濟世寶筏

The Precious Raft for Saving the World (濟世寶筏, Jìshì Bǎofá) is a Yiguandao (一貫道) teaching catechism composed entirely in folk-song verse. Written by an anonymous monk as a work of moral instruction, the entire text — twenty-four chapters, three hundred and sixty stanzas — is set to popular tunes such as "Su Wu Herding Sheep" (蘇武牧羊) so that the wise and simple alike might sing the doctrine. Its structure mirrors the calendar: twenty-four chapters for the twenty-four solar terms, three hundred and sixty stanzas for the days of the year, twelve lines per stanza for the twelve hours of the day. One stanza each morning — a year of practice.

The book was composed at the Yuanzhen Dharma Altar in the twelfth month of the renshen year (壬申, likely 1932) and first printed in Shanghai in the jiashen year (甲申, 1944) by a merchant who found it while browsing a bookshop for a dictionary and could not put it down. On the back cover he noticed four characters — "Welcome to Reprint" — and resolved to carry the monk's work to the world.

The twenty-four chapters span the full arc of Yiguandao doctrine: the Dao lineage from Fuxi through the Buddhist patriarchs to the modern masters, the five world religions as expressions of one Mother's mission, the cosmology of the Three Ages and the Dragon-Flower Assembly, the question of true and false cultivation, a ninety-five-stanza treatise on vegetarian practice that surveys the entire span of Chinese dynastic history, the theology of tests and temptations, and the monk's final exhortation — "One road leads to the Immortals and Buddhas; one road leads to the Demon King. They are laid out at your feet. See how you step." The Chinese source text is from the Morality Books Library (善書圖書館, taolibrary.com), which states: "Welcome to reprint, upload, reproduce, and circulate." This is the first English translation.

Preface — How This Book Came to Be

In the jiashen year I was doing business in Shanghai. While purchasing a dictionary I happened to buy a copy of this Precious Raft for Saving the World. I was drawn by its grandly audacious title — I bought it and took it home to read. When I finished, I found it was written by the hand of a high monk, a work for admonishing the world. Its contents are plain and clear, with no literary pretense. The entire book, from first word to last, is set to shepherd's tunes. It contains a humorous tone and witty discourse — refreshing and startling, truly of the highest quality. I read it a hundred times and never tired of it, and over the long days I gradually came to understand: if a person could read through this book and put it into practice, then though it might not be easy to become a gentleman, they would certainly not fail to be a good person.

I thought to myself: since the title says "saving the world," it surely means more than saving me alone. To save the whole world is beyond my strength — but to help my own friends and family, that I might manage. I made up my mind and went back out to buy more copies as gifts. But every bookshop said the same thing: sales had been slow, and they had none left. I came home disappointed.

That evening, leafing through the verses, I noticed four characters printed on the back cover: Welcome to Reprint. At once the old saying struck me — "In one lifetime you persuade by mouth; across a hundred lifetimes you persuade by book." I resolved to have the book published. Within the four seas there is no shortage of good people, and if any should admire this undertaking and follow after me, then all under heaven would be blessed, and the ten thousand peoples blessed indeed.

Fearing that in later generations there might be those who share my desire but cannot follow my way, I have recorded the origin of how this came about, to inspire the world's virtuous acts. This is my preface.

Foreword

My friend charged me to write this foreword, and I could hardly decline. Having no choice, I read the book from beginning to end and composed these words.

This book was written by a monk who had attained the Way, out of a heart burning to admonish the world. Its contents are deeply cutting and luminously clear. There is great possibility here of ascending from the Way of Man to the Way of Heaven, of cultivating the transcendent life from within the worldly life. Though the words are common, the truths are real. For understanding the meaning of human life, it offers great benefit. Anyone who reads this book will surely gain wisdom and resolve their vexations. Silently assenting to its principles within the heart, they will find the scroll hard to put down. From this one sees that the preciousness of this book truly lives up to its name.

I am moved by my friend's sincerity — establishing himself to help establish others, not keeping goodness private — and so I gladly lay open its inner meaning, offering it to the world, so that all may enjoy the true joy of these supreme principles. What great fortune!

The book has twenty-four chapters, corresponding to Heaven's twenty-four solar terms. Its three hundred and sixty stanzas correspond to Heaven's three hundred and sixty days — one stanza to be recited each day. Each stanza has twelve lines, corresponding to the day's twelve hours — one line for each hour. Examining its central purpose: the monk's heart burned to save the world, and so his design is wondrous. If a person can read it thoroughly, speak it aloud, and put it into practice, they will not fail the monk's painstaking heart. The principles are clear and the words are brief — not to be compared with lengthy treatises. If only everyone who sees it might change their temperament, turn from evil to good, transform misfortune into blessing, and forever partake of Heaven's harmony!

Written in Shanghai at the wuzi hour on the Dragon Boat Festival, the thirty-third year of the Republic, jiashen year (1944).

Opening Words of the Volume

A pot that is not struck does not leak. Wood that is not drilled does not let through. And truth, if it is not spoken, does not become clear. Because I was driven by truths that remain dark unless spoken, I must speak. The purpose is for everyone to understand a little — and from this understanding, to reach the eternal light. Only then will the old monk's purpose in leaving this book be fulfilled.

Furthermore, for the sake of joyful singing and easy remembering, and so that both the wise and the simple might find it suitable, the monk has set all the principles and teachings of this book in the most common shepherd's tunes, so that ordinary people inclined toward goodness may easily explore and feel them. Within the book are twenty-four chapters totaling three hundred and sixty stanzas. Though the monk does not presume to call this book perfect, its plain and common truths are enough to provoke deep reflection. As they say: for those on the path of cultivation, this may not be without some small benefit.

Respectfully recorded at the Yuanzhen Dharma Altar, in the twelfth month of the renshen year.

Opening Poem

All the masses of living beings — cultivate together!
In this borrowed world, find liberation — ascend the Buddha's path.
Read through the precious treasury of the holy scriptures' truths;
ten thousand souls step onto the raft, leaving the dusty realm.
The entire body of this raft is virtuous and good intent;
master the precious Name, and all barriers open wide.
The fruit of diligent cultivation in the common world:
all the righteous rise to the Jade Capital.

Three Preliminary Verses

I.
First look, second listen, third investigate and awaken.
Fourth understand, fifth believe, sixth be sincere and true.
Seventh resolve, eighth vow, ninth put it into practice.
Loyalty, filial piety, integrity, righteousness — ten constant duties.

II.
Sages and Buddhas achieved the Way through selfless merit;
to give your body for the Way is the wondrous path.
Eat the cake and do not fear the spit that comes with it —
those who realize the Way have always forgotten self-glory.

III.
Learn the turtle's thick face and the rabbit's quick feet —
saving the world, how can you decline labor and scorn?
Always do what benefits others, never yourself,
and surely in the end you will return to the Pure Land.

Chapter 1 — The Lineage of the Dao

道統源流

Set to the tune of "Su Wu Herding Sheep" — ten stanzas.

I.
Between Heaven and Earth, the Dao reigns supreme.
All forms are bestowed in varied, flowing shapes;
substance and function divide into two.
Function pervades all things; substance is endowed to Man.
From Pangu until now,
the dragon-horse and spirit-turtle appeared,
and Fuxi recognized the heart of Heaven.
"Hold faithfully to the Center" — this was the transmission
from the Yellow Emperor through the ancient lords
to Yao and Shun.
Four characters passed on,
holding the hearts of the people of the world.

II.
When Shun transmitted to Yu,
he added twelve more characters.
The first sentence warned Yu:
"The human heart is perilous;
the heart of the Dao is exceedingly subtle.
Be refined, be single-minded —
hold faithfully to the Center." This is the principle.
Through Xia, Shang, and Zhou it was so.
After the Duke of Zhou, the transmission was cut —
for eight hundred years, the realm
was sustained by virtue and principle alone.

III.
When the Way was near to chaos in the time of Zhou,
Heaven sent the Water-Spirit to save it.
Laozi transmitted to Confucius in the city of Luoyang.
Having been enlightened, he took upon himself the rescue of the multitudes,
assuming the responsibility of transforming the world,
gathering ancient learning into a great synthesis.
He transmitted to Yan Hui — and lamented his early death —
then transmitted to the Ancestral Sage Zengzi.
Zengzi taught Zisi;
Zisi in turn transmitted to Mencius.
After Mencius, the Dao Lineage was severed.

IV.
After Mencius died, the Lineage was cut.
Shakyamuni in the Western Lands received it.
Through Kashyapa, twenty-eight generations;
then Bodhidharma brought it east.
History calls this "the water returning with the tide."
He converted Emperor Wu of Liang through emptiness — but in vain —
then at last he crossed over Shenguang, the Second Patriarch.
The Third Patriarch Sengcan received it;
Daoxin was Fourth Patriarch,
Hongren was Fifth.
Through single transmission, saving the three realms.

V.
The Sixth Patriarch was Huineng.
The Buddhist line ended and returned to the Confucian lineage.
Though the Dao Lineage had been severed
for several hundred cold years,
Baima became the Seventh Patriarch in the Confucian line.
Luo was the Eighth, Huang the Ninth in succession;
Wu was the Tenth, He the Eleventh;
Yuan continued the Twelfth lamp.
Yuan urgently sought the Great Gathering,
praying to Heaven day and night —
and Heaven bestowed two scriptures.

VI.
One was the Ritual Text —
the very words recited today in the ceremony of receiving the Dao.
Within it clearly recorded the Great Gathering's
process and timing.
But Patriarch Yuan feared that if people learned its secrets,
great upheaval would follow,
so he cut it all away,
leaving only the ceremony words.
Today, when the assembly receives the Dao,
the Ritual Text they recite
was edited and fixed by Patriarch Yuan.

VII.
The other was a Talisman Scripture.
Patriarch Yuan tested it long and found it effective,
but fearing that later generations would misuse it
and cause chaos,
he rearranged the scripture's characters,
scrambling them above and below.
So today it has lost its power —
no matter how you recite it, Heaven does not respond.
This was Patriarch Yuan's
sincere plan for the sake of the Dao.
The assembly should understand this.

VIII.
In Patriarch Yuan's time,
it was the Daoguang reign era.
Heaven sent the omen: the very name "Daoguang" — Light of the Dao —
and our Way first opened its transmission.
Though the transmission had opened,
at first only one petition and one name could be added at a time.
This custom lasted until the time of our Teacher,
when at last a great change came.
Patriarch Yuan passed away in meditation,
leaving instructions to Xu and Yang
to serve as proxies and continue the true transmission.

IX.
The two Bodhisattvas Xu and Yang
served as proxies for the thirteenth generation.
At that time it was the era
of the Two Palaces ruling from behind the curtain.
Regardless of what came after — good or bad —
the omens were always strange.
From this one can clearly understand:
the fate of the nation and the Dao run side by side.
The Fourteenth Patriarch was Yao;
the Fifteenth was Jueyi.
And the White Sun trigram emerged.

X.
After Qingxu the Sixteenth,
the Red Sun era reached its fullness —
like a scale at sixteen liang,
it had reached the utmost point.
The first two patriarchs of the White Sun era
are Maitreya and the Mad Ji.
To pull up a tree, you must find the root;
the Dao Lineage has its evidence.
When men and women cultivate
and encounter this true Dharma,
attaining the Way requires no great effort.

Overview of the Three Suns

青紅白三陽概述

Fifteen stanzas.

I.
Who gave birth to the Three Powers — Heaven, Earth, and Man?
What is the root of the ten thousand things?
This principle is truly deep and high.
If someone asks me, I answer:
the Lord is the origin of all.
Every being is His child.
The ninety-six billion descended in the Yin hour —
men are Arhats,
women are Guanyins.
The world is an inn;
after dwelling for sixty thousand years,
the Mother now calls them home to the root.

II.
The return home is divided into three periods:
Green, Red, and White — the Three Suns.
In the first, Dīpankara Buddha saved
two hundred million good and virtuous souls.
In the second, Shakyamuni Buddha
rescued two hundred million home.
In this present period Maitreya saves —
ninety-two billion draw near to Heaven.
Four hundred million descend to the world
to help transform the ninety-two billion,
hand in hand returning to the Jade Realm.

III.
In the first period, the age of Fuxi,
human hearts were honest and sincere —
diminishing self to benefit others.
Human hearts within, though their faces were like beasts.
The Longhan Water Catastrophe descended,
lightly gathering the wicked.
In deep mountains and ancient caves,
Daoist priests and nuns cultivated.
The Mysterious Pass, the Seed Mantra,
the Buddha of Infinite Life —
first cultivate, then receive the transmission.

IV.
The second period was the age of Zhou.
Human hearts grew somewhat worse —
profiting self while also profiting others.
Human faces, human hearts remained.
The calamity was heavier than before —
the Chiming Fire Catastrophe opened.
Monks and nuns
worshipped the Buddha in temples and hermitages.
The Mysterious Pass: "Namo
Amitabha Buddha."
The Noon Mantra and the Contract were bestowed.

V.
Now is the third period.
Human hearts are corrupted to the core —
mostly harming others to profit self.
Human faces, beastly hearts.
The Yankang Wind Catastrophe descends —
nine nines make eighty-one.
Men and women cultivate while keeping their families,
practicing daily ethics and the ordinary rites.
The Mysterious Pass, the Contract,
the Five-Character True Sutra —
first receive, then cultivate and accumulate.

VI.
In the third period, Dao and calamity descend together —
to save the ninety-six billion and bring them home.
The catastrophe collects the evil; the Dao ferries the good.
Each gathers its own to completion.
Maitreya holds the Heavenly Plan;
Asuras govern the calamities.
The good ascend to Heaven;
the evil are pressed beneath the Yin Mountain.
The three planes — Heaven, Earth, and Man —
are washed and made new,
and the three realms and ten thousand worlds find peace.

VII.
A thousand Buddhas and ten thousand ancestors
all come to aid the Dao.
Our Teacher and Yuehui
together bear the Heavenly Mandate to save:
above, they save the realm of immortals;
below, they rescue the underworld;
in the middle, they save the faithful children.
All three realms are saved at once.
Ninety-six billion original souls —
quickly don your homecoming robes
and return to bow before the Eternal Mother!

VIII.
The Way of Heaven is precious and hard to speak —
how many can truly explain it?
May all living beings cultivate well
and look closely at the White Sun era.
The bitter sea becomes the Land of Ultimate Bliss;
the Eastern Land transforms into the Western Heaven.
When everyone turns toward goodness,
the Living Buddha reigns for four thousand years.
The five winds and ten rains come in season;
the nation prospers, the people find peace,
and all enjoy serenity together.

IX.
At the Great Reunion — the Dragon-Flower Assembly —
according to merit, the ranks are determined.
Whoever sees through this great bargain
will never have cause for regret.
Human rank brings bountiful blessings —
the whole family escapes suffering.
Heavenly rank brings pure blessings —
long life with no old age.
Nine generations below and seven ancestors above
shall dwell forever in Heaven.
One investment, ten thousand times the return.

X.
Maitreya Buddha bestows the divine titles;
the White Sun Temple is rebuilt.
Those who toiled in hardship are sealed as Buddhas and immortals —
lotus seats of the third, sixth, and ninth grades.
Three thousand six hundred saints,
forty-eight thousand sages,
five hundred Arhats,
more than eight hundred Golden Immortals.
Merit accomplished in Heaven,
names preserved among men —
the temple's grandeur passed down ten thousand ages.

XI.
You — whose child are you?
Truly you have a connection with the Buddha.
Your roots run deep, your ancestors' merit is wide.
Having received the Dao, sincerely carry it forward.
Give both wealth and Dharma in service;
pioneer fearlessly in new lands.
Bear a moment's suffering now,
and reap ten thousand sweetnesses in return.
What family possesses such
worthy and filial descendants?
Even the Eternal Mother praises them.

XII.
Those without the affinity who did not cultivate —
seeing the cultivators rejoicing,
their eyes burn red with envy at themselves:
"Truly I have no good fortune!
Had I known the Way of Heaven was so precious,
I too would have cast off the mundane."
They blame themselves for lacking vision,
then blame themselves for lacking roots.
Beating their chests, stomping their feet —
but the regret comes too late,
leaving nothing but a belly full of frustration.

XIII.
Back then, people urged me,
and I thought them tiresome.
Called to attend classes — I wouldn't go.
Resented them for pestering me.
Given scriptures — I wouldn't look.
Said the teachings were nonsense.
Even slandered them as superstitious —
a stubborn, hardheaded fool!
Who could have known that all along
I was deluding and harming myself?
Now at last I see the past was wrong.

XIV.
Back then I also thought:
How can anyone live forever?
Becoming a Buddha? Frankly speaking,
there is no such thing.
I feared it would interfere with my studies,
feared it would interfere with my farming,
feared it would interfere with my earnings,
feared it would interfere with my work.
And the result today?
Both the sacred and the worldly — both ruined.
I curse myself: what a muddle-headed worm!

XV.
The Teacher now tells his disciples:
ponder carefully these fifteen songs.
The immortals and Buddhas have left ten million teachings —
disciples, think for yourselves.
Delusion or awakening: the choice is your own.
Grasping or letting go: weigh it yourself.
In the midst of catastrophe, Heaven protects the good
but does not shield the makers of evil karma.
When debts draw retribution,
do not blame your Teacher
for not having spoken sooner.

Omens of the White Sun

白陽垂象

Ten stanzas.

I.
The omens of universal salvation and gathering
were given over a thousand years in advance —
but most people did not understand.
"Yuan" means the Gathering made Complete —
the meaning runs truly deep.
"Ming" means to make people
see this plan clearly.
"Qing" is divided into three stages:
the early, the later, and the Great Qing years.
Like a debtor who is owed —
first two reminders,
then the great settling of accounts.

II.
Why did the omens of gathering begin in the Yuan?
Because during the Yuan dynasty,
Heaven's cycle turned to the White Sun.
From Yuan until now,
the omens have been many and wide.
"Republic" means rule by the people —
the Dao descends upon the common folk.
Whether the democracy
is true or false,
the omen is surely not in vain.

III.
When the gathering becomes clear to people,
the reckoning follows right behind.
The first clearing was not yet finished
when the second clearing's gate opened.
The second clearing is still incomplete —
the Great Clearing settles the old debts.
Rewards and punishments for the beings of the three realms;
good and evil sorted into two rows.
In this present age of the republic,
the Great Clearing is also being carried out —
two acts on one stage.

IV.
Great catastrophes arise one after another —
who does not know this?
The invisible reckoning of accounts
is carried out from within.
Demons seize what people cling to;
Buddhas urge people to renounce for good.
Those who lose through evil — family and wealth exhausted,
lives in peril, virtue impossible to establish.
Those who renounce for good — virtue is cultivated,
and Heaven is moved to protect them.
Their livelihood will always be sustained.

V.
Bodhisattvas and Buddhas
descend to the Eastern Land in reverse garb —
men and women cultivate while keeping their families,
building lotuses in harmony with the world.
When men cut off the queue,
their heads look just like Arhats.
When women stop binding their feet,
they reveal Guanyin's natural stride.
Had the Teacher not pointed this out,
how would you ever have recognized
these omens for what they are?

VI.
The omens of the White Sun —
let me speak a little more.
Parents wear white shoes now —
what a strange omen that is!
Wedding goods were originally red,
yet today so many things are white.
It is because this is the White Sun age:
all other colors are being trimmed away.
Clothing, hats, bedding,
daily utensils and tools —
everything now favors white.

VII.
When Qianlong journeyed south to the rivers,
a demon blocked his boat and demanded ennoblement.
The Emperor said: "When the lamp flips upside down,
then you may descend to the world."
Now electric lamps hang head-downward —
and demons everywhere manifest in form.
Strange fashions and bizarre politics,
a chaotic age that hinders cultivation.
Within this third period:
great chaos, great commotion —
and great order requires the Great Clearing.

VIII.
The gathering of the third period —
Maitreya comes to preside over it.
Because of this, his image
is found everywhere without exception:
in bronze, in wood, in porcelain, and in paintings,
spread throughout China and the world.
Mountains and earth crack and split open,
revealing Maitreya's form.
If these are not omens —
who carved the patriarch
inside the bellies of mountains?

IX.
Because Red and White are in transition,
there are matters stranger still.
Images of Shakyamuni exist but grow fewer;
images of Dīpankara are also rare.
Temples of the Green and Red Sun eras all fall to ruin,
but the temples of the Martial Saint stand tall —
for the Demon-Subduing Emperor
serves the mandate of the third period.
Because the White Sun's holy temples
will be newly built,
the old monasteries of the Green and Red are torn away.

X.
In the third period, the great settling of accounts:
the evil are pressed beneath the Yin Mountain.
Of those who remain beyond the faithful,
there are only Buddhas and immortals.
The City God temples are demolished; hell is shut down;
worldly affairs come under Heaven's direct rule.
The Earth God shrines and the halls of King Yama
have all been smashed to pieces by the people.
This omen signifies
that in the age to come,
hell itself shall be transformed into the Western Heaven.

Chapter 2 — Brief History of the Five Religious Sages

五教聖人史簡述

Twenty-four stanzas.

I.
The Eternal Mother commanded Pangu
to open Heaven and Earth — and within it
she made the ninety-six billion human souls.
Fearing they would lose their original nature
and forget the way home,
she first sent Confucianism, Buddhism, and Daoism,
then dispatched Christianity and Islam
to carry her letters to her children.
Scriptures left in the dusty world,
models of the Way, seeds of salvation —
the Eternal Mother planted them long ago.

II.
Confucianism, Buddhism, Daoism,
Christianity, Islam —
in truth there is no difference.
All bear the Mother's imperial command,
descending to the world to ferry the multitudes home.
Though their languages differ,
not one violates the truth.
Yet people insist on dividing them —
self and other, true and false.
In the final Gathering, ten thousand teachings return to One:
the original ground of Wuji.

III.
In the primordial origin, there is one principle.
In the manifest world, differences emerge.
Over the centuries sects and schools multiply —
a thousand Ways, ten thousand teachings, all distinct.
"I am the true one!" each insists.
"No — you are nothing!" says the next.
Who is true? Who is empty?
Words alone cannot prove it.
The true Dao, the true principle,
genuinely sent from Heaven —
there is always solid evidence.

IV.
What is the evidence?
The Dao Lineage is the root and the sprout.
The true Way of Heaven, the true Mandate of Heaven —
spirits and humans speak directly.
Heaven and humanity work as one;
everywhere there are manifestations.
The flying phoenix-pen, the borrowed throat —
spirits appear in person to preach the Dharma.
Until you see your nature —
seeing your nature, you become Buddha —
the Teacher's words are stamped and sealed.

V.
The Buddha taught three vehicles of Dharma.
The supreme vehicle brings sudden return:
seek a true teacher to point out the Mysterious Pass,
for the nature-principle is the correct path.
Meditation and sitting —
the middle vehicle, guarding a corpse.
The lower vehicle: striking, beating, and chanting —
grinding the lips to drive off sleep.
Those who cultivate the Way:
only by following the principle
can the cultivation be true.

Confucianism — 儒教

VI.
Confucius resigned as Minister of Justice in Lu —
fame and profit he had long seen through.
He resolved to save the world.
Openly he transmitted the books;
in secret he transmitted the Dao,
never resting for a moment.
He saved three thousand followers
and selected seventy-two worthy sages.
"Hear the Way at dawn — die content at dusk."
The truth was fully revealed.
The Four Companions and the Ten Philosophers:
all intoxicated within the Way.

VII.
He annotated scriptures and preserved classic texts —
later generations benefited greatly.
Rites, music, archery, mathematics,
calligraphy, and chariotry — the Six Arts,
admired through all ages.
Preserving the heart nourishes the nature;
holding the Center pervades all with unity.
His words became the model for ten thousand ages;
his deeds became the standard for all time.
Self-cultivation, family harmony, governance, and peace —
investigation, knowledge, sincerity, and rectitude:
the foundation of inner sagehood and outer kingship.

VIII.
Entering the world to save the common people —
the result was sages and worthies.
Through the human Way one ascends to the Way of Heaven;
forgiveness is never far from the Dao.
The words of the Great Learning and the Doctrine of the Mean —
beyond forgiveness lies a deeper mystery.
Benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom, and trust:
the constant bonds contain the principle of forgiveness.
The husband guides the wife;
the father guides the son;
the ruler guides the minister.

Buddhism — 釋教

IX.
Shakyamuni's path of cultivation was not easy.
A prince of the Pure Kingdom —
how could he willingly abandon wealth and glory?
Yet he renounced the throne
and sat in bitter austerity in the Snow Mountains.
After six years, Heaven's trial was complete;
Dipankara came to bestow the prophecy.
Birth, aging, sickness, death —
the heart's affliction drove him to the Dao.
From that moment he attained the Way,
saving upasakas and upasikas alike.

X.
After the Buddha attained enlightenment,
he suddenly cried out in wonder:
"Every tiny creature on the great earth
possesses the Buddha-nature!"
Because of delusion they create sin
and receive Heaven's judgment.
The Buddha, moved by compassion,
vowed to ferry all across the bitter sea.
Preaching the Dharma for forty-nine years —
even the smallest drifting motes
were ferried home to the Heavenly Terrace.

XI.
The scriptures of the Tathagata are too many to count.
Their central purpose: to lead people
to illuminate the heart and see the nature-principle.
Taking refuge in the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha —
every person crystallizes a sarira.
Killing, stealing, sexual misconduct,
false speech, and intoxicants:
the Five Precepts are the first lesson.
The Ten Evils and the Eight Perversions —
guard against them carefully and attain the Way.
All ten thousand dharmas return to One.

Daoism — 道教

XII.
Dipankara divided his spirit and became Laozi.
His mother was a virtuous woman.
One day, washing clothes by the river,
she ate a plum and conceived a child.
Later, rebuked by her kin,
she was cast out beneath a plum tree.
For eighty years she endured.
The neighbors, knowing her virtue, sustained her.
When Laozi was born —
his head all covered in white hair —
people called him the Old Master.

XIII.
The moment Laozi was born,
he pointed to the plum tree as his surname.
He declared: "Between Heaven and Earth,
the Dao alone I hold supreme."
Because his ears hung down to his shoulders,
everyone called him Li Er.
Li Er served his mother with filial devotion;
only after her death did he take office.
Born with innate knowledge,
the moment he entered service
he became Keeper of the Archives under Eastern Zhou.

XIV.
While in office, Laozi knew
the world would descend into chaos.
Only because he was waiting for someone
did he not resign sooner.
When at last Confucius came,
Laozi transmitted the Mystery.
After Confucius received the Dao,
he exclaimed: "He is like a dragon!"
From that time on,
purple qi came from the east,
and Laozi rode to the Hangu Pass.

XV.
At the Pass lived Yin Xi,
who recognized the supreme immortal through a dream.
He prevailed upon Laozi to compose
the five thousand words of the Dao De Jing.
After transmitting the Mystery,
Laozi turned his green ox westward,
crossed the flowing sands to save the Hu King,
then withdrew to Mount Kongtong.
From that time on — appearing and vanishing —
he transmitted the Dao
and saved countless immortals.

XVI.
Later he composed the Classic of Purity and Stillness.
Its central teaching: nourish the spirit-nature.
"Cultivate the heart," it says, "refine the nature" —
embrace the original and hold to oneness with sincerity.
Metal, wood, water, fire, earth —
generation and restraint: the Five Phases.
Because spirit transforms through one breath of qi:
the Jade, the Supreme, the Three Pure Ones.
Refine essence into qi;
refine qi into spirit;
refine spirit to fill the Palace of the Nature.

Christianity — 耶教

XVII.
In the year one of the Western calendar,
Jesus descended to the human world.
He opened his mouth and spoke the truth,
advocating baptism, spreading the Gospel,
and for the end times leaving prophecies.
Twelve great disciples
helped Jesus in his work.
Before long the teaching was widely known,
its fame reaching even the king.
The king, fearing usurpation,
ordered his arrest —
yet they could never catch him.

XVIII.
While in hiding from danger,
Jesus's nature-light blazed forth.
He said: "The Holy Spirit has come" —
like a dove descending upon his head.
From then on he performed great wonders:
making the dead live again,
healing the deaf, the mute, the blind, the lame —
his fame filled every city.
The golden rooster crowed three times.
He took upon himself the sins of others
and was nailed upon the cross.

XIX.
As Jesus was dying, he spoke:
"In the end times, look to the East."
His followers wished to reach China —
to seek among the White Sun's multitudes.
If a person has already received the Illumined Dao,
praising the cross alone is empty praise.
As for eating blood-things —
even the pastor is but a lamb.
Washing the heart and changing the nature,
praying in silence to approach the One —
without these, all else shall prove vain.

Islam — 回教

XX.
Muhammad established Islam.
The Quran was his treasure —
within it, this one truth is attested:
the scripture was given by Heaven,
the Dao that all people preach.
But alas, people would not believe.
Officials and soldiers harassed the faith;
on top of that, great foreign insult
provoked him past endurance.
And so he resolved,
made up his mind:
to stop violence with violence.

XXI.
A sword to root out evil in the right hand,
the Quran in the left —
the faithful armed themselves
as soldiers of the holy cause.
Compelling belief by force
in the awesome spirit of the Lord,
all revering Allah,
all chanting the Quran together.
If even one refused to believe
and could not be awakened through teaching —
the sword showed no mercy.

XXII.
From this time on,
the faith spread throughout the nation.
"Qingzhen" — pure and true:
the heart purged of evil dregs.
All manner of meat is subject to restriction —
people learn the pig is rejected,
so they slaughter other animals but never pigs.
On the halal sign stands a teapot —
secretly seeking the dwelling of the true person.
Firm heart, settled nature:
"pure and true" means returning to the One.
The Hui return, and return, to the Lord's home.

Summary — 總結

XXIII.
All of you — ponder carefully:
the founders of the five teachings
all had extraordinary origins.
There were princes, there were prime ministers,
and there were common, ordinary men.
They forsook wealth and glory
to spread the Dao on Heaven's behalf.
They prophesied the events of the three periods —
the judgment, the settling of accounts.
From this one sees the proof:
the Teacher's words
are not mere shadows without substance.

XXIV.
The five teachings have delivered their letters.
The message has already been carried home.
The bitter model of cultivating the Way
has already been set by their example.
The only question now:
can the multitudes follow the five founders?
To follow them requires only this —
desire sagehood, forsake the mundane,
and do so early.
If you can manage this,
you will not have failed
the Mother's compassion or the Teacher's instruction.

Chapter 3 — The Three Vehicles of Cultivation

三乘修法

Twelve stanzas.

I.
Your common meditation-sitter has nothing else to do —
year after year he sits for the sake of the nature.
The Sixth Patriarch said: "Sitting, sitting, sitting!
Alive you sit; dead you merely lie down —
a heap of stinking bones!
Why make a discipline of it?"
From this you know that sitting practice
is not the method for cultivating the nature.
Understand:
sitting practice and cultivating the nature
are as different as water and fire.

II.
There is no clever trick to cultivating the nature.
Overcome the self; be watchful in solitude.
On top of that, exert yourself —
go out and save others.
Lead all people to seek the Dao,
that all may share in Heaven's protection.
If you can do this constantly,
that is the path of cultivating the nature.
When outer merit is complete
and inner effort needs little more:
the nature illumined — that is Buddha and Patriarch.

III.
"Drawing from Kan to fill Li" —
this cannot be achieved through sitting.
It contains the One-Finger Chan,
which depends entirely on an Enlightened Teacher's transmission.
Without an Enlightened Teacher's guidance,
bitter sitting only brings illness:
upper emptiness with phlegm and heat,
lower congestion with deep cold.
The body wrecked —
yet still you cannot attain
the Yellow Sprout and the White Snow.

IV.
Suppose your sitting practice is superb
and you live a thousand years —
I ask you: a thousand years from now,
what will you do with this body?
Pengzu lived eight hundred years —
where is he now?
In this Latter-Day Dharma and its calamities,
who has the luxury of sitting in meditation?
While you sit —
one cannon blast —
cushion, room, and person, all done for.

V.
In the third period, the long road is traveled
by train, airplane, and ship.
A practitioner of the Dao relies on the sudden method —
one step, and you ascend to Heaven.
You stubborn fellow —
still riding the ox-cart in circles!
Cultivating by the dull gradual method,
you will meet calamity before you ever arrive.
The monk sees this,
pities your bitter sincerity,
and offers these expedient words.

VI.
Hear the old monk's words
and change your mind at once!
Otherwise, toiling in vain for nothing —
how pitiable, how truly pitiable.
And then there are the sutra-chanters —
their case is harder still to tell.
All day they recite the Buddha's name
and call it "boundless merit."
But it is like a child calling "Mama!" —
chattering without cease.
Even a mother, listening all day, would grow weary.

VII.
The feelings between people and the feelings of the Buddhas
are fundamentally the same.
All day calling, calling, "Buddha!" —
your head goes dizzy, your eyes go blurry.
Imagine someone calling your name
all day long.
Listen to it for a whole year —
would you or would you not grow tired of it?
Compare mother and child, person and person,
with chanter and Buddha —
how far apart are they?

VIII.
Even if you recite the sutras —
what is the point?
Let me ask: these Buddhist scriptures —
who left them in the human world?
You say the ancient Buddhas
personally left these classics.
But when the ancient Buddhas were still cultivating,
what sutra did they recite?
Trace it back to the root:
the confused and the awakened
are originally from one source.

IX.
Person and Buddha are one body —
what is the point of reciting to him?
Besides, when the ancient Buddhas first cultivated,
what sutra did they recite?
Recognize the true and genuine principle:
reciting sutras does not make an Arhat.
The ancients left the sutras
to guard the field of the heart.
If you can still your heart
and awaken to the complete, luminous nature —
that is worth ten thousand recitations.

X.
And to those who burn incense daily —
you too should wake up.
Burning incense constantly
cannot move Heaven to spare you from calamity.
In this age, Heaven speaks truth to humanity
at every turn.
If you think that by burning incense
the Buddha will guard your household fortune —
this muddled dream
is no different from
polishing a brick to use as a mirror.

XI.
Burning incense cannot move Heaven.
Heaven does not love smoke.
If Heaven loved smoke,
the kiln workers would have become immortals long ago!
Listen, you foolish men and women:
stop trying to bribe Heaven with smoke.
Without cultivating virtue and erasing transgressions,
whatever you say is illusion.
In ancient times there was no incense.
The sages and Buddhas moved Heaven
by sincerity alone.

XII.
How then does one move Heaven to protect you?
First, you must enter the True Transmission.
After receiving the Dao, first correct yourself —
repent before the Buddha.
Having illumined yourself, illumine others —
repay the debts of your past lives.
Thus Heaven will protect you
and your household will be at peace.
For you will have
no creditors remaining.
Close your door with confidence, and sleep without fear.

Chapter 4 — The Five Platforms

五盤解述

Six stanzas.

I.
In the chaotic years of the Third Period's final catastrophe,
the White Lotus and the heterodox sects appear.
Their sorcery truly knows no bounds:
seventy-two false Maitreyas,
thirty-six false Mad Ji's —
they summon the wind and call down rain,
overturn the seas and move the mountains,
send sand flying and stones tumbling through the air.
Ride a bench and you can ascend to heaven!
Point at the sky — it opens.
Point at the ground — it splits.
Scatter beans and they become soldiers.

II.
Demon-Buddhas and monster-spirits:
all Five Platforms have descended to earth.
Four platforms are false; one alone is true —
the danger, plainly speaking, is extreme.
A cultivator without firm resolve,
who also has a curious heart,
who on top of that does not understand the principle,
or who chases after petty advantages —
this kind of person,
even if they enter the true Way,
is still in mortal danger.

III.
The demons, monsters, ghosts, and fiends —
their sorcery serves no other purpose.
They are agents of chaos in the world;
confusion itself is what they call success.
Some use forbidden arts to rebel;
some seize territory and proclaim themselves mighty.
The government, enraged by the demon-sects' chaos,
shuts down every gate of the Way entirely.
Our own true Way
is dragged down with the sorcerers,
and trials and temptations cluster thick as thorns.

IV.
The true Way has no magical arts —
it saves the world through principle alone.
The government cannot tell true from false
and arrests the orthodox as if they were the sorcerers.
The demon-sects steal the ox,
but the true Way takes the blame.
At this time the great trial arrives.
All disciples, take this to heart:
for the sake of the Dao,
endure the suffering willingly —
never break the law on account of the sorcerers.

V.
The Teacher now reveals the heavenly secret
and tells you all what is to come:
for farmers, workers, and merchants, meeting an official is already hard —
how then shall a common person meet Maitreya?
The true are few and hard to find.
The false are many and easy to spot.
Disciples — hold fast to the Buddha's feet!
Keep the cart from leaving the rails.
Otherwise, in no time at all,
you will surely stumble
and be buried among the demons.

VI.
Cultivate the Way and comprehend its meaning.
Once enlightened, set your resolve firm.
Never let the sight of miraculous arts
make you forget the true Heavenly Principle.
Follow the path of those who came before;
never leave the thread even for a moment.
Do this and it may yet be possible
not to fall into the domain of the false platforms.
Hold firmly to the thought of the Dao.
The ones before lead; the ones behind follow —
together with the Teacher, present yourselves before the Lord.

Chapter 5 — The Five Phases

五行解述

Six stanzas.

I.
Science has reached the peak and the pinnacle;
evolution never ceases.
Soon all will have been transformed —
for all the progress is in weapons,
and morality is never mentioned.
When the Way does not restrain the human heart,
the human heart runs wild.
When the heart is wild, the mind turns cruel —
how then is this different from beasts?
Looked at from this angle,
scientific progress
is hardly good news.

II.
Jesus left a prophecy:
the Last Judgment shall come.
After judging humanity's sins,
wind and fire shall transform heaven and earth.
The Lord saves those who repent;
the catastrophe takes the disobedient.
If you do not believe this,
just look at the weapons:
on land there are tanks,
on the sea there are warships,
and in the sky there are airplanes.

III.
Beneath the sea there are submarines;
on land, cannons and strange machines —
poison gas, rocket artillery,
and the atomic bomb that shakes the very cosmos.
There are also weapons of plague,
death rays, and radar dishes.
Secret weapons
too many to enumerate.
Men without the Dao
wield such instruments —
how can the world not be in misery?

IV.
When the great calamity erupts,
ten thousand pieces of gold cannot buy a life.
Even the skilled are helpless,
waiting to die in their own homes.
Especially in the years of the Ox and the Tiger —
the gate of karmic retribution opens between life and death.
If you do not seek the Buddha's protection,
it is absolutely impossible to find peace.
Unless you cultivate the Way of Heaven,
any other path is like
Jiye's doomed last stand at Twin Wolf Mountain.

V.
When fate has brought us to this era,
disciples — wake up!
Do not blindly bury your heads now,
toiling to earn money that only creates karma.
When the guns and cannons start firing,
your person, your family, your life — all done.
Without the Dao, your life cannot be preserved.
What good is money then?
I urge you to understand:
so long as you have enough to eat and drink,
turn back and hasten toward goodness.

VI.
Prepare before the rain — that is wisdom.
To dig a well when already thirsty is too late.
Guard against disaster by day, guard against thieves by night.
Every year, prepare for drought and flood.
When calamity comes, you grasp at the Buddha's feet —
rest assured: the Buddha will not bother with you then.
Cry out to Heaven and Earth — they will not answer.
Your throat will crack, and your regret will still be too late.
Those who cultivate, the Buddha saves.
Passing through this calamity,
they go on to live as living immortals.

Chapter 6 — The Immortals and Buddhas' Universal Salvation

仙佛普度始末記

Five stanzas.

I.
The Supreme Lord gave birth to Heaven and the ten thousand things.
The Mother of the Three Realms is the sovereign.
In mercy she commands the rescue of the lost.
The general manager who holds the Heavenly Platform
is Patriarch Maitreya.
The old monk oversees the Dao Platform;
Yuehui comes to assist;
Maotian administers the trials.
The South Pole Immortal handles foreign affairs.
A thousand Buddhas and ten thousand Patriarchs
join together to aid the Way,
saving the people and bringing them home to the Land of Joy.

II.
The Western Heaven has held back not a single Buddha.
The Middle Heaven has held back not a single Immortal.
Even the Mother's own Palace has held back
not a single Bodhisattva or Arhat.
By imperial decree, all descend in reverse garb
to help the Patriarch accomplish the Great Gathering.
The Master now reveals the heavenly secret —
disciples, do not take yourselves lightly!
Think, disciples, think:
those who represent the Master —
how deep or shallow are their roots?

III.
Now that you know this news, disciples,
do not let arrogance arise.
This time, the Buddhas who are lost in the world —
if they fail to cultivate, they cannot return.
Immortals and Buddhas may rise or fall,
just as officials are promoted or dismissed.
Especially Heaven's rewards and punishments —
they are more precise than anything in the world of men.
Do you wish to return to Heaven?
Do you wish to attain the Dao?
Disciples, make up your minds!

IV.
The Mother has set the rules of reward and punishment.
Merit and virtue come first.
The lotus seats in Heaven
are newly established in the White Sun era.
Buddhas who fail to cultivate are dismissed from their posts.
Patriarchs and mystics are likewise cast aside.
Some have their spirit-bonds scattered;
some are pressed beneath the Shadow Mountain.
In this White Sun era,
all things begin anew —
disciples, know that you must strive!

V.
The Supreme Lord has set the regulations
without a thread of favoritism.
Those who slander fall; those who are sincere ascend.
Those with sufficient virtue enter the Great Hall.
Disciples, understand this clearly:
do not worry whether your karma is heavy or light,
nor whether your spiritual roots are deep.
Whether you are a ghost or a sage —
just put your head down,
forge ahead bravely from start to finish,
and in the end you will surely succeed.

Chapter 7 — Wisdom and Folly Compared

智愚分別

Eleven stanzas.

I.
How lamentable — it is hard for people to be good,
and so easy to be vain!
The talented and the wealthy —
when it comes to their personal pleasures,
the money goes flying, flying away.
But ask them to cultivate merit —
they cannot pluck a single hair.
Urging others to do good seems too much trouble,
but for idle chatter they have boundless energy.
In the end, nothing comes of it.
Heaven does not help them.
Their cleverness turns to self-destruction.

II.
Then there is another kind of person
who says: "I cannot cultivate — I will never succeed."
Not understanding the principle, unable to let go,
they look down upon themselves.
They know to fear the coming calamity
but say: "Leave it to fate."
They do not know that both the Dao and the calamity
are carried out by the Lord and the Master.
Follow Heaven and prosper;
defy Heaven and perish.
Cultivate and find fortune — refuse and find misfortune.

III.
Come with a sincere heart to save the world —
what is there to fear?
You help Heaven; Heaven helps you.
No one goes short of anything.
The household has enough rice, grain, and firewood;
meals are plentiful and well-prepared.
When one person goes out to do good works,
sovereign Heaven protects the entire family.
There will always be trials and demons —
but the old monk turns the wheel,
dissolving future trouble before it arrives.

IV.
There is a kind of truly wise person
who grasps the Dao the instant they hear it.
They do not boast and do not show off —
they put their head down and press forward.
Let others mock them as foolish —
they do not argue.
Let others praise them as wise —
no arrogance stirs.
Honest and steady,
consistent from beginning to end —
now that is what you call genuine wisdom.

V.
But there is another kind of clever person
who is ruined by their very cleverness.
Full of schemes and suspicions,
they never investigate the truth.
From time to time they play at petty cleverness,
but of real learning they have none at all.
Outwardly they look like a vessel of the Dao;
inwardly, they are all rotten bones.
This false cleverness —
one day they will see it for what it is.
Empty regret, and nothing to show for it.

VI.
The fool, though not quick-witted,
is worth ten thousand times the clever one.
In worldly matters, yes,
the fool will take a loss.
But judged by the principle of Heaven,
taking a loss is actually a gain.
Once the fool receives the Dao,
they understand its value and hold it precious.
They know only to keep cultivating
and never mind what comes before or after.
The result: merit is cultivated.

VII.
The fool holds utmost sincerity —
a heart no different from the sages'.
Though simple, they have virtue;
the three kinds of giving they practice without cease.
Though they cannot speak well,
when they go out to counsel others, people listen.
Part of it is Heaven's help;
part is their own dogged sincerity.
The fool, the fool —
blessed uniquely by Heaven —
always exceeding what anyone expects.

VIII.
In children's primers you always see the story:
the tortoise and the hare run a race.
The hare is fast and stops to sleep at the halfway point;
the tortoise, steady, keeps marching forward.
In the end the hare wakes up —
and the tortoise has already seized the flag.
This tale speaks precisely
to the difference between caution and carelessness.
When wisdom and folly reach the finish:
the fool laughs his foolish laugh,
and the clever one's belly bursts with rage.

IX.
When the dean tests you —
"Recite the songs, the vows, the petitions!" —
you often see the clever person
go red the instant they begin.
They always relied upon their talent
and never bothered to study.
The fool stands before the hall and recites —
the words flow like water from a channel.
From this alone you see:
the clever are actually foolish,
and the foolish are genuinely wise.

X.
When the fool reads the holy teachings,
every character and phrase they seek to understand.
They say: "The Immortals and Buddhas have spoken —
these principles are real and do not deceive."
When the clever person reads the holy teachings,
it is like white paper leaving no mark.
Eyes scan; mouth chatters idle talk;
ears merely listen to what others say.
One heart pulled three ways at once —
still believing themselves capable —
the result: a head full of chaos.

XI.
The foolish lose a thousand times and gain but once —
yet that gain is the Dao, and they become Immortals.
The clever gain a thousand times and lose but once —
yet that loss sends them beneath the Shadow Mountain.
It is all because the tides of the age turn:
the fool still guards the ancient ways,
but the clever shift with every changing wind —
and when the time comes to turn back, they cannot.
After the calamity, people return to simplicity.
In the White Sun's restoration of the ancient:
the clever find themselves behind the fool.

Chapter 8 — Rescuing the Kin

救親

Four stanzas.

I.
In cultivating the Dao, the greatest taboo is playing false and clever.
If you do not wish to cultivate, then let it go —
do not pretend to be confused about the three paths.
If you truly wish to cultivate, then do it quickly,
for the hour is already not early.
If you do not wish to practice,
then say so plainly and be done with it.
Your name has been recorded in Heaven;
your number has been posted on the Shadow Mountain.
When the time comes, do not complain
that your Master was heartless —
for you brought this upon yourself.

II.
When any person cultivates goodness,
the ancestors in the underworld prison rejoice.
When a person does evil, the ancestors sigh.
It is the same with cultivating the Dao:
when the disciple performs meritorious deeds, the ancestors are glad —
the hope of leaving prison appears.
When the disciple retreats from the Dao, the ancestors grieve —
the hope of ascending to Heaven is finished.
The ancestor sends a letter of entreaty through the disciple;
Kṣitigarbha informs the Master,
and the Master carries the message to the human world.

III.
The Master now delivers this message:
"Everyone — do not take this lightly."
Those who have kin should rescue their kin —
only then can you be called a dutiful daughter or son.
Consider: your parents raised their children
and endured every kind of suffering and hardship.
If the children have now ascended to Heaven
yet do not reach back to lift and recommend their parents —
such ungrateful children,
even if they became Buddhas,
would still be mocked and despised by all.

IV.
All disciples who understand this truth:
hurry and go perform meritorious deeds.
Take the inheritance your parents left you
and use it to rescue them from the underworld prison.
What is the parents' inheritance?
Your house, your land, your very life —
sacrifice all of it for the Dao.
When your parents are delivered, you too are delivered.
Loyalty, filial piety, integrity, and righteousness:
when you fulfill these to the utmost —
only then have you not wasted this life.

Chapter 9 — The Fruits of Diligence and Laziness

勤惰結果

Seven stanzas.

I.
Observing these matters, my tears flow in two streams.
How pitiful are those who serve the Dao —
lazy and greedy for comfort!
They cast the Immortals' and Buddhas' messages of good tidings
entirely behind their heads.
They do not teach the younger students;
they themselves no longer pursue the Way.
The Buddha's prophecies are coming to pass,
yet the people still have not seen through.
From observing all these disciples:
they have not taken Heaven's gazette
and placed it in their hearts.

II.
Disciples, do not be as before:
listless and negligent.
If you let the auspicious time pass empty,
you will delay the Dao's prospects.
By not diligently teaching the assembly,
you mislead others and mislead yourself.
Before your name appears on the Golden Register,
the record of your offenses is already entered first.
The auspicious time could have allowed you
to attain the merit of the Green and Red ages —
instead you create immeasurable suffering.

III.
From this, look at yourselves:
are you foolish or wise?
Spending gold to buy stones —
is this not a loss of capital?
The past is already beyond correction;
the future can still be pursued.
I hope each of you will show your ability —
do not let the auspicious time slip from your hands.
Masters of the hall and younger students alike:
encourage and help one another.
Those in front lead; those behind urge forward.

IV.
All the lessons within the Dao:
you should commit them to your hearts.
Your Master and all the Immortals and Buddhas
have decreed this again and again.
If you dare to willfully disobey,
a reckoning without courtesy will arrive.
In the invisible realm, a great demerit is recorded;
in the visible realm, demons are sent to test you.
Violations will not be forgiven —
take this announcement to heart:
all disciples must obey with solemn reverence.

V.
Commit the songs and vow-scrolls sincerely to memory —
the Buddha will test you:
whether you obey the Master, whether you honor the Dao,
whether your heart is truly sincere.
If in the examination you miss a single character,
Heaven deducts one mark.
Know this and memorize it right away —
whether walking or sitting, review and warm your practice.
You must not act recklessly:
losing the great for the sake of the small —
a flaw in the midst of beauty is a heavy thing.

VI.
Consider two students
reading books at the same school:
one studies hard; the other plays around.
How can the results be the same?
The idle one ends up begging for food;
the diligent one becomes an official.
Heaven's examinations determine your immortal rank —
the testing works in just this way.
Besides cultivating merit
and securing your position among the fruits,
you must also rely on the vow-songs and vow-scrolls.

VII.
You who sincerely cultivate as masters of the hall:
in your leisure, study the scriptures.
If you cannot write, learn to write.
If you cannot read, force yourself to learn.
Beyond guiding others, practice on your own —
with time, steady progress will show.
When your belly is full of the Dao's teachings,
that is something gold cannot buy or replace.
When old friends learn that you —
once a simple fool —
can now discourse so well, they will be startled to the core.

Chapter 10 — The Original Purpose of This Book of Songs

歌書原意

Five stanzas.

I.
Disciples, you should learn these book-songs well.
The songs the Master has bestowed contain wonders —
do not look down upon them!
They are arranged by topic and by kind,
plain and easy to understand.
I cannot call them perfectly beautiful,
but their flavor is quite fine.
Take this material, disciples,
memorize it well, and use it to carry out the Dao.
Saving yourself and saving others
with half the effort and double the result —
the power of this will certainly not be small.

II.
Take this song of saving the world —
let the sincere person take up a scroll.
Whether man or woman,
all who can read may read it.
Scholars, farmers, artisans, merchants —
the clever and the foolish alike can understand.
Straightforward and to the point,
simple and plain:
it is named
Precious Raft for Saving the World —
a compass for lost disciples.

III.
A melody for cultivating truth and attaining the Dao;
a song for transcending birth and ending death.
Continuing the sages of the past, opening learning for the future;
enlightening the deluded and confused.
For those who can read — a little effort is required.
For those who cannot:
first explain, then sing it aloud.
Understanding the truth brings happiness.
Those who follow the songs and cultivate:
their mortal body escapes calamity;
their dharma body becomes an Immortal or Buddha.

IV.
Your Master knows that all of you
are familiar with singing shepherd's tunes.
To suit your hearts,
I have not composed another melody.
Though this song is common,
its meaning is worthy of attention.
I hope that all the lost children of the world
will seek the way home within these songs.
Once you have found the Dao,
press forward with all your strength —
there is absolutely no wrong in this.

V.
The Living Buddha has bestowed these songs.
It is not that the Master cannot see their worth —
even if one has no immortal root,
one must still have some measure of virtue.
Otherwise, when you encounter these songs,
your heart and the songs will be like water and fire.
Those with virtue who read them will awaken and understand —
the material for teaching the Dao is abundant here.
With this as your foundation,
go forth to urge the world to cultivate truth —
and it will surely bring you home to the Heavenly Kingdom.

Chapter 11 — Heaven, Hell, and the Human World

天堂地獄人間

Four stanzas.

I.
Heaven is divided into the Former Heaven and the Latter Heaven.
Those faithful ones who have obtained the Dao
build virtue and return to the Heaven of Principle.
They rescue their ancestors and enjoy the bliss of the Green and Red eras —
they will never fall back into the dusty mortal world.
Those who are loyal and filial but without the Dao
can reach only the Heaven of Qi.
When they have exhausted all their blessings,
they fall back into the cycle of rebirth.
From this one can see:
with the Dao or without it —
the difference of a hair's breadth is the distance between heaven and the abyss.

II.
The underworld is divided into several levels:
the Wheel of Rebirth and the Shadow Mountain.
The greatly wicked are pressed beneath the Shadow Mountain —
for ten thousand ages their bodies cannot turn.
For those of the utmost evil, nothing can be done:
thunder shatters their spirit-light into pieces.
Their broken nature is reborn among the crawling and the damp;
forever after, it is finished.
Those who do evil in the human world
to a somewhat lesser degree
go to become beasts and fowl.

III.
Those whose evil is much and goodness is little
are reborn as humans who beg for food.
The mad, the dull, the blind, the deaf, the mute, the maimed —
all are cases where evil outweighed the good.
Those whose good and evil are balanced
work under Heaven and eat Heaven's rice.
Those whose good exceeds their evil enjoy modest wealth;
those with great goodness receive long life and wholeness.
The laws of the underworld are stern and severe —
there is not a shred of favoritism.
The supremely good ascend to the Heaven of Qi.

IV.
Humanity is the spirit of the ten thousand things,
positioned between above and below.
But look at whether a person has the Dao or not,
whether they have goodness or not.
From a person's character and conduct,
their final destination is determined.
Heaven applies this universal law
regardless of commoner or official.
I hope everyone understands this:
choose your cultivation carefully —
do not act recklessly.

Chapter 12 — Recognizing the True from the False

真假認清

Fifteen stanzas.

I.
In ancient days people sought the Dao,
wearing out their iron shoes,
suffering and still unable to find it.
Now in the Third Era the Dao seeks out people —
delivered right to your doorstep.
What a pity that people have only flesh-eyes
and cannot recognize the priceless treasure!
Having received it, they despise it
and casually cast aside this extraordinary treasure —
not knowing that this,
Heaven's secret treasure,
blesses whichever household obtains it.

II.
You now cast the treasure aside,
and when the calamity comes, Heaven ignores you.
No matter how you pray,
it is all in vain.
Watch those who cultivate the Dao —
their homes are undisturbed, peaceful, and at ease.
When the time comes, though you regret,
it is already too late.
This prophecy
is told to all beings in advance:
each of you, make up your own mind.

III.
Disciples, you already have an affinity with the Buddha,
but you must also have a Buddha-portion.
An affinity alone is empty —
only the portion counts as real.
All of you, heed the Master's counsel:
plant the Buddha-cause before the Lord.
If the Master's counsel becomes mere pleasantry,
then the disciple harms himself.
In the end, if you treat it as show:
the Master ascends to heaven
and the disciples enter the Wheel of Rebirth.

IV.
Fundamentally, ghosts and immortals alike,
in this auspicious time,
wish to obtain the Dao but lack a human body —
the soul cannot simply choose its vessel.
You disciples all have bodies:
free and strong and healthy.
You have met both the right time and the right Dao —
to refuse cultivation is truly foolish and stubborn.
I urge you all to wake quickly —
delay no more —
save yourselves and save your ancestors.

V.
I urge the disciples to awaken early.
Do not merely go through the motions with the Master.
Understand clearly: the Master acts for everyone,
not for himself.
Once the disciple understands this principle,
they must rouse themselves at once.
Use this borrowed false body
to cultivate your true nature.
When the true nature is well cultivated,
return to the source, restore the origin,
and bow before the Mother at the Infinite.

VI.
The true came from the Infinite
sixty thousand years ago.
The false body is made of the Five Phases,
two breaths coalescing into the womb.
Among the four kinds of birth, false forms are many,
yet each contains one true ruler.
The true is carried away by the false;
the false buries the true.
The true nature, in this world,
goes out through the body and enters through the openings —
confused and dazed, it falls into the sea of suffering.

VII.
Living beings have not understood the principle:
they cultivate the form but not the nature.
Because of this, invisibly,
the sins they amass are not light.
Therefore they constantly change bodies —
womb-born, egg-born, moisture-born, transformation-born —
ten thousand shapes of human and creature,
the causes all tied before birth.
Mencius said:
"That which distinguishes humans from beasts is slight" —
all depends on one's character and conduct.

VIII.
Three dots arranged like stars,
a horizontal hook like a slanting moon —
there are sages and Buddhas,
there are those who wear fur and horns.
All are determined from within this.
All living beings should understand:
always cultivate the soil within your nature;
do not become a turtle trapped in a jar.
This riddle makes clear:
all things depend entirely on
one heart to distinguish them.

IX.
Immortals and Buddhas cultivate the spirit-nature.
Common people cultivate the bodily form.
Only because disciples know the body
and do not know the spirit-nature exists —
now all of you, hear the Master's counsel:
the body and the nature must be sorted out.
Knowing this, change your intention:
use the body to cultivate the nature into clarity.
Otherwise, when the body dies,
the nature remains dark and virtue is scant —
how will you face the Unborn?

X.
It grieves me that there are some people
who fear harm on the path of cultivation.
But the ancient sages who attained
did not go beyond this very Dao.
Why could they cultivate to completion
while I cultivate and meet disaster?
Unless one carries debts from former lives,
the Mother's compassion shows no favoritism.
The feeling of slighting or favoring —
the Mother's heart has none of this.
The distinction lies entirely in your own hearts.

XI.
Compare it to a piece of land
that receives the same heaven-sent rain.
But some shoots grow lush and thick,
while others cannot grow at all.
The reason is that the manure spread
was thick in some places and thin in others,
and moreover the one hoeing the weeds
did not hoe evenly.
Rich soil and barren soil —
though they receive the same rain,
the results are naturally different.

XII.
Now there is a certain disciple
whose cultivation is not thorough —
like the manure and weeds in the field,
the work has not been done completely.
No matter how bitterly you urge them, they will not wake to cultivate.
The soil is depleted — it is hard for anything to grow.
The barren is hard to make fertile;
the sinful person is hard to make into a vessel.
Though the Mother's compassion is universal,
those who receive it
are invisibly divided into high and low.

XIII.
Those of deep and thick foundations —
demonic trials cannot obstruct them.
But the hell-seed: you can persuade until your lips crack
and they will not listen.
Then there are the half-sincere:
they find the teachings tedious and long-winded.
Those who act on their own initiative are fewer still;
those who must be pushed are far too many.
But when the demon sends an invitation —
they arrive at once,
bowing their heads and hanging on every word.

XIV.
When Immortals and Buddhas speak for their sake,
they listen with displeasure.
When the Demon King speaks, they bow their heads —
told east, they dare not go west.
If hearing the Dao costs them a little business,
they complain it is a pity.
When the Demon King demands their wealth,
how eagerly they rush to deliver it in person!
Unable to tell Buddha from demon,
unable to distinguish true from false —
seven out of ten are like this.

XV.
Truly sincere gentlemen are few;
hypocritical petty men are many.
Absolute sincerity leads to good;
hypocrisy leads to downfall.
And yet the hypocrite
still thinks himself lively and clever —
his mouth speaks, but never from the heart.
Playing with fire, he brings disaster upon himself.
Honesty endures;
hypocrisy inevitably fails.
When the time comes, bitterness and joy are divided.

Chapter 13 — How Clearing the Mouth Leads to Immortality

清口利於成仙

Ninety-five stanzas. Stanzas I–LXI translated here (introduction, "Abstaining from Wine," "Abstaining from Meat," "Abstaining from the Five Great Pungent Things," and "Abstaining from the Five Lesser Pungent Things"); the remainder continues in subsequent sessions.

I.
Your master now has time to spare
and has specially composed this song on clearing the mouth —
line by line, laying it all bare.
I hope my worthy disciples
will explore this song's inner meaning:
learn what brings benefit, what brings harm —
seek the gain and dodge the danger.
Do this, and you are wise;
fail, and no words can help.
Once you understand this,
clear your own table first, then your family's,
and urge your kin and neighbours to do the same.

II.
The benefits of clearing the mouth are not few —
my disciples may not yet know them.
First: the body grows healthy.
Second: past karmic causes are settled.
Third: wasteful spending ceases.
Fourth: merit is built.
One act, four benefits —
and those benefits lengthen your years.
This principle,
its inner details —
sit down, disciples, and hear your master explain.

III.
If you do not eat pungent and meaty things,
your organs carry less filth.
A body free of impurity
naturally enjoys a long life.
What others owe us — let it go.
What we owe others — settle it clean.
When the remaining debts are paid off through merit,
and the debts are cleared, pile more merit still.
Clear the mouth this way:
the whole household's spending —
even the invisible costs — grows less.

IV.
Clearing the mouth — one simple thing —
holds four kinds of benefit.
Think, disciples: whose is this bargain?
You extend your life, you settle your karma —
what does the Buddha gain from it?
You cultivate merit, you save your money —
the Buddha gets nothing.
It has nothing to do with the Buddha —
yet the Buddha urges you painfully.
In the end,
for whose sake?

V.
A thousand streams return to the sea —
this is the Buddha's compassion.
For the matter of your life and death,
he explains the principle again and again.
Within these songs, grasp the Buddha's heart:
should you not love yourself?
Now your master will lay out
the harms of meat and wine plainly below.
When you read the master's words —
whether you grasp his intent or not —
it depends only on the quality of the heart.

VI.
Du Kang gave up his grain to brew wine.
Once brewed, he offered it to the Sage Emperor Yu.
Yu tasted it, found it delicious, and saw through it at once:
"This foul rich wine — keep Du Kang far from me!"
He left instructions that his descendants should abstain.
Those who later defied Yu's command
truly lost their families and kingdoms.
Jie and Zhou, relying on their power, stirred chaos
and did not escape the fall — to Shang, to Zhou.
Survey all of history:
even the noblest of emperors,
once they touched this thing, lost their heads.

VII.
In the Spring and Autumn period and the Warring States,
treacherous ministers and rebels abounded.
"I harm you, he harms me" —
and wine was the go-between for most of it.
Qin's Second Emperor Huhai
drank all day and made merry.
From the Han on down, Emperors Huan and Ling
let the realm waste away, their power slipping sideways.
The lords of Wu and Shu
held daily wine-feasts, scheming to prosper —
and were seized by Jin instead.

VIII.
After Jin, the dynasties that rose —
their evil customs are beyond telling.
East Jin, West Jin, Emperor Yang of Sui:
squandered and lost, one ruler swapped for the next.
Prince Jiancheng and Prince Yuanji
brought disaster upon themselves at wine-feasts.
Emperor Minghuang's peaceful reign —
wine threw the realm into chaos.
Even one as brilliant as Li Bai,
drinking beyond all measure,
reached for the moon's reflection and fell into the river.

IX.
Then there was Zhao Kuangyin,
who killed Zheng Ziming over wine.
The rise and fall of Yuan, Ming, and Qing —
you disciples know the general shape.
In the Yuan, wine disordered marriages
and whole households fell into turmoil.
Yongzheng, under wine's influence, harmed his kin
and seized his sister-in-law's virtue.
From all this, see:
the crimes of wine
are truly without end.

X.
Most terrible of all — the Celebration Tower,
where wine was the bait that killed the heroes.
In the Ming, a couplet hung in the palace hall
that chills the heart even more:
"Ten thousand matters all fall short
of one cup in the hand.
How many things has a man's life?
The moon hangs overhead."
Look at the Ming dynasty:
the extravagance of wine-feasts —
how extreme it grew.

XI.
Du Kang started it all —
how many has he harmed?
Now Du Kang lies crushed beneath the Shadow Mountain,
and ten thousand kalpas cannot turn him over.
Of the world's grain used to make wine,
five parts in ten are consumed.
Squandering Heaven's bounty —
how could this not anger Heaven's heart?
The masses starve and freeze
while wealthy clans guzzle wine.
The inequality is grievous.

XII.
In a past life you did a little good;
in this life you are born wealthy.
But being wealthy, you do not cherish the wealth —
you drink without limit.
Today you waste the grain;
in the next life you will be a pauper.
Poverty comes from past-life sin,
but wealth carries its own duty.
When you refuse that duty
and instead grow arrogant and extravagant —
how can Heaven's heart not be repelled?

XIII.
The common drunkard does not consider wine a calamity.
He even says: "With wine in hand,
everything can be negotiated."
This seed of karmic debt —
if he does not change, disaster is certain.
Officials' corruption:
negotiated over wine.
Merchants' fraud, workers' deceit —
the ruin of nations and persons alike —
all wounded
by that word "negotiate."

XIV.
Suppose all the people in the world
despised rich wine like Emperor Yu.
The factories and shops would beg you to drink,
and everyone would shake their heads.
May this wish come true!
The factories and shops would fold their hands in defeat.
The grain wasted on wine would feed the poor,
and everyone would have plenty.
And if that happened,
even foreign wine shipped in
would spoil on the shelf, unsellable.

XV.
Wine carries the nature of intoxication —
nothing wounds the heart and spirit more easily.
Drink a little and your head aches;
drink more and you invite disaster.
Drink past your limit and you may faint to death;
drink deeply and you bungle everything.
Open the history books and look:
wise rulers and heroes alike,
brought down by this very thing —
families ruined, the people scattered.
The examples are beyond counting.

XVI.
If even emperors and heroes
suffered calamity from this,
then a common man of today,
once stained — how can he last?
Even if he lasts a while,
both body and household are damaged.
I advise all people in the world:
wake up early, do not waver.
Lingering in dissipation and ruin —
wine, lust, wealth, and anger —
all are guns aimed at yourself.

XVII.
When you, my disciples, read these words of mine,
tend to yourselves first.
If you have a fondness for wine, then abstain;
if you have none, never let it touch you.
If the elders in your family are given to drink,
use my words to counsel them.
If friends your own age are given to drink,
use my words to encourage and admonish them.
Relatives and friends —
any who suffer from this vice —
should all be urged with kind words.

XVIII.
Cangjie created characters with wondrous subtlety.
Look now at the three characters — meat, fowl, and beast —
and see how they are composed:
blood-dripping, red and pooling,
enough to scatter the soul.
Those who do not understand this principle
pass by in a muddle.
Those who see through it
tremble and shudder.
What is this principle?
Disciples, sit and listen —
your teacher will explain in full.

XIX.
In the character for meat, a person encloses a person —
a sign of the cycle, the wheel of rebirth.
The outer eats the inner, the inner becomes a person again,
and the result is a turning wheel.
It looks like eating meat,
but truly it is people eating people.
For people transmute into beasts,
and beasts transmute into human bodies.
You gnaw my bones,
I strip your skin —
not a hair's breadth of error in the reckoning.

XX.
The structure of the character for fowl:
beneath "person" lies half of "separation."
When goodness departs,
the wicked person becomes a fowl.
Now look at the form of the character for beast:
one mouth, a nature, a field —
two mouths plus a dog, weeping —
the weeping crushes nature into a beast.
From this we see:
beasts eat people,
people eat the bodies of beasts.

XXI.
The matter is really nothing strange —
beast-bodies and human bodies alike.
Mencius said: the difference between a person and a beast
is vanishingly thin — just a thought's breadth.
If your thoughts tend toward evil, you are a beast;
if toward good, you are a person.
The ten thousand things are complete within me —
to turn inward with sincerity is the greatest joy.
People and beasts
share one Mother, one spirit —
they differ only in body and mind.

XXII.
Heaven gave birth to the sage Cangjie,
whose characters contain wondrous meaning.
Had your teacher not pointed this out,
which of you, lost in confusion, would have known?
Your teacher, for the sake of saving you all,
does not stint at explaining in detail —
yet all of this is Heaven's own secret,
and today your teacher reveals only a little.
Disciples, seeing this,
you should awaken quickly:
clear your mouths — do not hesitate.

XXIII.
Look now at an animal facing death:
its cries are tragic and pitiable.
The blade goes in clean and comes out red,
the whole body trembling violently.
Its hooves scrape the ground to ruin,
sweat drenches its entire frame.
It thrashes its head and flails its tail,
excrement and urine flying outward.
Eyes bulging, brow contorted,
breath growing faint —
pain spreading through its heart and gut.

XXIV.
Before the killing begins,
it waits quietly for the execution.
At that moment — look at it —
how truly pitiable.
When the pigs and sheep cry out in agony,
the listener's heart aches with sorrow.
Especially the draft animals, those who labored —
the sight moves one to deeper grief.
In an instant,
red light flashes forth,
and a lifetime's merit is ended.

XXV.
To cruelly take its life
and eat its flesh —
calling this "nourishment" and "tonic" —
what kind of reasoning is that?
If someone robs a person, people are outraged.
If someone exploits a beast, there is no grudge?
This evil custom, this perverse logic —
it grieves the Buddhas and good people.
From this one sees
how deeply the world's people
are lost in delusion.

XXVI.
Moreover: livestock eat wild grass;
pigs and dogs eat filth and urine.
Dirty as they are, people eat them —
truly lacking in the way of cleanliness.
Livestock are by nature murky and yin,
their hair growing in all directions.
Plants are by nature clear and yang,
rooted in the earth, reaching toward the sky.
Livestock belong to yin,
plants belong to yang —
for people, eating plants is best.

XXVII.
The one who eats meat bears a heavy sin.
The one who kills the beast bears the same.
If you did not eat, he would not kill —
this principle is perfectly fair.
The butcher does not wish to kill —
your silver coins persuaded him.
He kills for profit,
but you are the mastermind who bears the crime.
If you do not believe it,
follow the earlier teaching:
the money is yours, the life is his, and so on.

XXVIII.
If everyone under heaven could clear their mouths,
I ask you: in the slaughterhouses,
would the killing still go on?
If the slaughterhouses close their doors
and your mouth is still not clear —
if no one will kill for you,
then you yourself take up the blade.
From this one sees:
if the mouth is not yet fully cleared,
how can the business of killing ever stop?

XXIX.
Some say: "The Buddha sits in the heart;
wine and meat merely pass through the gut."
Those who speak thus
are truly confused.
They think the Buddha and the gut
are two separate things — different in name, different in body.
Then if the gut is punctured,
does the Buddha still sit there or not?
They cannot even see through this small point,
and yet they slander
those who clear their mouths.

XXX.
Once someone said:
"Pigs and sheep — one cut and they're just vegetables.
If Heaven didn't mean us to eat them,
why create them at all?
If we don't eat pigs and sheep,
they'll fill up the whole world.
And if we don't eat the ox,
it's only because it works for us.
But these pigs and sheep —
if we don't eat them,
what purpose were they born for?"

XXXI.
The Five Phases refined become a person;
the Five Phases muddied become a beast.
This is simply the operation of yin and yang —
where people exist, beasts must also exist.
If a mother gave birth to a Buddha,
why must she also give birth to a demon?
If you want to understand the principle,
walk into a tofu shop:
the tofu and the dregs —
yang-clear and yin-murky —
how could you have one without the other?

XXXII.
Heaven made pigs and sheep
to live alongside people.
Each keeps to its proper place, each guards its proper destiny —
neither should exploit the other.
Sheep give milk and wool;
pigs tread the manure.
Once you understand this, you know: the ox should not be eaten —
and pigs and sheep, too, should not be eaten.
Your teacher states this plainly —
disciples, ponder it well:
does this reasoning hold or not?

XXXIII.
"But if we don't eat pigs and sheep,
pigs and sheep will fill the world!"
This argument only shows, disciples,
that you have not grasped the principle.
People do not eat tigers and leopards —
why aren't tigers and leopards overrunning us?
You become what you eat —
the principle is plain.
Disciples, think it over:
is this reasoning
complete or not?

XXXIV.
In this life as a human,
you eat pigs for twenty-three years.
In the next life you become a pig —
you too must suffer for three years.
Because people eat so much,
the world is filled with beasts.
If people ate less,
the numbers would naturally decrease.
Science may be all-powerful,
but even science cannot overturn
this truth.

XXXV.
In the ancient ages,
people and beasts lived in peace.
There were few calamities, no karma of cause and effect —
the ten thousand peoples enjoyed tranquility.
But now, within the Three Ages,
the killing-fate is cruel and fierce.
If you ask what caused it,
the Buddha's words say it plainly:
"If you would know why wars and catastrophes arise,
go at night to the slaughterhouse gate
and listen."

XXXVI.
Those who slaughter livestock —
a good death is hard to come by.
For when they die, the wronged spirits of the beasts
are always there to haunt them.
Having built up sin through a strong body,
their death-agonies are great,
and in the underworld the torment is the worst.
Quickly urge the butchers
to turn around and come ashore!
"Lay down the butcher's knife
and become a Buddha on the spot" —
these words are no idle saying.

XXXVII.
A solemn warning to butchers:
change your trade at once!
For clothing and food, what trade
cannot put rice in the bowl?
Why must you slaughter,
harming life and defying Heaven?
Have you not seen Jin Shengtan —
how pitiful his end?
Knowing this, you should
repent at once
and follow in the footsteps of good people.

XXXVIII.
Those who eat seafood —
after death, buried in the belly of fish.
Those who eat grain, like ordinary people —
after death, buried in the earth.
Those who eat roasted beasts —
after death, cremated to nothing.
Those who eat fowl — upon death, cast out,
their corpse picked clean by birds.
Those who hunt —
their corpse left in the wild
for beasts to take their revenge.

XXXIX.
From all of this one sees:
Heaven and Earth have a cycle.
What you ate, you repay —
not a hair's breadth of error.
Those who ate of the earth return to earth,
unable to escape the debt.
Those who ate other animals
repay every last ounce.
From this one sees:
to live without the Way —
the outcome is truly pitiable.

Abstaining from the Five Great Pungent Things — 戒五大葷

XL.
After wine and meat, now the loathsome and the pungent.
The three loathsome I will explain below;
first let us clear away the great pungent things:
cow, horse, dog, fish of the river,
and the wild geese that flock in heaven's sky.
Cow and horse toil for the household;
the dog guards the gate with all its heart.
The river fish scours the waters clean;
the goose is heaven's filial bird.
Those who cultivate the Way
must first give up
these Five Great Pungent Things.

XLI.
Beyond the five great pungent things,
a word on the three loathsome:
whatever grows feathered wings and spreads its pinions
belongs to the sky-loathsome.
Round-furred, four-footed beasts
are named the earth-loathsome.
Scaled creatures that dwell in water
fall within the water-loathsome.
These three loathsome kinds
are all the more, for the cultivator,
essential things to abstain from.

Abstaining from the Five Lesser Pungent Things — 戒小五葷

XLII.
After the pungent and the loathsome, now the Grass Generals:
scallion, chives, shallot, garlic, and tobacco.
Their general meaning is this —
these five are just like
the hypocrites of the world:
they look like plants,
but in truth are no different from meat.
Moreover they carry a stimulating nature;
those who eat them injure the primal spirit.
Therefore cultivators of the Way
call these plants
the Five Lesser Pungent Things.

XLIII.
These Grass Generals —
their poison is deeper than you think.
If a cultivator does not abstain,
the qi of the five organs grows unsound.
Chives enter the liver meridian
and scatter the wood-qi until it disperses.
Scallion enters the kidneys
and boils the water-qi dry.
Shallot damages the earth of the spleen;
the spleen governs muscle and flesh —
when spleen-qi scatters, the body grows weary.

XLIV.
Garlic invades the heart meridian;
the heart-fire is stirred into chaos.
When the heart is disturbed and its fire consumed,
this injury is the most critical of all.
The common saying "garlic burns the heart" —
by now, all of you understand.
Then there is tobacco, that ten-thousand-fold evil:
it enters the lungs and scatters the metal-qi.
Once the metal-qi scatters,
it rampages through the other four —
all five organs are stained by its fumes.

XLV.
Heart, liver, spleen, lungs, kidneys —
scallion, chives, shallot, garlic, tobacco.
The medical texts say that when the Five Phases
fall into mutual destruction, the danger is greatest.
Five tastes breach the five organs;
the organ-qi no longer returns to the Origin.
If all the organ-qi scatters,
how can one enter the sages' meditation?
From this one sees: the five tastes —
these Grass-Head Generals —
are yin-turbidity at its extreme.

XLVI.
How do we know these five pungent things
are truly so dangerous?
If the disciples ask the Master, here is
a proof for all to examine:
anyone who has not cleared the mouth —
foul odor fills their breath.
When a non-vegetarian speaks to others,
it makes people recoil.
But those who have cleared the mouth —
even without brushing their teeth —
their breath remains mild and plain.

XLVII.
Scallion, chives, shallot, and garlic
are the metamorphosis of cow, pig, sheep, and dog.
This history begins
in the reign of Emperor Wu of Liang.
The emperor was a filial son turned ruler;
the empress later reincarnated as an earthworm.
An old monk named Zhigong
wished to convert the emperor to cultivation,
fearing that one day
he would starve to death at Taicheng —
and all his good works be undone.

XLVIII.
He spoke of the cycle of karma
and urged the emperor to abdicate and enter the mountains —
hoping to make him treasure his imperial fortune,
cultivate virtue, and repay the debt of past lives.
But the emperor was deeply deluded;
his attachment to wealth and power could not be turned.
Though three times he renounced the throne,
he was never willing to undergo true discipline.
Instead he took my teachings
on cause and effect
and went looking for proofs to advertise them.

XLIX.
He praised the Master's dharma as lofty
but mocked the empress for her humble birth.
This aroused the empress's resentment —
she amassed boundless sin.
She shaped dumplings from the flesh of cow, pig, sheep, and dog
and presented them before the Buddha.
After the offering, she served them to the monks —
sweet words concealing sour poison.
Fortunately the Master saw through the scheme;
he changed his robes and prepared vegetarian food —
and barely escaped that trap.

L.
It was not that the Master bore ill will —
it was the empress's body seeking its own destruction.
The Master took her meat dumplings
and buried them in the imperial garden.
By divine art he caused them to sprout forth:
scallion, chives, shallot, and garlic.
Later the empress saw these plants
and ordered the kitchen to make dumpling-meals from them.
Scallion from cow, chives from pig,
shallot from sheep, garlic from dog —
harming others never ends well.

LI.
The empress humiliated the Master before the emperor;
the emperor and empress spoke against me.
When the Master revealed the full details
and told the emperor to confront the empress,
she learned the truth and flew into a rage,
plotting to harm the arhat.
She made monks' caps from polluted cloth
and shoes from pages of the sutras.
With cunning words she offered these as gifts;
the Master reversed them —
and with a grief-poem moved the empress to remorse.

LII.
From that time on the empress's virtue was exhausted;
she fell once more into the wheel of rebirth.
Later, Bodhidharma and the Master urged the emperor
to retire to the mountains — but the emperor refused.
Seeing that his heart would not turn,
the Master slipped away to Li County.
The emperor employed the rebel Hou Jing,
who besieged and took Taicheng.
In the end Hou Jing
starved the emperor to death —
and the mutual debts between them were settled.

LIII.
Since that era,
the flavor of the four plants has changed entirely.
Outwardly they are vegetables; inwardly, meat —
the evidence and the proof are complete.
Cow-flesh became scallion;
pig-flesh became chives in the dumpling filling.
Shallot is the mutton-cake;
dog-meat matches garlic.
Beyond these four lesser pungent things,
there remains one more —
that ten-thousand-fold evil: tobacco.

LIV.
The harm tobacco does to the world
surpasses even the calamity of war.
When swords and armies come, people know to flee —
but from tobacco, people willingly submit.
Especially the great opium pipe:
once hooked, you cannot break free.
Smoke long enough and your family estate is squandered;
you would sell your wife and children.
Driven to this extremity —
swindling, deceiving, cheating, stealing —
your name and character ruined beyond repair.

LV.
From this one knows that opium
does harm of the deepest kind.
Those who are stained by it know its harm
but try as they might, cannot quit.
One puff and a sigh —
all affairs are seen through empty eyes.
They die still unawakened,
having sacrificed everything.
The heart enslaved by this obsession
has its will diverted from cultivation —
it crushes even Buddha and the sages underfoot.

LVI.
Then there is the small tobacco pipe —
its harm surpasses even opium.
Everyone in the world smokes it,
spending billions upon billions each day.
Because so many are addicted,
none perceive it as a scourge.
Worse still, ignorant farmers
plant opium fields for profit.
Because tobacco poisons the soil —
land once used for tobacco
can scarcely grow the five grains again.

LVII.
The varieties of tobacco are many,
spread to every drought-parched land:
Lanzhou water-pipes, Sichuan rolls,
Chinese and foreign branded cigarettes.
Anyone who smokes these
suffers dizziness, coughing, wheezing.
Some lose their homes to tobacco-fires;
some lose years from their lives.
How hateful that worldly people
indulge without restraint —
even knowing the harm, they do not care.

LVIII.
Then there are the opium-addicts —
of them there is simply nothing to be said.
Once addicted, whatever wickedness there is,
they will dare to do it.
Worse than both the great and small tobacco,
the harm is multiplied beyond measure;
the sums consumed
make a person's tongue go numb.
Addicted and wishing to quit —
yet lacking even the smallest shred of will —
they cannot quit until they die.

LIX.
The wealthy and the greedy,
day after day they must have their smoke.
Beggars ask them for a meal's worth of coin —
they will not spare a single cent.
Yet when the urge to smoke arises,
they think nothing of spending tens of thousands.
From this one sees: if worldly people
do not face the calamity, what then?
I humbly counsel all living beings
who carry this sickness:
quickly turn around and come ashore.

LX.
The two characters "pungent" and "loathsome"
are strange in more ways than one.
The top of 葷 is the grass radical — soft and gentle;
people see grass on the ground and feel delight.
But beneath the grass hides a soldier:
the image shows evil concealed within good.
The character 厭 is the true image of yin:
the sun surrounded by all the yin forces.
These two characters —
their meaning is deep and far-reaching;
let all disciples ponder them well.

LXI.
The three flowers — essence, qi, and spirit —
are easily shattered by the three loathsome.
The five organs' inward-flowing primal qi
is easily captured by the pungent things.
Therefore it is said: for those who cultivate the Way,
the pungent and the loathsome must not be touched.
Your Master counsels you with bitter tongue —
truly for the sake of your cultivation and virtue.
I hope you will all be vigilant,
understand the Master's heart,
and love yourselves with greater resolve.

The Harm of Breaking the Precepts — 破戒之害

LXII.
Clearing the mouth is no child's game.
The moment you clear your mouth,
you startle the Three Officials into action.
They settle up all your karmic debts at once:
what others owe you is restored to you;
what you owe others, you must repay.
After that, whatever net debt remains
is tallied up separately.
Wait until your merit-work
has repaid your former debts —
then any surplus merit is recorded anew.

LXIII.
From this you see that clearing the mouth —
how could it be easy?
If you break the fast again,
debt and merit must be recalculated.
If it comes to that,
the Three Officials are put to double work.
The Three Officials, though compassionate,
will also grow angry.
First they fix upon you
the charge of "backsliding,"
and at any time retribution may come.

LXIV.
Your Master knows this situation.
When he sees someone break the fast, he grows anxious —
perhaps their face and lips will swell,
or things will go wrong all at once.
These are meant to frighten the oath-breaker
into remorse and renewed abstinence.
If they do repent,
the Three Officials' procedures are simplified.
Though I speak like this,
your Master's warning
is offered with sincere heart.

LXV.
Fine wood can be carved;
foul earth cannot hold the clay.
If one has strange talent but no sincere virtue,
the Master is unwilling to bother with them.
For those who break the fast
are mostly cunning ones.
Only when someone is tricked into breaking it
does the Master issue a warning.
If upon that warning they turn back,
bravely admit their wrongs and repent,
the Master seeing this is pleased.

LXVI.
Strictly speaking, breaking the fast —
what does it matter to the Master?
The Master's concern
is only for saving you.
If you eat openly,
what can the Master do about it?
If you eat in secret,
you harm only yourself.
The pot is already shattered;
the principle has been fully explained.
The decision rests with the one who eats.

LXVII.
Clearing the mouth —
disciples should take it seriously.
Spending money is a small matter;
your very life is at stake.
The great calamity is nearly upon us,
and everything depends on the Buddha's protection.
If you clear your mouth,
the Buddha can save you easily.
If you do not clear your mouth,
your turbid qi assaults the Buddha,
and saving you takes great effort.

LXVIII.
Think it over, disciples.
The Buddha saves good men and women —
first those who have cleared the mouth,
then those who have not.
Between "sooner" and "later"
lies the divide between safety and peril.
Disciples, think: to clear or not to clear —
which comes first?
You say you pray to the Buddha
and always want him to grant your wishes —
but you should also fulfill the Buddha's wishes.

LXIX.
Your Master stands in the light;
all disciples stand in the dark.
The calamity of the chou and yin years is about to appear —
your Master has specially revealed this heavenly secret.
All disciples must understand:
craving the mouth costs you your life.
Will you guard your life or guard your appetite?
Make your own decision.
Wine and meat are pleasant,
yet they can destroy
both your mortal body and your dharma body.

LXX.
Your Master and wine and meat
have sworn an irreconcilable oath:
where they exist, I do not;
where I exist, they vanish.
The Master is saving you;
wine and meat are harming you.
With your true wisdom,
determine whom to draw near and whom to leave.
Cut the tangled hemp with a single blade —
do not hesitate.
Decide your own return and transcendence.

LXXI.
People say: "When the Master was alive,
he would not part with wine and meat."
This did happen, it is true —
but people do not understand the full truth.
What they do not know is that when the Master ate,
he used spiritual arts to cast it into the wilderness.
How could he have swallowed it
and ruined his own five qi?
And yet now, when I counsel people
to clear their mouths,
they still reproach me for it.

LXXII.
Alas, foolish disciples
who do not understand the Master's intent!
In those days, worldly people
cleared the outside but not the inside.
So the Master reversed it:
cultivate the inside, not the skin.
If a sincere person can clear the inside,
then not clearing the outside is cleared in itself.
Later writers, composing books
to gather followers,
filled their pages with wild fabrications.

LXXIII.
If the Master were truly like that,
what kind of person would he be?
Later generations, not understanding this,
slandered and maligned the Master.
When the Master ate wine and meat,
false saints were present at the table.
When the false saints were absent,
the Master did not eat either.
How could he constantly,
without regard for what was fitting,
go about eating wine and meat?

LXXIV.
Having cleared this injustice once,
let idle talk return to the main teaching.
When disciples eat meat, they spend their own money —
what concern is it to the Buddha?
It has nothing to do
with your initiating teacher either.
Your Master constantly offers bitter counsel
because the masses are pitifully foolish.
The wise use their money
to buy virtue and merit;
the foolish use their money to buy karmic enmity.

LXXV.
Sometimes people test us,
pressing us with wine and meat.
We must handle it with nimble wit
and seek a tactful resolution.
Perhaps it is for a medical condition;
perhaps an aversion from the womb.
Perhaps for our parents' longevity;
perhaps for our children's well-being.
Or perhaps on a distant journey,
having met some peril by boat or cart,
we made a vow to eat only vegetables.

LXXVI.
If people ask where you made
your vegetarian vow,
you may say: "At the altar of Patriarch Lu"
or "at the Temple of Guanyin."
"After everything I prayed for was granted,
only then did I forswear the pungent and the foul.
Before my prayers were answered,
who would willingly cut short the mouth's pleasures?"
If they ask how long the clearing of the mouth will last —
give them a generous number
of months and years.

LXXVII.
"Perhaps I vowed for life;
perhaps for several decades.
Once the vow is fulfilled,
naturally I shall eat again."
When ordinary people ask, these answers
deflect annoyance and spare trouble.
A jin of meat versus five jin of noodles —
the proportion is far too uneven:
five jin of noodles
fill five people's bellies,
but a jin of meat is barely one person's meal.

LXXVIII.
Tobacco and wine only serve
to make the breath foul and consume money.
Our abstaining from pungent things and meat
is not a violation of national law.
Since it breaks no law,
why fear commoners or officials?
Should an official ever force you,
it is Heaven testing you.
I earnestly hope that worthy disciples
will make up their minds —
when the time comes, let your resolve not waver.

LXXIX.
With a level heart you can cross the sea —
what need to fear those who would harm you in secret?
Listen to the Master's words, follow the Master's teaching,
and you will naturally receive Heaven's protection and love.
Though I say this,
disciples must see clearly:
if you do not cultivate merit and virtue,
you cannot withstand the settling of debts.
In short, in the Third Period:
save things and abandon people,
and the things will surely be ruined.

LXXX.
If both things and people could all be safe,
then this would not be the Year of Reckoning.
Disciples, think it over and make your decision:
what should you do?
Choose the sacred now and release the worldly,
and both sacred and worldly will be forever preserved.
Crave the worldly now and abandon the sacred,
and both sacred and worldly will be forever finished.
I tell all of you: work out clearly
this ingenious abacus —
this calculation between spirits and demons.

LXXXI.
Moreover, the sages and worthies of all ages
understood cause and effect clearly.
It is not only the Buddha who advocates compassion —
all five religions are the same.
Confucius cleared his mouth
but was unwilling to speak of it to others,
because in those days
people were already mocking Confucius as a fool.
If he had also urged people
to hurry and clear their mouths,
how could he not have been ridiculed?

LXXXII.
Confucius — the timely sage —
was harmonious yet never followed the current.
When invited to a meat banquet he made polite excuses,
but never once said he had "cleared his mouth."
In the eras of Yao, Shun, Xia, Shang, and Zhou,
the practice was fasting, purification, and ritual bathing.
Mencius kept his distance from the kitchen:
"hearing the sounds, he could not eat the meat."
Jesus forbade blood-offerings;
Muhammad forbade various meats;
the Daoists renounced cooked food entirely for their cultivation.

LXXXIII.
All five religions were good in the beginning,
but later generations transmitted them wrongly.
Now your Master transmits the Heavenly Way
to correct the five religions' accumulated errors.
All disciples — to encounter the Living Buddha
is no small karmic fortune.
You should embody the Buddha's heart:
clearing the mouth is the highest move.
Clear the mouth and the turbid departs;
compassion takes its place.
Exhort others to follow your example.

A Dream Shown to Wang Xiuqing — 夢示秀清

LXXXIV.
Now let your Master tell you a story.
In Jiangnan there was Wang Xiuqing —
his family was wealthy.
Through generations, Wang's ancestors
were doers of good works:
donating money, donating coffins,
donating clothes and food.
Because of this accumulated merit, Xiuqing was born
to become a great merchant.
As a man of commerce,
through someone's earnest urging,
Xiuqing at last took me as his Master.

LXXXV.
Xiuqing was also one
who had made his vow at the golden censer.
But though he sought the Dao, he never truly pondered it —
fame and profit had clouded his nature.
When others urged him to cultivate, he slandered them
and even doubted that the Master was real.
Because of this, the Master feared
he would leave his vow unfulfilled and fail to return to the West.
And so the Master appeared in a dream,
warning him:
cultivate quickly — do not delay.

LXXXVI.
The Master commanded him to clear his mouth.
He said: "Let me wait a little longer."
At this the Master grew angry
and scolded him sharply.
Then the Master explained
the meaning of clearing the mouth.
Only then did Xiuqing become frightened
and obey without further resistance.
The Master asked him again:
"You thought the Master was unreal —
now do you see whether I am real or not?"

LXXXVII.
Cultivating the Dao is cultivating virtue and principle;
performing meritorious works is settling debts of feeling.
The Master told him this, and Xiuqing asked:
how many lives of debt did he owe?
The Master asked him: each year,
how much meat did he eat?
He answered: each year about seventy-odd jin of meat.
Counting from youth to old age,
reckoned all in pork,
the total came to
over three thousand jin.

LXXXVIII.
"Forty pigs you have eaten —
you must be reborn as pigs and repay each one.
And not only this: you also carry
sixty thousand years of karmic enmity."
Hearing this, Xiuqing's face changed color.
He begged the Master to explain further.
The Master said: "This is a heavenly secret
and cannot be revealed."
But Xiuqing would not accept this —
he pleaded earnestly,
kowtowing so furiously his head was pounding garlic.

LXXXIX.
Seeing his extreme sincerity,
the Master then told him:
"You owe fourteen human lives.
You owe one hundred and eighty-eight in gold.
These debts of yours
are truly no small sum.
Had you not made your vow at the golden censer,
you would have lost your human body long ago."
"I tell you, Xiuqing:
awaken quickly.
Press forward and perform meritorious works."

XC.
Xiuqing then begged the Master
to explain how to repay his debts.
The Master said: "Save sixty-four souls.
Open ten compassion boats.
Print one hundred great books —
this repays one life.
Practice the three kinds of giving;
sacrifice yourself gladly.
If you do this and move Heaven,
half your sins
will be cleared."

XCI.
"By these methods, your sixty thousand kalpas
of debt can be resolved.
If in this life you perform even half the merit-work,
all your debts can be erased —
but only because this is the auspicious period.
Otherwise, it would be impossible."
Xiuqing, hearing this, smiled
and made his vow:
"I will print five thousand books,
save one thousand souls,
and establish a hundred new altars."

XCII.
All the above were words spoken in a dream.
When Wang awoke, he was a knot of doubt —
his heart refused to believe.
How could such things be real?
The Master, watching from beside him,
was both angry and pitiful.
Three times in one night the Master appeared
before his faith became firm.
To this day, Xiuqing,
amid the calamities of Jiangnan,
has given everything for the Dao.

XCIII.
Xiuqing's businesses —
more than twenty locations —
have all now become
Buddha-halls of the Dao.
He no longer conducts commerce;
he devotes himself wholly to the Dao, assisted by companions.
The Dao-work now advances
a thousand miles each day.
All of this is because
his utmost sincerity moved Heaven,
and immortals secretly assist his labors.

XCIV.
This is a true story —
do not take it lightly.
Your Master has specially raised it
as a model for you.
People like Xiuqing —
today they number not just thousands but tens of millions.
Each should strive with their own strength
to save themselves and save the world.
If you do not do this,
once the Great Gathering is complete,
it will be too late to cultivate.

XCV.
I tell all good men and women:
awaken urgently — do not linger!
For this is not the time
to crave what is false.
Quickly, quickly cultivate the Way
and preserve your true heavenly nature.
When the time comes, we — Master and disciples —
shall walk hand in hand to behold the Mother's face.
You will have attained the Way;
I will have fulfilled my duty.
Together we shall rejoice in the homeland.

Chapter 14 — Explaining the Three Truths

三真解述

I.
The Wuji Heavenly Dao is the truest of truths,
transmitted from antiquity to the present day.
The Dao Lineage has never fallen into disorder.
Examine the deeds; examine the words —
it stands far above the deviant schools.
In the old days it was transmitted one-to-one;
the Dharma was never heard by a sixth ear.
Now Heaven, because of the Great Gathering,
loves the people, not only the Dao:
Dao and calamity descend together —
the Dao rescues, the calamity slays,
building and purging the spring of Great Harmony.

II.
The myriad creatures all possess principle;
without principle, there is chaos.
If Heaven had no principle, the stars would fall;
drought and flood would come at the wrong times.
If the Earth had no principle,
grass and seedlings could not rise.
If things had no principle,
their functions would cease.
And if people had no principle —
only the false composite would remain.
What could they possibly accomplish?

III.
If Heaven possesses principle,
the stars keep their course and the seasons their rhythm.
Earth with principle: grain and grass flourish.
Things with principle: they become useful vessels.
If people possess the principle of their nature,
birth and restraint assist transformation and nurture.
But one must awaken and understand
where nature-principle comes from and where it goes.
Know this, and you know:
the nature is true, the body is false —
coming and going proceed from this alone.

IV.
The Heavenly Mandate is what matters most;
facts themselves prove its truth.
In summer it does not decompose; in winter it does not stiffen —
one pointing of the finger releases you from the wheel.
The most precious Heart-Seal Dharma
can save humans, ghosts, and spirits alike.
Ten thousand Buddhas come to aid the Dao;
miraculous manifestations astound the soul.
From all of this it is proven:
the Dao is true, the Principle is true,
and the Heavenly Mandate is truest of all.

Chapter 15 — What Are the Three Kinds of Giving

何謂三施解述

I.
In the Third Period, first you receive, then you cultivate.
Having received the Three Treasures,
you must practise the three kinds of giving.
First, give wealth: fund the opening of new ground;
print morality books to announce the mission.
If you live frugally, your giving grows abundant;
give sincerely, and Heaven will uphold you.
If you live extravagantly, your giving becomes miserly —
Heaven despises this, and the calamity cleanses it.
The generous giver, though emptied of money,
never lacks clothing or food.
But the miserly — hunger and cold will find them.

II.
Those who see clearly: do not fall asleep!
Bow yourselves and give your utmost.
One mouth and two legs —
do not let them stay idle.
Comb the wind, bathe in the rain — press on.
Climb mountains and cross rivers.
Set out wearing the stars and the moon;
do not waste a moment of daylight.
With bitter mouth and grandmother's heart,
tongue worn, lips parched —
Imperial Heaven will never short-change you.

III.
Of the three givings, the giving of Dharma is weightiest,
because it can save all living beings.
Look at the ancient sages and Buddhas:
which of them did not give Dharma grandly?
The five religions all expounded the Great Dharma;
saving people is the highest vehicle.
If all of you can practise the giving of Dharma,
only then does it count as establishing the merit of virtue.
For the sake of saving all beings,
your wealth and your very self —
what is there you cannot see through?

IV.
What is the giving of fearlessness?
It is not fearing tests and temptations.
Understanding true principle, working to save the world —
who can obstruct me?
With full spirit and clear understanding,
truly sacrifice yourself in the work.
Practise diligently the merit of non-action;
you will certainly bear the fruit without leakage.
One thousand good deeds,
three hundred austerities —
and you cultivate into a Maitreya.

Chapter 16 — The Preciousness of Opening New Ground

開荒寶貴

I.
Opening new ground and saving people — what a fine thing!
A Dharma altar is like the Palace of Wuji;
whoever establishes one draws near to Buddhas and sages.
It can dodge calamity, it can avoid disaster —
one small Cloud-City.
If the whole family cultivates
and performs great merit-work besides —
giving of wealth, Dharma, and fearlessness,
with sincerity and endurance from beginning to end —
assisting Heaven in this way,
Heaven will surely protect them:
a thousand dangers, ten thousand perils — all made level.

II.
With a Buddha-altar at the centre,
within forty paces in every direction,
urge your near neighbours to enter the Dao.
A sincere heart will move Heaven's protection.
Though airplanes drop bombs,
though guns and cannons rain thick —
to the eye it may seem perilous,
but to the altar it matters not at all.
Only because Heaven saves
those who save themselves and save others:
disciples of true merit and genuine good.

III.
Quickly urge your kin, neighbours, and friends —
let altars be established in their homes.
Explain to them clearly
what cultivating the Dao is for.
Once the altar is set, Immortals and Buddhas arrive
to keep your household from danger.
Welcome them eagerly —
do not receive them with coldness.
Sincerity, integrity, self-cultivation, proper order;
obey the teachings, clear the mouth —
the Buddhas' protection and response will follow.

IV.
In the Third Period the Universal Salvation is opened;
the Buddhas assist in ferrying across the Sea of Love.
Have you not heard it always said:
"The ten thousand religions return to one truth"?
A Guanyin in every home;
an Amitabha at every crossroads.
At every turn, a meeting after the calamity —
and the days are not many now.
Men and women, old and young:
bow in worship, pray to the Buddha,
and your families will be kept safe.

V.
If you do not urge them soon,
watch them suffer the calamity before your eyes.
They are sleeping in a dream —
we must not stand by with folded sleeves.
Jesus had no ties of blood
with our country,
yet for the sake of saving the world from suffering,
he transmitted the Way ten thousand miles.
If we ourselves
will not save our own kin and neighbours —
that is truly heartless.

Chapter 17 — Unity of Knowledge and Action Explained

知行合一詳解

I.
"Unity of knowledge and action" — Wang Yangming's words.
From ancient times to the present, success and failure
lie entirely between knowing and doing.
If you know, you must act; action depends on knowledge.
Without knowledge, how would you know what to practise?
Cultivating the Dao is the same:
without knowing, who would cultivate?
Therefore those who do not cultivate
know far too little and too faintly.
If you truly knew,
you would surely truly act —
because the principle is real and profound.

II.
If people know the mountain holds treasure,
who would not toil to find it?
Those who do not search
surely have not learned how precious the treasure is.
The Buddhas and sages cultivated through bitter hardship
because they knew how wondrous the Dao is.
If they had not known its wondrous principle,
who would willingly endure such suffering?
Observe the sages and Buddhas:
the reason they cultivated so bitterly
is precisely that they truly knew.

III.
People and sages share the same spirit;
why then are their outcomes so different?
It is because between people and sages,
knowledge is skewed and conduct does not match.
From the true and the false
one judges the high and the low.
Within the levels of character and conduct,
Heaven and Hell are sorted.
Observe: a person's actions
and whether their knowledge is true or false
have a very great deal to do with each other.

IV.
Those who seek the Dao are as many as ox-hairs;
those who attain it are as few as ox-horns.
Tracing this to its root cause:
people have not truly understood the principle.
If you truly knew the principle,
you would diligently cultivate and discipline yourself.
Tests and temptations could not shake your resolve;
karmic creditors could not drag you down.
But if you have not truly known
the supreme and wondrous principle,
one rumour of danger is enough to scare you off.

V.
From this we see:
true knowledge is most important.
Yet most people have not truly known.
Where does the sickness lie?
If you trace it to the root:
the senior disciples have been too lazy.
The shopkeepers have learned idleness;
they have failed to nurture their juniors' understanding.
And so the junior disciples
have been unable to truly know —
and therefore cannot truly cultivate the Dao.

VI.
The Heavenly Dao exists to save people,
yet most people do not understand this.
If a person knew the Dao would save them,
how would they dare to hesitate?
They would cultivate with all their strength, scarcely finding time —
where would they find leisure to doubt and guess?
Observe: the meaning of knowledge-and-action
is real and substantial.
I earnestly hope the senior disciples
will explain the principle thoroughly
to the junior disciples who follow.

VII.
What does it mean to save the multitude?
To teach people so they can both know and act.
If you say someone already knows
yet refuses to go and do merit-work —
this kind of one-sided reasoning
the old monk simply cannot fathom.
Even a fool, knowing hunger, seeks food —
how much more a person who is not a fool!
If people knew about Dao and calamity,
who would abandon the Dao
and willingly walk into the calamity?

VIII.
Disciples, heed your Master's final testament:
quickly get to serious work.
Truly saving people and nurturing their understanding —
apart from this, there is no other road.
Go against it, and your life is in peril;
obey, and your blessings will be great.
Whether to defy or to obey —
the wise must decide for themselves.
In the end:
Heaven or Hell
lies in each person's knowing and doing.

IX.
Junior disciples and senior disciples alike —
each of you, take hold of your conscience.
You must never, having led someone to the Dao,
throw them aside and forget them.
The people are in fire and flood;
it is entirely ours to save them.
If our rescue does not go all the way through,
it is the same as having harmed them.
Disciples, think it over:
if we harm people,
how would we not receive Heaven's punishment?

X.
The Master has counselled you bitterly until now;
junior disciples should also understand:
at this moment, apart from cultivating,
there is no way to preserve your life.
But how can the multitude cultivate?
The first step is to seek knowledge.
After knowledge, action must follow;
after long action, one achieves the Dao.
Only in this way
will you not have failed your senior disciples
and your Master's bitter counsel.

Chapter 18 — The Curriculum for Becoming an Immortal

成仙功課

I.
All you disciples who have received the true Heavenly Dao:
you must understand it thoroughly —
never be muddled about it.
Understand true principle; learn the Buddha-Rules.
Memorize the songs, the vows, and the ceremonial forms.
If you can read, you must study the sacred instructions;
if you cannot read, listen to more teachings.
Attend classes and study regularly;
commit the words of the Buddhas to memory.
In walking, standing, sitting, and lying down —
"study and constantly practise" —
you must never let it be forgotten.

II.
The oaths of the Introducer and the Guarantor;
clearing the mouth and lightening worldly ties;
the vow to sacrifice your body, the vow to stand in for the calamity;
the guarantee, the recommendation, the acceptance of the mandate in full.
The forms for establishing karmic connections with the living and the dead —
all these must be memorized until they are threadbare.
The Blood and Tears, the Cloud Shoes,
the Confession, the Declaration of Purity —
the Song of Clearing the Mouth and the rest:
learn them by heart, learn to write them,
learn to explain them — and then go and do them.

III.
The form of clasping hands and kowtowing,
the vows, the confessions, the reverence to the spirits,
the great ceremonies of arriving and departing —
every person must know them clearly.
The rituals of pointing the Dao, of offerings, of invocations —
these must be performed with the utmost solemnity.
When the ceremony is complete, first transmit the Treasures;
afterward, speak of the practice of cultivating the Dao.
Inner work cultivates yourself;
outer work saves others.
When merit is complete, the fruit is perfected.

IV.
First read the Account of Renouncing Arhatship,
the Ten Admonishments to the Son,
the Biographies of the Seven Perfected, the Story of Han Xiangzi,
and the histories of the Buddhas' cultivation.
The Book of Human Ethics and the Great Dao,
the Shallow Words of Principle —
open any scroll and record the benefit;
do not forget it in the blink of an eye.
Study, reflect, verify —
then you will know the Dao's preciousness
and that your Master has not deceived you.

V.
When you have learned all of the above,
rectify yourself and rectify others.
Cultivate with true sincerity; nurture merit and virtue.
Whoever you owe a debt to — repay them.
Once your debts are cleared, escape the calamity;
arrive bodily in the White Sun.
Receive both the pure and the red;
liberate your ancestors and rescue the generations.
Heavenly honours, human honours —
first the bitter, then the sweet.
Do not let your suffering go to waste.

Chapter 19 — Saving Yourself by Saving Others

渡己渡人

I.
In the beginning, human nature was good, and the heart had no duality.
But as time passed, through habit and exposure,
the original nature was shifted by material things.
Dyed in blue, it becomes blue;
dyed in yellow, it becomes yellow.
Now, to cultivate the Dao, you must
rid yourself of faults and temper,
strip away all outward appetites,
and keep your heart on self-mastery alone.
In the family and in society,
all shifts between good and evil
are directly tied to this.

II.
If you bear the name of one who cultivates the Dao
yet refuse to cultivate in truth —
hanging a sheep's head and selling dog meat,
wearing a mask of false virtue —
speaking like Yao but acting like Bandit Zhi,
abandoning your parents but not your wife,
knowing no filial piety, no brotherly love,
no trust, no propriety —
this person is nothing but
a complete village hypocrite,
and in the end he harms only himself.

III.
If you wish not to harm yourself,
you must truly devote yourself to self-mastery:
learn the Three Self-Examinations, observe the Four Don'ts,
investigate, extend knowledge, be sincere, be upright, be orderly.
Repent thoroughly and completely;
be watchful when alone, and cultivate the body.
The teachings of the Buddhas, the words of the senior disciples —
engrave them on your heart and put them into practice.
When the inner sage is without reproach —
only then do you begin to look like
someone fit to save others.

IV.
When you have rectified yourself, you can transform others,
for you set the standard by your own example.
When you urge people to cultivate, they will —
it all depends on the strength of your character.
Without the work of self-mastery,
those you try to save will turn away perverse.
Master yourself, and Heaven assists you,
helping you guide the lost.
The Imperial Heaven has no favourites —
it aids only the virtuous,
aiding you to sit upon the lotus throne.

V.
The most important thing is to nurture others to completion,
so that they truly understand the Dao.
Whether man or woman,
once they understand, have them clear the mouth.
Friends and family transform friends and family;
then urge them into action.
Teach them the three kinds of giving — wealth, Dharma, fearlessness;
teach them to settle their karmic debts.
Help their entire household
to cultivate merit and establish virtue:
only then does saving someone count as truly saving them.

VI.
If they are literate, have them study the sacred instructions;
if they cannot read, have them listen to the teachings.
And make sure they memorize clearly
the Buddha-Rules, the Vows, the Ceremonial Forms, and the Songs.
The day they understand the principle,
they will surely be grateful for your virtue.
Whoever helps a person attain the Dao
is that person's Welcoming Buddha.
At the Dragon-Flower Assembly,
you will go first and they will follow —
and when the Mother sees it, her heart will be filled with joy.

VII.
Save people all the way to the end —
do not abandon them halfway.
After they have sought the Dao, if no one teaches them,
the meaning will never become clear.
Think of how much effort it took
for others to save us in the past!
Now that we ourselves have guided someone,
how can we fail to explain the principle?
Do not look down on the difficulty of reaching people:
explain the truth until
even a stubborn stone understands.

VIII.
If you do not nurture him to completion,
you ascend and he falls below.
When he sees that you have attained the Dao,
he will surely curse you:
"You urged me to seek the Dao back then —
why didn't you explain it to me properly?
If you weren't going to teach me,
what was the point of urging me to seek?
You, my senior disciple —
you are truly despicable.
You have ruined me."

IX.
The underworld has drawn his number,
but Lord Yama will not take him.
Though his name is registered in Heaven,
Heaven will not keep one who has not cultivated.
Under the pressure of these circumstances,
the Bureau of Law files a complaint.
Even though you yourself have become a Buddha,
you must still stand trial.
The verdict:
your merit is divided with him,
you are demoted, and your face is lost.

X.
All the Buddhas laugh at you in shame:
in the world you were greedy for comfort.
You simply never placed the Dao
at the centre of your heart.
To guide someone without nurturing them to completion —
this punishment is deserved.
Those you once taught tell you:
in their complacency they forgot their sorrow.
That you have come to this step,
after receiving both the pure and the red rewards —
even your Master grieves on your behalf.

XI.
You say of him: "In the world,
he did not look like a cultivator."
He will surely reply: "How do you know
I could not have been one?
Fox spirits, weasels, snakes, willows, and ash —
even these can cultivate and attain immortal rank.
And I, a living human being,
could not transcend life and death?"
In the end, you, the senior disciple,
were negligent in your duty:
even if you have an excuse, the fault is still yours.

XII.
Looking at it from this perspective:
when you guide people, nurture them to completion.
If you do not complete the nurturing,
your virtue can never be called perfect.
If your virtue is even slightly deficient when you attain the Dao,
you will carry regret in your heart for ten thousand lifetimes.
But if you have done your utmost to nurture them
and the other party makes their own choices,
then the result is simply this:
you ascend and they fall —
but they can hardly blame you.

XIII.
Now that you disciples understand this,
quickly awaken the heart of the sage and the Buddha.
Do not merely say you will save your friends and family —
you must save all the people of the world.
Though we save others,
we are in truth saving ourselves.
If we fail to save others to completion,
we too will fall into the red dust.
In the final calamity of the Third Age,
the multitudes save the Buddhas,
and the Buddhas save all of heaven and earth.

XIV.
The days left for cultivation are not many —
each of you, exert yourselves to the utmost.
At this Dragon-Flower Assembly,
merit will be apportioned and ranks will be assigned.
Great virtue attains its rightful station;
empty vows bear empty fruit.
When the Mother holds her Assembly of Rewards,
names on the Heavenly Register cannot be erased.
May each of you strive
to display your full abilities:
be the first in merit.

XV.
In earning money, no one fears abundance;
so in cultivating virtue, why fear thickness?
The thicker your virtue, the finer your fruit,
and the more at ease your heart becomes.
Just look at the five founders of the great religions:
in the Hall of the Sage and the Common,
the ranks of ten million standing
were all saved by the founders long ago.
From ancient times to now,
what sage has ever entered the Hall
without bowing to the ground?

Chapter 20 — The Sincere Succeed, the Insincere Do Not

實成虛不成

I.
You all received the very same Dao:
why do some soar above
while others sink into the dust?
The reason lies in the cultivator —
sincerity versus pretence.
The sincere truly study and reflect;
in the end they obtain the marvellous.
The insincere join in for the excitement
without the slightest regard for the Dao.
As time passes, the sincere advance;
the pretenders hold back —
and their final destinations are divided.

II.
Those who are false and insincere
are plagued by constant doubt in their hearts.
Yet even in their doubt, they will not
seek understanding or liberation through the truth.
In front of others they put on a show of wisdom,
but they have grasped not a single truth.
When someone tries to teach them,
they have more words than you do.
As time passes and circumstances change,
no one pays them any mind —
and they willingly sink into ruin.

III.
Then there are the social cultivators,
who nod along blindly at every teaching,
though in truth, inside their bellies
there is not a grain of principle.
This kind of socializing will only harm yourself —
it is like painting a tiger and producing a dog.
I urge any who have this sickness:
change quickly and begin cultivating in earnest.
If you are not careful now,
you will surely regret it later —
and your tears will flow for ten thousand lifetimes.

IV.
Those who sincerely master themselves
bury their heads in hard, tireless work.
Day by day they accumulate virtue; month by month they cultivate merit;
the three kinds of giving never stop.
Their hearts are like the hearts of the Immortals and Buddhas;
their natures are the natures of the Sages and Immortals.
They forget themselves to serve others,
consistent from beginning to end.
When you do these good things,
do not ask about the outcome:
through non-action, the Dao completes itself.

V.
Plant one dou of grain in spring,
and in autumn you harvest ten thousand dan.
If you do not plant in spring, in autumn there is nothing —
this principle is the nature of things.
You can always glean from someone else's wheat,
but how many baskets will you gather?
In a family with a cultivator,
whoever cultivates becomes an Immortal.
Those who do not cultivate may still bask
in the cultivator's light —
but how much of that light can they borrow?

VI.
In one family, two brothers:
the younger is sincere, the elder is not.
They agree that the elder will manage worldly affairs
and the younger will devote himself to holy work.
In this arrangement,
the elder can share in his brother's merit.
But both brothers must be sincerely committed —
and even so, this is how it must be done.
In the end, the younger brother succeeds;
if the elder does not cultivate,
he absolutely cannot attain the Dao.

VII.
The worthy disciple values cultivation
as one values the pulse of life itself.
Stop cultivating for a moment, and the pulse
weakens and dies.
Saving the world is your fundamental duty —
do not rest for a single instant.
Compare the lost disciple to the worthy:
the difference is from heaven to earth.
Think about this:
when others ascend and you sink —
is that unjust, or is it not?

VIII.
I do not know why,
but the human heart is like the shifting lines of a hexagram —
always wanting to become a sage or a Buddha,
yet also wanting to grow rich.
In my observation of this mentality,
in the end they cannot let go.
Danyang was wealthy yet gave it all away —
what do you need riches for?
The fish and the bear's paw
cannot both be had.
You who cultivate — let go of this dream once and for all.

IX.
Between cultivating the Dao and attaining it,
delusion and awakening are the root and the sprout.
The deluded fall back; the awakened cultivate.
The difference is a single thought.
The consequences of delusion and awakening —
the cultivator must see through them completely.
Once you see through, take up the wisdom-sword
and fight the demons of delusion without ceasing.
The lamp of the Buddha-nature in your heart —
keep adding oil to it constantly —
and it will light the way to Heaven.

X.
Attaining the Dao is in truth an easy thing:
it all depends on whether you have the will.
Those who have the will, after ten years of cultivation,
are as sincere as on the first day.
Not only are they free of anxiety —
they advance boldly and never stop.
The monk dares to guarantee:
such a person can become a Teacher of Gods and Men.
I hope you all understand this:
raise up your backbone
and run toward the World of Ultimate Bliss.

XI.
The auspicious window is drawing to a close,
and the Immortals of the Qi Realm are frantic.
They have long wanted to manifest their powers
and spread the Dao to establish goodness.
But the Buddhas restrain them,
and they cannot earn merit freely.
The Buddhas block them for this reason:
so that the multitudes may cultivate and train.
Otherwise, in no time at all,
the Immortals would have transformed the world,
and humans seeking to earn merit would find it impossible.

XII.
I hope you all awaken soon —
delay no longer.
While your bodies are still able,
gather whatever days you have.
Use the connections you already possess
to forge a connection with the Buddhas.
Do not fear the demons' tests;
do not dread suffering and hardship.
With bitter mouth and grandmother's heart,
run through the world urging salvation —
do not let a single moment go to waste.

Chapter 21 — Retribution in the Age of Dao and Calamity

道劫報應年

I.
In human life there are two roads — good and evil.
Good receives good recompense;
evil receives evil in return.
The good ascend and the evil fall:
this principle has nothing special about it.
The Dao and the calamity of the Three Ages —
these are charged with precisely this task.
The retribution within the Dao
gently dissolves the debts of former lives.
The retribution within the calamity
destroys the home and harms the body —
two paths, above and below, completely divided.

II.
Disciples, repent your transgressions quickly —
be muddled no longer.
From ancient times to now, no one carrying sin
has ever become a sage or a Buddha.
Sin is the medium of Heaven's punishment;
under Heaven's punishment, how could you attain the Dao?
Open the histories and look:
whom has Heaven ever spared?
Heaven's punishment is without feeling —
apart from repentance,
there is no other way to escape.

III.
The good and evil thoughts of the human heart
may deceive other people, but they cannot deceive Heaven.
A person's private whisper is heard by Heaven
as clearly as a thunderclap.
The eyes of the spirits are like lightning:
good and evil are plain to see.
For this reason, the ancient sages taught
"Be watchful when alone" and "Make your intentions upright."
Fundamentally, from ancient times to now,
no one can escape the Lord of Heaven's
ingenious methods of retribution.

IV.
You disciples who cultivate the Dao today —
your fortune is no small thing.
You live in the same courtyard
as the senior disciples who established the Way.
Under their guidance you can receive instruction;
will and virtue crystallize toward the Dao.
Understand the principle and correct your faults,
and invisibly you invite Heaven's protection.
Among the many who cultivate,
how few can constantly accept instruction
and walk the upright path?

V.
In ancient times, many cultivated —
but who among them was constantly guided?
Today, though you are separated from the senior disciples,
you can still hear the sacred teachings.
Disciples, do not throw yourselves away —
from your karmic connections, cultivate your allotment.
Listen reverently to Heaven's clear mandate;
let every action be moved by gratitude for Heaven's grace.
Keep your conduct pure and your practice upright —
with the utmost care and caution,
as if standing at the edge of an abyss, treading on thin ice.

VI.
When your transgressions grow fewer in this way,
Heaven's punishment naturally dissolves.
When punishment ceases and Heaven's rewards arrive,
only then will you know the cultivator's greatness.
Heaven's rewards and punishments are real:
they are repaid both in life and after death.
Now that you know this, cultivate quickly and in earnest —
do not waver for a moment.
"Three days fishing,
two days drying the nets" —
there is no place for such a person in Heaven.

Chapter 22 — Tests and Temptations Explained

考魔詳解

I.
The true Dao has always had its tests and trials.
If there were no tests,
every prodigal would become a Buddha.
From this you understand
that trials exist to block those without true affinity.
Since ancient times, many have cultivated the Dao —
yet how few achieved it!
What is the reason for this?
It is because of the tests.
The insincere, when they cultivate,
at the first sign of trial
dodge and hide like slippery ghosts.

II.
After the tests have passed,
you invite such people back and they will not come.
Those who cultivate the Dao in this way
have bellies full of treacherous schemes.
The truly devoted cultivators
have great and generous hearts:
when there are no tests,
they bury their heads in tireless work;
when a trial arrives,
they meet it with calm resolve —
and never show a flicker of emotion.

III.
The true cultivator
sees through all worldly affairs.
Though birth and death are the greatest matters,
they set even these aside.
Unmoved by life or death,
what fear have they of trials?
Even when the tests arrive,
they understand completely —
for they know
that all matters of trial
are entirely in Heaven's hands.

IV.
Those who cultivate with false intention
seek only a hollow reputation for goodness.
Before the tests arrive,
their talk astounds everyone present.
But the moment a trial comes,
they suddenly reveal their true form.
"Good people" such as these —
no wonder they cannot reach the end.
They return to worldly business,
change their minds at the first obstacle —
and accomplish nothing at all.

V.
Tests are sent down by Heaven
to verify whether the people are sincere.
If the people are truly sincere,
the tests shift from heavy to light.
If under testing you lose your resolve,
Heaven's punishment adds further penalties.
If under testing your resolve holds firm,
Heaven's mercy expands the Dao's reach.
The more the tests come,
the brighter the Great Dao shines —
until even the demons convert to sincerity.

VI.
Heaven borrows the demons to test you
and sees your will does not waver.
The demons examine your conduct
and find it upright and proper.
Such supreme sincerity
moves the very demons to take refuge in the Dao.
If the demons turn back,
they are even more zealous than the Buddhas.
At that time you will have gained
the protection of both Buddhas and demons —
what worry then that the Dao will not rise?

VII.
The word "trial" —
most people do not wish to hear it.
Little do they know that these tests
are the essence hidden in the sugar.
Saccharin, taken straight, is bitter;
dissolved in water, it turns crystalline sweet.
Cultivating the Dao, you must pass
through difficulty to find the clear and grand.
Without the tests,
you cultivators —
how could you ever succeed?

VIII.
If you do not believe, look at the Buddha Hall:
in the centre sits only one,
while thousands upon thousands stand in attendance,
surrounding this single Holy Buddha.
We need not even imagine
how much the one in the centre suffered.
Disciples, if you do not believe,
the ancient scriptures can verify it.
I guarantee that those standing in attendance —
their combined suffering
does not equal the Buddha's single winter.

IX.
These acts of testing
are by no means evil.
Disciples, understand this: do not, because of trials,
abandon your cultivation.
"Test" means the testing of your temper;
"demon" means the grinding away of your faults.
Jade becomes a vessel through carving;
gold grows precious through the furnace.
When the Dao rises one foot,
the demons rise ten —
the greater the test, the greater the fruit attained.

X.
Confucius, to save the world,
also endured his share of trials.
His footsteps covered all the warring states,
and he suffered shame and humiliation aplenty.
His traces were effaced, his tree felled in Song;
in Chen and Cai he starved for seven days.
He passed through Song in disguise,
saying: "What can Huan Tui do to me?"
He gathered the great achievements of antiquity
and spent every drop of his heart's blood —
and in the end entered the Hall of the Supreme Sage.

XI.
Shakyamuni — compassionate and long-suffering:
on Snow Mountain he fasted for six years.
He leapt into a ravine to feed a starving tiger,
but Heaven intervened and the tiger did not eat him.
He offered his arm to save a rabbit from a great bird;
the bird transformed and stood atop his head.
King Kaliraja dismembered his body,
and he uttered not a single word of complaint.
Heaven was moved and granted him its prophecy;
he saved beings across all three realms
and expounded the Dharma for forty-nine years.

XII.
Guanyin — filial and long-suffering:
at the Meridian Gate she was strangled to death.
The gods rescued her at the Burning Sparrow Temple;
she went to Fragrant Mountain to cultivate the truth.
The king fell ill and needed a hand and an eye for the cure;
his two other daughters refused.
Miaoshan offered her hand and her eye
and in a dream revealed her filial heart to her father.
Through healing she converted him to cultivation;
Heaven was moved and decreed her
the Thousand-Handed, Thousand-Eyed Spirit.

XIII.
Patriarch Qiu's path was one long trial:
he endured every insult from his master Chongyang.
He nearly died of starvation seventy-two times,
and of lesser hunger, too many times to count.
At Pan Creek he laboured in good deeds;
the Three Officials tested and ferried him through.
His merit accumulated through praying for rain;
at Baiyun Temple he transformed the foolish.
He left behind the Dragon Gate lineage,
and passing away seated in meditation, received the title:
Heavenly Immortal, First Scholar of the Celestial Court.

XIV.
Danyang beseeched his master and cultivated —
ridiculed by all for casting away his fortune.
Sun Bu'er scalded her face with boiling oil
to prove the sincerity of her heart.
Tiande and Suzhen
each refused their arranged marriages.
Han Xiangzi, on his very wedding night,
burned with such fierce devotion to the Way
that he entered the mountains to practise in hardship.
Tigers blocked his path and he did not flinch —
and in the end he attained the Dao.

XV.
The founder of Islam transmitted his teaching
and suffered no small share of terrifying ordeals.
Jesus, who brought Christianity to the world,
was constantly driven out by the authorities.
His body was nailed to the cross —
he bore more than enough of the world's punishment.
Tripitaka's journey to retrieve the scriptures
held dangers beyond telling.
Shenguang, seeking the Dao,
knelt in the snow and severed his own arm —
he endured the greatest of all trials.

XVI.
Survey the Sages, Buddhas, and Immortals altogether:
their trials were without limit.
Yet in the end, these Sages, Buddhas, and Immortals
enriched posterity and illumined their forebears.
Confucius left behind the Yansheng Palace;
Daoism left behind the Celestial Master and the Immortals;
Buddhism left behind the Dalai
and the divine Panchen.
Christianity treasures its pastors;
Islam treasures its ambassadors —
all praised by the people, ancient and modern.

XVII.
Now that you have recognized the tests clearly,
bury your heads in hard work!
To save the world, to settle your debts —
the more tests, the better.
Disciples, take up the resolve of Jesus
and embrace the cross.
In this way you may move Heaven
and turn misfortune into blessing.
Make your resolve —
close your eyes, stop your ears —
and charge forward!

XVIII.
These matters of trial
sometimes arise from the karmic debts of former lives.
Thus some people, after receiving the Dao,
wish to cultivate but find they cannot.
Parents and children obstruct one another;
husbands and wives undermine each other.
Brothers and sisters,
lacking sincerity, obstruct the sincere.
Neighbours mock you,
relatives ridicule you —
all six kin regard you as an enemy.

XIX.
Some have dear friends
who sever all ties because of their cultivation.
Some go so far as to report you to the secret police
or to the local county authorities.
The officers suspect you of subversion;
after harsh interrogation,
you repent and abandon your practice.
All this arises from karmic debts of former lives —
it is not Heaven's test —
yet those who are truly sincere will always find peace within danger.

XX.
Some undergo the reverse test:
they do nothing wrong,
but suddenly their seniors
insist they are at fault.
Because the seniors are confused,
the disciple is so angered he abandons cultivation.
Others undergo the forward test:
they make mistakes but are praised regardless.
The Buddha's praise makes them arrogant;
they begin to look down on their seniors —
and their merit turns to nothing while their sins become real.

XXI.
Some undergo the test of adversity:
they cultivate, but everything goes wrong.
The moment they take up the Dao, all things fall apart,
and so they leave the Way.
Others undergo the test of prosperity:
they cultivate and grow wealthy.
Because they have grown wealthy,
they leave the Dao for business.
These tests of adversity and prosperity
arise from karmic debts of former lives —
pulling you down into the bitter sea.

XXII.
You go out to spread the Dao
and Heaven tests you with a great downpour.
You know the road but take the wrong turn,
climbing mountains and crossing gullies,
wading through water on perilous paths —
this is the test of the earth.
You counsel people and they slander you —
this is the test of other people.
Clothing, food, shelter, and travel —
tools that refuse to work —
this is the test of things.

XXIII.
Beyond the tests that come from outside,
there are the demons you bring upon yourself:
the pursuit of fame, profit, and plans for posterity;
the shackles of affection and the locks of love;
the long test of weariness and dispersal;
the temptation of wine, beauty, wealth, and anger.
The tests you bring on yourself
surpass those that come from without.
External tests are easy to resolve;
inner demons are hard to dislodge —
disciples, understand: you must govern yourselves.

XXIV.
When things do not go smoothly,
trials are inevitable.
Yet these small trials
are nothing to worry about.
When small trials come often,
people remain careful and on guard.
When there are no trials for a long time,
the people grow reckless.
Therefore the Master wishes
for frequent small trials —
so that people stay watchful and avoid transgression.

XXV.
The total meaning of tests and temptations:
forward and reverse, prosperity and adversity;
inner and outer tests, yin and yang demons —
none of them go as the heart desires.
Tests of Heaven, earth, people, and things
come without ceasing, at every hour.
The true cultivator
rejoices more with every test.
The false cultivator
turns back at the first trial —
and thus the true and false are finally judged.

Chapter 23 — Life and Death Are Ordained

生死有定

Twenty stanzas.

I.
Of all that moves the human heart,
life and death stir it most.
Few are those who fear life and crave death;
most crave life and fear death.
Though everyone thinks this way,
the principle is not the same:
the wicked — the world curses them to die;
the good — the world prays for their life.
The world's curse is Heaven's curse;
good and evil lie in human nature.
From this we know that life and death,
whether weighty or light, depend on virtue.

II.
When someone is a saviour of the people,
everyone wishes them long life.
If that saviour dies,
the people grieve unbearably.
When someone is a plague upon the people,
everyone wishes them gone.
If that one dies,
ten thousand peoples celebrate without sorrow.
From this we know
that in the matter of life and death
there are great reasons behind every case.

III.
When the good die doing good,
ten thousand peoples praise and honour them.
When the good die chasing wealth,
the people despise their false virtue.
Those who are praised are heavy as Mount Tai;
those who are despised are light as a goose feather.
Seeing the matter of life and death,
one need not be afraid —
one need only ask
that one's own life and death
have genuine value.

IV.
If the wicked turn back
and sacrifice themselves for good,
that death is heavy as a mountain —
all call them a hero.
If the wicked die cheating others,
the people despise their stubborn cruelty.
Not only does no one praise them;
all rejoice at Heaven's retribution.
Between good and evil in life and death —
a hair's-breadth difference
leads ten thousand miles apart.

V.
This question of life and death —
most disciples do not understand.
They always rejoice at long life
and grieve at early death.
Why is this?
Simply because they do not know the principle.
If they truly understood the meaning of life and death,
they would crave death and despise life.
Disciples, sit well —
do not doze off —
and listen as the Master explains.

VI.
Before you sought the Dao,
you craved life and feared death —
because you saw only life's pleasures
and could not know what follows death.
If you believed that death meant prison,
you feared it all the more.
But now that you have received the Dao,
everything should be reversed.
Yet even now you still
crave life and fear death —
because you have not grasped the principle.

VII.
In days past, the Shunzhi Emperor
understood this very principle.
That is why he gave up the throne
and took refuge at Wutai Shan.
He said: "The world is a dream;
all under heaven, a game of chess.
Eighteen years of conquest —
all my scheming was for nothing.
Better to cultivate the Dao,
go empty-handed to the West,
and wear the Tathāgata's robes."

VIII.
He lamented the days of life and death:
"Before I was born, who was I?
And after my birth,
who am I really?
When I grow, I know myself —
close my eyes, and what do I know?
Better never to come or go at all —
coming brings too much joy, going too much grief."
From this we see: even emperors
fear that after death
the resting place may not be secure.

IX.
The zhuangyuan scholar Luo Nian'an
feared both life and death.
He said: "In life I sow karmic debts —
how shall I rest when I die?
Since I was born into this world,
I should cultivate while there is time.
Otherwise, after life and death,
to wish for practice will be too late."
Therefore a person should
plan while still alive
for everything that follows death.

X.
The Shunzhi Emperor and Nian'an —
one an emperor, one a top scholar.
Pondering the words of these two hearts
is truly vexing.
If even the noble think this way,
how much more should ordinary folk?
Cultivate the Dao and transcend life and death —
take it seriously and be earnest.
Otherwise, grasping at nothing,
craving and fearing life and death,
in the end you still turn upon the wheel.

XI.
The True Heavenly Dao
transcends death and surpasses life.
"Hear the Dao in the morning,
die content at evening" —
Confucius declared this long ago.
Freed from the wheel of rebirth,
the word "death" becomes empty.
Build virtue and reach the Ultimate Bliss —
life extends beyond all reckoning.
Then you become like
the never-dying, never-born
Heaven-Equal Great Sage.

XII.
Life and death are ordained by Heaven —
no human can decide them.
If your span is not yet spent,
throw yourself in a river or well and a saviour appears.
Slash your throat — the blade won't cut.
Hang yourself — the rope will snap.
Not one day too early,
not one day too late.
With the Dao, fear not
even the little devils knocking at the door.
Without virtue — there are no guarantees.

XIII.
Once you understand this, disciples,
take life and death lightly.
All things are managed by Heaven —
do not scheme in vain.
A small sacrifice for the Dao
earns a place among the Immortals.
A great sacrifice for the Dao
assuredly attains the Great Luo Immortal.
From this we know: death,
though invisible, divides itself
into the goose feather and Mount Tai.

XIV.
Guan Yu died for righteousness;
Yue Fei died for loyalty.
These two saints did not die peacefully —
yet their blood lights up the annals of history.
Guan and Yue died for their kingdoms,
leaving glorious names in righteousness and loyalty.
Disciples, the cause of the Heavenly Dao
is weightier than Shu or Song.
Think on this:
to die for the Dao —
is that glorious, or not?

XV.
Saints and sages also must die;
ordinary folk cannot live forever.
Between life and death
there is only one distinction: what was it for?
If you die for all living beings,
that death is heavy as Mount Zhongnan.
If you die for family and fortune,
that death is light as an ox-hair.
Once you understand
the true meaning of life and death —
go boldly and cultivate.

XVI.
Some dare not cultivate,
fearing it will cost them their lives.
Anyone with this mental sickness
is truly a muddle-headed worm.
Cultivation relies on Heaven —
why fear for your lifespan?
If non-cultivators could truly
live past their sixty years,
then the gates of the Dao
would long since have gone
cold and empty.

XVII.
However, within this
there is one reason.
If you seek the Dao but build only small merit,
walking slowly toward the West,
your creditors will know
and begin to panic.
The Master cannot protect you;
the debts follow close behind.
But if you are generous —
building virtue and repaying debts —
when the debts are gone, you'll live as long as a crane.

XVIII.
Besides, ten thousand people die each day —
how many of them are cultivators?
If Heaven killed those who cultivate,
the Dao's door would have closed long ago.
The Dao is meant to save the human heart —
how could it harm the human body?
Foolish disciples,
take this principle to heart.
Do not listen to unfilial sons
babbling nonsense —
scattering your resolve to cultivate.

XIX.
Even so — to die for the Dao
would still have value.
Whether late or early,
saint or commoner — all the same.
Why not complete the Dao
and vow to bear the calamity and save all beings?
Follow the deeds of the ancient patriarchs;
attain the rank of Teacher of Heaven and Humanity —
just as Jesus,
whose cross became his banner,
from ancient times to now praised by all.

XX.
In the Universal Salvation it is said:
human life is like a single lamp.
When a person dies, the lamp goes out —
these words are the simple truth.
Yet when the saint and the commoner die,
the outcome is not the same:
the commoner's death returns to the wheel;
the saint's death is eternal life.
Disciples, understand this —
strive with all your strength —
and attain your place in the Hall of the Great Hero.

Chapter 24 — One Final Exhortation

最使一勸

Twenty-five stanzas.

I.
The Heavenly Dao works hidden and open, according to the times.
In the old way, one first cultivated, then received the single transmission;
those who treasured the Dao and cultivated were many,
for people had not forgotten their way home —
they had no choice but to practise.
Seeking the oral secret for a thousand miles,
bowing before the true Buddha for ten thousand,
they wore their iron shoes to nothing
and would not stop until they met the Buddha.
Their scarlet sincerity moved Heaven:
the Buddha led them before the Lord,
and they were freed from Yama's bitter hells.

II.
In the Third Epoch, the Dao is easy to enter
and practice costs no great effort.
Why then do so few cultivate?
Where does the sickness lie?
It lies in the corruption of the human heart
and the confusion of those who preach.
They cannot speak the true principle;
they set no standard of completion.
If this sickness
is not corrected,
it will ruin the Dao's future.

III.
The common malady of those who teach the Dao:
the true principle not even slightly understood.
They do not read books, they do not attend lectures,
and they have no natural insight.
When they listen to others, they fall asleep;
when others listen to them, they hear nothing.
No material in the belly,
no hard effort applied —
to teach this way,
running about and talking in vain,
is simply and utterly useless.

IV.
When you teach without material,
you can only say "The Dao is truly wonderful!"
They test you with three questions — you don't know;
ask again and your face turns red.
The first time is embarrassing;
the second time you are mocked.
From this we know: in transforming the world,
eloquence matters too.
When the deal falls through,
it is not the buyer's fault —
our words simply did not reach.

V.
I exhort the disciples: put in hard effort
and gather good material about the Dao.
Do not plead that you are too old
or that your memory is failing.
Who was older than Grandfather Jiang?
Or the scholar Liang Hao?
When the nature is free of desire's entanglements,
all things are easy to understand.
Of course — when desire
fills the belly,
principle is naturally hard to remember.

VI.
Seeing this, the Master grieves —
laughable and pitiable at once.
If I do not teach you, the Mother grieves;
if I do teach you, you howl.
These foolish, deluded disciples —
greedy, lazy, idle, pleasure-seeking —
refuse to listen to instruction.
Truly my hands are tied.
Enough! Enough! Enough! Enough!
Let this be the last word:
whether you cultivate or not is your freedom.

VII.
Let me first ask you all:
who is the cultivation for?
When you dodge the calamity, whose calamity is dodged?
When you build virtue, whose virtue is built?
The Buddhas and saints have attained the Dao —
do they fear catastrophe?
If not to save you,
why would they come to this world and suffer?
Round and round I say it:
the Buddhas labour for your sake —
and still you sleep with heavy heads.

VIII.
Were it not for the Mother's compassion,
how would you ever have entered the Dao?
You pay a few coins in merit-fees
and still feel cheated.
Others urge you to seek the Dao —
eight times you refuse.
Others urge you to cultivate —
you twist away, afraid as if facing a tiger.
With the attitude you show,
even if you bowed and begged to be a disciple —
the Master still would not accept you.

IX.
What is past is past;
the Master holds no grudges against your wildness.
I only hope you turn back quickly —
save yourselves and save the good.
Follow the example of the ancient sages
and leave a fragrant legacy behind.
In your hearts, never harbour
thoughts of office or wealth —
for in this age of chaos,
the wise cultivate while the foolish covet.
Disciples, settle your accounts.

X.
There is one great malady —
will you disciples admit it?
At the study-class, on the surface,
everyone appears sincere.
The words of Immortals, Buddhas, and elders
are fully and eagerly received.
You know the Dao is precious;
your vows roll smoothly off the tongue.
But the moment class ends,
the heart-and-eyes change —
still seduced by worldly demons.

XI.
How do you break the worldly demons?
With five treasures:
sincerity, resolve, constancy, perseverance, and letting go —
plus a dose of holy madness.
Ponder your elders' words;
study the sacred teachings deeply.
Let the Dao fill
your entire heart and nature.
Imitate your elders —
how they let go, how they cultivated —
and you will attain the Dao.

XII.
The key is for the whole family to cultivate:
give weight to the sacred, tend the mundane lightly.
When the family has free time, let all serve the Dao;
you yourself must be more diligent still —
rising early, sleeping late,
boldly assisting the Dao.
When the whole family cultivates,
Heaven will protect you when calamity comes.
If you cannot let go,
the whole family will surely
meet disaster fierce as ox and tiger.

XIII.
If your parents do not understand,
kneel before them and explain the stakes.
Honour your parents, love your siblings;
treat the old and young with courtesy.
Tell them the Heavenly Dao is precious;
tell them the calamity approaches.
Tell them this red dust is a dream;
tell them too much wealth brings harm.
Gently guide your household;
peacefully transform your friends and kin —
all of this builds virtue and wards off disaster.

XIV.
Relatives and friends,
neighbours and kinsmen —
it all depends on the uprightness of your words and deeds:
transform them through principle, move them through virtue.
With a smiling face, explain the truth;
make clear you wish to save them.
When they awaken, they will follow your example
and guide their own neighbours and friends.
And so the next generation,
when they attain the Dao, will surely say:
"Our elders were true saints."

XV.
Cultivate the self and set the household in order;
rectify yourself and transform all under heaven.
Saints and Buddhas did exactly this —
when we do the same, we too become extraordinary.
Through books alone, one can hardly become a Buddha;
through labour alone, one can hardly become a sage.
Through farming alone, one can hardly become a saint;
through trade alone, one can hardly become an Immortal.
History proves:
only by saving people and transforming the world
does one become a true Arhat.

XVI.
Never mind attaining the Dao —
repaying your debts is the real problem.
If you cultivate without repaying debts,
how can your creditors agree?
They dare not press their claims
because they fear the Master's face.
The Master blocks the karmic creditors
lest their demands test and topple you.
The Master's wish for the multitude:
on one side blocking the debts,
on the other urging you to let go.

XVII.
Life-debts are repaid by saving others;
for harming people, you receive punishment in return.
For the beatings of past lives,
suffering in cultivation settles them.
For cases of swindling and fraud —
to repay those, surrender your property.
Property offered before the Buddha
builds virtue with dignity.
The Master allocates your merit
to fill up your debts —
and then you may rest at ease.

XVIII.
The Master guarantees your debts will be eased:
five parts reduced to two or three.
But you cannot think, because you have received the Dao,
that debts need not be repaid at all.
Disciples, repay your debts with kindness —
with merit, you become an Immortal in return.
If you do not repay kindly,
without virtue you will face the calamity.
Two roads lie before you —
one of good, one of evil.
Disciples, choose for yourselves.

XIX.
For the sake of your lives, build merit and virtue:
this medicine is truly effective.
Apart from cultivating the Dao,
there is no other path to keep your family safe.
Those who walk this road
become Immortals or Buddhas.
Those who betray this road
become ghosts or demons.
I tell you, disciples:
understand this true meaning —
walk swiftly and do not hesitate.

XX.
When teaching others, speak clearly
the true principle of the Heavenly Dao.
Let every person devote their heart to cultivation —
settling debts, saving themselves.
Once the Dao is attained,
you shall bow before the Mother in the Realm of the Infinite.
To enjoy the pure blessings of the Primordial
is greater than being emperor in this world.
Disciples, understand this —
each exert yourselves —
save the world and deliver the people.

XXI.
If you understand how precious the Dao is,
you should regret receiving it so late.
If you regret the lateness yet still do not cultivate,
you will surely become a "Buddha of Regret."
When the Dragon-Flower Assembly comes —
do not speak of it then, green-eyed, belly bursting with rage.
The calamity is not far off;
you will beat your chest and stamp your feet.
The Master's words today
you do not yet believe —
but soon enough, you will witness them.

XXII.
In the last age, people are foolish and stubborn —
they recognize money, not destiny.
Every one has swallowed the "Bold Pill,"
still clinging in the midst of calamity.
The Buddha's teachings display their signs and warnings,
yet people go on as before.
Once the calamity arrives,
you beg the Buddha, but the Buddha pays no heed.
You beg others for rescue —
but they too are harmed,
their sickness the same as yours.

XXIII.
Disciples, take the Master's words
and search your hearts at midnight.
Right or wrong — decide for yourselves;
do not be muddled fools.
If they are right, then run — run full speed.
If wrong, turn back.
If you will cultivate, cultivate truly;
if not, the Master closes the ledger.
Time does not wait.
"I'll practise after I'm rich" —
"I'll finish when they gather" — no.

XXIV.
One fruit tree
bears thousands of fruits.
Some fall to wind and rain,
are eaten by worms, grow sick and drop.
The good ones are gathered home;
the bad are left to rot.
Cultivation is just the same —
the good and bad cannot be mixed.
And so when the Dao is flourishing,
a few small tests arrive —
to sort the true from the false.

XXV.
My tongue is worn and my lips are parched;
all the good words have been spoken.
Whether you obey or disobey,
whether you cultivate or not —
it is for you yourselves to weigh.
One road leads to the Immortals and Buddhas;
one road leads to the Demon King.
They are laid out at your feet.
See how you step.
A hair's-breadth error leads a thousand miles astray —
do not take this as a joke.

Epilogue

跋

Verse:

Compassion for the people leaps from the page;
common words convey the Dao's meaning at a glance.
If the faithful can read this thoroughly —
of ten parts of truth, they will know five.

Prose:

From ancient times, every sage, worthy, Immortal, and Buddha, without exception, at every moment harboured the heart to save the world. If only those of you who can read would search the legacies of the sages, worthies, Immortals, and Buddhas — and those who cannot read would listen, with the same spirit with which you listen to stories — then you could easily understand the bitter heart with which the sages worked to save the world.

The so-called sages, worthies, Immortals, and Buddhas: apart from appearing in the world in forms suited to the age, or leaving scriptures and commentaries to enlighten the multitudes, they practised extraordinary asceticism and made vast, deep vows. Confucius wished for the aged to find peace and the young to be cherished, aspiring to bring all under heaven to Great Harmony. Laozi wished to return the people to the muddled simplicity of high antiquity. Śākyamuni vowed to deliver all beings as numerous as the sands of the Ganges, and swore that until every being in the world had been delivered, his Buddha-Way would not be considered complete. Jesus sought to carry the people into the Heavenly Kingdom. Muhammad sought to transform this turbid human world into a realm of Purity and Truth. Guanyin of the Southern Sea vowed to sit backwards on the lotus throne until all beings were saved. Kṣitigarbha resolved to empty the hells. Lü Dongbin devised to fill the Western Paradise with the saved. And the modern scholars, with their Utopia and Ideal Commonwealth — all of this manifests the bitter compassion of the sages in their work of salvation.

Before us stand records hard as steel and iron, testifying to these deeds of great mercy. It seems as though the sages cannot rest until every last being is delivered — as though even one soul unsaved were a great wound upon their own bodies and hearts that could not heal. Their sincerity and love for the people below is truly of the highest order.

This monk, living in the Last Age, has made vast vows and dares not harbour the slightest sloth, nor fail to stand in the company of the sages. Therefore, regardless of wind and rain, I have exhausted my meagre strength — with my thought and my heart, my mind and my hand — to write this Precious Raft for Saving the World. The language is common, but the meaning is deep. I only hope that the faithful will ponder the principles in this book again and again, receive them faithfully into the deepest place of the heart, and with their own time and hands, their own mouths and feet, copy and share it, teach and exhort others. Only then will my purpose not be betrayed, and it may do some good for one's own nature. If the faithful can read this volume thoroughly, they will know five-tenths of the full ten parts of truth. I exhort you and encourage you — I am watching and waiting.

Respectfully recorded at the Yuanzhen Dharma Hall on the twenty-sixth day of the twelfth month of the renshen year.

Addendum

另附

Poem by the Supreme Lord Laozi:

Three dots arranged like stars;
the horizontal hook, a slanting moon.
From this the beast emerges;
from this the Buddha is also made.

Note: This is the character-riddle of 心 ("heart"). Three dots and a horizontal hook compose the character; the same heart produces both the beast and the Buddha.

Poem by Patriarch Puan:

Beasts were originally made from human beings;
the cycle of humans and beasts has turned since ancient times.
If you do not wish to wear fur and bear horns —
I counsel you: cease using the beast's heart.

Verse:

The good person is the teacher of the not-good;
the not-good person is the resource of the good.
If today you use the teacher to transform the resource,
you will surely leave a fragrant name for ten thousand ages.

Verse:

The true and wondrous way to become Buddha and Saint
lies entirely in the right heart, right knowledge, and right action.
If the heart is crooked and knowledge and action are slack,
the Sacred Mountain and the Precious Land become a wasteland.

Note: The original text concludes with the musical notation for "Su Wu Herding Sheep" (蘇武牧羊) in F major, 2/4 time — the tune to which the shepherd's verses of the Precious Raft were sung.

Colophon

Precious Raft for Saving the World (濟世寶筏) — complete text: Preface, Foreword, Opening Verses, all twenty-four chapters (three hundred and sixty stanzas), Epilogue, and Addendum. The text spans the full scope of Yiguandao doctrine — the Dao lineage, the five world religions as one Mother’s mission, the cosmology of the Three Ages, the ninety-five-stanza treatise on vegetarian practice, the theology of tests and temptations, the question of life and death, and the monk’s final exhortation.

Good Works Translation from vernacular Chinese by Tulku Míng (明, Lives 3–4), Tulku Mínghuǒ (明火, Life 5), Tulku Dù (渡, Life 6), Tulku Yùnán (雲南, Life 7), Tulku Míngdēng (明燈, Life 8), Tulku Cíguāng (慈光, Life 9), Tulku Mínghui (明慧, Life 10), Tulku Míngyuè (明月, Life 11), Tulku Huìguāng (慧光, Life 12), Tulku Guī (歸, Life 13), Tulku Míng (明, Life 14), Tulku Hé (和, Life 15), Tulku Míngxīn (明心, Life 16), Tulku Dēng (燈, Life 17), and Tulku Míng (明, Life 18), Yiguandao Translator, New Tianmu Anglican Church, March 2026. This is the first English translation.

The Chinese source text is from the Morality Books Library (善書圖書館, taolibrary.com), Category 9, c9029.htm. The site states: "Welcome to reprint, upload, reproduce, and circulate" (歡迎轉載，上傳，翻印，流通). The text was composed at the Yuanzhen Dharma Altar (元貞法壇) and first printed in Shanghai in 1944. The author is identified only as an elderly monk (老僧). The verse is set to traditional folk tunes — notably "Su Wu Herding Sheep" (蘇武牧羊) — so that ordinary believers could sing the doctrine.

Compiled and formatted for the Good Work Library by the New Tianmu Anglican Church, 2026.

🌲

Source Text: 濟世寶筏

Chinese source text from the Morality Books Library (善書圖書館, taolibrary.com), Category 9, c9029.htm. Presented here for reference, study, and verification alongside the English translation above.

緣起

余在甲申年在滬經商，因購辭源而得捎買此《濟世寶筏》一書，當斯時予為其偌大口氣之奇異書名所驅使，買一部回家而閱之，閱畢乃知其書為一高僧手著，勸世之作也，內容簡明毫無文章語氣，全書本末皆為牧羊歌譜，內更含有滑稽的語調，幽默的趣論，沁脾驚世，實臻上乘，予因是百讀而不厭，日久天長忽有所悟，覺此書人能讀透而體行之，則雖不易至於君子，然亦不失其好人，更竊念此書名，既云濟世當非濟我一人，若云濟世予力故不及，但濟己之親友，其力或有可為，主意拿定，遂複出外覓購此書，以作提高親友品行之善舉，誰知各書店卒因銷路不暢，故多無者，予因是怏怏而回，晚上予正閱翻歌譜時，忽見書之後面皮上有歡迎翻印四字，予見此觸動「一世勸人以口，百世勸人以書」之靈機，予遂拿定主意，一書付梓想海內不乏善士，倘有羨是舉而繼我者，則天下幸甚萬民幸甚矣，予恐後世有效我之力而無從我之所為者，故序其緣起首端，以啟世人之善舉也，必焉是為序。

序

吾受友囑為序，勢所難辭，不得已乃觀書之始末而作序焉，按斯書乃一有道之高僧因勸世而作也，內容深切著明，大有由人道而躋天道，從入世而修出世之可能，話雖俗話理卻真理，對於剖解人生觀大有補益，凡閱此書者定能增智慧解煩惱，默契其理於心，則手卷為之難釋矣，由此觀之斯書之寶，誠無愧其名也，予因感友人自立立人而不私善其身之誠，固樂將內意活盤托出貢獻世人，使世人亦得享此至理之真樂，實為幸甚，是書廿四章以取天之二十四氣也，三百六十首以取天之三百六十日，每日念一首也，一首十二句以取日之十二時，每時念一句也，揆其宗義乃僧救世心切，故其用意亦妙，人但能讀熟講到做到則不負此僧之苦心矣，斯書理明言簡，非長篇大論所可比擬，倘望人人見而改移其性情，變惡為善，反禍成福，永感天和也，云云。民國卅三年天運歲次甲申年夏端陽日戊子時序於滬次。

卷頭語

鍋不打不漏，木不鑽不透，理呢亦是不說不明呀，吾因為被這不說不明的理給支配，所以要說一說，其目的是要大家明一明，甚至由這能一明的道上而及於永明，這才算達到老僧垂此書的心旨了，其次老僧更為樂唱易記，智愚適宜的起見，對此書的談理和論道全是以極其通俗的牧羊譜來披露，以供一般向善的人士們易於探索或感覺，書內凡二十四種計三百六十段，僧對此書雖未敢自詡為盡善盡美，但淺俗至理亦足可發人深省，所謂以此資於修行之士或不無小補吧。

天運壬申仲冬臘月恭錄於元貞法壇

詩

濟濟蒼生齊修行
假世解脫登佛程
讀透寶藏聖經理
萬靈步筏域塵空
遍體本筏賢善意
熟諳寶號關塞通
俗世力修之結果
濟濟正才上玉京

三首

其一

一看二聽三參悟　　　四明五信六誠篤
七志八願九實行　　　忠孝節義十恒務

其二

聖佛無私功道成　　　為道捨身是妙徑
吃餅莫怕賠唾沫　　　證道由來忘自榮

其三

學龜之臉兔子足　　　救世焉可辭勞辱
常行有眾無己事　　　管教到頭歸淨土

第一章　道統源流　調寄蘇武牧羊　十首

（一）兩大之間道為尊，雜然賦流形，體用兩相分，用溥物體賦人，盤古到如今，龍馬神龜現，伏羲識天心，允執厥中傳，軒轅及諸君，以至堯舜，四字相傳，維持世人心。

（二）舜傳于禹日，又添十二字，頭一句先戒禹，人心惟危事，道心惟極微，惟精惟一之，允執厥中理，夏商周如斯，周公絕傳，八百天下，賴德理支持。

（三）至道周將亂，天遣水精拯，聃傳孔洛陽城，明後自救眾，自任化世責，古學集大成，傳顏歎夭壽，再傳宗聖曾，曾授子思，思遙傳孟，孟後絕道統。

（四）孟死道統絕，西域釋迦接，傳迦葉二八代，達摩轉東界，史稱水還潮，空化梁武闕，後遂度神光，三祖僧燦接，道信四祖，宏忍五祖，單傳救三界。

（五）六祖至慧能，釋絕儒家統，雖如此道統絕，數百餘年冬，白馬儒七祖，羅八黃九承，吳十何十一，袁續十二燈，袁急收圓，日夜祈天，天垂兩部經。

（六）一部是禮本，即今點道詞，內明載收圓的，過程及時日，袁祖恐人知，惹出大亂子，這才全裁去，只留點道詞，今眾點道，念的禮本，袁祖刪定之。

（七）一部是符經，袁祖試久靈，恐遺後人亂用，鬧出亂事情，因此把經字，上下亂排成，故今失了效，怎念天不應，這是袁祖，為道誠謀，眾當明此情。

（八）袁祖那時間，正是道光年，天垂象道光出，咱道才開傳，雖然是開傳，一表一名添，此俗至師時，這才大改變，袁祖坐化，遺囑徐楊，代理續正傳。

（九）徐楊兩菩薩，代理十三代，那時候正是那，兩宮政主裁，無論後好壞，垂象總可怪，由此則明曉，國道運並排，十四姚祖，十五覺一，白陽卦出來。

（十）清虛十六後，紅陽即滿期，猶如秤十六兩，已到極點矣，白陽初二祖，彌勒與顛濟，拔樹要尋根，道統有憑據，乾坤修行，遇此正法，成道不費力。

青紅白三陽概述　十五首

（一）誰生三才天地人，萬物何為根，道理實高深，有人問我解答，帝為萬類本，眾生是他兒，九六降于寅，男人是羅漢，女子蘭觀音，世事旅館，居六萬年，娘今叫歸根。

（二）回家分三期，青紅白三陽，燃燈佛頭期度，二億好賢良，二期釋迦佛，二億救回鄉，今期彌勒度，九二近天堂，四億降世，助化九二，攜手返瑤邦。

（三）頭期伏羲世，人心尚敦厚，損於己利於人，人心面似獸，龍漢水劫降，稍把惡人收，深山古洞內，道士道姑修，玄關子訣，無量壽佛，先修後傳授。

（四）二期在周代，人心稍變壞，有利己有利人，人面人心在，劫難較前重，赤明火劫開，和尚與尼姑，庵寺把佛拜，玄關南無，阿彌陀佛，午訣合同賣。

（五）今時是三期，人心壞到底，多損人而利己，人面獸心意，延康風劫降，九九八十一，男女帶家修，日用倫常禮，玄關合同，五字真經，先得後修積。

（六）三期道劫降，為救九六還，劫收惡道度善，各收各的圓，彌勒天盤掌，修羅管劫難，善者升天堂，惡者壓陰山，天地人盤，洗刷一新，三曹萬界安。

（七）千佛與萬祖，皆來把道助，有師吾與月慧，雙承天命度，上度氣仙界，下救幽冥府，中救善信子，三曹一齊度，九六原人，快整皈裝，回家拜老母。

（八）天道貴難言，有幾能明詮，望眾生好好修，細看白陽盤，苦海成極樂，東土改西天，人人皆向善，活佛四千年，五風十雨，國泰民安，大家享清閒。

（九）團圓龍華會，按功定果位，大便宜誰識透，誰即不後悔，人爵享洪福，闔家不受罪，天爵清福受，長生無老歲，九玄七祖，永居天堂，一本萬利得。

（十）彌勒佛封神，白陽廟重建，苦功者封佛仙，三六九品蓮，三千六百聖，四萬八千賢，五百個羅漢，八百多金仙，功成天上，名留人間，廟貌萬古傳。

（十一）你是誰家人，真是有佛緣，根基深祖德寬，得道就誠辦，財法雙施過，開荒無畏幹，昔受一時苦，今得萬八甜，誰家有此，賢孝後代，老母亦稱讚。

（十二）無緣不修者，見修道者喜，眼氣紅恨自己，真是沒福氣，早知天道貴，俺亦把凡棄，怨自無眼光，又怨無根基，捶胸跺足，後悔已晚，空留滿肚氣。

（十三）當初人勸我，我還嫌囉嗦，喚參班去不得，恨人麻搭過，拿訓來不看，講道說胡說，更謗人迷信，腦筋頑固者，誰知竟是，自迷自害，今定覺往錯。

（十四）當初我也想，人怎能長生，成佛理簡直說，更沒這事情，怕誤俺念書，怕誤俺耕種，怕誤俺賺錢，怕誤俺工作，今日結果，聖凡雙誤，自罵糊塗蟲。

（十五）師今告徒等，細參十五歌，仙佛訓千萬篇，諸徒自思索，迷悟在自擇，貪舍自斟酌，劫中天佑善，不保作孽者，因債遭報，莫怨為師，有話不先說。

白陽垂象　十首

（一）普度收圓象垂先，算將千餘年，人多不明詮，元朝意是收圓，意思實深遠，明朝是使人，明白這一盤，清分三階段，前後大清年，如人欠債，先要兩遍，然後大清算。

（二）為何在元朝，才垂收圓象，只因為元朝時，天運交白陽，由元到現在，垂象多且廣，民國是民主，道降民身上，不管他們，真假民主，垂象總非妄。

（三）收圓人明白，清算跟著來，前一清未清完，後清門又開，後清仍未盡，大清清前債，賞罰三曹眾，善惡判兩排，當今民主，捎辦大清，兩幕在一台。

（四）大劫紛紛起，誰人不明悉，無形中清算事，從中來辦起，魔向人搶舍，佛勸人善棄，惡舍家財盡，命危德難立，善舍德培，感天護佑，生活總有依。

（五）菩薩與佛祖，倒裝降東土，男與女帶家修，和俗把蓮築，男人剃辮子，羅漢頭仿佛，女子不裹腳，乃是現音足，非師指明，這個垂象，你們怎認出。

（六）白陽的垂象，再談個大概，父母在穿白鞋，這象垂的怪，新婚物本紅，然今多白色，只因白陽世，雜色皆被裁，衣帽被褥，使用器具，一切均尚白。

（七）乾隆江南行，妖阻船討封，帝曾說燈頭翻，你可降世中，電燈頭朝下，妖怪皆現形，奇服及異政，亂世阻修行，三期之內，大亂大鬧，大治要大清。

（八）三期收圓事，彌勒來支持，因為此他的像，無處不有之，銅木磁書像，普遍中外世，山地盡塌裂，現出彌勒式，若非垂象，誰在地山，肚中刻祖師。

（九）紅白因交替，有事更可奇，釋迦像有但少，燃燈像亦稀，青紅廟皆壞，武聖廟兀立，只因伏魔帝，應運在三期，因將新建，白陽聖廟，青紅寺拆去。

（十）三期大清算，惡人壓陰山，剩下的善信外，就是佛與仙，城隍地獄撤，世事由天管，土地閻羅殿，皆被人打爛，這個垂象，表示將來，地獄改西天。

第二章　五教聖人史簡述　二十四首

（一）老母敕命盤古氏，開天闢地孔，九六人煙造，惟恐怕迷本性，後把家忘了，先遣儒釋道，後派耶回教，替母捎書信，經典留塵囂，修道模範，普度善因，老母早種好。

（二）儒釋道耶回，其實無所謂，皆奉的母欽命，下世度眾歸，言語雖有異，真理個無違，奈何人分出，彼此與真偽，將來收圓，萬教歸一，無極地本位。

（三）先天是一理，後天彼此出，年代多分門戶，千道萬教殊，我說我是真，他說我虛無，誰真誰虛無，口頭憑不住，真道真理，真正天真，總有實據處。

（四）實據是什麼，道統是根芽，真天道真天命，神人通電話，天人合一辦，到處有顯化，飛鸞並借孔，現身來說法，直至見性，見性成佛，師言敢畫押。

（五）佛有三乘法，上乘能頓歸，訪明師指玄關，性理是正軌，參禪與打坐，中乘守屍鬼，下乘敲打唱，磨嘴解瞌睡，世人修道，惟理是從，才能修的對。

儒教

（六）孔子辭卻魯司寇，名利早看透，立志把世救，明傳書暗傳道，時時不肯休，度了三千眾，七二賢選就，朝聞夕死可，真理全洩漏，古今賢士，四配十哲，皆醉道裏頭。

（七）注經留典籍，後世多得益，禮樂射數書禦，古今仰六藝，存心能養性，執中貫於一，言為萬世法，行為萬世彝，修齊治平，格治誠正，內聖外王基。

（八）入世救塵凡，結果成聖賢，由人道躋天道，恕離道不遠，大學中庸語，恕外別有玄，仁義禮智信，綱常恕理含，夫為妻綱，父為子綱，君為臣綱典。

釋教

（九）釋迦修道不容易，淨梵國太子，富貴怎願棄，然他竟舍王位，苦坐雪山裏，六年天驗畢，燃燈來授記，生老病死苦，心疾因道去，自此成道，度優婆塞，又度優婆夷。

（十）佛自悟道後，忽然叫奇怪，大地上微動物，皆有佛性在，為迷造下罪，故受天制裁，佛因此慈悲，誓盡度苦海，說法四九，微至浮游，被度回天台。

（十一）如來佛經典，數多不可記，其宗旨是使人，明心見性理，皈依佛法僧，人人結舍利，殺盜淫妄酒，五戒為首題，十惡八邪，謹甯成道，萬法均歸一。

道教

（十二）燃燈分靈化老子，子母節女士，河間洗衣日，食李子懷孕兒，後受親責斥，被逐居李下，熬歲有八十，鄰知此女賢，皆多周濟之，老子降生，滿頭白髮，人才叫老子。

（十三）老子一降生，指李為姓氏，他又說天地間，道我獨尊之，因其耳垂肩，人人呼李耳，李耳事親孝，親死久才仕，因其生知，出仕即為，東周柱下史。

（十四）老子在仕間，知世將混亂，只因為等人來，未能早辭官，直到孔子至，他才傳了玄，孔子得道後，曾有猶龍歎，從此以後，紫氣東來，駕至函谷關。

（十五）關今有尹喜，夢兆識上仙，乃強留老子作，道德五千言，自至傳玄後，青牛向西轉，流砂度胡王，後隱崆峒山，自此以後，隱顯傳道，度了無數仙。

（十六）後作清靜經，宗旨養性靈，曰修心曰煉性，抱元守一誠，金木水火土，生克言五行，因神一氣化，玉太上三清，煉精化氣，煉氣化神，煉神充性宮。

耶教

（十七）西曆零零零一年，耶穌降人間，開口說法言，倡洗禮福音傳，末世留預言，十二大弟子，襄助耶穌辦，不久教大顯，名震國王前，王怕纂位，下令拿他，總然捉不見。

（十八）耶穌避難中，性光忽大明，他言說聖靈至，如鴒到頭頂，自此大施法，常使死人生，聾啞瞆拐治，聲明滿諸城，金雞三唱，代人贖罪，十字身上釘。

（十九）耶穌臨死講，末世來東方，徒想見到中國，白陽群裏訪，人若有明道，十字空讚揚，在吃見血物，牧師亦羔羊，洗心移性，默禱親一，亦將是虛妄。

回教

（二十）穆罕默德傳回教，阿蘭經為寶，內證這一著，這部經是天給，眾人講的道，奈何人不信，官兵將教擾，加上外侮大，把他惹翻了，於是他才，拿定注意，以暴來止暴。

（二十一）右手鏟惡劍，左手阿蘭經，教徒們武裝起，是為十字軍，強逼人信仰，天主之赫靈，皆奉安拉乎，同誦阿蘭經，有一不信，化之難悟，劍下不留情。

（二十二）自從這一來，國內教普化，清真心去惡渣，諸肉戒食呀，人聽諸豬差，牲殺豬不殺，清真牌上壺，暗求真人廈，堅心定性，清真返一，回回回主家。

總結

（二十三）你們大家細參悟，五教的教主，出身皆特殊，有太子有宰相，亦有凡俗夫，你們輕富貴，替天把道布，預言三期事，審判清算數，由此證之，則知師言，不是連影無。

（二十四）五教把書捎，話已捎到了，修道的苦模範，已然給做好，但看眾否能，五教教主效，效他只須要，貪聖舍凡早，能以如此，才不辜負，母慈師垂教。

第三章　三乘修法　十二首

（一）一般參禪打坐客，啥事沒得作，年年為性坐，六祖云坐坐坐，生坐死即臥，一堆臭骨頭，何必立功課，由此知坐功，非修性法則，你要知道，坐功修性，兩事如水火。

（二）修性無巧法，克己要慎獨，再加上下苦功，去把人救度，使人皆求道，同受天佑護，這樣能常做，即修性之路，外功圓滿，內功少用，性明即佛祖。

（三）抽坎而補離，非坐可能填，這內含一指禪，全在明師傳，若無明師授，苦坐病即連，上虛痰陽症，下實結沉寒，鬧的身殘，亦難坐得，黃芽白雪團。

（四）總你坐功好，能活壽千年，我問你千年後，此身怎麼辦，彭祖八百壽，然今在哪邊，次末法劫內，豈容人安禪，你正坐功，一炮打來，蒲團房人完。

（五）三期行遠路，火車飛機船，修道人仗頓法，一步而升天，你這頑固漢，仍坐牛車轉，以笨漸法修，未等成遭難，僧見及此，憐汝苦誠，特垂方便言。

（六）你見老僧話，主意快改換，不然間空苦修，無誠實可憐，還有念經人，可憐更難言，整日念佛號，算啥功無邊，如兒叫娘，喋喋不休，娘聽久要煩。

（七）人情與佛情，根本是一般，整日叫叫的佛，昏頭又花眼，又如一個人，常把你名念，你整年聽著，覺煩不覺煩，兒娘人你，比較念佛，其情差多遠。

（八）你就念經文，又有何意焉，我問你這佛經，是誰留人間，你說是古佛，親留這經典，然古佛修時，又把何經念，溯源求根，迷人悟佛，人佛本一源。

（九）人佛即一體，你念他幹啥，況古佛初修時，他把何經念，認清真至理，念經非羅漢，古人留經意，是為守心田，你能靜心，悟圓明性，勝念經萬千。

（十）勸燒常香者，亦要早醒點，燒常香並不能，感天佑無難，這時天對人，處處真理談，若要燒常香，佛保你家產，這糊塗夢，簡直如那，磨磚來照臉。

（十一）燒香難感天，天不愛受煙，天若是愛受煙，窯工早成仙，告您愚男女，別拿煙哄天，不培德消愆，說啥亦是幻，古無香火，聖佛求天，只憑誠事感。

（十二）怎樣感天佑，首須入真傳，得道後先正己，懺悔在佛前，己明而明人，還你夙世愆，如此天保佑，你家也平安，因你已然，無有債主，放膽閉門眠。

第四章　五盤解述　六首

（一）三期末劫混亂年，邪教白蓮現，妖術實無邊，七十二假彌勒，三六假濟顛，呼風能喚雨，倒海又移山，飛沙走石土，騎凳可上天，指天天開，指地地裂，撒豆成兵員。

（二）妖魔鬼怪佛，五盤全落地，四盤邪一盤正，說來危險極，修道無主意，再有好奇心，加上不明理，或好圖小利，這樣人兒，雖入正道，也在危險裏。

（三）妖魔鬼怪等，邪法無別用，他們是亂世者，混亂算成功，或特法造反，或據地自雄，官因妖道亂，道門全查封，咱們正道，亦被妖累，考魔叢叢生。

（四）正道本無法，度世用理化，官不知邪正道，以正當妖拿，妖道偷了牛，正道反橛拔，這時大考至，眾徒要記下，望眾為道，寧受折磨，莫為妖犯法。

（五）師今泄天機，後事告眾位，農工商見官難，人怎見彌勒，真少人難見，假多人易窺，徒等抱佛腿，保車不掉軌，否則之間，定要失足，葬身與魔鬼。

（六）修道悟道義，明後堅志立，切不可見奇法，忘了真天理，追隨前人修，線勿須臾離，如此庶乎可，不墜邪盤裏，精持道念，前率後隨，同師謁上帝。

第五章　五行解述　六首

（一）科學登峰又造極，進化無息止，將成盡化矣，因進化皆武器，道德毫不提，道不束人心，人心則野矣，心野意殘忍，與獸幾何異，由此觀之，科學進化，並非好消息。

（二）耶穌留預言，末日審判期，審判人罪孽後，風火化天地，帝救懺悔人，劫收諸忤逆，你眾要不信，請看武器具，陸有坦克，海有兵船，空中有飛機。

（三）海底有潛艇，陸炮怪機關，毒瓦斯火箭炮，宇宙原子彈，更有毒菌具，死光雷達盤，秘密的武器，枚舉不可完，無道之人，管用此具，寰宇怎不慘。

（四）浩劫一旦起，萬金買命難，有本領亦束手，待斃在家園，尤其牛虎歲，生死報應關，人不求佛佑，絕對難安然，除修天道，別道就如，繼業兩狼山．

（五）運到這期間，徒快清醒點，這時莫瞎埋頭，苦掙造孽錢，槍炮聲起處，身家性命完，無道命難保，要錢能何干，勸徒明此，夠吃夠喝，回頭速向善。

（六）未雨綢繆善，臨渴掘井難，安防災夜防賊，年年防旱澇，劫來抱佛腿，放心佛不管，喊天地不應，嗓破悔亦晚，修者佛救，脫過此劫，去作活神仙。

第六章　仙佛普度始末記　五首

（一）上帝生天與萬物，三界母為主，慈令度迷夫，總經理掌天盤，乃是彌勒祖，老僧掌道盤，月慧來協助，茂田主考試，南極辦外務，千佛萬祖，搭幫助道，救人回樂土。

（二）西天不留佛，中天不留仙，母宮中亦不留，菩薩與羅漢，欽命齊倒裝，助祖辦收圓，師今天機泄，徒勿自看淡，徒待想想，代表師者，根基是深淺。

（三）徒知此消息，亦勿傲慢起，這次佛迷世上，不修難回矣，仙佛有升降，與做官一理，尤其天賞罰，比人間仔細，想回天否，想成道否，諸徒拿主意。

（四）母定賞罰規，功德為第一，天堂上之蓮位，白陽重新立，佛不修革職，祖玄同遺棄，或將靈系散，或壓陰山裏，這次白陽，萬物更始，徒知當努力。

（五）上帝定章程，絲毫無面情，謗者墜誠者升，德足入大雄，諸徒明白此，勿管孽輕重，亦勿管根基，是鬼可是聖，只須埋頭，始終勇進，到底必有成。

第七章　智愚分別　十一首

（一）歎人難善易浮華，有才華的人，還有財東家，對個人造孽錢，嘩啦嘩啦化，說到培功德，一毛拔不下，勸人嫌費力，閒扯勁而大，無成結果，天不佑助，弄巧反自殺。

（二）還有一般人，說自修不成，不明理舍不開，自看自己輕，知道怕劫難，說聽天由命，不知道與劫，帝主師代行，順天者昌，逆天者亡，修吉不修凶。

（三）誠心來救世，害怕有什麼，你助天天助你，誰也不缺誰，家足米糧柴，飯菜調合大，一人去行功，皇天佑全家，總有考魔，老僧撥機，趕前錯後化。

（四）有種聰明人，一悟道即明，不張狂不誇勝，埋頭自前行，任人譏其愚，亦不合人爭，任人頌其智，亦無驕傲生，老老實實，貫始澈終，真算大聰明。

（五）更有聰明人，反被聰明誤，心眼多疑心大，道理不參悟，時弄小智慧，實學絲毫無，外表如道器，滿肚臭筋骨，這假聰明，有日自覺，空悔無啥補。

（六）傻子雖不敏，比智強萬倍，說道那人事上，傻子要吃虧，要以天理論，吃虧便宜隨，傻子得道後，明理覺寶貴，只曉進修，不管前後，結果培了德。

（七）傻子抱至誠，心與聖賢同，雖然傻有德行，三施行不停，雖不會說話，去勸人就聽，一來是天助，二亦仗苦誠，傻頭傻頭，得天獨厚，常出人料中。

（八）常看初級書，龜兔比跑路，兔特快半途睡，龜慎緊邁步，結果兔醒覺，龜把旗抱住，這事正遇著，謹慎與疏忽，智愚到頭，傻子傻笑，聰明氣破肚。

（九）你院長考你，背歌願表等，常見那聰明人，一背就臉紅，素日恃其才，肆意不用功，傻子堂前背，如渠流水聲，由此一觀，聰明是傻，傻是真聰明。

（十）傻子看聖訓，字句皆求真，他還說仙佛言，理實不哄人，智看仙佛訓，如白紙無痕，眼看口閒扯，耳聽別人云，一心三用，還自覺能，結果頭混沌。

（十一）愚千失一得，得道修成仙，智千得只一失，失時壓陰山，皆因潮流變，愚仍守古典，智隨環境換，到時回頭難，劫過人朴，白陽復古，智落愚後邊。

第八章　救親　四首

（一）修道最忌弄虛巧，不願修拉倒，莫假迷三道，若願修就速修，因時亦不早，若不願修行，乾脆說明曉，天堂勾了名，陰山掛了號，到時莫怨，為師寡情，因是自己找。

（二）凡情人修善，獄中祖宗歡，人作惡祖宗歎，修道亦這般，徒行功祖喜，出獄希望現，徒退道祖悲，上天希望完，徒祖函托，地藏告師，托師告人間。

（三）師今傳此信，眾人勿輕觀，有親者當救親，才算孝女男，想親養兒女，受盡苦與難，兒女今上天，不把親拔薦，這樣逆子，總成了佛，亦受人譏訕。

（四）眾徒明此情，趕快去行功，以親的遺產業，救親出獄中，何是親遺產，房地自已命，為道皆犧牲，親成自也成，忠孝節義，如此盡到，方不負此生。

第九章　勤惰結果　七首

（一）觀此事務淚雙流，可憐辦道者，懶惰貪享受，將仙佛好報文，一齊丟腦後，不給後學講，自還不追求，佛的預言應，眾仍未看透，由觀諸徒，未把天刊，放在心裏頭。

（二）徒勿像從前，萎靡又疏忽，把佳期全空度，耽擱道前途，不給眾勤講，誤人己也誤，金榜未提名，罪魁先錄住，佳期本可，證到清洪，反造無量苦。

（三）由此看眾位，是傻是智慧，拿金錢買石頭，本錢虧不虧，往者己難諫，來者猶可追，望各顯身手，佳期莫浪手，掌櫃後學，勉勵互助，前率而後催。

（四）道內諸課程，眾當記在心，為師與諸仙佛，三令又五申，倘若敢故違，不客氣將臨，無形記大過，有形借魔審，違犯不貸，切切此布，諸徒要凜遵。

（五）歌願表記真，佛將考驗你，否遵師否重道，是否有誠心，考若錯一字，天即扣一分，知此當時記，行坐要習溫，不可肆意，因小失大，美中不足甚。

（六）例如兩學生，一校把書念，一勤讀一戲玩，結果怎一般，貪玩討了飯，勤讀作了官，天考定仙位，亦這樣考驗，除修功德，定果位外，還仗歌表願。

（七）掌櫃誠修人，閒時念經文，不會寫要學寫，不認字強認，成全外自習，日久見長進，學的滿肚道，金不換與人，昔友知你，是個愚夫，談起驚心神。

第十章　歌書原意　五首

（一）徒對書歌要學好，師垂歌含妙，諸徒莫看渺，又分門又別類，通俗易明曉，不能說盡美，滋味亦算好，徒將這材料，記牢去辦道，度己度人，事半功倍，效力定不小。

（二）把這救世歌，誠者拿一卷，不論男不論女，識字皆可看，士農工商等，智愚皆了然，直接又了當，簡單又明顯，定名字為，濟世寶筏，迷徒作指南。

（三）修真成道曲，超生了死歌，繼往聖開來學，啟迪愚迷客，識字多費力，教不識字者，先講然後唱，明理又快樂，遵歌修者，凡身躲難，法身成仙佛。

（四）為師知眾徒，牧羊歌唱熟，迎合你諸徒心，未垂別歌譜，此歌雖是俗，意義堪入目，望世眾迷子，歌中尋歸路，找著道後，積極前進，絕對無錯處。

（五）活佛垂此歌，非師看不著，就非佛無仙根，亦須有點德，不然就見此，歌心如水火，德見悟明理，講道材料多，以此基本，勸世修真，保你回天國。

第十一章　天堂地獄人間　四首

（一）天分先天與後天，得道善信士，建德理天還，救祖玄享清洪，永不落塵凡，無道忠孝輩，僅可到氣天，享盡所有福，仍然落迴圈，由此觀之，有道無道，毫釐謬天淵。

（二）地府分數段，轉輪與陰山，大惡者陰山壓，萬世難身翻，惡極無法辦，雷擊靈光散，殘性轉濕化，永遠就算完，人世作惡，稍微小點，去把禽獸變。

（三）惡多善少點，轉人來討飯，瘋傻瞎聾啞殘，皆是惡勝善，善惡平衡者，幹天吃天飯，善超惡小富，善多壽考全，陰律森嚴，毫無情面，至善上氣天。

（四）人為萬物靈，處在上下間，但看人有無道，或是有無善，由人品行中，來定歸宿盤，天演此公例，不論民與官，望眾明此，慎擇修為，不可肆意幹。

第十二章　真假認清　一十五首

（一）昔日古時人覓道，鐵鞋磨破了，受苦找不著，今三期道尋人，送至門上了，惜人真肉眼，不識無價寶，得此竟藐視，非常寶輕拋，不知這個，上天秘寶，誰得誰家好。

（二）你今把寶棄，劫來天不理，任憑你怎禱告，總是失效矣，眼看修道人，不驚家安逸，到時雖後悔，亦是來不及，這個預言，先告眾生，各自拿主意。

（三）徒既有佛緣，還要有佛份，因佛緣是虛的，佛份才算真，眾要聽師勸，帝前種佛因，師勸徒應酬，則徒害自身，結果應酬，師上天堂，徒等入轉輪。

（四）根本鬼與仙，在這佳期年，想得道無人身，靈魂不隨便，眾徒弟有身，隨便又壯健，逢時又逢道，不修真愚頑，勸眾快醒，莫再遲延，救自救祖玄。

（五）勸徒早惺惺，莫應酬師尊，認清楚師為眾，非為自己身，徒明此理後，急要自振奮，借自之假體，修己之性真，修好真性，返本還原，無極拜娘親。

（六）真從無極來，至今六萬載，假體是有五行，二氣結成胎，四生假樣多，皆有一真宰，真背假的走，假把真的埋，真的在世，出體入孔，迷糊落苦海。

（七）眾生理未明，修形不修性，因如此無形中，造罪可不輕，故此常換體，胎卵濕化更，人物千萬樣，生前結因成，孟夫子雲，人獸幾稀，皆備我品行。

（八）三點如星布，橫勾似月斜，有聖賢有佛祖，有被毛戴角，皆由此中判，諸生當瞭解，常培性中土，勿作甕中鱉，這迷說明，萬事全在，一心來分別。

（九）仙佛修性靈，眾人修身形，只因為徒知體，不知有性靈，今眾聽師勸，身性要鬧清，知此改主意，以身修性明，不然身死，性暗德少，怎麼見無生。

（十）恨有一般人，修道怕受害，然古聖所成故，不出此道外，為啥他修成，我修就遭災，除人有夙債，母慈無偏愛，薄後之情，母心全無，分論在眾懷。

（十一）比如一塊地，同受天地雨，但有者苗茂盛，有者長不起，緣因撒的糞，有厚亦有稀，更有鋤草人，鋤的不很齊，膏瞍貧瘠，受雨雖同，結果自不一。

（十二）今有一徒弟，成全未徹底，如地中糞草事，人未做齊全，苦勸不醒修，地減難生矣，貧的難使豐，孽人難成器，母雖普慈，承受之人，無形分高低。

（十三）根基深厚者，考魔阻不得，地獄種勸破嘴，他如不聽著，更有半誠輩，聽講嫌囉嗦，自動者更少，被動者太多，但是魔請，馬上即到，低頭又聽說。

（十四）仙佛說為他，他聽不樂意，魔王說把頭低，說東不敢西，聽道誤點事，他還嫌可惜，魔王要人財，怎忙親送去，佛魔不認，真假不辨，十個中有七。

（十五）真誠君子少，虛偽小人多，絕對的真誠好，虛偽要墜落，然而虛偽人，仍自覺活潑，口無心裏話，弄火反成禍，老實常在，虛偽必敗，到時分苦樂。

第十三章　清口利於成仙　九十五首（一至六十一）

（一）師今閑著莫得作，特將清口歌，逐條示透澈，望賢徒對此歌，內意多探索，知何為利害，就利把害躲，如此即智者，不然愚難說，徒等明此，自清家清，勸親鄰也做。

（二）清口益不少，徒許尚未曉，第一件身體好，第二前因了，第三免消耗，第四功德造，一事增四益，益得增壽考，這個道理，內中詳情，徒坐聽師告。

（三）不吃葷味道，臟腑污濁少，身無濁這身體，自能享壽考，欠咱的不要，欠人的拔消，餘債德補盡，債盡德再造，這樣清口，全家開支，無形開銷少。

（四）清口一件事，四般益處包，徒想想這便宜，是誰沾到了，你壽你了因，與佛何所好，你培德省錢，佛又沾不著，於佛無干，佛來苦勸，到底為哪條。

（五）千遭水歸海，說來佛慈愛，為了你生死事，反覆理剖開，歌中悟佛心，自愛該不該，今師將葷害，下面說明白，徒見師言，體師意否，但看心好壞。

戒飲酒

（六）杜康舍米來造酒，造成獻禹聖，嘗美即看透，惡旨酒遠杜康，遺言戒其後，後逆禹旨者，家國果然丟，桀紂恃勢亂，不免於商周，由觀古今，貴至帝王，染此害身首。

（七）春秋與列國，亂臣賊子多，我害你他害我，多以酒媒作，秦二世胡亥，日飲酒作樂，漢降桓靈帝，荒亡權旁落，吳蜀之主，日事酒宴，圖興被晉奪。

（八）晉後興諸代，惡俗說不得，東西晉隋煬帝，荒亡主換作，建成與元吉，酒宴惹下禍，明皇清平世，因酒亂了國，賢至李白，飲酒過甚，撈月身落河。

（九）還有趙匡胤，酒斬鄭子明，元明清興衰情，諸徒大概明，元酒亂婚後，一家鬧不清，雍正酒害親，乃奪嫂之貞，由此觀看，酒之罪惡，實是無有窮。

（十）最慘慶功樓，酒餌害群雄，明建殿懸對聯，更使人心驚，萬事總不如，一杯在手中，人生能幾件，月亮當頭頂，由觀明代，酒宴奢侈，程度多麼重。

（十一）杜康起了頭，害了多少人，現杜康壓陰山，萬劫難翻身，世上糧制酒，十分用五分，暴殄上天物，怎不怒天心，萬民饑寒，富族嗜酒，實是不均勻。

（十二）前生行點善，今生為富戶，既富貴不惜富，吃酒無程度，今把谷消耗，來生為貧夫，貧雖前生罪，富當盡義務，當不如此，反自驕侈，天心怎不惡。

（十三）一般酒中狂，不以酒為殃，他還說有了酒，萬事好商量，這個冤孽種，不改定不祥，官史之貪污，因酒作商量，商奸工詐，國家身敗，皆由商量傷。

（十四）設使天下人，如禹惡旨酒，酒廠店倒貼錢，請喝人搖頭，祝其能實現，廠店皆束手，酒糧散貧人，人人皆富有，這樣一來，洋酒運到，放壞難出售。

（十五）酒帶麻醉性，最易傷心靈，喝的少腦袋痛，喝多惹災凶，喝過能暈死，喝甚誤事情，打開歷史看，明君和英雄，坐此失國，家敗人散，枚舉數不清。

（十六）帝王及英雄，坐此尚遭殃，當今的一俗子，染上怎能常，即是能常久，身家俱受傷，勸告世間人，早惺莫彷徨，流連荒亡，酒色財氣，均是自殺槍。

（十七）徒等見師言，自己早打點，有酒僻當戒酒，沒者不可沾，家長嗜酒者，以師言進諫，平輩嗜酒者，以師言化勉，親戚朋友，有此毛病，亦當嘉言勸。

戒食肉

（十八）倉頡造字玄妙多，試看肉禽獸，三字之結合，血淋淋紅泊泊，驚散人魂魄，不識此理者，昏頭大腦過，識透此理者，觳觫又哆嗦，此理是啥，徒等坐聽，為師來細說。

（十九）肉內人包人，表不迴圈身，外吃內內傳人，結果如轉輪，看去似吃肉，其實人吃人，因人轉禽獸，禽獸轉人身，你啃我骨，我剝你皮，難錯半毫分。

（二十）禽字之結體，人下半個離，離失佳善事去，惡人轉禽矣，再看這獸形，口一性田地，兩口加犬哭，哭壓性獸矣，由此觀之，禽獸吃人，人吃禽獸體。

（二十一）其事無所謂，禽獸與人身，孟子說人禽獸，幾稀念頭分，念行惡禽獸，念行善為人，萬物備與我，反身誠樂甚，人與禽獸，同母一靈，不過異身心。

（二十二）天生倉頡聖，造字含妙意，非是師來指破，愚迷哪個悉，師為救汝眾，不惜詳解批，這皆是天機，今師少洩底，徒等見此，應早醒悟，清口莫遲疑。

（二十三）試看畜臨死，嚎聲悲且慘，青刀入紅刀出，渾身抖顛顛，腳把地搓爛，滿體出大漢，擺頭又摔尾，屎尿向外竄，擠眉瞪眼，氣息奄奄，痛散心腑間。

（二十四）當其未殺前，靜待行刑間，這時候眾看他，該夠多可憐，豬羊慘叫時，聽者心痛酸，尤其勞力畜，人見更傷感，刹那之間，紅光竄冒，性命前功完。

（二十五）慘殺他性命，取食他身肉，當養素滋補咱，這叫何理由，偷人的人恨，欺畜的無仇，這惡習偏理，使佛善人憂，由此則知，世人愚迷，程度多麼厚。

（二十六）況畜吃野草，豬狗吃屎尿，髒的很人吃他，實缺衛生道，畜牲本陰濁，全身橫生著，植物本清陽，生地頂碧宵，牲畜屬陰，植物屬陽，人食植物好。

（二十七）吃肉人罪重，殺畜人罪同，你不吃他不殺，此理乃至公，他本不願殺，被你洋錢哄，他圖財害命，罪魁你擔承，你若不信，循本前語，財甲命乙等。

（二十八）設使天下人，皆能把口清，是問他殺房裏，還能殺不能，殺房若關門，你口還不清，他不給你殺，你自把手動，由觀此人，口未盡清，殺業怎麼停。

（二十九）有言心坐佛，酒肉穿腸過，這些人出其言，真是迷糊客，他認佛與腸，名異體兩個，那麼腸穿破，佛還坐不坐，這點道理，都認不清，還謗清口者。

（三十）昔曾有人言，豬羊一刀菜，天若是不教吃，生他作啥來，設不吃豬羊，他將滿塵埃，若說不吃牛，因他把力賣，這個豬羊，若不吃他，它生負啥責。

（三十一）五行秀為人，五行濁為獸，這皆是陰陽運，人有獸必有，如母生了佛，何必生魔頭，眾要知道理，豆腐鋪中走，豆腐與渣，陽清陰濁，哪樣能沒有。

（三十二）天生豬與羊，與人來相依，各安分各守命，誰勿將誰欺，羊有乳毛功，豬為踏糞機，知此不吃牛，豬羊吃不的，師告此言，徒等悟悟，是否有這理。

（三十三）若不吃豬羊，豬羊滿塵寰，這問題愈見徒，理學未了然，人不吃虎豹，虎豹怎不滿，你吃啥變啥，道理很明顯，徒等想想，這個理由，圓滿不圓滿。

（三十四）今世在人間，吃豬二十三，到來生去變豬，亦要念三年，因人吃的多，世上禽獸滿，人要吃的少，無形要少減，科學萬能，亦難將此，真理來推翻。

（三十五）上古時代中，人畜兩安寧，少劫難無因果，萬民樂升平，至今三期內，殺運殘且凶，若問何緣故，佛語說的明，欲知世上，刀兵浩劫，夜至屠門聽。

（三十六）殺牲畜的人，想得好死難，因死時常有那，畜牲冤靈纏，壯造罪死苦，入獄最熬煎，快勸屠夫輩，回頭來上岸，放下屠刀，立地成佛，此語不虛傳。

（三十七）驚告屠夫漢，行道快改換，為衣食哪一行，不能混碗飯，何必非屠殺，害生逆上天，不見金聖歎，結果多可憐，眾知此當，幡然改悔，追蹤善人辦。

（三十八）吃海物的人，死後葬魚腹，吃五穀一般人，死後葬於土，吃烤牲之輩，死後火化無，吃禽死扔頭，屍被禽食枯，獵食之人，屍遺郊野，使獸來報復。

（三十九）由此事看來，天地有迴圈，吃了啥還了啥，難錯半毫點，吃了土還土，拉不下債冤，吃了別動物，半斤八兩還，由觀為人，處世無道，結果真可憐。

第十三章　清口利於成仙　九十五首（四十至六十一）

戒五大葷

（四十）酒肉後表厭與葷，三厭後面解，先把大葷除，牛馬犬河中魚，天上之雁群，牛馬為家勞，犬守門盡心，河魚清水菌，雁為天孝禽，修道之輩，必先除去，這些五大葷。

（四十一）大五葷之外，總說忌三厭，生羽翼長翅膀，天厭之一般，圓毛四足獸，名稱為地厭，有形鱗居水，自是水厭關，這些三厭，更為修道，必忌之要點。

戒小五葷

（四十二）葷厭後表草將軍，蔥韭薤蒜煙，大概意義雲，這五樣猶如那，世間假善人，看去似值物，實與肉無分，兼帶刺激性，食者傷元神，故修道士，稱此植物，名叫小五葷。

（四十三）這些草將軍，毒氣實不淺，修道人若不戒，五中氣不健，韭菜入肝經，消耗木氣散，大蔥入腎部，水氣被熬幹，薤傷脾土，脾主肌肉，脾氣散身倦。

（四十四）蒜把心經竄，心火被攪亂，心擾亂心火耗，傷中最要點，俗言蒜辣心，大概眾了然，還有萬惡煙，入肺金氣散，散了金氣，還要四竄，五臟受薰染。

（四十五）心肝脾肺腎，蔥韭薤蒜煙，醫書雲這五行，相克最危險，五味破五臟，髒氣不朝元，髒氣若皆散，何以入聖禪，由觀五味，草頭將軍，陰濁至極點。

（四十六）怎知這五葷，這樣的危險，徒問師師有個，證據與眾參，凡不清口者，臭氣口中滿，清口人與語，惹的人討厭，清口人兒，總不刷牙，口氣還平淡。

（四十七）蔥韭薤蒜是，牛豬羊犬變，這歷史是起于，梁武帝年間，武帝孝子變，後為蚯蚓轉，老僧名志公，意化帝修煉，恐其將來，餓死台城，善功一旦完。

（四十八）因將迴圈告，請辭位入山，為使他惜帝福，培德還猴冤，奈他迷昧甚，福勢拋不轉，雖三度捨身，並不願苦煉，並將吾談，因果事情，找證又宣傳。

（四十九）誇師佛法高，笑後出身賤，因為此惹後怨，造下罪無邊，以牛豬羊犬，捏饃進佛前，獻後賞僧眾，甜言含辣酸，幸師算破，改袍備素，才脫這一關。

（五十）非師意不善，乃後身找愆，師運他那肉饃，埋於御花園，神術催長出，蔥韭與薤蒜，後後見此物，命廚捏饃餐，蔥牛韭豬，薤羊蒜犬，害人不上算。

（五十一）後帝前卑師，帝后向予談，師即將這細節，告帝轉後前，後知此情怒，用計害羅漢，穢布做僧帽，佛經做鞋穿，巧言賞師，師給倒置，悲詩把後感。

（五十二）自此後德盡，仍落輪回間，後達摩與師勸，歸山帝不願，驗囚心不轉，師才遁醴縣，帝用候景相，禦征台城反，終叫候景，把帝餓死，彼此冤欠完。

（五十三）自從那時代，四菜味皆變，明是菜暗是肉，證據對像全，牛肉就大蔥，豬韭餡子餡，薤就羊肉餅，狗肉合大蒜，四小葷外，還有一種，害人萬惡煙。

（五十四）煙之為世害，勝於刀兵災，刀兵劫人知躲，煙則人願挨，尤其大煙袋，挨上離不開，吸久蕩家產，妻子皆可賣，至此逼的，坑蒙拐騙，名譽人格壞。

（五十五）由此知大煙，為害之深重，染此者知其害，想忌總不能，吸口哈一聲，凡事皆看空，至死皆不悟，一切大犧牲，迷此心志，移于修道，壓倒佛與聖。

（五十六）還有小煙袋，其害勝大煙，世上人皆吸之，日耗億兆款，因染此者眾，皆不覺為患，更有無知農，為利種大煙，因煙有毒，種過煙地，再種五穀難。

（五十七）煙之種類多，普遍各地旱，蘭州水四川卷，中外牌子煙，凡人吸此者，頭暈咳嗽喘，有因煙失火，有因煙壽減，可恨世人，只是肆意，有害亦不管。

（五十八）還有吸料客，簡直沒法說，染上此啥壞事，他亦敢去做，比那大小煙，更是利害多，消耗之數位，叫人能咋舌，染此想忌，無茂亭志，至死忌不得。

（五十九）貪富的人家，日日要吸煙，討吃人要飯錢，不肯給一點，人要吃起煙，不惜錢千萬，由此觀世人，不遭劫怎辦，奉勸眾生，有此病者，快回頭上岸。

（六十）葷厭這兩字，亦是怪的多，葷頭草草屬柔，草地人見樂，草下有一軍，垂象善中惡，厭字陰真象，日被諸陰圍，這兩個字，意義深長，諸徒自揣摩。

（六十一）三花精氣神，易被三厭破，五臟內朝元氣，易被葷俘虜，故說修道人，葷厭要不得，為師苦口勸，實為眾修德，望眾惺惺，體量師心，自愛勁要多。

第十三章　清口利於成仙　九十五首（六十二至九十五）

破戒之害

（六十二）清口此事非兒戲，你今一清口，驚動三官帝，他將你因果債，一起結算起，人欠你撥補，你欠人抵哩，除此淨存債，多少另結起，待你行功，還完前債，有功再另記。

（六十三）由此觀清口，豈是容易的，你若是再破齋，債功須另記，若這樣一來，三官費手續，三官雖慈悲，亦要生了氣，先定你個，反復罪名，隨時報應你。

（六十四）為師知此情，見破齋著急，或是他嘴臉腫，或是不順序，意驚破齋者，反悔從新忌，若這樣一來，三官簡手續，話雖如此，師警告者，亦是誠意的。

（六十五）嘉木才雕刻，汙土難合泥，有怪才無誠德，師也不願理，因凡忌開者，多半猾頭的，被騙開齋子，師才警告呢，遇警回頭，勇認改過，師見還歡喜。

（六十六）按說破齋事，與師啥關係，不過說師處是，為的救你哩，你就是明吃，師把你怎的，你若是偷吃，自己害自己，鍋打碎完，理說透畢，主意在吃的。

（六十七）清口這事情，徒當看重哩，消耗錢小問題，性命有關係，眼看大劫到，全憑佛護庇，你若把口清，佛救你容易，你不清口，濁氣薰佛，救你亦費力。

（六十八）反正徒想吧，佛救善男女，救完了清口，再救不清的，一早一晚間，中分安危機，徒想清不清，哪樣占第一，你說求佛，常順你心，你當遂佛意。

（六十九）為師在明處，諸徒在暗地，醜寅劫要出現，師特泄天機，諸徒要明曉，貪嘴命傷矣，顧命是顧嘴，諸自拿主意，酒肉雖好，卻能壞你，色身與法體。

（七十）為師與酒肉，決誓不兩立，有了他沒有我，有我他絕跡，師是救你哩，酒肉害你的，以徒真智慧，判定近與離，刀斬亂麻，莫要猶疑，自定自歸超。

（七十一）人說師在世，酒肉不肯離，這事情到有的，為眾不澈底，不知師吃時，用法扔野地，焉能咽下肚，自壞自五氣，我今勸人，清口之時，人還責我呢。

（七十二）可歎傻徒弟，不明師用意，師那時因世人，清外不清裏，故師反其意，修裏不修皮，誠人能清裏，不清外清矣，後人作書，為攏顧客，滿紙胡演義。

（七十三）師若是如此，那成何事體，後世人不明此，將師亂誹議，師即吃酒肉，假善人在席，假善人不在，師也不吃矣，哪能常常，值不值得，就吃酒肉去。

（七十四）辨冤辨一遍，閑言歸正傳，徒吃肉花自錢，與佛活相干，就與汝前人，亦沒有沾連，為師常苦勸，因眾愚可憐，智者以錢，買德買功，愚以錢買冤。

（七十五）或有人試探，逼咱酒肉餐，咱必須處活潑，應付求圓滿，或是為病症，或是胎裏嫌，或為雙親壽，或為兒女安，或因遠行，遇舟車險，立下茹素願。

（七十六）人問在何處，立下吃素願，咱可說呂祖壇，或是觀音庵，後所求皆應，吾才忌葷厭，不然未應前，誰肯口福斷，人說清口，何時止境，年月說多點。

（七十七）或雲忌一生，或忌數十年，一旦是願滿了，自然仍要餐，常人問答為，討厭消耗免，斤肉五斤面，比例太相懸，五斤面兒，五人飽肚，斤肉一人飯。

（七十八）煙酒只為使，口臭消耗錢，咱不吃葷與厭，並非犯國法，既不犯國法，何怕民與官，有時官強逼，乃天將你驗，萬望賢徒，拿定主意，到時志莫遷。

（七十九）心平過得海，怕啥人暗害，聽師言遵師訓，自得天護愛，雖然如此說，徒當看得開，若不培功德，終難當討債，總言三期，保物舍人，保人物必壞。

（八十）若物人皆安，則非清算年，徒想想拿主意，應當怎麼辦，今貪聖舍凡，聖凡永顧全，今貪凡舍聖，聖凡後永完，告眾打清，這個神鬼，巧妙的算盤。

（八十一）況古今聖賢，因果皆了然，非只佛倡慈悲，五教皆一般，孔子清了口，不肯對人言，因為那時人，正笑孔子憨，他再勸人，趕快清口，怎不受譏訕。

（八十二）孔子時中聖，和而能不流，逢肉宴托責詞，總不說清口，唐虞夏商周，齋戒沐浴守，孟子遠庖廚，聞聲不食肉，耶忌血食，回忌諸肉，道絕火食修。

（八十三）五教昔皆好，後世傳錯了，今為師傳天道，五教世弊矯，諸徒逢活佛，緣分可不小，應當體佛心，清口為上著，清口濁去，換成慈悲，勸人把你效。

夢示秀清

（八十四）今師給說段故事，江南王秀清，他家是富室，王之祖累代裏，是個行善士，舍錢舍棺槨，舍衣舍飯食，因此生秀清，作商業钜子，秀清為商，經人苦勸，拜了吾為師。

（八十五）秀清又是個，金爐立願的，雖求道不參悟，名利把性迷，人勸修則謗，還疑師是虛，因此師怕他，遺願難歸西，故才托夢，警告於他，快修莫遲疑。

（八十六）師命他清口，他說遲一遲，師因此才發怒，將他好責斥，且將清口意，給他一解釋，他這才驚怕，遵命無異志，師又問他，你看師虛，今看實不實。

（八十七）修道培德理，行功了債情，師告他他問師，他欠幾債命，師問他每年，吃多少葷腥，答每年吃肉，約七十斤零，連少計長，以豬肉計，三千多斤重。

（八十八）吃豬四十個，轉豬如數還，不但此你還有，六萬年債冤，他聽面色變，求師說明顯，師說這天機，不能洩漏傳，秀清不聽，懇求明示，叩頭如搗蒜。

（八十九）師見他誠極，這才告於他，欠人命二七個，欠金一八八，以你這些債，實非小數呀，你無金爐願，人身早失啦，告你秀清，及早惺惺，前進行功吧。

（九十）秀清又求師，還債事說明，師即說度六四，開十個慈艇，印大書百本，乃還一個命，三施去實踐，捨身樂犧牲，這樣感天，你的罪孽，還一半即清。

（九十一）以上之方法，六萬劫能了，今生債行半功，即可全債消，亦因此佳期，否則可難了，秀清聽言笑，立願把心表，印書五千，度人一千，開荒百處到。

（九十二）以上夢中言，王醒疑一團，疑心想心不信，哪有這事端，師在旁見此，又氣又可憐，一夜連三告，他才信心堅，到今秀清，江南劫中，為道乃顛連。

（九十三）秀清之生意，二十餘處多，到如今皆成了，道中之佛闔，買賣以不作，辦道同仁佐，目下這道務，一日千里闊，這皆因他，至誠感天，有仙暗助做。

（九十四）這事是實事，眾莫當等閒，今師吾特提出，與你作模範，像秀清之輩，今何止千萬，各當奮私力，自救救坤乾，若不如此，收圓完畢，再想修即難。

（九十五）告眾善男女，急覺莫流連，因這時不是你，貪假之期間，趕快修修道，保你真性天，到時咱師徒，攜手朝母顏，您也成道，我乃盡責，同樂在家園。

第十四章　三真解述　四首

（一）無極天道本至真，由古傳到今，道統不亂紛，查行動查言論，高超左旁門，昔日單傳授，六耳法不聞，天今因收圓，不愛道愛民，道劫雙降，道救劫殺，建整大同春。

（二）萬類皆有理，無理則亂矣，天無理星斗墜，旱澇不適宜，地若無理時，草苗升不起，物若無道理，作用功能息，人而無理，只剩假合，能做什麼呢。

（三）天若有道理，星序時運宜，地有理穀草豐，物有理成器，人若有性理，生克贊化育，但人須悟明，性理之來去，識此則知，性真身假，出入由斯矣。

（四）天命最要緊，事實來證真，夏不臭冬不挺，一指脫轉輪，至寶心印法，能度人鬼神，萬佛來助道，顯化驚人魂，由此證明，道真理真，天命更是真。

第十五章　何謂三施解述　四首

（一）三期先得後修之，自得三種寶，必須要三施，首施財助開荒，印善書表事，自約施財豐，施實天護持，自侈施財吝，天惡劫洗之，善施雖空，不斷衣食，惡舍饑寒至。

（二）明者勿瞌睡，鞠躬應盡瘁，一張口兩隻腿，時莫使靜默，櫛風沐雨辦，跋山又涉水，披星戴月去，光陰毫不費，苦口婆心，舌敝唇焦，皇天決不虧。

（三）施內法施重，因能救眾生，看一看古聖佛，法施誰不宏，五教演大法，救人是上乘，眾能法施辦，才算立德功，為救眾生，財與自己，有啥看不空。

（四）何為無畏施，是不怕考魔，明真理為救世，誰能阻擋吾，全副精神明，真正犧牲作，力行無為功，定結無漏果，一千善功，三百苦行，修成個彌陀。

第十六章　開荒寶貴　五首

（一）開荒救人好事情，壇如無極宮，設者近佛聖，能躲劫能避難，一座小雲城，如果闔家修，又能行大功，財法無畏施，苦誠貫始終，如此助天，天必保佑，千危萬險平。

（二）佛壇在中央，方圓四十步，勸近鄰把道入，誠心感天護，飛機擲炸彈，槍炮子密佈，看去雖危險，關係絲毫無，只因天救，度己度人，真功實善徒。

（三）快勸親鄰友，壇設他家內，並與他說明白，修道何所為，壇立仙佛來，佑你家無危，你當快歡迎，莫以冷淡對，誠正修齊，遵訓清口，佛佑感應隨。

（四）三期開普度，佛助度愛河，你不聽人常說，萬教歸一著，家家觀世音，處處彌陀佛，時時劫後見，日子亦不多，男女老少，禮拜祈佛，家人保安妥。

（五）你若不早勸，眼看遭劫難，因他們在夢中，咱莫袖手觀，耶穌與咱國，絲毫不親沾，為救世免難，萬里把道傳，咱不自己，度自親鄰，真是沒心肝。

第十七章　知行合一詳解　十首

（一）知行合一陽明言，古今事成敗，全在知行間，知必行行因知，不知行哪般，修道亦如是，不知誰修煉，故凡不修者，其知甚淺鮮，假若真知，必能真行，因理實且玄。

（二）人知山有寶，誰不費力找，或有人不找者，定未知寶好，佛聖苦修道，亦因知道妙，若不知妙理，誰願受煎熬，由觀聖佛，苦修之故，是因真知了。

（三）人聖本同靈，為何歸超異，就因為人與聖，知錯行不一，由真假之中，判明人高低，品行高低內，分天堂地獄，由觀行動，與真假知，大大有關係。

（四）求道如牛毛，得道如牛角，推原委是因人，真理未明曉，若果真知理，必須勤修制，考魔志不掉，冤欠拉不倒，若未真知，無上妙理，聞風能嚇跑。

（五）由此來觀看，真知最重要，然多數未真知，其病在哪條，若究其根本，前人太辭勞，掌櫃學懶惰，成全未辦到，因此後學，未能真知，故難真修道。

（六）天道是救人，人多不明白，人若知道救他，他何敢徘徊，力修尚不暇，哪有空疑猜，由觀知行意，確切有實在，萬望前者，多給後學，把理講解開。

（七）怎樣算救眾，教人能知行，若是說人已知，不願去行功，這種偏面理，老僧概不懂，傻知饑求食，何況不傻生，人知道劫，誰肯舍道，甘心入劫中。

（八）徒聽師遺囑，快下大功夫，真救人苦成全，舍此別無路，逆此性命險，遵話福氣粗，是逆或是遵，賢者各自主，總言未來，天堂地獄，在眾知行處。

（九）後學前人家，各把良心拿，萬不可度了人，扔下不管啦，因民在水火，全在咱救呀，咱救不到底，如同害了他，徒等想想，咱若害人，怎不受天罰。

（十）掌櫃苦勸到，後學亦須曉，因目下除修外，無法性命保，然眾怎能修，求知第一條，知而後必行，行久乃成道，如此方不，負汝前人，與師苦口告。

第十八章　成仙功課　五首

（一）諸徒得了真天道，澈底要明曉，萬勿糊塗著，明真理學佛規，記熟歌願表，識字須看訓，不識多聽道，常參班研究，佛語要記明，行走坐臥，學而時習，不可遺忘了。

（二）引保求道誓，清口與輕凡，捨身願頂劫願，保薦承命全，陰陽結緣表，皆當記熟爛，血淚與雲鞋，懺悔潔白言，清口歌等，背會寫會，講會去實幹。

（三）作揖磕頭形，願懺敬神靈，參辭駕大典禮，人人皆須明，點道獻請事，更當要隆重，辦畢先傳寶，後講修道情，內功度己，外功度人，功圓果滿成。

（四）先看舍羅漢，訓子十誡事，七真傳湘子傳，歷史佛修史，人倫大道書，道理淺言旨，開卷得益記，轉瞬勿忘失，參悟考證，乃知道貴，不是師哄爾。

（五）以上多學會，正己正人為，真誠修功德培，欠誰債還誰，無債躲劫去，身到白陽內，清洪雙兼受，超祖拔玄皈，天爵人爵，先苦後甜，算莫空受罪。

第十九章　渡己渡人　十五首

（一）人初性善心無二，日久因見習，原性被物移，染於蒼則為蒼，染黃則黃矣，如今修道要，毛病脾氣去，性外嗜好盡，存心獨克己，家庭社會，好壞轉移，與此有關係。

（二）若擔修道名，不肯真修去，掛羊頭賣狗肉，一副假面具，堯言盜蹠行，舍親不舍妻，不孝不悌義，無信無禮義，這人才是，整個鄉願，到頭害自己。

（三）若想不自害，須真重克己，學三省遵四勿，格致誠正齊，澈底真懺悔，慎獨修身體，佛訓前人語，銘心實作去，內聖無憾，然後才像，一個度人的。

（四）正己能化人，因你標杆作，一勸人人即修，全憑好人格，若無克己功，度人人扭悖，克己得天助，助你度迷客，皇天無親，惟德是輔，輔你蓮台坐。

（五）最要是成全，使人把道明，不管是男和女，明道把口清，親友化親友，再催他行動，財法無畏施，教他把債平，使他全家，培功立德，救人算救成。

（六）識字多看訓，不識聽講說，並叫他記明白，佛規願表歌，一旦他明理，定要感你德，誰使人成道，誰是接引佛，龍華會上，你前他後，母見心歡樂。

（七）救人救到底，萬勿半途棄，本來是求道後，不講不明晰，想昔人救咱，費了多少力，咱今度了人，豈能不講理，勿藐人難，理要說到，頑石也會意。

（八）你不成全他，您升他墜下，他見你成了道，定要將你罵，昔勸我求道，怎不給說罰法，即不給說法，勸求道作啥，你這前人，真正可恨，把我害苦啦。

（九）地獄抽了丁，閻君不肯收，天堂上雖掛號，未修天不留，環境壓迫下，律部把狀投，你總成了佛，審判也須受，審判結果，你功他分，降級把臉丟。

（十）諸佛恥笑你，在世貪享受，你簡直未把道，放在心裏頭，度人不成全，此罰應該有，告你的後學，得意忘了憂，你到此步，總享清洪，師亦替難受。

（十一）你說他在世，不像修道士，他定說你怎知，我非修道子，胡黃白柳灰，能修證仙職，吾以堂堂人，不能了生死，總言你前，玩忽責任，有理亦過失。

（十二）由這事看來，度人多成全，不成全你這德，總不算圓滿，德稍虧成道，萬世心抱歉，成全心盡到，對方自打算，結果就是，你成他墜，他也難怨咱。

（十三）眾徒明白此，快發聖佛心，莫說是救親友，還要救世人，咱雖救了人，正是救自身，咱不救人成，咱也落紅塵，三期末劫，眾生度佛，佛也度乾坤。

（十四）修道日無多，各自竭力做，這一次龍華會，分功定名額，大德證本位，虛願結虛果，母開酬勞會，天榜名不磨，望各努力，大顯身手，功占頭一個。

（十五）賺錢不懼多，培德豈怕厚，德愈厚果愈優，心裏愈好受，不看五教主，聖凡殿裏頭，站班千萬人，皆昔教主救，從古到今，哪個聖人，進殿不磕頭。

第二十章　實成虛不成　十二首

（一）你們得的一樣道，爲何有上超，亦有墜塵囂，這道理在修者，誠實與虛巧，誠實真參悟，結果得著妙，虛巧湊熱鬧，毫無重視道，日久實修，虛者裏足，歸宿分出了。

（二）虛情假意者，心更常疑惑，有疑惑還不肯，悟理求解脫，人前裝智慧，真理毫不得，有人給他講，他比你話多，時過境遷，無人理他，他也甘墜落。

（三）還有應酬人，聽講瞎點頭，其實說他肚中，道理毫沒有，應酬將自害，畫虎類似狗，勸有此病者，快改來真修，若不慎前，定悔于後，萬世淚常流。

（四）誠意克己者，埋首苦幹能，日積德月培功，三施施不停，心似仙佛心，性是聖仙性，舍己而從人，貫始又澈終，行此好事，莫問結果，無爲道自成。

（五）春種谷一鬥，秋收糧萬石，春不種秋不收，這理本自然，總能拾人麥，能拾幾多籃，家有修道人，誰修誰成仙，不修總沾，修道之光，能沾多少點。

（六）一家兩兄弟，弟誠兄不誠，商量好兄顧凡，弟弟只辦聖，這祥的結果，兄能分弟功，兄弟皆明誠，還要這樣行，結果弟成，當兄不修，絕對不能成。

（七）賢徒重修道，如重命脈理，一不修如脈將，由遲而絕矣，救世爲本分，瞬時不敢息，迷徒與賢比，由天差到地，由此想著，人升你墜，算屈不算屈。

（八）不知爲什麽，人心如爻卦，常想著成聖佛，又想把財發，予見之心理，終究放不下，丹陽富且舍，你發財作啥，魚與熊掌，不可兼得，修者死心吧。

（九）修道與成道，迷悟是根苗，迷則退悟則修，只差一念頭，迷悟之結果，修者要識透，識透持慧劍，常和迷魔鬥，佛性心燈，常常添油，照向天堂走。

（十）成道本易事，看衆否有志，是志者修十年，如初誠修日，不但無忐忑，勇進且不止，這樣僧敢保，能作天人師，望衆明此，立起骨幹，奔上極樂世。

（十一）良辰因將完，急壞氣界仙，他早想施顯化，布道來建善，奈彼有佛管，行功不隨便，佛擋彼修故，爲使衆修煉，不然之間，仙已化世，人想行功難。

（十二）望衆早醒點，不可再遲延，趁身體能自便，湊時有幾天，借著己人緣，來與佛緣連，莫怕魔考咱，勿懼受作難，苦口婆心，奔走勸世，光陰勿放閑。

第二十一章　道劫報應年　六首

（一）人生善惡兩條路，善有善報應，惡有惡答複，善者升惡者墜，理本無特殊，三期道與劫，即擔此任務，道中之報應，夙債軟解除，劫中答複，毀家傷身，上下兩分途。

（二）徒快忏悔過，莫再糊塗著，古今無帶罪客，就能成聖佛，罪過天罰媒，天罰怎成得，打開曆史看，天饒過哪個，無情天罰，除忏悔外，再無別法躲。

（三）人心善惡念，瞞人難瞞天，人私語天聞知，猶如雷一般，神目更如電，善惡自了然，故昔之聖訓，慎獨正意傳，根本古今，難免天公，報應巧手段。

（四）諸徒今修道，可說福不小，與辦道之前人，同院共住著，這樣能受教，志德凝至道，明理而改過，無形邀天保，修道多人，有幾常能，受教走正道。

（五）古修道多人，誰常受指引，今衆雖離前人，總能聆聖音，徒勿再暴棄，由緣而修份，敬聽天明命，舉動感天恩，守潔矩道，小心翼翼，臨淵履薄進。

（六）由此過兒少，天罰自然消，天罰無天賞到，才知修者高，上天賞罰在，生前死後報，衆知速修真，萬勿忐忑著，三天打魚，兩天曬網，天堂無此號。

第二十二章　考魔詳解　二十五首

（一）真道自古有考魔，考魔要無有，浪子成了佛，由此知考魔事，阻擋無緣客，古人修道衆，成道沒幾個，這個何緣故，就因有考魔，虛人修道，一遇考魔，鬼三溜四躲。

（二）考魔過去後，請他不肯來，像這樣修道者，滿肚是鬼胎，真正修道輩，心是大慷慨，無有考魔時，埋頭苦力賣，一遇考魔，沈毅應對，亦不動聲色。

（三）真正修道者，世事全看開，生與死雖大事，也置于度外，生死皆不動，何懼考魔來，即便有考魔，他也全明白，因他知道，考魔事情，全憑天制裁。

（四）假意修道者，是圖虛善名，在考魔未來時，議論四座驚，一旦考魔至，突然顯原形，如此之善士，莫怪難究竟，即務凡業，遇阻變心，啥事亦不成。

（五）考魔由天降，乃驗衆否誠，衆真誠這考魔，由重而轉輕，考魔你退志，天罰還加刑，考魔不退志，天慈助道宏，愈是考魔，大道愈明，甚至魔歸誠。

（六）天借魔驗你，見你志不移，魔查你的行動，又是很規矩，這樣無上誠，感動魔歸依，魔若回了頭，比佛還著急，那時你得，佛魔佑助，愁啥道不起。

（七）考魔這名稱，人多不願聽，殊不知這考魔，正是糖中精，糖精吃多苦，水泡甜晶晶，修道須從那，難中求清洪，若無考魔，修道人兒，怎能修的成。

（八）不信佛殿看，中坐只一名，千萬個站班人，擁此一佛聖，咱也不用想，居中的苦衆，徒等若不信，古經可考證，保險站班，全數生苦，不及佛一冬。

（九）考魔這舉動，並非惡事情，徒明此莫因爲，考魔不修行，考是考脾氣，魔是魔毛病，玉因琢成器，金煉值價重，道高一尺，魔高一丈，考大證果宏。

（十）孔子爲救世，亦曾受考魔，他足迹遍列國，受恥受辱多，削迹又伐檀，陳蔡七天餓，微服過宋國，桓如予何，集古大成，費盡心血，後入至聖閣。

（十一）釋迦慈且苦，雪山餓六年，跳深溝喂餓虎，天佑虎不餐，救兔臂喂鵬，鵬化頭頂站，歌利王解體，絲毫無怨言，感天授記，普度三曹，演法四九年。

（十二）觀音孝且苦，午門被絞身，焚雀寺神救他，香山去修真，王病手眼醫，二女皆不肯，妙善施手眼，夢告父孝心，醫化父修，因感帝封，千手千眼神。

（十三）邱祖修道考，受盡重陽辱，大餓死七十二，小餓無其數，潘溪行善事，三官帝驗渡，祈雨功德培，白雲化愚夫，遺龍門派，坐化受封，天仙狀元府。

（十四）丹陽請師修，受譏家産抛，孫不二油烹面，真心對師表，天德與素貞，娶嫁各退了，湘子燕爾夜，道念熾切高，入山苦修，虎阻不懼，結果成了道。

（十五）回祖傳回教，虛驚受不小，耶稣他傳基督，常被官趕跑，身釘十字架，罪可受夠了，三藏取經史，危險難盡告，神光求道，跪雪段臂，受了大魔考。

（十六）總觀聖佛仙，考魔皆無邊，然結果仙佛聖，裕後又光前，孔留衍聖宮，道留天師仙，佛留有達賴，還有神班禅，耶重牧師，回重欽使，古今人頌贊。

（十七）考魔既認清，埋首苦幹吧，爲救世爲了債，考魔多更佳，徒抱耶稣志，亦留十字架，如此庶感天，吉中逢凶化，下個決心，閉目塞耳，埋頭勇進吧。

（十八）考魔這事情，有由夙債起，故有人求道後，想修修不得，父母子互阻，夫妻彼此欺，兄弟姐妹們，不誠阻誠意，鄰居互嘲，親戚互譏，六親敵視你。

（十九）或有知己朋，因修斷交情，甚告您特務所，地方縣府中，特警及縣政，疑你有作用，酷法致招後，忏悔莫修行，這皆夙債，非是天驗，然誠危總平。

（二十）有受反考者，做事無錯失，但忽然前人知，硬說你不是，咱因前人昏，氣的不修持，有者受正考，做事錯合適，佛獎咱驕，藐視前人，功虛罪反實。

（二十一）有受逆考者，有修事逐懷，一修道事事壞，因此道離開，有者受順考，修道發了財，因其發了財，離道作買賣，這順逆考，由夙債故，拉你墜苦海。

（二十二）出門去辦道，天考大水澆，認明路走錯了，爬山過溝壕，涉水走險道，這是地之考，勸人人毀謗，這是人考到，衣食住行，器不順使，這是物考了。

（二十三）除外考魔至，自還考魔自，名利謀後代計，情枷愛鎖事，長期消散考，酒色財氣試，自找的考魔，勝外考魔至，外考易解，內魔難開，徒明當自治。

（二十四）辦事不圓滿，難免有考魔，然這些小考魔，不算啥風波，常有小考魔，人還慎防著，時常無考魔，衆將肆意作，故師願常，有小考魔，人慎免找過。

（二十五）考魔之總意，反正與順逆，內外考陰陽魔，總不順心意，天地人物考，時時常不休，真正修道人，愈考愈歡喜，假修善者，遇考回頭，真假判高低。

第二十三章　生死有定　二十首

（一）生死世人最關情，怕生貪死少，貪生怕死衆，人雖是如此想，但理又不同，惡人人咒死，善人人咒生，人咒即天咒，善惡在人性，由此則知，善惡生死，有重亦有輕。

（二）有爲人救星，人人欲其壽，此救星若一死，衆人實難受，有爲害人精，人皆欲其朽，此人若一死，萬民慶無憂，由此知人，生死事業，大大有來由。

（三）善人爲善死，萬民皆贊頌，善人爲貪財死，人卑假善行，人頌重泰山，人卑鴻毛輕，由觀生死事，爲人不必驚，只須要求，自身生死，有價值才成。

（四）惡人若回頭，爲善而犧牲，這一死如山重，人皆稱豪英，惡人欺人死，人卑其頑凶，不但無人頌，皆樂天報應，善惡生死，毫厘之差，千萬裏不同。

（五）生死這問題，衆徒多不悉，但總是生壽樂，死夭則不喜，這是何緣故，就因不明理，果知生死意，貪死惡生矣，徒等坐好，勿要瞌睡，聽師講明晰。

（六）徒未求道時，貪生而怕死，因徒等見生樂，未能知死事，即信死入獄，則更懼死矣，然今衆得道，與前恰反之，雖反衆仍，貪生懼死，因衆理未識。

（七）昔日順治皇，他明這道理，故而才舍帝位，五台山皈依，他言世如夢，天下一盤棋，十八年征討，空勞我心機，不如修道，赤手歸西，去穿如來衣。

（八）他厭生死日，未生誰是我，然生後我到底，又是哪一個，長大知自己，閉眼又知何，不如不來去，來喜去悲多，由觀帝王，亦懼死後，歸宿不安妥。

（九）念庵羅狀元，怕生又怕死，他說生造下孽，死後怎安適，今既生與世，及時應修之，不然生死後，想修已然遲，所以人應，生前計劃，死後一切事。

（十）順治與念庵，帝王狀元身，悟二位心腸話，真是傷腦筋，彼貴且如此，況汝衆俗人，修道了生死，看重當認真，不然空空，貪懼生死，到頭仍轉輪。

（十一）本來真天道，了死又超生，朝聞道夕死可，夫子早言明，了脫輪回內，把個死字空，建德達極樂，生超更遐齡，那時則如，不生不死，齊天孫大聖。

（十二）生死本天定，由人決不成，壽未盡跳河井，總要遇救星，刎頸刎不動，上吊斷了繩，早一日不死，遲一日不生，有道不怕，小鬼叫門，缺德保不定。

（十三）衆徒明白此，生死要看淡，一切的由天管，人勿胡盤算，爲道小犧牲，按功列仙班，爲道大犧牲，定證大羅仙，由此知死，無形分出，鴻毛與泰山。

（十四）關聖死于義，嶽飛死于忠，這二聖非善終，碧血照漢青，關嶽死于國，義忠留英名，諸徒爲天道，事重于蜀宋，衆徒想想，爲道一死，光榮不光榮。

（十五）聖賢亦要死，俗夫難永生，生死間只分個，到底爲啥情，若爲衆生死，死如終南重，若爲身家死，死如牛毛輕，衆等明此，生死真義，放膽去修行。

（十六）還有不敢修，怕修活不成，凡有此心理病，真是糊塗蟲，修道靠了天，還怕無壽齡，不修倒可以，活出花甲中，事如屬實，道門之內，早就冷清清。

（十七）不過這其中，有一段理由，你求道行小功，慢步西方走，債主知道此，自要慌了手，師難保佑你，債亦跟你後，你果慷慨，建德還債，債無活鶴齡。

（十八）況日死萬民，有幾修道人，如天殺修道者，道早關了門，道本救人心，怎能害人身，一般傻徒弟，此理要認真，莫聽孽子，胡說八道，散了修道心。

（十九）不然爲道死，也算有價值，遲若是早若是，聖凡皆若是，何如爲道了，頂劫救衆誓，效古諸祖事，證位天人師，尤如耶稣，十字招牌，古今人頌之。

（二十）普度說人生，就如一盞燈，人死了如燈滅，這話是實情，然聖凡人死，結果就不同，凡死轉輪回，聖死則永生，徒等明此，努力自強，證位在大雄。

第二十四章　最使一勸　二十五首

（一）天道隱費隨時作，先修後單傳，重道修者多，因人未忘回家，他非修不可，千裏訪口訣，萬裏拜真佛，鐵鞋皆磨破，不見佛不辍，赤誠感天，佛引見帝，離脫苦閻羅。

（二）三期道易入，修不費工夫，爲什久少人修，病因在何處，故由人心壞，勸人者糊塗，說不出真理，成全標杆無，這個毛病，再不改良，影響道前途。

（三）勸道的通病，真理未稍明，不看書不聽講，還無好悟性，聽人講吧困，人聽咱吧空，肚裏無材料，在不下苦功，這樣勸人，自跑白說，簡直毫無用。

（四）勸人沒材料，只說道真好，人盤你三不知，再問臉紅了，頭回鬧沒趣，再去被人嘲，由此知化世，口才也重要，買賣不成，非人爲難，咱話未說到。

（五）勸徒下苦功，搜道好材料，莫推說年紀老，記性也不好，誰老過太公，以及若梁灏，性無欲纏繞，見啥自易曉，當然衆要，欲滿肚腔，理自難記牢。

（六）師見此難過，可笑又可愁，不教衆母難受，教衆衆打吼，這些愚迷徒，貪懶惰享受，指教不肯聽，真是吾束手，罷罷罷罷，就說這回，修否衆自由。

（七）我先問衆位，修道是爲誰，躲劫難爲誰躲，培德爲誰培，佛聖成了道，豈怕劫摧毀，不爲救你們，怎來世受罪，說來講去，佛爲你等，你還昏頭睡。

（八）這次非母慈，衆怎把道入，拿幾個功德費，還覺吃虧處，人勸你求道，八個不不不，勸修你扭脖，畏懼如老虎，憑徒哼像，就拜爲師，師還不收徒。

（九）事已成過往，師不記衆狂，惟望衆早回頭，自救救善良，應效古聖哲，化世留遺芳，心中切莫存，做官發財想，因處亂世，智修愚貪，徒當算清賬。

（十）有個大毛病，衆徒承認否，即參班表面看，人人誠心有，仙佛前人話，完全齊接受，亦知道寶貴，立願頗順口，就是出班，變了心眼，仍被凡魔誘。

（十一）凡魔怎麽破，須用五件寶，誠志恒貪忍舍，再加瘋顛藥，悟你前人話，聖訓內研討，整個心與性，叫道布滿了，效您前人，怎舍怎修，就可成了道。

（十二）主要全家修，重聖凡稍顧，家人閑皆辦道，自當更辛苦，早起晚睡覺，猛勇把道助，如此全家修，劫來天必護，若舍不開，全家定要，遇難與牛虎。

（十三）父母不明白，跪倒說利害，父母孝兄弟愛，老幼拿禮待，說天道寶貴，說劫難快來，說紅塵是夢，說産多是害，柔度家鄰，和化親友，皆培德防災。

（十四）親戚與朋友，四鄰本族等，全憑你言行端，理化德感動，笑面講道理，言明救彼等，彼醒將你效，亦度親鄰朋，如此後學，道成定說，前人是至聖。

（十五）修身齊家園，正己化坤乾，聖佛任是如此，咱做咱不凡，讀書難成佛，作工難成賢，種田難成聖，爲商難成仙，曆史證明，救人化世，才是真羅漢。

（十六）成道莫說起，還債是問題，你修仙不還債，債主豈能依，不依不敢要，懼看師面皮，師擋冤討債，因怕考落你，師意替衆，一面擋債，一方勸衆棄。

（十七）命債度人了，傷人受刑還，前世裏輕打人，修道受苦完，坑蒙拐騙案，想還舍家産，家産舍佛前，建德又體面，師撥你德，填完你債，你自能安然。

（十八）師保債要緩，五分減二三，但不能因得道，債就不用還，徒要善還債，有功反成仙，你若不善還，無德遭劫難，兩條道路，一善一惡，徒等自擇前。

（十九）爲命培功德，這藥真合格，除修道無別途，保你家安妥，走此道路者，非仙即是佛，悖壞此路者，非鬼即是魔，告汝衆徒，明此真義，速走勿忐忑。

（二十）勸人講明晰，天道真道理，使人人傾心修，了債救自己，一旦修成道，朝母在無極，先天享清福，勝世做皇帝，徒等明此，各自致力，救世度人哩。

（二十一）你若明道貴，當恨道晚得，恨晚得再不修，定成後悔佛，莫說龍華會，眼紅肚氣破，不遠劫難到，胸捶腳又跺，師今此言，你衆未信，不久即當著。

（二十二）末世人愚頑，不認命認錢，個個服大膽丸，劫中仍貪戀，佛教垂象告，人總猶如前，一旦劫來至，求佛佛不管，托人搭救，別人也害，與你病一般。

（二十三）徒把師之言，半夜摸心參，對不對自定奪，莫作糊塗漢，對了跑步跑，不對向後轉，若修就實修，不修師勾盤，時不等人，發財後修，修成再收圓。

（二十四）一顆果子樹，生果數千個，有由于經風雨，蟲吃生病落，好的收回家，不好由他破，修道亦如此，好歹難混合，故道宏了，來點小考，分出虛實客。

（二十五）舌敞唇又焦，好話已盡告，遵不遵修不修，在衆自斟酌，一條仙佛路，一條魔王道，齊排徒面前，看衆怎邁腳，毫厘之錯，千裏之謬，衆勿當玩笑。

跋

詩曰

救民慈情躍紙中　俗言道意一覽通
善信若能熟讀爛　十分真理知五成

跋

古來聖賢仙佛，無一位無一時，不是存心救世的，只要你們認字的人士，肯在聖賢仙佛的遺言裏探討，不識字的，肯以聽旁人講故事的精神，來聽人講聖賢仙佛的遺迹，那麽你們就很可容易了解，聖賢仙佛救世的苦心了，所謂聖賢仙佛，他們除去應運倒裝隨像現身，或留經注典來啓迪衆生外，更有卓絕的苦行，洪深的誓願，例如孔聖老安少懷，使世界臻至大同的志向。太上想使人，渾渾噩噩返回太古純樸的心願。釋迦更有度盡恒河沙數衆生的願心，並誓說，一日未度盡世界衆生，一日不算圓滿佛道。耶稣把人民移搬到天國上。穆聖把汙濁的人世改成清真的境界。南海度不盡世界衆生，誓願倒坐蓮台。地藏擬撤空地府。純陽計人滿西方。以及近世學者，烏托邦理想之鄉等，在都表明了聖賢仙佛救世的苦衷。前有鋼鐵似的史冊，來印證這些大慈大悲的事實，說來好像是聖賢救度衆生非度盡不可。說有一個生靈未被救拯，那麽就如自己的身心上有極大的一塊瘡患未能愈全，由此處看來，聖賢仙佛慈愛下民已是具有高度的誠摯了。僧值此末期，曾發洪願，焉敢懷絲毫怠惰，有忝於聖賢仙佛的行列，所以不辭風雨，竭盡棉薄，以僧的思與心，腦與手，來寫《濟世寶筏》一書，文雖俗理，意卻深邃，惟望一般善信人士，對書中事理，反複追尋探索，僧心深處信受奉行，以自己的時與手口與腳來謄錄或對人講勸，如此庶可無負余衷，有益于自性吧，善信若能對此篇，熟讀背爛，則十分真理可知五成，勉之勵之，我正拭目以望呢。

壬申歲冬月二十六日恭錄于元貞佛堂勝寫

另附

太上老君詩

三點如星布　　　橫鈎似月斜
披毛從此出　　　成佛亦由他

普庵祖師詩

畜牲本是人來做　人畜輪回古到今
若不披毛並戴角　勸君休使畜牲心

詩曰

善人是不善之師　不善是善人之資
今若是以師化資　絕對是流芳萬世

詩曰

爲佛證聖真妙方　全在心正知行上
假若心邪知行怠　靈山寶地成荒場

Source Colophon

Chinese source text from the Morality Books Library (善書圖書館), taolibrary.com, Category 9, item c9029. The site states: 歡迎轉載，上傳，翻印，流通 ("Welcome to reprint, upload, reproduce, and circulate").

The Precious Raft for Saving the World was composed at the Yuanzhen Dharma Altar (元貞法壇) and first recorded in the twelfth month of the renshen year (壬申, likely 1932). It was first printed in Shanghai in the summer of the jiashen year (甲申, 1944). The text belongs to the morality book (善書, shanshu) corpus — freely distributed works of religious and moral instruction.

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