, and spirit transforms into emptiness. The spiritual light is unobscured and pervades the entire dharma-realm.

The Daoist school calls this circulating the celestial orbit. The Buddhist school calls it turning the dharma wheel. The Confucian says: when human desire is purified, heavenly Principle flows freely. This is the reverse practice. Know that the qi of ordinary people rises in front and descends behind. The qi of the perfected descends in front and rises behind. Are they not exactly opposite?

23. Does Our Dao Practice the Elevation of Departed Souls?

In the ancient rules, when one child completes the Dao, seven generations of ancestors ascend. When the Universal Salvation first opened, the Eternal Mother decreed: save the living, not the dead. Later, at the earnest petition of the Three Officials and the Ancient Buddha Dizang, heaven's grace was extended to save both the living and the dead together. Thus the Buddha Court was established, awaiting elevations.

Those who have received the Dao and departed this world await their appointed stations. Those who have combined merit and virtue are admitted to the higher ranks. Those whose merit falls short are reborn to cultivate further, or are placed in blessed lands to enjoy great fortune.

Filial devotion has both worldly and sacred dimensions. Worldly filial devotion means: serve the living with propriety, bury the dead with propriety, make offerings with propriety — and that exhausts the child's duty. But it cannot dissolve the parents' karmic debts or free them from the wheel — they may be reborn as a son in the Zhang household or a wife in the Li household. This is small filial devotion.

If you truly wish to repay the labor of birth and nurture, you must cultivate the Dao. Moreover, the Dao has the practice of adding merit-positions: sixty-four merits for one position, elevating one generation of parents. Seven generations in total — seven levels above. To elevate downward to one's descendants is called grace-elevation, and requires great merit and virtue.

24. Is There Proof That the Departed Souls Are Truly Elevated?

After a departed soul has been elevated, once a hundred days have passed, they can come to the altar, establish connection, and transmit spirit-writing — describing the sufferings of King Yama's wheel, how they escaped, how they ascended to the blissful Heaven of Principle, and the pure blessings they now enjoy. They can also clarify unfinished business from their lifetime and words left unsaid at death. All of this can be verified at the spirit-writing altar. This is the sure proof of elevation.

25. Where Do Elevated Souls Go?

After elevation, a departed soul's name is written in the heavenly ledger and struck from the registers of the underworld. They go to the Self-Cultivation Hall of the Celestial Buddha Court in the Heaven of Principle. After a hundred days of further cultivation to restore their body of pure yang, the Luminous Lord then dispatches the Three Officials to assign their merit-position. The position is determined by their cultivation during life and the merit of their descendants. Thus, though the stations of immortals, Buddhas, sages, and worthies are open to everyone, the specific rank depends on cultivation and merit.

26. Must One Become Vegetarian After Entering the Dao?

After entering the Dao, vegetarian practice is most essential. Our pre-heaven nature is originally pure — it absolutely cannot be mixed with turbid qi. Where turbid qi intrudes, the original truth is disrupted.

Therefore the cultivator must retain the clear and expel the turbid to restore the original nature. The five pungent vegetables and the three disgusting meats should all be eliminated as far as possible. The five pungents carry fierce qi — eating them scatters the original qi of the five organs. The three meats are of beasts, birds, and water creatures — all turbid yin, harmful to the body of pure yang.

Since our Dao takes the cultivation of pure yang as its purpose, we should guard the yang and avoid the yin. Moreover, heaven's virtue is the love of life. The cultivator should embody heaven's intention and not slaughter living beings for the sake of appetite.

Though you may not be able to give up all meat at once, you may proceed gradually — first keeping a flower-fast or monthly fast. In time it becomes habit, and then you may take up the permanent fast.

27. What Are the Benefits of Entering the Dao?

After entering the Dao, the Mysterious Pass is pointed out and wisdom opens wide. If you can sincerely embrace the Dao and put it into practice, all sins of the past can be completely canceled. In life, things go smoothly — you dodge catastrophe and avoid disaster. In death, there is peace — you escape King Yama's suffering and the wheel of rebirth. The long-term benefits are immense. May all cultivators awaken quickly and press forward, to prove and fulfill their merit.

28. Is There Proof of These Benefits?

If beings can cultivate the Great Dao and accumulate virtue sufficient to move heaven, the proof of turning misfortune to fortune, escaping danger, and avoiding disaster during their lifetime is beyond counting. As for transcending birth after death and escaping the wheel — not only can the departed spirit come to the altar and speak, but the body left behind also bears witness.

In both the Buddhist and Daoist traditions, when an elder patriarch dies — passing into nirvana or ascending as a feathered immortal — there is the sign of sitting in transformation with tendons hanging, proving that merit and practice are complete. Yet among thousands, not one achieves this. This proves that many cultivate but few succeed.

In our Dao, all who have received the pointing — regardless of the depth of their merit — die with smiling faces, complexions as if alive, without exiting through the four gates. In winter their bodies do not stiffen; in summer they do not decay. Some remain unchanged for days, with a wondrous fragrance filling the room. Leaving aside those who did not practice sincerely or who betrayed the Dao, all the rest are like this — young and old alike. Since the physical body shows such signs, we may be certain the spirit has reached a blessed realm.

29. Is It a Sin to Enter the Dao and Then Stop Cultivating?

Whoever enters the Dao must have had a purpose that gave rise to the thought of entering — surely to dodge catastrophe, transcend birth and death. To avoid catastrophe, you must first understand where catastrophe comes from. Catastrophe does not descend without reason — it is forged by one's own sins. To dodge catastrophe, first repent all past evil. To dissolve evil, honor the teacher and respect the Dao, turn from evil to good, and practice with your whole being. Only then do you accord with heavenly Principle and can turn back the flood of catastrophe.

Do the opposite and you are turning against the Dao. Walking against the Dao, not only do your sins fail to decrease — catastrophe multiplies. When the cup of evil is full and catastrophe strikes, there is no possibility of escape. Unable to escape catastrophe, you cannot transcend birth and death, and you cannot avoid the suffering of the underworld.

From this we see: sin is the cause of catastrophe; catastrophe is the fruit of sin. Catastrophe is born from sin, and sin is made by people. Therefore, after entering the Dao, you must cultivate with all your might. Otherwise, your vow goes unfulfilled — and that itself is creating sin. Since you yourself created it, is it not a sin you deserve?

30. How Should We Reform Those Who Enter the Dao but Do Not Change Their Bad Habits?

Our Dao teaches through Principle and transforms evil through goodness. After entering the Dao, all bad habits and improper addictions should be explained in terms of their consequences and completely eliminated.

Guide patiently, lead according to circumstances, admonish earnestly, teach according to the person. Sometimes reform through direct persuasion, sometimes through indirect persuasion — always continuing until genuine repentance is achieved.

31. How Do You Explain the Unity of the Three Teachings?

The three teachings were all born from one Principle. Though they have different gates and different vocabularies, when you investigate the reality, they all belong to the same Principle. All three were established according to the needs of the time, arising in response to their era — none is anything other than heaven's instrument for proclaiming the teaching, rescuing the human heart, and transforming evil into good.

The Dao school takes emptiness as its root, concentrating on preserving the spiritual void and returning to Wuji. The Buddhist school takes stillness as its root, concentrating on returning the gaze to stillness and eliminating desire. The Confucian school's "illuminating luminous virtue" concentrates on purifying selfish desire until only heavenly Principle remains. Heavenly Principle is the highest good; the highest good is stillness; stillness is Wuji; Wuji is true Principle. All three schools and all their lineages are born from the one Principle of Wuji.

The Buddha speaks of the ten thousand dharmas returning to the One — illuminate the mind, see the nature. The Daoist speaks of embracing the origin, guarding the One — cultivate the mind, refine the nature. The Confucian speaks of holding to the center, threading the One — preserve the mind, nurture the nature. Though the three teachings transmit different methods, all take the One as their root and the mind and nature as their starting point. The one Principle transformed into three teachings, as one body divides into essence, qi, and spirit.

Now the three teachings are reuniting — the image of the final gathering. Returning to the root and source — all are the undimmed spiritual nature — and the three are one again.

32. Since the Three Teachings Are Born from One Principle, Which Is the Highest? Is There a Preference in Cultivation?

Since all three are rooted in the one Principle of Wuji, there is no question of high or low. However, by worldly comparison, the Buddhist dharma is considered the highest. Why? Consider: throughout all ages, it has been the Buddhas who preside over the teaching. According to the scripture, when the primordial chaos first opened, ten Buddhas were appointed to preside — seven have already passed. The remaining three are Dipankara, Shakyamuni, and Maitreya.

Dipankara presided for 1,500 years. Shakyamuni was born on the eighth day of the fourth month in the Jiaying year of King Zhao of Zhou. His father's clan was Kshatriya, his kingdom was called Pure Rice King, and his mother was Queen Maya. He left home at nineteen, received Dipankara's prophecy, taught the dharma for forty-nine years, and left behind the scriptures for the salvation of all ages. His Dao points to the nature and takes becoming a Buddha as its goal, going straight to the root. He is honored as the Buddha Ancestor.

Laozi's surname was Li, his given name Er, his courtesy name Boyang, his posthumous title Dan. Born in the Dingsi year of King Ding of Zhou in the state of Chu. He served as archivist under King Jing of Zhou. After Confucius came to ask about the Rites, he rode his blue ox out through the Hangu Pass, converting the barbarian king Yin Xi in the west. His Dao is plain and nourishes the heart-mind. His method is to extract Kan and fill Li, clearing away form and appearance, passing from qi to Principle, making water and fire aid each other, and refining the golden elixir. He left the Dao De Jing and the Classic of Purity and Stillness. He is honored as the Dao Ancestor.

The Dao of Confucius combines governance and teaching. He enters the world of forms without clinging to forms, passing from form through qi into Principle. His story is well known and needs no elaboration.

In short, the Great Dao of all three teachings takes nature and Principle as its purpose. Their moral bonds and constant relationships all flow from the nature. When the nature is illuminated, the constant relationships are naturally set right — "illuminate the substance and the function follows; strengthen the root and the branches flourish." Sadly, Buddhism has lost its wondrous heart-seal; Daoism has lost the oral formula of the golden elixir, reduced to chanting sutras and begging for food; Confucianism has lost the heart-method of nature and Principle, reduced to picking phrases from texts. If you ask about the practice of "knowing where to rest" and "returning the gaze" — who understands? The teachings of the three sages have nearly fallen into ruin.

Therefore the true transmission of nature and Principle requires cultivating all three teachings together — not leaning to one side. Practice the Confucian rites, use the Daoist methods, keep the Buddhist precepts. In small measure, this extends your years. In great measure, this illuminates the Dao and achieves the real.

33. My Heart Is Already Good — Why Must I Enter the Dao?

A person whose heart is truly good, upon hearing of this Dao, will joyfully seek to cultivate and earnestly advocate for it. For the good person and the superior person always carry the state of the world and the human heart in their concern. In these times, the world's ways are thin, the human heart is treacherous, and evil qi fills the sky, summoning every kind of calamity. Those who care about the Dao spend their days and nights seeking ways to remedy the crisis. Now the Heavenly Dao has appeared for the Universal Salvation — who would not rejoice to take part?

Moreover, the greatest purpose of entering the Dao is to transcend birth and death, return to the root and source, and never again suffer King Yama's torments or the wheel of rebirth. If you merely say "my heart is good," you are at best a good person in a turbid world — you receive blessings in the next life, nothing more. And blessings too have an expiration. When they run out, who knows what comes next?

Compared with those who enter the Dao, receive the teacher's pointing, and are forever free of the wheel, enjoying endless pure blessings — the two cannot be spoken of in the same breath. Simply savor these two sayings of Confucius: his contempt for the "village worthy," calling him "the thief of virtue" — and his exclamation, "If I hear the Dao in the morning, I can die content in the evening" — and you will understand the difference between a good heart and entering the Dao.

34. Why Was This Dao Not Bestowed in Former Times, but Only Now?

The Dao has its hidden and its manifest phases. In former times the occasion had not arrived — the Dao was in its hidden phase, and few knew of it. Now we are at the end of the Third Era, and the Universal Salvation is wide open.

The Universal Salvation opens now because in recent times the world's ways have declined, the human heart has lost the ancient virtues, the three teachings have faded, and morality has collapsed. Competition grows fiercer, depravity grows deeper, and from this has been forged a catastrophe unprecedented in history. In recent years — floods, fires, wars, plagues, and every kind of disaster tumble over one another, everywhere. This is the working of catastrophe, but it is truly born from the evil qi that humans have produced.

Yet humanity cannot be entirely evil. Those whose good roots remain undimmed cannot be destroyed together with the wicked. Therefore the celestial immortals and Buddhas, moved by compassion, petitioned the Supreme Lord to bestow the Dao in grace and save the good. By heaven's favor this was granted, and the Dao descended. The Universal Salvation was opened wide, spirit-writing altars proclaimed the teaching everywhere, the divine and human met together, and the Great Dao was jointly revealed. The purpose is simply this: through brush and sand-tray, to awaken the human heart, avert the catastrophe, and bring the good together onto the path of awakening, reaching the far shore as soon as possible — transforming this world of suffering into a Pure Land.

This is the compassionate heart of the immortals and Buddhas in saving the world — and the reason why the Dao descends for universal salvation.

35. Since the Great Dao Is a Heart-Transmission of Nature and Principle, Why Are Its Believers Mostly Common People?

This is a matter of timing and destiny. In the three eras before the Xia, the Dao descended to the houses of emperors. In the three eras after, the Dao descended to the houses of scholars and teachers. In our time, the destiny of the Dao falls upon the common people. This is the working of time — no human power can change it.

Moreover, the Dao's regulations forbid involvement in current affairs and politics, forbid hidden schemes, and forbid using the Dao for activism. Therefore its followers are ordinary people.

36. What Is the Dharma-Vessel? Can It Be Seen?

The term "dharma-vessel" is simply a metaphor. It is really just the Dao — without form or shape. Why call it a vessel? Because people in this world live drunk and die dreaming, revolving through the four births and six paths without end — creating causes, receiving fruits, tossed on the waves with no way out, suffering beyond measure. Is this not a sea of bitterness?

But if you cultivate the Dao, you see the world as empty flowers, wealth as bubbles, wife and children as the chains and fetters of passion — form is emptiness, emptiness is form, nothing clings, nothing obstructs. Is this not the same as boarding a vessel?

37. Are All the Many Spiritual Gates Today True Vessels?

There are many spiritual gates today — not all can be called true vessels. Yet each is a gate to some kind of teaching, and all teach people to do good. Some practice meditation. Some chant scriptures and invoke the Buddha's name. Some wield swords and spears. Some practice incantations and spells. The varieties are endless.

In short, there are only two paths: the true and the false. The folk saying goes: "Three turns of the winch — you can run through any gate. Find the true gate and become a Buddha. Miss the true gate and fret for nothing." It all comes down to your discernment and your fortune. This is why Confucius said: "Study broadly, question carefully, think deliberately, distinguish clearly, and practice earnestly."

38. Is It Not Superstitious to Seek the Dao and Worship the Divine?

To be reverent is to be sincere. We naturally show respect and courtesy to anyone who benefits us. The Heavenly Dao descends and reveals the one Principle, displaying the true mechanism. It lets us know that this one Principle is the beginning of all things, and that the True Sovereign is the one and only supreme divinity of all creation. The True Sovereign is called Wusheng — the Unborn. The Unborn is the mother of all spiritual nature and the First Ancestor of all physical life.

People are born into this world and lose their original nature, forgetting the way home — birth after birth, death after death, suffering the agony of the wheel. The Eternal Mother is constantly filled with longing for them, and therefore sends down the Great Dao to save all beings, commanding them to follow the bright road and return to their original nature.

How could anyone seek this Dao — which concerns body, mind, nature, and life — and remain arrogant and indifferent? To worship the divine is simply to repay the grace of our salvation and transmission — an expression of sincere devotion. How can it be called superstition?

39. Can One Pray for Blessings Without Worshipping the Divine?

If you wish to worship the divine and pray for blessings, you must first guard against wrongdoing and reform your faults. Otherwise, "having offended heaven, there is nowhere to pray." Moreover, the cultivator weighs the Dao heavily and blessings lightly. Look at the emperors of old — boundless fortune, and where are they now?

Therefore the Fifth Patriarch said: "People of the world seek only blessings. But if your own nature is confused, what blessing can you seek?"

40. Why Do We Use the Left Hand First When Burning Incense, and Stand at the Center?

The left hand belongs to goodness — it does not hold a knife, it does not strike. We use it for burning incense to invoke the good. Standing at the center means the meaning of the Dao. Our Dao transmits the Center and the One. Center means neither leaning nor tilting. One means the only, the unique — the substance of the Dao. To stand at the center when burning incense is to establish the substance of the Dao.

Center and One are the substance of the Dao. "Center" means "I." If I stand at the eastern gate, the city is to the west. If I stand at the southern gate, the city is to the north. The city has not moved — it is I who have moved. My body is the center. Above heaven, below earth, all things in all directions — all are indicated from this one body. After heaven and earth, the human being is the greatest. Everywhere is the center. Therefore one should never think oneself small.

41. The Folk Saying Goes: "If You Know One, Two, Three, You Can Study to Be an Immortal." How Is This Explained?

The Dao Ancestor said: "The Dao produces the One. The One produces the Two. The Two produces the Three. The Three produces all things."

The subtle wonder of the character "one" is limitless. If a person attains it, can they not become an immortal or a sage? The "center" in "hold faithfully to the center" is simply the "One." This "One" is the heart-method transmitted from sage to sage.

To know the origin of this "One," you must sincerely seek the Dao. Only after receiving the Dao will you understand the true origin of this "One" within your own body. The folk saying goes: "Speaking of the Dao, do not stray from the body. Forging iron, do not stray from the anvil." The ancient sages said: "Seek within yourself and you will find it."

The One is the self-nature. In heaven it is Principle. In humanity it is Nature. Nature is the One. Qi is the Two. The body is the Three. Therefore: if you know One, Two, Three, you can study to be an immortal. The Dao encompasses everything. Whoever can accord with creation in every movement and stillness — that is the true Dao.

42. Isn't It Better to Explain Everything First and Then Seek the Dao?

In these times the human heart has lost its ancient purity, and the true and false stand side by side. We must test the seeker's Buddha-affinity and observe their wisdom — can they distinguish true from false? Only then do we transmit. If we explained everything first, how would we discern?

Moreover, the heart-method transmitted from immortal to immortal and sage to sage — even the ancient sages did not dare reveal it lightly. How much less should ordinary people? Therefore: the Dao descends only at its appointed time, is transmitted only to the right person. Even now, when the Universal Salvation is wide open, there must first be sincere desire to seek the Dao. Only when the test is genuine can transmission occur. Otherwise, who would dare leak the secret and bring heaven's punishment upon themselves?

43. What Is Meant by "Affinity and Portion"?

Affinity is a matter of past roots. If this person is an original soul, a Buddha-child, with heavenly nature undimmed — the moment they hear of the holy Dao, faith arises. They hear and believe. They believe and cultivate. This person has affinity with the Buddha.

"Portion" means rank. A person with affinity, having received the Dao, holds it in their heart at every moment, fearing to fall behind. They accumulate merit and virtue without the slightest slackness. Such a person will surely complete the Dao. After completion, their rank is determined by their merit. This is having both affinity and portion.

But note: to know and not study is to have no affinity. To study and not practice truly is to have no portion.

The ancients said: "If you don't learn young, you'll have no ability when grown. If you don't learn when strong, you'll have nothing but worry when old."

Do not say: "I won't study today — there's always tomorrow." "I won't study this year — there's always next year." Days and months fly past. The years do not wait for us. If you do not act when you should act, regret will surely follow. A man of resolve does not create cause for regret. When the time for regret comes — is it not too late?

44. What Are the "Original Souls"?

At the beginning of the Assembly of Yin, the world was wild and tangled — humans and beasts indistinguishable, eating raw meat, drinking blood, nesting in trees, living in caves, unable to govern the world. Though there were people, it was as if there were none.

The Supreme Lord, seeing that the world was not yet a world, dispatched the Buddha-children from the Western Heaven to be born in the Eastern Land. They are called Original Buddha-Children, or simply Original Souls.

Thus Youchao built dwellings, Suiren brought fire, Houji taught farming, Shennong tested herbs, the Yellow Emperor fashioned garments, and Linglun created music. From this, rites and music were established and civilization was complete. Tracing it all to its source — it was the work of the spiritual nature.

45. What Does "Western Heaven and Eastern Land" Mean?

"Western Heaven" takes its meaning from the west being the direction of white. White is the original color — the ground from which all color comes. Our heavenly nature is originally unstained, white and flawless. All passions and entanglements are acquired from the post-heaven world. Therefore, through the practice of preserving the mind and nurturing the nature, we return to the root and source. Where we first came from — we must return there.

"Eastern Land" means the origin, spring, humaneness — the capacity to give birth to all things. There is a saying: "Work in the east, harvest in the west." From the Western Heaven we descend to be born in the Eastern Land. From the Eastern Land we return to the Western Heaven.

46. If the Dao Is the True Dao, Why Do So Many People Not Believe?

This comes down to ancestral merit on one hand and one's own spiritual roots on the other. Those with affinity hear it without doubting. Those without affinity cannot be compelled. Without a Buddha-root, one can hardly enter the Buddha's Dao.

In short, only a family of virtue produces children who cultivate the Dao. Think of it like a mountain full of gold ore — the government permits the people to stake claims and mine. The foolish take no notice, thinking: "How can there be real gold inside stone?" The wise rush to stake their claims and mine — a thousand pieces of gold per day, suddenly wealthy. Later the foolish realize the gold was real and rush to stake their own claims, but it is too late. All the gold has been claimed by the wise. The foolish are full of regret, but nothing can be done.

Therefore it is said: "Those with affinity meet the Buddha when he appears. Those without affinity meet the Buddha at his nirvana." (Nirvana here means the cessation of salvation.)

47. Why Do People Who Were Eager at First Grow Lax Over Time?

The ancients often said: "Receiving the Dao is easy; cultivating the Dao is hard. Cultivating the Dao is easy; completing the Dao is hard." This simply means that people cannot be constant from beginning to end.

The ancient method of transforming the world was: the first to awaken awakens those who come after, and the later ones emulate the first. In today's Universal Salvation, the success or failure of each hall rests entirely on the shoulders of its administrators. A bell unrung does not sound. A person unwakened does not stir. The ancient sage said: "Humans can broaden the Dao; the Dao does not broaden itself through humans."

Even the immortals and Buddhas of the past needed teachers to guide them — how much more today's people, who are mostly ordinary folk? Therefore administrators must set the example, and sponsors must speak often and earnestly.

Regarding standing firm, guarding one's life-destiny, eliminating addictions, abstaining from lust, fulfilling human duties, fearing heaven's mandate, strengthening resolve, clearing stray thoughts, sitting practice, diligence, tending the incense lamp, keeping the vegetarian fast, establishing virtue, guarding against wrongdoing, reforming faults, and contemplative inquiry — these sixteen essentials must all be upheld without wavering.

The ancients said: "Without merit, no fruit." Though it seems you are completing others, you are truly completing yourself. Only constancy from beginning to end will do.

48. "The Dao Rises One Foot and the Demon Rises Ten Thousand" — Is This True?

Since humanity descended into the world at the Assembly of Yin, through catastrophe after catastrophe, the mountain of evil karma has grown. Past debts are unresolved and present debts accumulate. Grievances pile upon grievances and the wheel turns without end.

The moment you receive the Heavenly Dao, the crowd of demons all petition King Yama for repayment — afraid that if your Dao is completed beyond this world, there will be nowhere to collect the debt. King Yama is perfectly impartial — of course debts must be repaid. And so some are afflicted by evil spirits, some suffer calamities, some are bound by illness — each case different. Karmic tests from the invisible world and demonic trials in the visible world dissolve the debts of the past.

Those whose learning is shallow say to themselves: "I entered the Dao to cultivate blessings — why am I suffering instead?" This provokes ridicule from the worldly and gossip among friends. Many lose heart.

They do not understand: jade unpolished cannot become a vessel; gold unrefined is worth nothing. Without a high mountain, how can you see the low ground? Only metal that has survived a thousand blows is good steel. Simply hold on and endure. Confucius said: "If you cannot endure the small, you will ruin the great plan."

49. What Is the Oath of "Heaven's Punishment and the Five Thunders"?

Heaven's punishment and the five thunders — in common speech, "the five thunders strike the body." Thunder is the vigor of yang. The five thunders are: Heavenly Thunder, Earth Thunder, Yang Thunder, Yin Thunder, and Dharma Thunder.

When Heavenly Thunder sounds, fog and haze are swept away. When Earth Thunder sounds, all things sprout. When Yang Thunder sounds, evil qi is annihilated. When Yin Thunder sounds, the hosts of demons withdraw. When Dharma Thunder sounds, the Great Dao shines forth.

It is not only a single thunderclap that awakens the deaf — all of this is thunder.

Within the human body too, the five thunders are present in full. When shame burns and ears and face grow hot — is that not Heavenly Thunder firing? When conduct goes wrong and the legs cannot move forward — is that not Earth Thunder firing? When propriety is broken and the heart trembles with dread — is that not Yang Thunder? When secret plots are hatched and one cannot sleep in peace — is that not Yin Thunder? When lawlessness troubles the mind, disorders the dreams, and upends the soul — is that not Dharma Thunder unleashed?

When the five thunders fire, it is the moment of battle between Principle and desire. If at that moment you can turn and repent — reverence Heavenly Thunder and your gate of heaven opens; fear Earth Thunder and your gate of earth closes; embrace Yang Thunder and your original qi is preserved; guard against Yin Thunder and your true essence is secured; hold fast to Dharma Thunder and your spiritual nature is sustained. Then the Three Treasures gather, the five qi crystallize, and it is not difficult to recover your original face and enjoy eternal purity.

This is why the Duke of Zhou was moved by wind and thunder, and why Confucius transformed through wind and thunder. If instead you waste your essence, scatter your qi, exhaust your spirit, lose your ethereal and corporeal souls — your body withers, illness multiplies, and you will not even know where death finds you. Must we wait for visible thunder and lightning before seeing retribution?

50. How Do You Explain "Cause and Effect"?

Cause means origin. Effect means result. People of the world cannot "avoid all evil and practice all good" because they do not understand the principle of karmic retribution. Know this: the law of heaven is like a mirror — not a hair's breadth off. Good cause, good effect. Evil cause, evil effect.

Master Shao Yong said: "When people come to consult the oracle — what is fortune and misfortune? When I wrong others, that is misfortune. When others wrong me, that is fortune. A thousand-room mansion — at night you sleep in eight feet. Ten thousand acres of fine land — each day you eat a pint. What destiny is there to calculate? What fortune to consult? Cheating others is misfortune. Forgiving others is fortune. Heaven's net is vast — retribution is swift."

The Supreme One said: "Plant melons and you get melons. Plant beans and you get beans. Plant at the right time, the root grows and bears fruit. Melon or bean — the repayment matches the original." The Buddhist scripture says: "If you wish to know the causes of the past life, look at what you receive in this life. If you wish to know the fruits of the next life, look at what you do in this life."

In short: where there is cause there is effect, where there is effect there must be cause. Bitter cause, bitter effect. Sweet cause, sweet effect. There is no room for doubt.

51. What Is the Relationship Between the Five Constants, the Five Precepts, and the Five Elements?

The Confucian humaneness, righteousness, propriety, wisdom, and trustworthiness are the Five Constants. The Buddhist precepts against killing, stealing, lust, falsehood, and intoxicants are the Five Precepts. The Daoist metal, wood, water, fire, and earth are the Five Elements.

Though the three teachings use different names, their Principle is one. Consider: if you do not abstain from killing, there is no humaneness — and wood is lacking. If you do not abstain from stealing, there is no righteousness — and metal is lacking. If you do not abstain from lust, there is no propriety — and fire is lacking. If you do not abstain from intoxicants, there is no wisdom — and water is lacking. If you do not abstain from falsehood, there is no trustworthiness — and earth is lacking.

Therefore: the Confucian teaches the Five Constants to fulfill the way of loyalty and forgiveness. The Buddhist teaches the Five Precepts to embody the heart of compassion. The Daoist teaches the Five Elements to illuminate the spirit of moral response. Their Principle is the same.

52. Since Lust Harms the Body, Why Does Our Dao Not Forbid Marriage?

Heaven and earth unite and produce all things. Man and woman unite and produce humanity. This is the working of creation. The Buddhist and Daoist traditions, seeing that people are burdened by wives and children and cannot free themselves in a single lifetime, forbid marriage.

But in today's Universal Salvation, we do not go against human relationships. Father and child share the same household. Husband and wife live together. The scholar does not stop studying. The farmer does not stop plowing. The worker does not stop working. The merchant does not miss a day. Half sage, half ordinary — the true heart is tested within the family. As the saying goes: "The way of the superior person begins with husband and wife."

What it means to abstain from lust is simply: moderation. If someone awakens early and fears the burden of family — let them guard against it before it arises. But if a family already exists, nurture it with diligence and care. In every action, guide the children toward goodness. Be worthy of your ancestors above. Do no harm to your descendants below.

Look at the character for "filial devotion" (孝) — old above, child below. If no one had a family, within fifty years the world would be an empty field. What Dao would there be then?

53. Why Are Wine, Lust, Wealth, Temper, and Tobacco So Hard to Give Up, Even Though We Know They Harm Us?

The five Buddhist precepts place wine and lust at the center. Wine disrupts the nature. Lust damages the body. Wealth damages virtue. Temper damages the spleen. Tobacco damages the spirit. These are the five poisons of heaven and earth — the "five turbidities" of this turbid world.

Heaven has the qi of the five elements. Earth has the substance of the five elements. Humans have the organs of the five elements. Used rightly, they are the Five Constants. Used wrongly, they are the five poisons.

Wine, lust, wealth, temper, and tobacco are all transformations of the five elements: the metal star transforms into wealth, the wood star into lust, the water star into wine, the fire star into tobacco, the earth star into temper. If you cannot resolve to cut them out, you will be bound by the five elements.

Even though this Universal Salvation is generous, you must direct them rightly.

54. What Is Meant by "Cultivation and Refinement"?

To level and make smooth is cultivation. To draw out the yang from the yin is refinement.

After the body is formed, selfish desire gradually arises. The selfish mind is yin qi. The heavenly nature is the yang of Qian. Turn the light back and look within — this is using the true yang to transform the selfish yin. Refine the yin within, refine the yang without — work on both simultaneously, keeping them balanced, neither too much nor too little. In time, the great harmony of the center is attained.

55. What Is Meant by "Turning the Light Back"?

In the post-heaven world, thoughts are many. Thinking outward is the forward course. Thinking inward is the reverse course. The forward course makes ghosts. The reverse course makes the Dao. In other words: release and you become a ghost; gather and you become a sage.

Therefore when we tell people to study the Dao, we say "turn the heart around." Turning the heart around is turning thought around. Turning thought around is turning the light back.

Whenever you have a free moment, if you are willing to gather the mind to this place — self and other both forgotten, a single thought of pure sincerity — that is the method of leaving suffering and attaining joy.

The Buddhist scripture says: "In all twelve hours, thought after thought, do not depart from this." Confucius said: "Study and constantly practice it." Both are telling us to do this work. Those who aspire to the Dao must pay attention here.

56. What Is the Meaning of "Compassion"?

The Buddhist school takes compassion as its heart. To share in the suffering of all beings is kindness. To share in the grief of all beings is compassion. The suffering of beings is my suffering. The grief of beings is my grief.

It is also said: "To remove suffering is kindness. To give joy is compassion." Beings are Buddha. Buddha is beings. Beings drown in the sea of suffering. The Buddha makes a vow to ferry them across. Without compassion there is no Buddha.

57. What Is Meant by "The Unity of Heaven and Humanity"?

The cosmos is a great heaven. The human being is a small heaven. In other words: the human being is a small cosmos.

The cosmos has Principle, qi, and form. So does the human being. Our bones and flesh and physical body are form. Our breathing and the circulation through the whole body are qi. The spiritual nature that governs the entire body is Principle.

Our form connects with the form of the cosmos. Our qi circulates with the qi of the cosmos. Our spiritual nature communicates with the Principle of the cosmos.

If the qi of the cosmos overpowers its Principle, all things in the cosmos lose their harmony — the four seasons go wrong, wind and rain lose their measure, the human heart goes awry, society grows wicked, danger springs up everywhere, and the eighty-one catastrophes appear together.

If the qi of the human body obscures its Principle, the person loses their harmony — they chase illusions, abandon truth, indulge desire, throw themselves into the wheel, drift through birth and death forever.

58. What Are the Three Heavens of Principle, Qi, and Form?

The Heaven of Principle is true emptiness. It has no form, no color, no sound, no scent — only a sphere of spiritual void. In its latent state it is supremely empty and supremely luminous, still and unmoving, great beyond all containment. In its manifest state it is supremely divine and supremely luminous, responding to every stirring, entering the most subtle places. Though it has no form, it gives birth to all forms. Though it has no sound, it governs all sounds. Though it cannot be seen or heard, it is present in all things.

Nothing gave birth to it, and it neither arises nor perishes. It is forever luminous, forever present, forever the root of all beings. Whether things exist or are destroyed, it remains. The Heart Sutra says: "Not arising, not perishing, not defiled, not pure, not increasing, not decreasing" — this speaks of its substance. "The image of no image is the true image. The body of no body is the true body."

The Heaven of Qi — the qi-body of the cosmos, commonly also called "heaven." The qi is light and clear; the earth is heavy and turbid. Light and clear belong to yang; heavy and turbid belong to yin. Yin and yang face each other — these are called Qian and Kun. Qian is heaven; Kun is earth. Without this heaven, the earth could not be supported, beings could not grow, sun, moon, and stars could not hang in place, and nothing with form could exist. Its function is to flow, rise, and descend, silently turning the four seasons and beginning and ending all things.

The Heaven of Form — everything with form and color, with substance visible to the eye. In heaven: sun, moon, and stars. On earth: mountains, rivers, plants, and minerals. In a word, everything with a body — whether sentient or insentient — belongs to the Heaven of Form.

In sum: Principle is the Buddha-nature of the Eternal Mother. Qi is the yin and yang of the Supreme Polarity. Form is physical appearance. In generation: from Principle comes qi, from qi comes form. In dissolution: form decays first, then qi, while Principle never decays. It is like death — first the eyes and ears go dim, the hands and feet grow numb, then the breath stops, but the one true spiritual nature takes the wheel again and enters another shell.

Therefore: to escape the wheel, you must cultivate the Dao. Confucius said: "If I hear the Dao in the morning, I can die content in the evening" — this is exactly what it means to be free of the wheel, to resolve birth and death.

59. How Do We Know That the Heavens of Qi and Form Are Subject to Destruction?

The Heaven of Qi has yin and yang, and therefore transformation. Transformation means birth and death. Birth and death mean beginning and end. Confucius said: "Things have root and branch. Affairs have end and beginning."

Heaven and earth, sun and moon, spirits and humans, flying and crawling — which of these is not a "thing"? All have root and branch. The four seasons cycle, cold and heat alternate, wind and rain, sun and shadow, the waxing and waning of the moon — which of these is not an "affair"? All have end and beginning.

The span of the Heaven of Qi is 129,600 years, divided into twelve Assemblies named Zi through Hai. Six Assemblies create; six Assemblies close. From Zi to Si: from nothing to something. From Wu to Hai: from something back to nothing. Heaven opens at Zi and closes at Xu. Earth opens at Chou and closes at You. Humanity opens at Yin and closes at Shen. At the Assembly of Hai — chaos. At the Assembly of Zi — heaven is born again. And so it cycles endlessly.

We can infer the great from the small. One day has its day and night — twelve hours. Day is yang, night is yin — one opening, one closing, day after day. One year has four seasons — twelve months. Spring and summer are yang, autumn and winter are yin — one opening, one closing, year after year. One Epoch also has its twelve Assemblies. Yang is born at Zi, yin descends at Wu. Wu is like noon in a day, Zi is like midnight. Zi is the beginning of creation, Wu is the beginning of dissolution. Before Wu: from nothing into something. After Wu: from something back into nothing.

Therefore: by this reasoning, today predicts tomorrow, this year predicts next year. Great and small share one Principle. Extend it further: from this one Epoch, you can know the Epoch before and the Epoch after. It all fits like the sections of a bamboo — clear in the heart.

60. How Do You Distinguish Principle-Nature, Qi-Nature, and Material Nature?

A person is born receiving the "three fives." The "true five" forms their nature; the "two fives" forms their body. Nature contains the Five Constants, present from birth. After birth, with the first cry, the qi of the Supreme Polarity enters through mouth and nose, and the original nature is changed. As the child grows, surrounded by environment and obscured by material desire, the nature changes again.

Because of the transformations of qi and form, the nature has three kinds: what comes from the Heaven of Principle is the Principle-Nature; what comes from the Heaven of Qi is the Qi-Nature; what comes from the Heaven of Form is the Material Nature.

61. Since All Are Human, Why Are There Sages and Fools?

The reason is simple: each person's qi-endowment is different, the pull of material things varies, and the Principle-Nature develops unequally.

Those whose qi-endowment is shallow and material pull is weak — their Principle-Nature develops strongly, and they aspire to emulate the ancient sages. They become sages and worthies. Those whose qi-endowment is deep and material pull is strong — their Principle-Nature develops weakly, and they cling to the false scenery of the mirror world. They become fools and commoners.

In other words: whoever can overcome the qi of desire and restore the Principle-Nature is a sage. Whoever cannot is an ordinary person.

It is like a mirror: its substance is originally pure and bright. But given time, dust collects. Without wiping, the mirror will never be bright again. The Principle-Nature of humans is the same.

Therefore: the Confucian says "preserve the mind and nurture the nature." The Daoist says "cultivate the mind and refine the nature." The Buddhist says "illuminate the mind and see the nature." The methods differ but all teach the restoration of the Principle-Nature.

62. Since All Living Beings Are Born with the Principle-Nature, Why Is Humanity the Most Spiritual?

Living beings can be divided into five families: feathered, furred, scaled, shelled, and naked.

The feathered family receives the fire-qi of the south — high-flying. The furred family receives the wood-qi of the east — soft outside, strong within. The naked family alone receives the earth-qi, gathering the complete qi of all five directions and the finest essence of all three realms. Clothed in garments, dwelling in houses, keeping the four sacred beasts as livestock, endowed with the four virtues. The human being is the most spiritual of all things — higher than everything, and capable of achieving the true fruit.

63. Why Does Human Nature Have Good and Evil?

The good and evil of human nature are determined by the Principle-Nature, Qi-Nature, and Material Nature.

The Principle-Nature is originally clear and luminous — purely good, without evil. The Qi-Nature is mixed, clear and turbid together — capable of both good and evil. The Material Nature is entirely material desire — evil without good.

When the Principle-Nature governs, the Five Constants appear and all actions accord with the center. When the Qi-Nature governs, clear and turbid cannot be distinguished. When the Material Nature governs, material desire surges — and the qi-nature transforms so that evil outweighs good.

Mencius spoke of the goodness of nature — he was speaking of the Principle-Nature. Gaozi spoke of nature as sometimes good and sometimes not — he was speaking of the Qi-Nature. Xunzi spoke of the evil of nature — he was speaking of the Material Nature.

Mencius, who spoke of the Principle-Nature, understood Principle more than qi — and so he is called a sage. Gaozi, who spoke of the Qi-Nature, understood qi but not Principle — and so he is called a worthy. Xunzi, who spoke of the Material Nature, discussed only material desire and understood neither Principle nor qi — and so he is not counted among the sages.

In sum: the three thinkers differed in their views of the nature's good and evil because they saw the Dao at different depths.

64. Humans Have Three Souls and Seven Spirits — How Are These Distinguished from the Nature?

They differ in location and origin. The soul resides in the liver. The spirit resides in the lungs. Both are the numinous aspects of the two qi — when qi is present they exist, when qi disperses they perish.

But the nature — "not increasing, not decreasing, not defiled, not pure" — entering water without drowning, entering fire without burning, changing houses but never changing its master — that is the true nature.

Look at the characters: 魂 (soul) and 魄 (spirit) both have the radical for "ghost." But the character 性 (nature) — read from the left: "heart-life." Read from the right: "the life of the straight heart." It resides within the Mysterious Pass, neither entering nor exiting, governing all affairs of the body.

What the common people call "the heart" refers to the form. The ancient character for "Dao" had "head" as its first element — the first and greatest matter is the work done at the head.

65. What Is the Human Mind? What Is the Dao-Mind?

What arises from the qi-nature is the human mind. What arises from the Principle-Nature is the Dao-mind.

Every person has both a human mind and a Dao-mind. The human mind is perilous and unstable. The Dao-mind is subtle and hard to perceive. If you cannot control the human mind, the Dao-mind fades daily. If you can control the human mind, the Dao-mind appears daily. Then becoming an immortal, a Buddha, a sage, or a worthy is not difficult.

The human mind belongs to qi. The Dao-mind belongs to Principle. In infancy, the nature is perfectly luminous. When consciousness first opens, each degree of worldly staining obscures one degree of innate knowing. As time passes, the obscuring deepens until nothing remains but a sheet of desire and emotion.

Therefore the method of cultivation is nothing more than this: inwardly conquer selfish desire, outwardly establish moral character, and diligently accumulate merit. When merit is complete, the ancient mirror shines anew — and the original heavenly truth appears.

66. Which Scripture Is Best to Read?

Reading scriptures is really seeking the dharma. Once you have received the dharma, you could stop reading and it would not matter. Simply guard this single point of spiritual nature — that itself is the wordless true scripture.

Besides, the Buddhist canon totals 5,048 scrolls. One scroll per day — fifteen years to finish. Time flies like a shuttle — who has such leisure?

Still, one should not stop reading entirely. But reading a scripture means practicing according to it — only then is it beneficial. The Great Learning, the Doctrine of the Mean, the Analects, the Mencius, the Diamond Sutra, the Platform Sutra, the Classic of Purity and Stillness — all of these open great wisdom and may be studied.

Appendix: Substance and function, root and branch — they are like the root and the tip of a plant. The Dao says: nature is the substance, the mind is the function; the mind is the substance, the hands and feet are the function. Common people know the heart is the master, but they know only the heart of flesh. The heart of flesh is merely one organ among the five viscera — it is not the true master. If you would know the true master, you must inquire into your original face before your parents gave you birth.

67. Are "Wisdom and Insight" Simply a Person's Nature and Life-Destiny?

Our Dao speaks only of wisdom and insight — these are nature and life-destiny.

To see clearly is wisdom. To comprehend all principles is insight. To respond to all affairs, uniting knowledge and action, combining substance and function — that is wisdom and insight together.

How so? In the pre-heaven, there was the nature of Qian and the life-destiny of Kun. Falling into the post-heaven: Qian loses its middle yang line and enters Kun's palace — Qian's three unbroken lines become Li, which is hollow in the middle. Kun's six broken lines become Kan, which is full in the middle.

In the post-heaven: Li is the nature, Kan is the life-destiny. Kan belongs to water. Water belongs to wisdom. Confucius said: "The wise delight in water." Now, using the practice of returning to the root: sweet dew rises, the fire of Li descends, water and fire continually meet — wisdom and insight unite. How could you not complete the Dao?

The Dao originally belongs to the pre-heaven and can only be cultivated in the post-heaven. Therefore the Book of Changes says: "One yin and one yang — that is the Dao."

68. The Dao Has the "Crystallization of the Three Fives" — What Is This?

Not only the Daoist school speaks of it — Confucianism and Buddhism share the same principle. The Confucian three are the Three Bonds (ruler-subject, parent-child, husband-wife) and the Five Constants. The Buddhist three are the Three Refuges and the Five Precepts. The Daoist three are the Three Flowers and the Five Qi. Different names, same Principle. When the practice is complete: one becomes an immortal, one becomes a Buddha, one becomes a sage.

These are the outer Three-Fives. There is also an inner Three-Fives — an even swifter path.

The Eternal Mother's spirit-writing says: "The Two Fives meet and nature-life is whole. The Three Fives crystallize and thread heaven and earth." In a month: on the first, moonlight first appears; by the fifteenth (three-fives), the moon is full. A human reaches maturity at fifteen. The Great Dao is the same.

What are the Two Fives? The eyes. What are the Three Fives? Add the nature. The Two Fives are sun and moon in heaven — capable of reflecting each other. When a person turns the light back and crystallizes it without scattering — that is the method of returning to the root and source.

The scriptures are full of hidden meanings. If something is unclear, hold onto the one nature and the one aperture and work from there. Seek out an illuminated person to guide you — everything will become clear, step by step. Once you understand, let it all go and simply cultivate. Why? The scripture says: "All the dharma I have taught is like a raft." Once you reach the other shore, what do you need the boat for?

69. What Is "The Three Flowers Gathering at the Crown and the Five Qi Returning to the Origin"?

This is the practice of guarding the Mysterious Pass. The Three Flowers are essence, qi, and spirit. The body is the furnace; the Mysterious Pass is the cauldron. What the Dao school calls "establishing the furnace and setting the cauldron" is exactly this.

The Five Qi are the qi of the five organs. When the mind becomes still, turbid qi transforms into clear qi. Establish the furnace and set the cauldron, guard the Mysterious Pass, silently and continuously, as if present and as if absent. The more the better. The Dao crystallizes.

70. The Great Learning Speaks of "Knowing, Then Settling, Then Stillness, Then Peace, Then Reflection, and Then Attainment." How Is This Understood?

This is the Confucian school's practice of cultivation. Inwardly: "knowing where to rest" means guarding the nature. Outwardly: "knowing where to rest" means not acting wrongly. What follows — settling, stillness, peace — are natural consequences.

From knowing where to rest to settling. Settling to stillness. Stillness to peace of heart and spirit. Peace to reflection — and this "reflection" is not idle thought. It means: reflecting on what is heavenly Principle and what is selfish desire. Reflecting on whether one's actions are right or wrong, whether they accord with Principle or not. What accords with Principle — keep it. What violates Principle — discard it. This is attainment.

Having attained the heart-method's transmission, from heart to heart, from seal to seal — wherever you go, you are at home.

71. The Practice of Cultivation

"Knowing where to rest, then settling." The Buddha calls this dhyana: no wayward thoughts arising is dhyana; sitting and seeing the nature is samadhi. Without an Illuminated Teacher's pointing, it is hard to know where to rest. Settling: neither increased in the sage nor decreased in the commoner — the meaning of settling without moving.

The next lines — "then stillness, then peace, then reflection, then attainment" — use the word "able" (能). Why does the first use "have" (有)? "Have" means "originally possessed" — neither increased nor decreased, neither defiled nor pure. "Able" implies effort — and effort has degrees of strength, duration, and steadfastness. Stillness, peace, and attainment belong equally to all natures — but because the effort differs, the qualities of nirvana attained also differ.

This is why the dharma has three vehicles, and the lotus has nine grades.

72. "Bringing About the Perfect Harmony So That Heaven and Earth Stand in Their Proper Places and All Things Are Nourished" — How Is This Applied to the Human Body?

This is embodying the Dao. "Bringing about" means pushing to the utmost. "The center" is the substance of the nature. "Harmony" is the function of the nature.

The ancients said: "To overcome wayward thought is to become a sage." Therefore the purpose of cultivating the Dao is the stillness of the mind. Joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness are emotions. A heart of boundless compassion — feeling for people like this, feeling for things like this.

Mencius said: "If you can fully realize your own nature, you can fully realize the nature of others. If you can fully realize the nature of others, you can fully realize the nature of things. If you can fully realize the nature of things, you can assist the transforming and nourishing of heaven and earth. If you can assist the transforming and nourishing of heaven and earth, you can form a trinity with heaven and earth."

This is what it means: the perfect harmony is achieved, heaven and earth stand in their places, and all things are nourished.

73. What Is the Method of Liberation?

Liberation means: untying the bonds of confused karma and escaping the bitter fruit of the three worlds. Liberation comes through sudden awakening alone — without departing from any appearance.

The Buddha's dharma takes cutting doubt and giving rise to faith as its core, leaving appearances as its method, and non-abiding as its substance.

Liberation of the self-nature — in common speech: seeing through everything. Feel the sour, sweet, bitter, and hot of worldly life. Add to this regular quiet reflection. In every movement and stillness, see from the standpoint of the nature. When affairs come, respond. When affairs go, be still. Then you are not far from seeing the nature.

Know this: ten thousand miles of mountains and rivers are not yours. Wife and children cannot stay together forever. A million in gold still requires the worry of guarding it. Only the nature given by heaven — cultivate it and become divine, abandon it and become a ghost. Suffering and joy are both self-made. Practice like this, and you are liberated.

74. What Is Meant by "Emptying the Body, Emptying the Mind, Emptying the Nature, Emptying the Dharma"?

The body was born from our parents. It also carries the qi of our parents. Its nine openings flow constantly. It is thoroughly impure. A false union of the four elements, it must ultimately decay. Therefore the wise, knowing the body is illusion, treat themselves as already dead before dying — using this phantom body only to study the Dao and cultivate. This is awakening to the emptiness of the body.

Next, observe your own mind. It is neither born nor destroyed, most holy and most luminous. When a situation arises, it appears; when the situation passes, it vanishes. If you can awaken to the true mind — always aware, never dimmed, never following deluded thoughts — acting only from the true nature — this is awakening to the emptiness of the mind.

Next, observe your own nature. It is fundamentally unmoving, yet responds to every touch. It transforms without limit. Its power is unfathomable. Clear and aware, self-knowing and self-luminous. Luminous and still, without action and without constancy. This is awakening to the emptiness of the nature.

Next, consider: all the scriptures taught by the Tathagata are merely expedient guides. Like water washing dust, like medicine curing illness. When the mind is empty and the dharma has done its work — the illness gone, the medicine can be removed. This is awakening to the emptiness of the dharma.

In sum: the true dharma is nothing other than awakening to the source of the mind. Desire uncut, you are dragged by thought. The mind is originally pure and still — now moving, now settling. The mind originally has nothing — yet suddenly imagines that something exists. Possess all forms of wisdom. Be pure and ordinary. Without thought, it is present. The moment thought stirs, it is obscured.

Know the dharma has no use — be pure and self-so. Think neither of good nor evil. Seem foolish, seem clumsy. Practice like this, and it is called cultivating the Buddha.

Therefore: not a single thought arising — that is stillness. Awareness that extinguishes thought — that is the dharma. Acting according to the dharma — that is cultivation.

Those who cultivate the worldly fruit need only accumulate virtue and follow Principle. Those who cultivate the Buddha-fruit must be without self and without other. The two paths — sacred and ordinary — lie in your own choice.

75. The Scripture Speaks of Eyes, Ears, Nose, and Tongue as "the Four Appearances" and Also "the Four Thieves." It Also Speaks of "No Appearance of Self, No Appearance of Others, No Appearance of Beings, No Appearance of a Life-Span." How Is This Understood?

Eyes, ears, nose, and tongue are the four appearances — they are the ministers who serve the king of the nature. But if seeing, hearing, smelling, and speaking are used crookedly, they become four thieves, injuring the original nature. Therefore Confucius warned Yan Hui with the four "do nots" — this is the same principle.

The "no appearance" teaching is connected to the four appearances. The eyes govern action — this is the appearance of others. If you can gaze on all beings as if they were newborn children, choosing neither enemy nor friend, ferrying all equally — that is called "no appearance of others."

The ears govern stillness — this is the appearance of self. If you can know the body is illusion, awaken to the world's impermanence, not cling to bodily life, and rely only on the teaching of the Great Vehicle — that is "no appearance of self."

The nose governs sensation — this is the appearance of a life-span. If you can clearly awaken to your own unborn true nature, not following the flow of consciousness, but relying on expedient vow-power — that is "no appearance of a life-span."

The mouth governs expression — this is the appearance of beings. If you can, regarding all worldly mind, end it once and for all without continuation — that is "no appearance of beings."

In sum: if you wish the Buddha-fruit, guard against the four appearances. If the four appearances are not purified, you will create boundless karma and never see your original face.

76. The Scripture Says: "Keep the Six Gates Constantly Shut — Do Not Let the Original Person Escape." What Does This Mean?

The six gates are the eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, and mind. If these gates are not shut and you let things pass freely in and out, not only can you not complete the Dao — at death you may well fall into the six paths.

Why? Eyes, ears, nose, and tongue are the gates of the four types of birth — the four paths. If you crave beauty excessively, at death the nature exits through the eyes — in the next life you become a bird, an ornament for others' amusement. If you listen to wicked speech, the nature exits through the ears — you become an ox, horse, or donkey, understanding human speech, serving as a beast of burden. If you crave exotic scents, the nature exits through the nose — you become a mosquito, fly, maggot, or ant, tasting filth, dying for your appetites. If your mouth destroys reputations and spreads gossip, the nature exits through the mouth — you become a scaled creature, for the mouth belongs to Kan, which is water, and scales are the image of water.

Those whose bodies are perverse and whose conduct is wrong — unfilial, lawless — will certainly suffer retribution in the next life. This is the wheel of the six paths.

But what of one whose conduct is upright and behavior is good, yet who has no affinity with the Dao and has not received it? In the next life they become a duke, a general, a minister — enjoying one lifetime of glory and a few years of honor. But at death they still return to the underworld. This is the six-path wheel.

Therefore the Dao Ancestor teaches us to close the six gates and avoid the six paths. The outer five gates are easy to guard. The inner gate of the mind is hard to close. The mind hides in the spleen — it is called the yin-spirit.

The Daoist school has a simple method: throughout all twelve hours, focus the mind on the Mysterious Pass. Use the pure yang of true fire to refine it, as if foolish, as if dull — ceaselessly, ceaselessly. After a hundred days of effort, you may taste the clarity and brightness of the purified mind. Continue long enough, and the Dao-mind takes over. The six gates close on their own.

77. The Book of Changes Speaks of "The Creative: Origination, Success, Benefit, Perseverance." Can You Explain?

Qian is the old yang — the Principle of heaven, the nature of humanity. The old yang produces all things and transforms without limit.

Origination, Success, Benefit, Perseverance: in heaven they are the four seasons — spring is Origination, summer is Success, autumn is Benefit, winter is Perseverance. After Perseverance, Origination begins again — life renewing endlessly. This is the Dao of heaven. On earth they are the four directions — east is Origination, south is Success, west is Benefit, north is Perseverance. In humanity they are the Four Beginnings — humaneness, righteousness, propriety, and wisdom.

Earth and self occupy the center, belonging to the element earth. The Yellow Center in its proper place — this is the aperture of the nature. From it, all goodness arises. The common world calls it "the field of the heart." Look at the character "field" (田) — four plots of earth on all four sides. Plant good and harvest blessing. Plant evil and harvest misfortune. Blessing and calamity, fortune and ruin — you sow and you reap.

Therefore Patriarch Lü said: "My destiny has always come from myself. Truly — what I have is mine, not heaven's doing." Understand this: to cultivate blessings is the work of the next life. To cultivate the nature is the work of ten thousand generations. It all rests in your own cultivation.

78. The Book of Changes Says: "The Changes — Without Thought, Without Action, Still and Unmoving, Yet Responsive to Everything." What Does This Mean?

Patriarch Wang said: "The Changes has two kinds of 'change.' The unchanging change is Principle. The exchanging change is number." Principle cannot leave number. Number cannot leave Principle. Without this, heaven would crack, earth would split, humanity would perish, and things would decay.

"Still and unmoving, yet responsive to everything" — this refers to our innate knowing, our innate capacity. Innate knowing and capacity are simply the original nature.

The human nature is originally pure and still. The moment it is touched, all capacities are present — like a mirror reflecting whatever is before it. When the object passes, not a trace remains.

Therefore: still the mind, send away desire. When the floating clouds recede, the moon appears. The original heavenly Principle — what need is there to think about it?

79. Master Zhou Says: "The Truth of Wuji, the Essence of the Two Fives, Wondrously Combine and Crystallize." The Changes Says: "The Way of Qian Produces the Male; the Way of Kun Produces the Female." What Does This Mean?

This is the principle of how human beings are created. The Book of Changes speaks of the Dao up to the Supreme Polarity — but people of the world do not know that above the Supreme Polarity there is still Wuji. This is a book of number.

Therefore it says: "One yin and one yang — that is the Dao."

"The truth of Wuji" — this is the Principle that heaven endows upon the human being. "The essence of the two fives" — this is the blood of father and mother. "Wondrously combine and crystallize" — after man and woman unite, the essence is nourished by blood, the blood is fulfilled by essence. At the moment of two hearts becoming one, silently the true Principle of Wuji enters. This is the meaning of the Three Fives wondrously combining and crystallizing.

When the male qi is sufficient, a boy is born. When the female qi is sufficient, a girl is born. Therefore: "The way of Qian produces the male; the way of Kun produces the female." (Here "way" may also be read as "arrives at.")

80. The Spirit-Training Mentions "Substance and Function, Root and Branch." What Does This Mean?

Substance and function, root and branch are like root and tip — and they have both worldly and sacred dimensions.

In the Dao: nature is the substance, the mind is the function. The mind is the substance, the hands and feet are the function. The common world knows the heart is the master — but only the heart of flesh. The heart of flesh is merely one organ among the five — it is not the true master.

If you would find the true master, inquire into your original face before your parents gave you birth.

81. How Do You Distinguish the Heavenly Dao from the Human Dao? Which Comes First in Cultivation?

Those who focus on nature and life-destiny — in the Universal Salvation of the Third Era — walk the Heavenly Dao. Those who focus on the constant relationships — the ordinary way of the world — walk the Human Dao.

The Human Dao is the branch and trunk of the Heavenly Dao. Therefore whoever would cultivate the Heavenly Dao must first stand on the ground of the Human Dao. This is the starting point. Filial devotion, brotherly love, loyalty, trustworthiness, propriety, righteousness, integrity, and shame — these are the weightiest matters of the three realms. Heaven observes the human heart everywhere and monitors conduct at all times.

If you do not honor your own parents, if you do not love your own siblings, if you deal with friends carelessly without loyalty, if your mouth says one thing and your heart another without trustworthiness, if you are without propriety, without righteousness, without integrity, without shame — cultivation is pointless. If the Human Dao is lost, how can you speak of the Heavenly Dao?

Therefore: those who cultivate the Heavenly Dao must fulfill the Human Dao first. Confucius said: "Learn from below and reach above." Fulfill the Human Dao, and you are close to the Heavenly Dao.

82. What Is a Wise Person?

Wise means "knowing." Only the wise person knows: there is a Heavenly Dao to cultivate. There are sacred teachings and sciences to study. There is an Illuminated Teacher to seek. There is good to be done. There are sins to be confessed. There is an entering and an exiting of the world, a wheel, a cause and effect.

Like the sun in daytime, like a lamp at night — able to know and see, good and evil and their retribution. Knowing and seeing, they can turn from evil to good, from wrong to right. They say nothing against Principle. They do nothing outside the Dao. They take nothing that is not rightfully theirs. Thought after thought centered, moment by moment truthful. Accumulating virtue, making a name — their legacy endures.

This is a wise person. In short: they teach humaneness and righteousness, speak of the Dao and virtue, establish themselves and establish others, advance themselves and advance others — so that everyone may reach the domain of sages and worthies.

83. What Is a Foolish Person?

Foolish means "dull." The dull person's mind is dark. Because it is dark, they do not recognize high from low. They do not know there is a heaven and a hell. They do not believe in the six paths of transmigration. They only know how to chase flowers and wine, slaughter living beings, and feed their appetites.

In one lifetime they kill billions of living creatures, accumulating billions of life-debts. When they meet again in the wheel, they devour one another without end. Why? Because all cattle, horses, pigs, sheep, and domestic animals were once — in former lives — enemies, benefactors, parents, relatives. Falling into the wheel, they changed their heads and faces and came as livestock. The fool kills and eats them — killing their own parents, eating their own family's flesh. On the road of transmigration, parent and child do not recognize each other — they kill and eat without ceasing.

Lose the human body once, and for ten thousand catastrophes you do not recover it.

This is the fool. Note: when Cangjie and his sons created the character for "meat" (肉), they placed two people inside a single enclosure. The folk saying goes: "Eat eight ounces, repay half a catty — when you work it out, it's people eating people."

84. What Is a Confused Person?

Confused means muddled and unclear. The confused person clings to the world, craves wine and beauty, lets the six sense-roots run wild, grasps at the six dusts, indulges in fleeting pleasure, acts with endless deceit, upside-down beyond counting. They care only for present enjoyment and give no thought to future disaster. Chasing illusions and abandoning truth, they read the sacred scriptures in vain. Turning from awakening to embrace the dust — even if they met a sage, they could not be saved. They sink forever in the sea of suffering, permanently losing the true nature. Once they enter the wheel, for ten thousand catastrophes they do not recover. This is the confused person.

85. What Is an Awakened Person?

Awakened means aware. The awakened person can perceive that their own mind is Buddha. They practice the Dao with devotion — the three karmas are without fault, the six sense-roots are pure. With method and with skill, without self and without other, they ferry themselves and ferry others — sharing one Dao. Though they dwell in the world, the world's dharma does not stain them. Sitting within the dust of toil, they turn the great dharma wheel. They transform hell into heaven, point the lost toward the Buddha-nature, do all the work of all the Buddhas, and liberate all beings. With great compassion, they vow to rescue and save. Such a person is an awakened person.

86. Can Someone Who Made Sins in Youth Complete the Dao by Cultivating in Old Age?

The sea of suffering has no shore, but turn your head and there is the bank. If someone in this world can turn their heart around and vow to cultivate — abandoning the wrong, choosing the right, turning from evil to good, keeping the fasts and precepts, submitting to an Illuminated Teacher, and attaining true awakening — then regardless of age, they can complete the Dao.

As the saying goes: "Put down the butcher's knife and you become a Buddha on the spot." Han Yu's awakening to the Dao in old age is proof of this.

87. Can Someone Who Cultivated Their Whole Life but Turns Upside-Down in Old Age — Breaking Fasts, Violating Precepts — Still Complete the Dao?

Such a person, though possessing good roots, lacks great vow-power and true insight. Estranged from their Illuminated Teacher, their mind turns upside-down. They discard all former merit. The six thieves reclaim their dwelling. Their merit and virtue are plundered. When blessings are exhausted and dharma is gone, they sink at last. How could they complete the Dao?

88. Can Someone of Limited Talent and Shallow Understanding Still Grow Through Cultivating the Dao?

Absolutely — practice diligently and seek it in stillness. The ancients said: "Through simplicity, clarify the will. Through stillness, reach what is far." And: "Learning requires stillness. Talent requires study. Without study, no talent. Without stillness, no learning." The arrogant cannot go deep. The restless cannot govern their nature.

Talent that comes from seeking in stillness — this is talent united with virtue. Among all the writers in the world, some have attained something extraordinary through their writing. Why? Because after illuminating the mind and seeing the nature — a single sheet of Buddha-mind — what comes forth is a single sheet of Buddha-Principle.

89. Does a Person Who Cultivates the Dao Fear Death?

Where there is coming, there must be going. A man of resolve faces death as coming home. Today's birth is the starting point of tomorrow's death. Today's death is the starting point of tomorrow's birth. The cycle of yin and yang — even sages cannot avoid it.

Therefore the cultivator regards the two words "birth" and "death" with the utmost seriousness — and yet with the utmost lightness. Why?

If we say we do not fear death — then why do we study the Dao in order to live forever? If we say we fear death — then we who walk the Dao must see through this dusty world, placing birth and death outside our concern. Moreover, having cultivated the Heavenly Dao, we have already transcended birth and death. Why would we fret over the length or shortness of a worldly life?

90. "The Human Mind Is Perilous; the Dao-Mind Is Subtle; Be Refined, Be Single-Minded; Hold Faithfully to the Center" — This Is the Heart-Method Transmitted from Yao to Shun. What Is Its Full Meaning?

"The human mind is perilous" — Humanity is one of the three powers. Endowed with Principle-Nature, the most spiritual of all beings. The mind is the center of all things, the master of all affairs. In other words: the human mind is consciousness, emotion, the stained and deluded mind — the so-called post-heaven qi-nature, which is sometimes good and sometimes not. When consciousness governs, desire proliferates. The human mind is half yin, half yang — capable of good and evil. It leans to one side: lean toward yang and it scatters in disorder; lean toward yin and it sinks into dullness. Dullness and disorder — perilous and unstable. Therefore: "the human mind is perilous."

"The Dao-mind is subtle" — The Dao is the beginning of heaven and earth, embracing all phenomena, the ancestor of all beings. The Dao-mind is wisdom, the nature — the pure, still, wondrously luminous true mind. The so-called pre-heaven Principle-Nature — without good, without not-good. The wisdom-substance is perfectly luminous. The nature is fundamentally empty and still. Neither born nor destroyed, neither increasing nor decreasing — subtle beyond all fathoming. Therefore: "the Dao-mind is subtle."

"Be refined, be single-minded" — Refined means to illuminate. Single-minded means to be sincere. Be refined to cure dullness. Be single-minded to cure disorder. Refine and illuminate. Be sincere and single-minded. Awake and still, still and awake — concentration and wisdom support each other. Gather emotion back into the nature. Transform consciousness into wisdom. Then what was perilous becomes safe on its own, and what was subtle becomes manifest on its own. As it is said: illumination leads to sincerity, and sincerity leads to illumination. In brief: "be refined, be single-minded" — this is the practice of returning from delusion to truth, of illuminating the good and restoring the original.

"Hold faithfully to the center" — "Faithfully" means trust and follow. "Hold" means obey and take refuge. "The center" is true emptiness and wondrous existence. True emptiness: great beyond all outsides, small beyond all insides. Wondrous existence: without beginning or end, exhausting the three realms, pervading the ten directions — the true Dao of the three realms, the true Principle of the cosmos.

In brief: "hold faithfully to the center" — follow the true Dao, take refuge in the true Principle.

This is the heart-transmission from Yao to Shun to Yu to Tang to Kings Wen and Wu to the Duke of Zhou to Confucius. First sage and last sage, heart to heart, seal to seal — honored by all three teachings, unalterable through ten thousand generations.

In sum: the heart-seal from heart to heart is beyond thought and language. The true transmission of the Dao Lineage was originally without a single word.

Colophon

The Explanation of Nature and Principle (性理題釋, Xìnglǐ Tíshì) was composed through spirit-writing by Ji Gong, the Living Buddha (濟公活佛), in the twenty-sixth year of the Republic (1937 CE). Ji Gong is the principal spirit-teacher and patron saint of Yiguandao (一貫道, the Way of Unity), and within the tradition is identified as the incarnation of Maitreya's working presence — the Buddha of the White Sun Era who speaks in the vernacular to the common people.

This is the foundational catechism of Yiguandao — ninety questions and answers covering the theology, cosmology, soteriology, ethics, and cultivation practices of the tradition. Topics 4 and 17 were marked as "temporarily omitted" (暫略) in the source text.

Translated from Modern Chinese (白話) with Classical Chinese quotations, independently from the Chinese source text. No prior English translation was consulted. The locked terminology of the Good Work Library Yiguandao corpus was followed throughout. Gospel register.

A Good Works Translation by the New Tianmu Anglican Church, 2026.

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Source Text

性理題釋

我也是一個求道的人。在閱讀濟佛的這部性理題釋後獲益良多，所以希望能和大家分享。

濟公活佛自序

道者理也，不明理，焉修道？故欲修道，必先明理。明理之法無他，全在有疑必問而已。惜乎世人，皆恥下問，以故愈疑愈迷，迷而不悟，離道遠矣。大道自開普渡以來，得道原子，不為不多，然而求其能明理修道者，則又寥若晨星。此何故，是皆由於有疑不問，問而不能領悟之故也。餘因有鑒於斯，乃有性理題釋之作。每題解答時，釋義則力求簡明，言詞則力求淺近。此數十題雖不敢言盡善盡美，然而粗理俱備，或可作為參考之用。總而言之，餘之目的，使修道者觀此，徹悟真理，而為進修之指南；慕道者閱之，疑釋理明，而作求道之門徑；人人若能照言實行，縱不能登峰造極，亦可消夙世冤愆，齊脫苦海，共登覺路，是余之厚望焉。

民國二十六年歲次丁醜春三月朔日

一、道的真義

天地元始，渾然一團，渾渾噩噩，實無一物，無聲無臭，至虛至神。道祖曰：無名天地之始，『即象○』；有名萬物之母，『即象一』。大道無名，強名曰道。道大無形，強以圈形之。圈者一之靜象，虛理一團，道之全體。一者圈之動象，一本散于萬殊，道之達用。圈動一生，一縮為點，點伸為一。『圈』、『一』、『點』實為動靜伸縮，變化無窮。放之，則彌六合，曰一；卷之，退藏於密，曰點；大而無外，小而無內，無所不貫，無所不包，彌綸天地，包羅萬象，真空妙有，萬靈之主宰也。在天謂理，在人謂性。理者，萬物統體之性。性者，物物各俱之理。人人有，而不知其有。知此者，大化神聖。迷此者，墬入鬼關。故曰：讀破千經萬典，不如明師一點。其點統四端而兼萬善。側隱之心，仁之端也；羞惡之心，義之端也；是非之心，智之端也；辭讓之心，禮之端也。

智

義   ┼   仁         仁義禮智其中有信。孔子曰：人而無信，不知其可也。

禮

豎寫為 │ ，橫寫為 ─ ，體用並行，即為 十 字，

經

緯   ┼   數

理

玩索其味無窮。故老子曰：大道無形，生育天地。大道無情，運行日月。大道無名，長養萬物。未有天地，道先立其體；既有天地，道能廣其用。

二、道與人有何關係

中庸雲：道也者，不可須臾離也，可離，非道也。道者理也，人必由之路也。人依乎道德，如火車在軌，如輪船在水，如飛機在氣。若是火車離軌，輪船離水，飛機離氣，則險象環生。人若離道，在社會受法律之裁判，在陰司受閻羅之制裁，則墬入輪回，四生六道，轉變不息，苦海無邊。孔子曰：君子死守善道。君子憂道不憂貧。君子樂道。顏子得之，拳拳服膺，終生無失；曾子得之，戰戰兢兢，一日三省己身。以此觀之，道與人有密切之關係，惜乎世人，度外置之。孔子歎曰：誰能出不由戶，何莫由斯道也。

三、大道之沿革

道德經所說之大道無形，生育天地，足征天地之源出於道，未有天地先有此道。史記雲：天開於子會，而沒於戌會；地辟於醜會，而沒於酉會；人生於寅會，而沒于申會。當寅會人之初生，性本善，由天生人也，其權在天，無道可言。道降中天，人生人也，其權在人，伏羲氏首出，仰觀俯察，知天地之運行，而劃先天八卦，以顯天地之蘊奧，此為大道降世之始也。繼由軒轅氏時代創文字，建宮室，制衣裳，文化大備，此謂道之成也。嗣後堯舜禹湯文武周公，接續道統，心法一脈相傳，此時期謂之青陽應運之期，道之整也。幽厲之世，五霸迭興，群雄紛爭，天子政令不能行於天下，道轉紅陽之期，而由道分為三教，此謂道之分也。老子降世發揚道宗，東渡孔子，闕裏傳猶龍之歎，西化胡王，函關現紫氣之瑞，關尹子強留老子作書，而著道德經五千言，為道教之始祖也。孔子周遊列國，教化萬方，刪詩訂禮，繼往開來，闡永久不變之真理，立萬世不易之定論，大道之精微奧玄，學庸敘述備至，成儒教之始祖。孔子傳曾子，曾子傳子思，子思傳孟子，孟子以後，道脈西遷，心法失傳，曆秦、漢、晉、隋、唐，議論囂然，無有造此域者，迨至炎宋，文運天開，五星聚奎，希夷首出，濂、洛、關、閩，如周敦頤、程頤，程灝、張載、朱熹等相繼而起，真儒賴以昌明，然而運不相逢，終究未繼道統，良以孟子之時，道脈心法業經盤轉西域，釋教接衍，所以中土宋朝儒者輩出，不過闡發道旨而已。釋迦牟尼佛西域承續道統，渡大弟子迦葉，為佛教之始祖。道分三教，各傳一方，各留經典。釋教單傳二十八代至達摩尊者，梁武帝之時達摩西來，真機複還中土，此謂之為〝老水還潮〞也。自達摩入中國，真道心法仍然一脈相傳，達摩初祖傳神光二祖，神光傳僧燦三祖，僧燦傳道信四祖，道信傳弘忍五祖，弘忍傳六祖惠能。至六祖之時衣缽失傳，禪宗而分南頓北漸，其實道歸庶民俗家，六祖惠能——盧氏，諱惠能，號惠能大鑒師，乃地藏王化身。曾有《六祖壇經》一部遺世。六祖渡白馬廟孫敷仁，道降傳火宅，昔日五祖將“衣缽”傳于六祖時，曾於夜間密囑，勿令道脈絕滅，但不可傳之惡僧。後來六祖果遇惡僧迫令傳其衣缽，六祖逐奔至廣東曹溪。二次又被尋逐，幸遇白玉蟾于田中將六祖救護，迎至其家，六祖遂授衣缽，後又遇馬端陽，也授以正法。從此釋終儒起，道興火宅。此是密機，因不令僧知，故《壇經》不載。

白玉蟾、馬端陽並稱七祖，羅蔚群八祖、黃德輝九祖、吳紫祥十祖、何了苦十一祖、袁退安十二祖、楊還虛、徐還無並稱十三祖、姚鶴天十四祖、王覺一十五祖、劉清虛十六祖，此乃紅陽十六代圓滿，道轉白陽之期，彌勒應運，路中一為十七祖，大開普渡，大闡玄機，弓長十八祖，弓長子系繼續辦理末後一著，三曹普渡，萬教歸一。三代以上，道在君相，一人而化天下，為青陽劫；三代以後，道在師儒，三教繼續而出，各傳一方，為紅陽劫；現值三期末會，世風頹壞，浩劫流行，大地無完土，道在庶民，人人得道，個個成佛，為白陽劫，此大道之沿革也。

四、暫略

五、輪回有嗎？

輪者，車輪也，回者，去而複來也。天一輪也，地 一輪也，天地相磨，寒暑迭運，風雨推旋，是天地一大輪迥也，日一輪也，月一輪也，日月代明，運行不息， 晝夜迴圈，是日月一小輪迥也。

天地日月，輪迥樞紐，陰極陰消陽長，陽極陽消陰長，故有南北二極。南極入度三十六，常隱而不現，為陰極，即陰儀也。北極出度三十六，常現而不隱，為陽極，即陽儀也。南北二極，輪回天地，凡天地之間，日月之下，莫不受其輪回矣。

人得天地正道之氣而生，受日月精華之氣而長，負陰抱陽，無一時不在天地覆載之中，無一時不在日月照臨之下，能免其輪迥乎？故人隨陰則陰，隨陽則陽，日為陽，月為陰，夜則月出屬陰主靜，人隨之而靜，則休息，晝則日升屬陽主動，人隨之而動，則工作。萬物隨天地流行之旨，或陽極陰生，輪到陰間作鬼，陰極陽生，輪到陽間而為人，此陰陽消長之機，天地日月輪迥之理。

輪迥之道有六，胎卵濕化生死，人有富貴貧賤四道 ，富極而生貧，貧極而生富，貴極而生賤，賤極而生貴，物極則反，人極則輪到物，物極則輪到人，胎卵輪到濕化，濕化輪到胎卵，生生死死，死死生生，大輪小輪，惡輪善輪，人輪物輪，神輪鬼輪，試看鐘錶之輪無數，輪來輪去，即是迷魂陣，任爾英雄好漢，難以跳出此牢籠。

經雲：“念破金剛經，讀徹大悲咒，種瓜還得瓜，種豆還得豆，不受明師點，永在輪回受。”

六、何謂超生了死

順治皇帝出家詩雲：“未曾生我誰是我，生我之時我是誰，長大成人方知我，合眼朦朧又是誰，來時糊塗去時迷，空在人間走一回，不如不來亦不去，亦無煩惱亦無悲。”莊周又曰：“我本不願生，忽然生在世，我本不願死，忽然死期至，足見鬼怕生，能不生乎，人怕死，能不死乎，死死生生，真假莫辨，流浪生死，苦海無邊。欲求了死，先求了生，欲求了生，必先超生，若遇明師，直指大道，地府抽名，天堂掛號，則脫閻君，不落無常之手，若不屆三期末劫，真道不降，欲超生了死，誠難矣，經雲：‘踏破鐵鞋無覓處，得來全不費功夫’，誠哉斯言也。”

七、得道有四難怎講

1、人身難得，2、三期難遇，3、中華難生，4、真道難逢。

老子雲：“吾患此身，吾愛此身。”患此身者，色身有六賊，即眼耳鼻舌身意，眼之欲色，耳之欲聲，鼻之欲嗅，舌之欲味，身之欲觸，意之欲貪妄，如財色誘於外，情識開於內，內外交感，為善之心，不能自主，為惡之心，不能自遏，造成無底地獄，此身實堪患矣。人為萬物之靈，性藉此身以存，身藉此性以生，真不離假，假不離真，真假打成一片，舍利子，色不亦空，空不亦色，藉此身以超此性，苟無此身，此性何以超之，此即愛此身也，故人身難得也。

苟無至道，不明真假，不明利害，糊糊塗塗，草了一生而已矣，三期末劫者，亦為三陽開泰，劫泰並行之謂也，即青紅白三陽之轉運也。然道，非時不降，非人不傳，比如人之患病垂危，必治之於醫藥，藥應病而服，道應劫而降，屆此三期末劫，三災八難齊現，空前一大險象也，非真道不足以救拯，泰在真道降世，萬靈普救，故曰三期難遇。

中華位居亞洲，亞（繁體字“亞”）字為白十字也，天地之樞紐，曰中國，中華，中原，中央。中也者天地之大本也，聖人脈脈而出，開化最早，古稱天朝，真道降始之地也，故曰中華難生。

三期萬教齊發，真者法不二門，假者貿貿皆是，佛雲：“摸著根的成佛祖，摸不著根的瞎修行。”真道非佛緣深厚，祖德蔭澤之人，實難遇之，故曰真道難逢。

八、人得一則聖怎講

無極動一生，一本散于萬殊，天得一則清，地得一則寧，人得一則聖，故佛曰明心見性，萬法歸一；道曰修心煉性，抱元守一；儒曰存心養性，執中貫一。一者理也，人得天之理以成性，得天之一以成形，故在先天，一性圓明，渾然天理，不飲不食，無思無慮，隨母呼吸，一氣流行，迨降生而後，的一聲，陰陽二氣，從口鼻而入，則一分為二矣。蓋先天只一性，後天又一命，性命分二，各失其一。性失一乾變離，離者離也，離則必散，散則虛，一點靈性，離了舍利子本位，本位虛矣，一點靈性，散於眼而知觀色，散於耳而知聽聲，散於鼻而知香臭，散於口而知語言與飲食，散於四肢而知動作，散於皮膚而知痛癢，散於毛孔而知冷熱，散於臟腑而知饑飽，散於心而生六欲，散於意而有七情，東飄西蕩，醉生夢死，昏沉下墜，危殆不安，則命又失一，坤變為坎，坎者坎坷也，坎坷即陷，這點靈性，陷於七情六欲，泊沒於酒色，淹埋於財氣，轉於四生六道之輪回，而不能返本還原。天失一，則星辰亂度；地失一，則山崩海潰；人失一，則陷到輪回。性者“理”也，理失一，則“埋”，得一成理，語雲：“有理走遍天下，無理寸步難行。”

九、為何真道有譭謗

語雲：“曲高和寡，道高毀來，德修謗興。”然道大理微，俗學之士，何能窺測，難免疑惑叢生，出謗言流語。孔子雲：“人不知不慍，不亦君子乎。”道不謗不興。佛雲：經過一次謗，就了一分冤愆。孔子當傳道時，人皆謗之，以後道成天上，名留人間，聖廟滿布海內，中外無不欽仰。

十、為何真道尚且有考

真道逆行，順行成鬼，逆行成仙，古雲修道如同上高杆，下來容易上去難。活佛雲大法大隱有大顯，真道真考見真心。語雲：玉不琢，不成器；金不煉，不值錢。道家講文烹武煉，儒家講切磋琢磨。考者考驗其志而已。孔子厄于陳蔡，不登高山，不知顛墜之患；不臨深淵，不知沉溺之患；不臨大海，不知風波之患。芝蘭生於幽林，不因無人而不芳；君子修道立德，不因困貧而敗節。既解于厄，孔子顧二三子曰：陳蔡之間，丘之幸也，二三子皆幸也。當知刺激乃發奮之始，成之者，豈不在斯乎？孟子曰：天將降大任於斯人也，必先苦其心志，勞其筋骨，餓其體膚，空乏其身。考者，上天之成全也。比喻省府之甄別縣長，投考者，限之以資格，不得任何人皆能投考。孔子曰：朽木，不可雕也；糞土之牆，不可朽也。佛緣深厚之人，上天考之，苟非其人，其皆能成天考耶。

附：以覺為師

末後時期，顛倒眾生應該進入正道，要自修自覺而 不只是以戒為師。此時，當要以「覺」為師，要覺佛覺性，度化眾生是自覺覺他的事。個個以覺為師，才能突破外在的種種束縛，而外在的種種法門為的是方便接引眾。徒兒們，要成全自己，若還要佛規禮囑、戒律來約 束自己的話，就還在外道上學道，在被動上學道。

十一、道之神明

理者，天地萬物之主宰，至虛至靜，至神至明，至尊至聖，可尊之曰上帝，可尊之曰萬靈真宰。能生天地，化育萬物，為萬物之母，故尊之曰老母。大雅曰：殷之未喪師，克配上帝。小雅雲：維皇上帝。上帝者唯一之至尊之神也。天地日月，萬靈萬有，生死變化，皆上帝主宰之，否則世界息，萬物畢矣。近世科學發達，物質文明，不信神佛，以一切自然現象，認為人類發明，一切維新製造，認為人類技能，不知自然現象誰造之？人類技能誰與之？聲光電化誰生之？電生雷，雲氣化生雨，其中作用又誰為之？僅曰自然作用，可謂未窮其究竟，可謂未得其真要素。理可信乎？性可信乎？見光即知有日，見人即知有物，見子孫當知有祖宗，見天地萬物當知有造天地萬物之真宰。飲水當要思源，溯自寅會生人，父父子子，生生不息，知有其祖，而不知有其始祖，靈性來來去去，知有生身之母，而不知有生靈性之老母。慨人性之日昧，歎世道之日沉。人皆迷此根源，流浪生死，以眼見為有，以眼不見為無，如魚之在水，只見其水族；人之在氣，僅能觀其氣體，乃兩大之事務無窮，一人之知識有限故也。

十二、三乘大法

三乘法者，上中下也，故有頓漸權實之分矣。真法有宗有派，有隱有顯，直指見性，口傳心印，一點成佛，一步直超，脫氣還理，謂之頓法，聞之者成聖成佛，千古不傳之秘寶，孔子曰：朝聞道，夕死可矣。此為最上乘之大法也。

參禪打坐，轉法輪，運周天，抽添搬運，採取烹煉，煉就冬至一陽，夏至一陰，即使幸而有成，不出陰陽二氣，由信而解，由解而行，由行而證，漸法之轉空也，修之者成賢人成氣天仙，此謂中乘氣天之法也。

敲打念唱，修橋鋪路，救貧濟災，此乃迴圈之理也，今世修善，來世享福，福盡善盡，仍墜輪回，經雲：若問前世因，今生受者是，若問來世果，今生作者是，如箭射虛空，力竭即墜，行之者成善人，成好人，不能成仙佛耳，此謂下乘法也。

十三、求道後如何行功

以道存心，謂之德性，行於倫常，謂之綱常，有道無德，必定出魔。子曰：“苟無至德，至道不凝焉”。 德者，得也，行功即立德也。要行濟人利物之事，要有拯災救世之心，要遵三教聖人之訓，竭力躬行實踐。凡抄善書，立佛堂，廣勸化，多開荒，宣揚道義，啟發人智，化一人成道，功德實非淺鮮，外功圓滿，內功隨之而圓。至於凡情上，濟急救難，賑災匡危，小則出資獨辦，大則集資共舉，要隨地隨人隨時隨事，多方而利導之。與父言慈，與子言孝，與兄言友，與弟言恭，與夫婦言和睦，與朋友言信實，與官吏言忠正。化惡為善， 化愚為賢，則為真功，不存沽名釣譽之心理，與無惡言厲色之表現，若沽名釣譽，無所謂功矣，若性躁氣憤而勸人，則非修道之人矣。

十四、何為三曹普渡

大道普渡靈性之範圍極廣，上可以渡天上河漢星斗 ，氣天諸仙，中可以渡人間芸芸眾生，下可以渡地府幽冥鬼魂，此之謂三曹普渡。

十五、上渡河漢星斗怎樣渡法

此時正應三期末劫，三佛治世，故有三曹普渡之事 。蓋以過去修行之客，煉氣之士，而末遇上天開恩渡回 ，超入理天者，以及忠臣孝子，烈女節婦，死後豈能湮沒，雖可升為氣天之仙，或為鬼中之神，然如不得天道，仍是難脫輪迥之苦，不能返本還原。現逢三期末劫，天道普渡，故氣天諸仙，常有隨神佛到壇，或到處顯化，找尋前世有緣之人，擔任引保，求得天道，返回理天，永脫輪迥，故河漢星斗之渡法，較人為繁難也。

十六、下渡幽冥鬼魂怎樣渡法

人生世上，孝悌為本。孝經雲：“立身行道，揚名於後世，以顯父母，孝之終也”。吾人果欲孝道無虧，生前固應竭盡孝敬之誠，死後尤須實行超拔亡靈之功，俾得永脫輪迥之苦，而享受理天之清福。不過為子孫者，若欲超拔九玄七祖，幽冥鬼魂，究竟怎樣渡法，始可達到目的。必須修道有恆，有功有德，對道有表白者，方能超拔，此可謂：“一子入道，九祖光榮，一子成道， 九祖超升。”

十七、暫略

十八、何謂三期末劫

自開天闢地，以至天窮地盡，其間謂之一元。一元共有子丑寅卯辰巳午未申酉戌亥十二會，一會有一萬零八百年，每會因氣象之變遷，而有數期之劫運，現在午會之中，未會未至，自午會以來，計有四千餘年，已有三期之分，第一期曰青陽劫，應伏羲氏時代，第二期紅陽劫，應文王時代，第三期白陽劫，應于中天傳道之際。每期道劫並降，以渡善良之人，進入道中，惡孽之輩，打在劫內，溯自寅會生人，以至於今，眾原子生生死死，貪戀紅塵假景，迷失本來靈性。既不知從何而來，複不知尋路而歸，愈沉愈迷，愈迷愈壞，世風險詐，以達極點，因之釀成空前之大劫，故曰三期末劫。

附：

一、青陽期

起於伏羲氏的時候，到商太丁，即周王季的時候止，共一千八百八十六年。這叫做青陽劫期。當初上帝以世人的罪惡輕重，定下九劫，名叫『龍漢水劫』，當初中國外國都有九次大會戰均以洪水為害，故名『水劫』，後又連續更換了九個時代，凡換每個時代，必起戰爭。

那九個時代呢？就是神農、軒轅、少昊、顓頊、帝嚳、帝堯、帝舜、夏禹、商湯，共九個時代。其實上古時代，無有文字計數，故以珠代數，當時仙家傳有珠子九粒，號稱『九轉金丹』，每一顆珠子，代表一個劫數，共有九顆珠子，就代表九個劫數。然而世上的人，並非都是惡的，故特將天道降世，又惟恐世人不知，故特派「木精子」降世為「伏羲氏」繼天立極、代天宣化、傳真宗、救原子，使在世躲劫難，出世超生了世，這就叫做「青陽普渡」

又在普渡時，明君代天傳道，傳下「三寶」：

一為「真宗」：我人自性所居的“玄關竅”

二為「真經」：仙家所念的四字真經

三為「真憑」：也就是蓮葉合同

二、紅陽期

起于商帝乙，即周王季的時候，到中華民國止，共三千一百一十四年，這叫做紅陽劫期。當初上帝以世人的罪惡的重，定下十八個劫，名叫『赤明火劫』，因當初中國外國都有十八次大會戰，均以烈火為害，故名『火劫』，後又連續更換了十八個時代，凡換每個時代，必定殺人無數；

那十八個時代呢？就是東周、春秋、戰國、贏秦、西漢、東漢、後漢、西晉、東晉、南北朝、北唐、南唐、五胡、北宋、南宋、元朝、明朝、清朝，共十八個時代。

當時佛家傳有珠子十八個，號稱『十八尊羅漢珠』每一顆珠子，代表一個劫數，共十八顆珠子，就代表十八個劫數。上帝不忍善惡不分，玉石俱焚，故派「金精子」降世為「太公望」繼天立極、代天宣化、傳真宗、救原子，使在世躲劫難，出世超生了死，這就叫做「紅陽普渡」

又在普渡時，明師代天傳道，亦傳下「三寶」

一為「真宗」：我人自性所居的“玄關竅”

二為「真經」：佛家所念的六字真經

三為「真憑」：亦就是蓮花合同

三、白陽期

起于中華民國時代，到將來的一萬零八百年止。在此一萬零八百年的中間，叫做白陽劫期。上帝以現在世界上人的罪惡輕重，降下八十一浩，劫名叫「延康風劫」。現在中國外國，都會有八十一次大會戰，如徐州會戰、上海會戰、長沙會戰、衡陽會戰、列寧格勒會戰、柏林會戰、巴黎會戰、大西洋會戰、太平洋會戰...等。

所謂「延罡風劫」，就是都以罡風為害，像鈾和氫的原子炸彈，及未來慧星，和罡風的掃世等等，萬物完全化為灰塵。

現今白陽開科一萬零八百年，不能改變，白陽天盤「彌勒古佛」白陽道盤「水火精子」繼天立極、代天宣化、傳真宗、救原子，使在世躲劫難，出世超生了死，大道普傳，普渡三曹，萬教歸一、齊起歸根，務使人人返本還原。

又在普渡收圓時，明師代天傳道，亦傳下「三寶」

一為「真宗」：我人自性所居的“玄關竅”

二為「真經」：白陽期所念的無字真經

三為「真憑」：亦就是蓮藕合同

青　陽　期            紅　陽　期         白　陽　期

掌 管 天 盤            燃 燈 古 佛             釋 迦 文 佛          彌　勒　佛

掌 管 道 盤             伏 羲 氏                 四 正 文 佛          濟 公 活 佛

末 後 收 圓            瑤 池 金 母             西 王 聖 母          濟 公 活 佛

赴 會                      櫻 桃 會                  蟠 桃 大 會        龍 華 大 會

注 盤                      菱 角 天 盤             查 補 天 盤         重 整 天 盤

考 道                      阿 靈 王                  申 公 豹              阿 修 羅 王

遭 劫                     龍 漢 水 劫              赤 明 火 劫         延 康 風 劫

成 道 佛 子           二 億                        二 億                   九十六億

十九、一樣飲食為什麼有疾病不離身的有終年不病的呢

人本肉體，焉能無災，然而大病由於報應，小病由於不愛惜，所以陰司有散病之鬼，天宮有降災之神，皆是奉命辦事的，且人之疾病，不止溫涼失慎，七情六欲，皆能成疾，不止飲食色欲所傷，一切貪求不足，所謀不遂，為害更大，俗雲：心安茅屋穩，性定菜羹香。聖經雲：富潤屋，德潤身，心寬體胖，是以君子處世，出言思理，作事放過，半盡人力，半聽天命，須知人命之所有，天不能奪，天之所予，人不能強，故曰：君子安命。三國時，洛陽大歉，民有饑色，惟一人光潤如常，曹問其故，其人曰：吾持齋三十年矣，所以誠心修道者，可將蔥蒜酒肉戒淨，則所生之氣血潔淨，而疾病自少矣。

二十、入道後要想前進以何為先

若欲前進，應該先將信心立穩方可，因為信為修道之母，功德之源，人若無信，占課也不靈，何況修道乎，要知人人具足天性，聖凡同體，只因迷悟不一，故有差別，頭圓足方，以象天地，一呼一吸，以象陰陽，二目同日月，五臟即五行，喜怒哀樂，即風雷雲雨，仁義禮智，本元亨利貞，降生赤子，天地同體，堯舜孔孟，不異常人，明理者為仙佛，悖理者為鬼魂，率而修之曰道，此乃一定不移之理也。

二一、佛法無邊初入者不知有無簡便之法以便節節而行

儒門存心養性之法，初入者即可行之，因為心存於善則致福，心存於惡則招禍，心存於靜則保壽，時時存于玄關，名曰君子時中，養性存心具備矣。豈不聞孟子說過嗎，君子之所以異于人者，以其存心也。君子以仁存心，以禮存心。仁者愛人，智者利人，禮者敬人。愛人者人恒愛之，敬人者人恒敬之。我們學道，可將道念添上，即妥。

二二、修行有順逆之法可得聞乎

此是後天功夫，然亦不可不知，人之精氣神，及耳聞目見，洩於外者就是凡，向內收者則成聖。外洩為順行，內收為逆行，所以孟子說：學問之道無他，求其放心而已。存養之功夫，系一心清靜。迴光返照，離火自然下降；紅舌高卷，甘露由漕溪上升；升多下嚥，直入丹田，與命門火相見，水化為氣，氣神滿足，勞而不倦，既入前降後升，乾乾不息。精滿不思淫，而化為氣，氣滿不思食，而化為神，神滿不思寢，而化為虛，虛靈不昧，遍滿法界。道家名曰運周天，佛家名叫轉法輪，儒雲人欲淨而天理流行，此即逆行功夫。要知凡人之氣，前升後降，真人之氣，前降後升，此非兩相反麼？

二三、本道中有超拔亡魂之事不知怎樣說法

古者佛規，一子成道，七祖超升。當初開普渡時，無極母定例，渡生不渡死，後來蒙三官大帝，地藏古佛，懇乞鴻恩，才准陰陽齊渡，因而立下佛院，以候超拔，得道歸空者，候期定位，功德兼修者，取入超等，功德不及者，轉生再修，或降福地，享以洪福。夫孝，有凡聖之分別，世俗之孝，生事以禮，死葬以禮，祭祀以禮，不過將為子者之心盡到，就算完了，然而不能消解父母之罪愆，脫出輪回，得以不在張門為子，李門為婦，所以這種孝，是小孝，如有真心孝子，追想劬勞難報之恩，欲超拔父母者，非修道不可。再道中有加果位一事 ，六十四功加一果，拔一層父母，共計七層，系拔上七代，若下拔子孫者，為恩拔，非有大功大德不可。甲子年時，規矩又改，凡齊家者，即可拔父母，若拔祖父母者，仍依前例二層果位，方為合格，其外類推。

二四、超拔亡靈以後有甚麼證驗

亡靈超拔，經過百日以後，就能到壇結緣批訓，說明閻君輪回之苦難，如何超脫，如何飛升極樂理天，享受清福，以及生前未經辦理清楚之事，臨終未經囑咐之言，均能在鸞壇上詳細批明，或借人敘述，可為超拔亡靈確切之證驗。

二五、亡靈超拔了歸於何處

亡靈經超拔之後，即可天榜掛號，地府抽名，而歸於理天天佛院自修堂。複經百日修煉，以恢復純陽之體 ，然後再由明明上帝，派定三官大帝，按功定果，但其果位，須以其生前之修養，及其子孫之功德為標準。故仙佛聖賢，雖人各有份，然亦須按其修煉與功德成績，而定其品蓮。

二六、進了道也吃素嗎

吾人入道之後，齋戒最為切要。蓋以先天之性，原本至清，決不容有濁氣相混合，遇有濁氣攙雜其間，自必亂失本真。故修道之人，必須留清去濁，始能複明本性，凡屬五葷三厭，皆當儘量戒除。五葷氣味兇險，食之則五臟之元氣，易被沖散；三厭為禽獸水族之類，俱屬陰濁，食之易傷純陽之體。吾道既以修煉純陽為旨，更須避陰保陽為妙，況且上天以好生為德，修道之人，應體上天之意，不可貪圖口腹，任意殺生，致造孽愆。對於葷腥食物，雖不能一時戒盡，亦宜漸而行之，先持花齋月齋，久之漸成習慣，然後再持長齋。

二七、入了道有什麼效果

入道之後，指點關竅，智慧大開，如能誠意抱道奉行，能將以前的罪過完全取消，且確保生時順當，躲劫避難，死後平安，脫去閻君之苦，輪回之災，其後效果，至偉且大，願世之修道者，速覺猛進，以證功果。

二八、效果也有證驗嗎

眾生若能修持大道，積德感天，在生前逢凶化吉，遇難成祥，躲災避禍之證驗，不勝枚舉；死後超生，得脫輪回，不但靈性可以到壇說話，其遺留之色身，亦有證明可驗。按釋道兩家，老長師傳圓寂羽化之時，有坐化筋垂之象，足為功行圓滿之征，然而千百中，乃不得一焉，又足證修之者眾，成之者寡也，吾道中凡經過點傳者，無論功德高深微末，死後皆是面帶笑容，顏色如生，不走四門。冬不挺屍，夏不腐臭，甚有多至數日不變，異香滿室者，除通道不篤，與反道敗德者，不敢論定外，其餘則比比皆是，童叟同然，色身既有此表現，足可證其靈性已登善境，當無疑義矣。

二九、入了道不進修有罪嗎

入道的人，必有入道的目的，始能發生入道的思想，其目的當然為躲劫避難，超生了死，方引起入道興奮，欲想避免劫難，必先認清劫難的由來，劫難更非無意識的降臨，實為個人罪孽所造成，故欲躲劫避難，必先懺悔過去一切罪惡，欲消除罪惡，尤應尊師重道，去惡向善，身體力行，始能合乎天理，挽回浩劫，達到最初入道的目的；反之，便是背道，背道而行，其罪惡不但無由減少，而劫難隨之而增多，一俟惡貫滿盈，劫難臨頭，決無避免的可能，既不能避免劫難，便不能超生了死，更不能躲去地獄之苦，於此可見罪惡就是劫難的因，劫難就是罪惡的果。劫由罪生，罪由人造，故入道必須竭力進修，否則，願不能了，便是造罪。既是自己造罪，豈非罪有應得嗎？

三十、入了道惡習不改怎樣勸化呢

吾道原是以理教人，以善化惡，入道以後，舉凡一切不良習慣，及不正當嗜好，皆當喻以厲害，屏去淨盡，循循善誘，因勢利導，諄諄告誡，因人設教，或從正面直接勸化，或從反面間接勸化，總以達到悔改為止境。

三一、三教合一怎樣解說

三教原是一理所生，雖分門別戶，言論各有不同，然而究其實際，概屬一理，故三教俱是因時而設，應運而興，無非代天宣化，挽救人心，化惡為善，化莠為良而已。況道家以虛無為本，注重保養虛靈，返回無極；釋家以寂靜為根，注重返觀寂靜，滅除雜欲；儒家之明明德，則注重私欲淨盡，天理純全，天理就是至善，亦可說他是寂靜，寂靜便是無極，無極便是真理，三教宗派，皆由無極一理而生也；且佛講萬法歸一，明心見性，道講抱元守一，修心煉性，儒講執中貫一，存心養性，雖三教之傳法不同，要皆以一為本原，以心性為入手，自是由一理而化為三教，猶人之一身而分精氣神焉。現在三教合一，乃收圓之象，猶之返本還原，俱為不昧之靈性，則又合為一也。

三二、三教既是一理所生究不知何者最高修道者亦有偏重否

三教既是本於無極一理，當然無所謂什麼高低，不過按世俗比較上，則以佛法為最高，怎麼說呢，考之古今掌教者，皆是佛家，應劫經雲：混沌初開，定就十佛掌教，前者已經過去七佛，（汾陽孝義大相寺內馬莊營村有七佛寺可證），下餘三佛，乃燃燈、釋迦、彌勒執掌。燃燈佛掌過一千五百年；釋迦佛生於周昭王甲寅四月八日，父姓?利，國號淨飯王，母名摩耶夫人，十九歲出家，得燃燈佛之授記，說法四十九年，遺經著典，渡世萬載，其道指性作佛，直探本原，歸氣象而入理，後世稱為佛祖；老君姓李名耳字伯陽，諡曰聃，周定王丁巳年生於楚國陳郡，曾為周敬王柱下史官，其父姓韓名乾，字元畢，母曰精敷，受孕八十一年，生於李樹下，因改姓李，自孔子問禮之後，旋騎青牛出函谷關，西渡胡王尹喜，其道淡泊養心，其法抽坎填離，屏去色象，由氣入理，水火既濟，而煉金丹，遺有道德經清淨經化世，世稱道祖；孔子之道，政教兩兼，入象而不著象，由象超氣入理，人盡皆知，無庸多敘，總之，三教大道，皆以性理為宗旨，其綱常倫理，均系性天中流露，性體既明，倫常不習自正，所謂明體達用，本固枝容，自然之理也，可惜佛教，失其妙道心印；道教，失其金丹口訣，念經誦懺，乞食人間；儒失其心法性理，舉世文人，不過尋章摘句，若問知止定靜，收視返聽之功，窮理盡性，養性率性之法，知者無幾，致使三聖宗教，臨於廢絕，所以性理真傳，必須三教齊修，不偏不倚，行儒門之禮儀，用道教之功夫，守佛家之規戒。小用，可以延年益壽，大用，可以明道成真，此修道者，不可不注意。

三三、心好而已何必入道呢

常人果屬善良原子，一聞此道，定必踴躍求修，盡力提倡，蓋以善人君子，無時不以世道人心為懷。當今之時，世道澆漓，人心奸險，惡氣沖天，召來種種惡劫 ，憂道君子，朝夕設法，救濟不暇，今則天道出而普渡，有不欣然樂為者乎？且入道最大的目的，是在超生了死 ，返本還原，不再受閻君之患，輪回之苦。若徒言心好，亦不過為一濁世之善人，轉世受福報耳，況福祿亦有盡期，到了盡時，又不知如何結局。較之入道者，受師指點，永脫輪回之苦，安享無窮清福，則不可同日而語也。吾人但細玩味孔聖之惡鄉原，說是：『德之賊』一 語，再悟一悟“朝聞道，夕死可矣”一語，即可知心好原與入道的不同了。

三四、為何往年不降此道直到現在方降呢

夫道有隱有顯，因昔年時機未至，正在隱時，故知知者少，此時適值三期末會，故而大開普渡，現在之所以大開普渡者，皆因近年以來，世風衰微，人心不古，三教泯滅，道德墜落，競爭愈烈，惡化愈深，因而造成空前未有之浩劫，以故近年來，水火刀兵，瘟疫雜災，層見疊出，遍地皆是，此固劫數使然，實由惡氣所造，然而人不能盡惡，其有善根不昧者，決不能玉石俱焚，故諸天仙佛神聖，慈悲為懷，哀懇上帝垂慈降道，以渡善良，幸蒙上帝恩准，方才降下此道，大開普渡，各處飛鸞宣化，神人相接，共闡大道，其目的不過借木筆沙盤，喚醒人心，消弭劫運，使善良同登覺路，早達彼岸，化娑婆為極樂，此乃仙佛救世之苦心，而降道普渡之所有來也。

三五、大道既是性理心傳為何信者都是平民

這是一時一機，一時一運。三代以上，道降帝王之家，三代以下，道降師儒之家，時至今日，道運是應在庶民小子身上，時機如此，絕非人力所致也，況且道規，不問時事，不問政治，不許暗有作用，不許藉道活動，所以都是平民。

三六、法船是何物亦能看得見嗎

法船這名詞，不過是個喻言，其實就是道，也無形象可見。為什麼說是法船呢？因為人在世上，醉生夢死 ，四生六道，輪回不已，造種種因緣，受種種果報，隨波逐浪，沒有完結，解脫無門，痛苦萬狀，這不是苦海嗎？要是修了道呢，則視世界為空花，富貴如泡影，妻子為情枷愛鎖，色空空色，無掛無礙，這不是等於上了法船了嗎？

三七、現在道門很多是否都是法船

現在道門甚多，不能說他都是法船，然而雖說不是法船，大約是個道門，都是教人學好，所以有參禪打坐的，有誦經念佛的，也有拿刀弄槍的，也有持法念咒的，種種名目，多極了，總而言之，不外邪正兩途，俗雲 ：『轆轤把，絞三絞，那個門裏都可跑，找著正門成佛祖，找不著正門空煩惱』，但看各人之眼力及福澤何如耳，所以孔聖說：『博學之，審問之，慎思之，明辨之 ，篤行之』。

三八、求道可矣敬神得勿迷信乎

敬者誠也，凡人之有益於我者，莫不敬而禮之，天降大道，闡明一理，顯露真機，令人知一理為萬有之始，真宰為造化萬有惟一之尊神，稱真宰為無生，無生為靈性之母，又為生身之始祖，人生於世，率皆迷失本性，忘卻來路，生生死死，備受輪回之苦。無生老母，時切懸念，故降大道，以救眾生，令人遵循明路，返還本性，豈有求關係身心性命之大道，而可傲慢自若者乎，所以敬神者，正是報答救我傳渡之恩，藉以表達誠心耳，豈可目為迷信也。

三九、不知敬神也可求福否

欲敬神求福，須得防非改過，不然，獲罪於天，無所禱也，況且修道人，以道為重，以福利為輕，試看自古君王，無量洪福，而今安在，所以五祖有言曰：世人只求福，不思自性若迷，有何福可求呢？

四十、焚香用左手先立其中是何意思

左手屬善，不持刀，不打人，用以焚香，為取其善也。先立其中者，道義也。我道本中一之傳，中者不偏不倚；一者惟一無二，即道之體也。焚香先立其中者，所以樹道體也。中一者，道體也。中者，我也，以一城比喻，我在東關，城就在西，我在南關，城就在北，其實，並非城動，所以忽東忽西者，是我動也。我身屬中，天上地下，一切萬物，皆自我一身所指，除了天地，人為大，到處皆中，所以人不可自覺其小也。

四一、俗言能識一二三就可學神仙不知怎樣解說

道祖雲：“道生一，一生二，二生三，三生萬物”。“一”字的精微奧妙，無微不至，人若得之，豈不是也可成仙作聖嗎？所以允執厥中的“中”字，便是“一”字，這個“一”字，也就是聖聖相傳的心法，要想知道這個“一”字的根源，非誠心求道不可。求道後才能明白這個本身“一”字的真來歷，俗雲：“講道不離身，打鐵不離砧”，故前聖有雲：“反求諸己而自得之”，誠哉是言也，一者自性也，在天為理，在人為性，性為一，氣為二，身為三，所以說能識一二三，就可學神仙，道包一切，能於一動一靜中，合得造化者，方為真道也。

四二、先說明了再求道不好嗎

今世人心不古，邪正並立，必須驗人之佛緣，看人之智慧，能否認識真假，然後傳授，若先說明，何以分辯，且仙佛相傳之心法，古聖尚不敢輕洩於人，何況平庸凡夫乎？所以說，道，非其時不降，非其人不傳，雖說現在是大開普渡，亦必須先有求道之誠心，考驗真實，方能傳授，否則，誰敢輕予洩漏，自遭天譴乎。

四三、何謂緣份

緣份之事，當在夙根上講，如若此人是原人佛子， 天性不昧，聽人一說聖道，信心即起，聽則信，信則修 ，此為與佛有緣者。所謂份者，換句話說，就是爵位，有緣之人，得了道，時時在心，只怕墜落人後，積功累德，不敢少懈，此人終能成道。成道後，按功果而定爵位，這是有緣有份。但是有一件，知而不學，為無緣，學而不實，為無份，前人雲：“幼而不學，長無能也，壯而不學，老而憂也。”

勿謂今日不學，尚有來日，今年不學，而有來年，日月逝矣，歲不我與，當為不為，必生後悔，大丈夫不作後悔事，到得後悔時，還趕得上嗎？

四四、什麼是原子

寅會之初，榛榛狉狉，人畜不分，茹毛飲血，巢居穴處，不能治世，雖有人，如無人，上帝見世界不成世界，所以特派諸佛子從西天降生東土，號曰原佛子，簡稱曰原子，於是有巢氏造宮室，燧人氏興火化，後稷教民稼穡，神農氏嘗百草，軒轅氏制衣冠，伶倫造律呂，從此制禮作樂，世界文化大備，揆厥由來，皆靈性之所為也。

四五、西天東土怎麼講說

西天之義，系取西方屬白色。蓋白色乃色之原地也。人之天性，本無所染，潔白無暇，所有一切情緣，皆為後天世俗習染而來，是以用此存心養性功夫，返本還原，初從那裏來，還得上那裏去。地下稱東土，東土為元、為春、為仁，能生萬物之義，世有東作西成之說，亦即此義，所謂從西天降生東土，複由東土返回西天是也。

四六、道是真道然而人多不信是為什麼

此事一在祖德，一在自己的根基，有緣者聞之不舌，無緣者強之不行，若無佛根之人，勢難得入佛道，總之，有德之家，始生修道之子弟，此事譬如一座礦山，含金甚多，政府特准人民請領開採，愚民無知，毫不注意，以為石頭之內，焉有真金，智者捷足先登，請領開採，日出千金，頓致鋸富，其後愚民無知確有真金，急欲請領開採，然為時已晚，所有金礦，盡為智者領去，此時愚民雖悔，已無及矣，所以說，有緣遇著佛出世，無緣遇著佛涅槃，（涅槃的意思就是止渡）。

四七、每見初求道時十分精進既久懈怠不知何故

前哲常說：“得道容易修道難，修道容易了道難。”就是說人不能始終如一，古人化世，原有先覺覺後覺，後覺效先覺之法，當今普渡，各堂成敗，責任全在承辦者負擔，金鐘不敲不響，世人不喚不醒，古聖雲：“人能弘道，非道弘人”。往昔仙佛聖真，尚得待師提攜，何況今人，多是俗子，所以凡未領辦者，當思為化眾生，以身作則，雖雲有來學無往教，然不教自成者，萬無一人，只得催促各引保，勤講勤說，對於立身，守命，除嗜好，戒姦淫，盡人道，畏天命，堅意志，除雜念，坐功，勤儉，香燈，持齋，立德，除非，改過，參悟，十六宗最要者均須使人遵守莫移，前人雲：“無功不結果”，雖說成人，實成己也，故得始終不二方可。

四八、道高一尺魔高千丈果有此理否

人自寅會下世以後，歷次災劫，惡孽如山，前生的未了，今生的又續，以致怨債重重，輪回不已，一得天道，群魔皆向閻君索討，恐你道成天外，無處索討也。閻君是至公無私的，當然有冤不能禁報，因此之故，也有陷邪崇的，也有遭橫事的，也有疾病纏身的，等等不一。陰考陽魔，消解前愆，淺學的人，自謂我入道修福，何以反受其害，由是惹得俗人譏笑，親友背論，因而退志的很多，殊不知，玉不琢，不成器，金不煉，不值錢，若無高山，那能顯出凹地，經過千錘的，才是好鐵阿，但望能夠忍受得住才行，孔子雲：“小不忍，則亂大謀。”

四九、天譴雷誅之誓可得聞乎

天譴雷誅，俗言就是五雷轟身。雷者陽之剛也，五雷者，天雷、地雷、陽雷、陰雷、法雷是也。天雷發而霾霧頓消，地雷發而萬物萌動，陽雷發而邪氣殄滅，陰雷發而群魔斂形，法雷發而大道昌明，不僅霹靂一聲，振聾啟瞶，方得謂之雷也。

即人之一身，五雷亦莫不具備，如含羞逞憤，耳燒面熱，非天雷發動乎？行為不正，欲前不前，非地雷發動乎？越禮犯分，心膽駕惶，非觸動陽雷乎？陰謀暗算 ，坐臥不安，非觸動陰雷乎？其他種種不法，心思擾亂，夢魂顛倒，非激起法雷乎？

蓋五雷發動之際，正理欲交戰之時，此時若能翻然改悔，敬畏天雷，以開我天門，驚愓地雷，以閉我地戶，懷陽雷，以保我元氣，戒陰雷，以固我真精，拳拳法雷，以鎮輔我靈神，則三寶聚而五氣凝，不難還我本來面目，永享清靜矣！

此周公所以致風雷之感，孔子所以作風雷之變也。否則，搖爾之精，散爾之氣，勞爾之神，奪其魄，驚其魂，形容枯稿，疾病叢生，將不知其死所矣，豈必待有形有象之雷霆，方顯報應哉。

五十、因果二字怎麼講說

因者原因也，果者結果也。天下之人，不能諸惡莫作，眾善奉行，都因為不明因果報應之理。應知天理如鏡，絲毫不爽，因善報善，因惡報惡，邵康節夫子曰：“有人來問卜，如何是禍福？我虧人是禍，人虧我是福。大廈千間，夜臥八尺，良田萬頃，日食升合。算什麼命？問什麼蔔？欺人是禍，饒人是福。天網恢恢，報應甚速。”太上曰：“種瓜得瓜，種豆得豆，種時不失，根生結果，是豆是瓜，依樣還債”，佛經雲：“欲知前世因，今生受者是，欲知來世果，今生作者是”，總之，有因就有果，有果必有因，苦因得苦果，樂因得樂果，此是毫無疑義者。

五一、何謂五常五戒無行其理同否

儒之仁義理智信，即為五常，釋之殺盜淫妄酒，即為五戒，道之金木水火土，即為五行，總之三教之名雖異，其理則一，何以故？試想若不戒殺，則無仁，而缺木矣；若不戒盜，則無義，而缺金矣；

若不戒邪淫，則無禮，而缺火矣；若不戒酒肉，則無智，而缺水矣；若不戒妄語，則無信，而缺土矣，所以儒家教人行五常，以合忠恕之道；釋家教人守五戒，以符慈悲之懷；道家教人修五行，以明感應之靈，其理無不同也。

五二、色欲傷身我道為何不戒

天地交而生萬物，男女交而生人，此乃造化也。佛道兩家，是憫人受妻子之累，一生不能脫身，故不令娶，今日普渡，不背人倫，父子同堂，夫妻同居，士不誤讀，農不防耕，在工不誤工作，經商不誤時日，半聖半凡，真心由家庭內考取，所謂君子之道，造端乎夫婦是也。所謂戒色欲者，在於有節而已，倘有早覺之士，怕家室之累，要得未病先防，既有矣，更得克勤克儉，加心撫養，一動一靜，誘之以善，上不愧于祖先，下不誤於兒女。請看“孝”字，上老下子，倘使人無家室，五十年後，宇宙間便成空場矣，還有什麼道呢？

五三、酒色財氣煙明知傷人傷理為何就是難除

佛門五戒，酒色居中，酒亂性，色傷身，財傷德，氣傷脾，煙傷神，此乃天地間之五毒，所謂五濁世界者即此，天有五行之氣，地有五行之質，人有五行之髒。用正即為五常，用邪即為五毒，此酒色財氣煙，乃五行所化者，金星化財，木星化色，水星化酒，火星化煙，土星化氣。若不能立志斬除，恐怕要被五行拘住。雖說今時普渡恩寬，然亦得向正處用之才是。

五四、何謂修煉

平治謂之修，撥陰取陽謂之煉。人自有體之後，私欲漸生，私心為陰氣，天性為乾陽，迴光返照，就是以真陽而化私陰。內煉陰氣，外煉陽氣，內外同時加工，使之均平，勿要過與不及，久而久之，自得大中和矣。

五五、何謂迴光返照

人在後天，思念是多的，向外思則順，向內思則逆 ，順行為鬼，逆行為道，換言之，放作鬼，收作聖，故勸人學道，則曰回心，回心即回思，回思即迴光返照也。一時有閑，若肯收心於這裏，人我兩忘，一念純誠，便是離苦得樂的法則，佛經上雲：“二六時中，念念莫離這個”，子曰：“學而時習之”，皆是叫人行此功也，所以有志於道者，不可不注意於此也。

五六、慈悲二字之意義

佛家以慈悲為懷，與眾生同苦為慈，與眾主同悲為悲。眾生苦即是我苦，眾生悲即是我悲，又雲：『拔苦為慈，予樂為悲』，眾生即佛，佛即眾生，眾生沉溺苦海；佛立願以普渡之，離慈悲無佛。

五七、何謂天人統體之旨

宇宙是一大天，人是一小天，換言之，人是一小宇宙。宇宙有理氣象，人也有理氣象。人的骨肉和其他的形體是象，呼吸和流通周身的是氣，主宰全身的靈性是理。人之象和宇宙之象相接，人之氣和宇宙之氣相通，人之靈性和宇宙之理相通。如果宇宙之氣勝於理，宇宙的萬事萬物，便失其中和，四時不正，風雨不調，人心乖舛，社會惡劣，險象叢生，九九八十一之災劫則齊現矣；人身之氣蔽於理，便失其中和，則迷真逐妄，縱情逐欲，自墜輪回，流浪生死，永無止境矣。

五八、何謂理氣象三天

理天就是真空，沒有形色，沒有聲臭，只有一團虛靈，潛的時候，至虛至靈，寂然不動，大無不包；現的時候，至神至靈，感而遂通，無微不入。雖是沒有形色，而能生育形形色色；雖是沒有聲臭，而能主宰聲聲臭臭；雖是視之弗見，聽之弗聞，卻是體物不遺。沒有生他的，他也不生不滅，他是永遠靈明，永遠存在，並且永作萬類的根本，無論氣體物體，都沒有脫離他的可能，萬物生存，他固然生存，萬物消滅，他仍然存在，心經上說：“不生不滅，不垢不淨，不增不減”，那就是說他的本體，故曰：“無象之象，謂之實象；無體之體，謂之實體”。

氣天，宇宙間的氣體，普通也稱為天，因為氣體輕清的；地，重濁的。輕清麗陽，重濁屬陰，陽陰對待，即稱為乾坤，乾為天，坤為地，我們常說，天地萬物，這個天就是氣天。如果沒有這個天，而地就不能支持，人物也不能生長，日月星辰也不能懸掛，並且一切有形色的物件，都不能存在，所以他的功用，就是流行升降，默運四時，終始萬物。

象天就是形形色色，有實質可見的一界。在天，日月星辰；在地山川動植礦，換句話說，凡是有形體的物件，無論有情、無情，都是屬於象天。

總而言之，理是無極母的佛體性，氣是太極陰陽，像是形相，生的時候，現由理生氣，再由氣生象；壞的時候，象壞的快，氣次之，理沒有壞。譬如人到臨終，先耳目昏花，手足不仁，然後斷氣，一靈真性，又轉輪回，投向別殼矣，所以要想脫離輪回，非修道不可，孔聖雲：“朝聞道夕死可矣”，即是免輪回，了生死之謂也。

五九、何以知道氣天象天有壞

氣天是有陰陽，有變化，有變化，就有生死，既有生死，就有始終，孔子曰：“物有本末，事有終始。”然天地日月，鬼神人物，飛潛動植，何莫非物，皆有本末。然四時迴圈，寒來暑往，風雨陰晴，日月盈虧，晦弦朔望，何莫非事，皆有終始。氣天的終始，是十二萬九千六百年，定為十二會，以子丑寅卯辰巳午未申酉戌亥為名，六會開物，六會閉物，自子至巳，為自無而有，自午至亥，為自有而無。天開于子沒於戌，地辟于醜沒於酉，人生於寅沒于申，亥會混沌，子會又生天，如此迴圈不已，又史記載言：“天開於子，地辟於醜，人生於寅。”這些說法，都可以證明氣天有終始。氣天有終始，象天當然也不用說了。再者氣天的變化，也可以小推大，例如：一日有晝夜，正是十二時辰，晝屬陽，夜屬陰，一日一開一閉，日日如此；一年有四季，正是十二個月，春夏為陽，秋冬為陰，一年一開一閉，年年如此；推之一元，也就是十二會，子會生陽，午會陰降，午會猶如日之正午，子會猶如日之半夜，子為開物之始，午為閉物之始，午會以前，自無入有，午會以後，自有入無，所以午會是一元中極大的關頭，而午會氣數的變化，也是一個很大的奇局，所以，以理推之，今日可推明日，今年可推明年，大小一理，依此推去，故知由此一元會，可推前一元會，與後一元會，自然如符合節，了然於心矣。

六十、理性氣性質性不知怎樣分別

人秉三五而生，以真五成性，二五成形，性含五常，與生具有，降生之後，的一聲，太極之氣，從口鼻而入，本性為之一變，及其漸長，為環境所繞，物欲所蔽，而本性又為之一變，因氣象之變化，故性有理氣質之別，總之，得於理天者，為理性，得於氣天者，為氣性，得於象天者，為質性。

六一、同是人類，為什麼會有聖賢愚凡之分？

其理很簡單明瞭，就是因為個人之氣稟不同，物引所異，而理性之發展不一樣；氣稟淺而物引少，理性發展強，立志效法古聖先賢者，就是聖人賢人；氣稟深，而物引多，理性發展弱，貪戀鏡花假景者，就是愚人凡夫。換句話或說，誰能克伐氣欲，複明理性，就是聖賢；不能克伐氣欲，恢復理性，就是凡夫。

譬如明鏡，本體原是純明，但是經過時候多了，就落上灰塵；如不加以洗拭，那明鏡決不會再明。人的理性也是這個樣子。所以，儒家說“存心養性”，道家說“修心煉性”，釋家說“明心見性”。法雖不一樣，而教人恢復理性則一也。

六二、動物皆秉理性而生，為何人為萬物之靈？

動物只可分五族，即羽、毛、鱗、甲、裸是也。羽族秉南方火氣而生，高而能飛，毛族秉東方木氣而生，外柔內剛。惟獨裸族，秉土氣而生，得五方之全氣，聚三界之精華，被以衣冠，居以宮室以四靈為畜，秉備四德。人為萬物之靈，高於一切，而能成為正果也。

六三、人性為何有善惡之分呢？

人生之善惡，即由理性、氣性、質性而定。

理性本來清明，純善無惡；氣性清濁不一，可善可惡；質性純系物欲，有惡無善。所以理性用事，五常發現，一切作為，均能合中；氣性用事，清濁不分；質性用事，物欲衝動；而氣質變化，自然惡多善少。

孟子言性善，就是說的理天之性；告子言性有善有不善，就是說的氣天之性；荀子言性惡，就是說的象天之性。說理性是重理不重氣。所以，孟子稱為聖人；說氣性是明氣不明理，所以告子稱為賢人； 說質性只論物欲，不明理氣，所以荀子不得為聖賢。總之，三子論性之善惡，因見道之深淺有別，故其所言不同也。

六四、人有三魂七魄，與性怎分？

地點不同，來處也不一：魂藏于肝，魄藏於肺，乃二氣之靈者，氣在則存，氣散則亡。所謂“不增不減，不垢不淨”入水不溺，如火不焚，換房而不換主者，為真性也。所以，魂魄二字半個鬼；性字左看是心生，右看是生直心，居玄關內，不出不入，理一身事物，世俗謂為心者，指象而言之也。古道字先為首，首一件大事，即在首上行功也。

六五、何謂人心，何謂道心？

發於氣質之性者為人心，發於理性者為道心。

凡人都有人心，又有道心：人心危而不安，道心微而難見；不能控制住人心，則道心日亡；能以控制住人心，則道心日現，為仙為佛，為聖為賢，就不難了。人心屬氣，道心屬理，赤子之時，性本圓明；知識一開，有一分習染，就蔽一分良知；日子一久，愈蔽愈晦，盡落一片情欲矣。所以修道之法，不外內伐私欲，外立品行加以勤立功德，一旦功滿自然古鏡重明，而現本來天真矣。

六六、諸經中哪部最好可看？

看經原為求法，既已得法，即不看經亦無妨礙。只要守著一點性靈，即是一部無字真經。況且佛經，總共五千四十八卷，一日看一卷，十五年才看完，日月如梭，那有這大功夫？然而，也不可不看，但看經需要依經行，方才有益無損。如學庸輪孟，金剛經，法寶壇經，清靜經等，皆能大開智慧，可以參看。

（附）：體用本末，猶根與梢也，亦有凡聖之別，道中所說 ，性為體，心為用，心為體，手足為用，世俗亦知人以 心為本，不過知其血肉之心耳，其實血肉之心，乃五臟 中一部官職，非真主宰，若認真主宰，要思父母未生我 以前之本來面目方可。

六七、智慧二字就是人的性命？

吾道只講智慧，就是性命。照見為之智，能與眾理瞭解為之慧；能應萬事，知行合一，體用兼   為智慧。

怎樣能說呢？人生先天時，是乾性坤命；一落後天，乾失中爻之陽入于坤宮，乾三連，變成離中虛；坤六斷，變成坎中滿。故後天，離性坎命；坎屬水，水屬智，論語雲“智者樂水”；今用返本還原的功夫，甘露上升，離火下降，常使水火相交，智慧合一，不成道而何？

夫道本屬先天，非由後天修不可。故易曰：“一陰一陽之為道”，分天卷上說：“八卦周連呼吸，古今能有幾人知？愚人紙上尋大道，誰知大道在坎離。”

六八、道有三五凝結之功，究竟是什麼？

三五不只道家說，儒釋亦同：儒為三綱五常，釋為三歸五戒，道為三花五氣，名異理同；功成時，一仙一佛一聖。此是外三五，還有一內三五，尤為捷徑。

無極老母壇訓雲：“二五相交性命全，三五凝結貫人天。”以一月說，初一月光初發，到三五十五即可圓滿；人生十五成丁，大道亦然。何謂二五，目也；何謂三五，加上性也。二五在天為日月，能相對照；人若回光凝結不散，即是返本還原法。

經書上的話，暗含道義多多；如有不明，抱住一性一竅推解，訪求明人指點，自然節節可明。明白後，就可一律拋開，善自修之為是。怎麼說呢？經雲：“吾所說法，如筏喻者。”上得岸去，還要船做甚？

六九、如何是三花聚，頂五氣朝元呢？

此是守玄功夫：三花者，精、氣、神也。人身為爐，玄關為鼎；道安爐立鼎，即是此工。五氣者，五臟之氣也。而心一靜，濁氣變為清氣，安爐立鼎，守住玄關，默默綿綿，若亡若存，多多益善，至道凝矣。

七十、大學知之定靜以至慮而後得，不知如何解脫？

此是聖門修養的功夫：內而知止為守性，外而知止不妄為，後者自然之意。由知止而定，定而後能靜，靜而心神安，心神安而慮非他，尤之物也。慮其何謂天理？何謂私欲？慮我所行之是非曲直，於理和否？合於理者即守之，違乎理者即去之，此謂之得；既得到心法傳授，以心印心，無入而不自得焉。

七一、修養工夫

知止而後定。（佛曰禪定：妄念不起曰禪，坐見本性為定）知止，不受明師指點，難知止；定者在聖不增，在凡不減，定而不*之意。下句而後能靜-、能安、能慮、能得，上句何獨用“有”字？“有”字故其本有，不增不減不垢不淨。“能”字藉自力量而言，力量有大、小、長、短之分；靜、安、得，原性鹹同，因用力之不同，所得涅磐秒德也不同。所以法有三乘，蓮有九品。

七二、致中和天地位焉萬物育焉，不知在人身上如何用法？

此體道也—致者推而極之也，中者性之體也，和者性之用也。

古人雲：“克念作聖”故修道以靜心為宗旨；喜怒哀樂為情，慈心無量，憐人如此，憐物亦如此。

孟子說，能盡己之性，則能盡人之性；能盡人之性，則能盡物之性；能盡物之性，則可以贊天地之化育；可以贊天地之化育，則可以與天地參矣。這就是這中和，天地位，萬物育也。

七三、什麼是解脫法？

解脫二字，解惑業之系縛，脫三界之苦果。解脫，唯有頓悟一門，不離一切相。佛法以斷疑生信為主；以離相為宗；以無住為體。

自性解脫，俗言就是看破一切--能將世情酸甜苦辣覺出，加之時常靜念；一動一靜，皆在性上見解；事來即應，事去即靜；則離見性不遠矣。要知：萬里山河，非我所有；妻子兒女，不能常聚；金銀百萬，還得操心看守；只有天命之性，修則為神，棄則為鬼；苦樂全是自己尋的。如此實行，方能解脫。

七四、何謂空身空心空性空法？

身體本是父母所生，亦具父母氣息，九空長流，種種不淨，四大假合，終須敗壞。故有智者，知身是幻，未死之前，當死一般看待；不過借此幻身，學道修修行，此之謂悟身空。

複觀自心；非生非滅，最聖最靈；遇境即有，境滅則無。能悟真心，常覺不昧，不隨妄想流傳；但依真性主行，此之謂悟心空。

複觀自性：既然不動，感而遂通；變化無窮，威靈莫測；明明了了，自覺覺知；靈靈寂寂，無為無常；此之謂悟性空。

複觀如來，所談經雲，皆是方便引導法門；如水洗塵，似病與藥。若證得心空法了，病去，則藥可除，此之謂悟法空。

總之，正法無他，唯悟心源；貪欲不絕，均被意牽；心本清寂，忽動忽定；心本無有，忽存有想；具足諸慧，清淨平常。不思則有，念動則遮；知法無用，清淨自如；喜惡不思，似愚似拙；如斯而行，是名修佛。

所以說，一念不生謂之靜，覺而滅之謂之法，依法而為謂之修。修人世之果者，不外積德循理；修佛道之果者，必須無人無我。聖凡兩途在人自為耳。

七五、經言眼耳鼻舌為四相，又為四賊，又有無我相無人相無眾生相，不知如何解脫？

眼、耳、鼻、舌為四相，是輔佐性王辦事者；若是視、聽、聞、說，用之有偏，即為四賊，傷害本性矣。故孔子以四勿戒彥回，此即理也。

所謂無我無人相等意，亦與四相相連：眼主施為人相；若能靜觀眾生，皆如赤子，不擇冤親，平等季渡，名為無人相。而主靜為我相；若能知身似幻，悟世無常，不惜身命，但依大乘道之教法，名為無我相。鼻主聞為壽者相；若能明悟自己無生實性，不隨心性意識流動，但依方便願力行持，名為無壽者相。口主宣為眾生相；若能於世間心，一了永了，更不相續，名為無眾生相。

總之，欲得佛果，謹防四相，四相不淨，則造孽無邊，難見本來面目矣。

七六、經雲“六門常常閉，休走本來人”是何意義？

六門者，即眼、耳、鼻、舌、身、意是也。若此門不閉，任意出入，不惟不能成道，將來臨終，恐歸六道也。

何以故？眼耳鼻舌為四生之門頭為四道：言貪花色過甚，臨終性由眼出，來生定轉飛禽，供人玩賞；耳聽邪言，臨終性由耳出，來世定轉胎生，牛馬羅之類，耳通人言，供人使喚；鼻聞異香之位太甚，臨終性由鼻出，來生定轉蚊蠅蛆蟻，以嘗一切惡臭污穢，因吸咬喪命；口好喪人名節，談人是非，臨終性由口出，來生定轉鱗蟲之類，因口在八卦屬坎，坎屬水，鱗之象也。人生身若邪僻，忤逆不孝，有等等不法行為，來生定遭惡報，此迴圈之理，一定不移。問有品行端正，行為善良，惟與道無緣，而未得道者；來生公侯將相，受一世榮祿，享數年之榮耀，臨終仍歸地府。此即六道輪回。

故道祖教人六門緊閉，免通六道。然外五門好守，內中這意們難閉。意藏於脾，名曰陰神。道教有一笨法：二六時中，一心注于玄關，以純陽真火燒煉，如愚如癡，乾乾不息；百日之功，可得心清智朗之味，行之既久，道心用事，六門不閉而自閉矣。

七七、易經言乾元亨利貞，可以說說嗎？

乾者老陽也，即天之理，人之性；老陽是無物不生，無物不化。元、亨、利、貞：在天而言為四時，春元、夏亨、秋利、冬貞，貞下再起元，生生不息，此天之道；在地為言為四方，東元、南亨、西利、北貞；在人而言為四端，即仁義禮智是也。戊己居中屬土，黃中正位，性之竅也，萬善由此而生，世俗謂之為心田。再看“田”字，四面四個土可知種善生福，種惡生禍，禍福休咎，自種自收。所以呂祖說：“我命從來本自然，果然有我不由天”明乎此，則知修福者，來生之事業；修性者，萬代之事業；全在個人自修而已。

七八、易經雲“易，無思也，無為也；寂然不動，感而遂通”此何謂也？

王祖說過：“易有不易之易，有交易之易。”不易之易，理也；交易之易，數也。理不能離數，數不能離理；離則天崩地裂、人忘物敗矣。既然不動，感而遂通者，系指人之良知良能，良知良能即本然之性也。人性本自清淨，一有所感，萬法具備，如鏡照物，照什麼有什麼，及至物去，跡也不存。所以教人，澄其心，遣其欲，浮雲一退，月光露出，本來的天理，何用思焉？

七九、周子雲“無極之真，二五之精，妙合而凝”易雲“乾道成男，坤道成女”，是怎樣的意思？

此乃生人之造化理。易經謂道，言至太極，而世人不知太極之上，還有無極，此數學之書也。所以說：一陰一陽謂之道。

無極之真，即天賦予（與）人之理；二五之精，父母血也；曰妙合而凝者，系言男女媾精之後，精賴血養，血賴精成，二人一心之際，默默中有無極真理投入焉，此三五妙合而凝之義也。又，男氣足則生男，女氣足則生女，故曰：乾道成男，坤道成女也。（此處道可作到字看）。

八十、書訓中有言體用本末，不知怎樣？

體用本末，尤根與梢也，一有凡聖之別。道中所說：性為體，心為用；心為體，手足為用。世俗亦知人以心為本，不過知其血肉之心耳。其實血肉之心，那五臟中一部官職，非真主宰，若認真主宰，要思父母未生我之前之本來面目方可。

八一、天道人道怎樣分？修時以何者為先？

重性命而修者，三期普渡，天道也；重倫常而行者，世間普通，人道也。

人道是天道之枝幹，故修天道者，得先從人道立足，為起發點；孝悌忠信，理義廉恥，三曹中最重之事，天地處處監察人心，時時監視行為。若與生身父母不知孝敬；手足兄弟不知親愛；對於親友，敷衍了事而不忠；心口不一而無信；無禮無義，寡廉鮮恥之輩；修行亦無益，人道既失，遑論天道乎？

所以修天道的，應以盡人道為先，孔子說過：“下學而上達”，能盡人道，則近乎天道矣。

八二、何謂智人？

智者知也。惟有智人，知有天道可修，知有聖教科學，知有明師可求，知有善可作，知有罪可懺，乃至知有入世出世，輪回因果。如天有日，如夜有燈，能知能見，善惡報應，一知見後便能舍惡從善，改邪歸正。非理不說，非道不行，非物不取；念念中正，時時真實；積德成名，流傳後世；是名智人。總言講仁義、說道德，己立立人，己達達人，以期人人達到賢關聖域為目的。

八三、何謂愚人？

愚者笨也。愚笨之人心暗，心暗所以不識高低，不知有天堂地獄，不信有六道輪回。但知貪花戀酒，殺生害命，而供口腹，一生中殺害百千萬億眾生身，結下百千萬億性命債，輪回相遇，？相食？，無有了期。何以故？一切牛馬豬羊畜牲之類，皆是累世冤親，善惡眷屬，至墜入輪回，改頭換面，來作畜生。愚人殺食，即殺自己父母，即食自己眷屬之肉，父遭子殺，輪回路上，父子不知，相殺相食，無有修止，一失人身萬劫不復。此之謂愚人。故倉頡父子造肉字，一個窩內兩個人，俗雲：“吃八兩還半斤，算來即是人吃人”，即此義也。

八四、何謂迷人？

迷者糊塗不明也。迷人戀世，貪酒愛色，縱六根，貪六塵，縱性快樂，邪偽多端，顛倒無數，但圖目前受用，不顧身後招殃。迷真逐妄，負讀聖經，背覺合塵，縱遇聖賢，不能救渡，常沉苦海，永失真性，一入輪回，萬劫不復。此之謂迷人。

八五、何謂悟人？

悟者覺也。悟人能以覺知自心是佛，穆道修行，三業無虧，六根清靜，有方有便，無人無我，自渡渡他，同我物道。雖住世間，世法不染；坐塵勞內，轉大法輪；變地獄為天堂，指迷途見佛性；做諸佛事，度脫有情，發大慈悲，誓相救拔；此等之人，即為悟人。

八六、少年造孽，老時修行，不知可成道否？

苦海無邊，回頭是岸。世人若能回心，發願修行，舍非從是，改惡向善，謹守齋戒，投拜明師，得正覺者，不拘老少，皆可成道。所謂“放下屠刀，立地成佛”是也。韓文公老年通道是其明證也。

八七、一生修行齋戒種諸善根，老來忽然顛倒破齋犯戒，不知也能成道否？

此等之人，雖有善根，無大願力，無真知確見，遠離明師，故而心生顛倒，遺棄前功，六賊反舍，劫自功德及至福盡法無，終歸沉淪，何能成道？

八八、才短識淺，不知修道亦可增否？

好好行功，向靜中去求即可。古人雲：“淡泊以明志，寧靜以致遠”又雲：“夫學須靜也，才須學也；不學無以成才，不靜無以成學。”故傲慢者，怎不能研精；險躁者，怎不能理性。若向靜中求出之才，才德兼優。舉世之文人，有文字中得者特殊。何以故？明心見性後，一片佛心，從事一片佛理耳。

八九、修道人也怕死否？

人生有來必有去，大丈夫視死如歸；今日之生，即為後日死之起點；今日之死，乃是來日生之起點；陰陽迴圈，聖賢難免。所以修道人，將生死二字，看得最注重，亦最不注重。何以故？若說不怕死，吾人為何學道以永生；若說怕死，吾道中人，要看輕塵世，這生死於度外。況修了天道，便得超生了死，雖複注重世間人壽之長短哉！

九十、“人心惟危，道心惟微，惟精唯一，允執厥中”，為堯舜相傳心法，其詳解如何？

人心惟危者—人為三才之一，理性具備，萬物之靈也，心者萬物之中心，萬事之主宰也。換而言之，人心者，識也，情也，染汙之妄心也；所謂後天氣質之性，有善有不善也。蓋識神用事，情欲叢生，人心半陰半陽，可善可惡，非偏則倚，偏于陽則散亂，偏于陰則昏沉，昏沉散亂，危殆不安。故曰人心惟危也。

道心惟微者—道為天地之始，包羅萬象，眾生之祖也。道心者，智也，性也清靜妙明之真心也，所謂先天本然之理性，無善無不善也。蓋智體圓明，性本虛靜，不生不滅，不增不減，微妙莫測。故言道心惟微。

惟精惟一者—精者明之也，一者誠之也。惟精以治昏沉，惟一以治散亂。精而明之，一而誠之，惺惺寂寂，定慧相資，攝情歸性，轉識成智，危者自安，微者自著矣。所謂明則誠矣，誠則明矣。簡而言之，惟精惟一者，即反妄歸真，明善複初之功用也。

允執厥中者—允者篤信隨隨順也，執者遵守歸依也，中者真空妙有也。真空者，大而無外，小而無內也；妙有者，前無始，後無終，？窮三界，橫遍十方，三界之正道，宇宙之真理耳。簡而言之，允執厥中者，即隨順其正道，歸依其真理也。此即堯舜禹湯文武周公孔子心傳，先聖後聖，心心相印，三教所共遵，萬世所不易也。總之，心心相印，不可思議，道統真傳，本無一字。

如金剛經“須菩提白佛言：善男子善女人，菩提心發現了，如何常住而不退？妄念心起了，如何降伏其心？佛曰：應如是住，如是降伏其心”，須菩提者道心也，妄念者人心也。如是者允執厥中也。

Source Colophon

性理題釋 (Xìnglǐ Tíshì, Explanation of Nature and Principle). Spirit-written by Ji Gong, the Living Buddha (濟公活佛), in the spring of the twenty-sixth year of the Republic of China (1937 CE). Ninety questions and answers. Topics 4 and 17 marked as temporarily omitted (暫略) in the original. Source text fetched 2026-03-28 by Tirtha (Liberation Scout) from public Yiguandao devotional archive.

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