皇母訓子十戒
The Ten Admonitions of the Imperial Mother (皇母訓子十戒, Huángmǔ Xùnzǐ Shíjiè) is the theological heart of Yiguandao (一貫道, the Way of Pervading Unity). Where the True Scripture of Maitreya is the tradition's daily prayer, the Ten Admonitions is its genesis and its eschatology — the Eternal Venerable Mother (無極老母, Wújí Lǎomǔ) speaking directly to her lost children, telling them who they are, where they came from, and how to come home.
The text was revealed through spirit-writing (扶乩, fújī) on the fifteenth day of the intercalary sixth month of the thirtieth year of the Republic — 1941 CE, in the midst of the Second World War. The Mother identifies herself as the True Lord of Creation (造物真主), the Ancient Sovereign of the Unborn (無皇老), and proceeds to tell the story of how she sent her ninety-six hundred million children down from the Heaven of Principle (理天) to populate the Eastern Land. She did this by a ruse: she brewed wine from her own blood, got the bodhisattvas drunk, and while they bathed she took back their immortal garments — stranding them in the mortal world. The rest of the scripture is her anguished call for them to wake up and return home before the great calamity of the Third Period sweeps the world clean.
This is the first complete English translation. The Chinese source text is from the 善書圖書館 (Morality Books Library, taolibrary.com), which states: 歡迎轉載，上傳，翻印，流通 — "Welcome to reprint, upload, reproduce, and circulate."
A single bright pearl —
the Lord on High bestowed it upon his children.
The Sovereign of the Unborn lowers the path of awakening;
the Ancient One points out the way for the lost.
I am the True Lord who created all things,
the Ancient Sovereign of the Unborn.
Leading my attendants and guards,
my carriage descends to the Eastern Land.
Buddha-children, stand in your ranks
and hear your Mother compose this writing.
Admonitions descend upon the Eastern Land,
pointing to the source of the stream.
Sons and daughters, return to the root
and bow before Tianran.
At the crossroads the spiritual aperture is opened —
I admonish the imperial embryos: press forward with all your strength.
The First Admonition
The Mother tells the story of creation: how her children lived in paradise, how she tricked them into descending to the mortal world, and how she has wept for them ever since.
First Admonition: original Buddha-children,
listen carefully to the root and source.
The golden brush moves and reveals
the wondrous mysteries of heaven.
Remember: in the beginning,
before heaven was divided, before chaos was judged,
in the dark darkness, with no self and no other —
an empty, formless whole.
Ninety-six hundred million original Buddha-children
gathered together in the Prior Heaven,
without sorrow, without vexation,
free and at peace.
Immortal brothers and immortal sisters
were always at one's side,
coming and going together,
never leaving one another.
In the Land of Ultimate Bliss they roamed freely,
playing as they pleased,
riding azure dragons, straddling rainbow phoenixes,
in immeasurable majesty.
In leisure they roamed
the wondrous vistas of the Prior Heaven;
when weariness came,
they played chess or plucked the zither.
They ate immortal peaches and jade nectar;
they wore cloud-piercing shoes and immortal robes.
Wuji is the holy realm,
the perfectly good precious land —
still yet responsive,
pervading all transformations,
the root and source of all that lives.
From the time the Zi period arrived
and the cosmic cycle was fulfilled,
I commanded Seven Buddhas
to govern heaven and earth.
Eighteen thousand years the cycle turned;
heaven began to form.
Waiting until the Chou period was full,
earth was made complete.
Clear qi rose to become the celestial canopy,
arranging the constellations.
Turbid qi descended and congealed into earth —
lakes, seas, mountains, and rivers.
At the Yin period, heaven and earth joined;
sun and moon shone together.
Yin and yang harmonized in misty union,
and all beings were born complete.
This is the wondrous root
of Prior Heaven's creation:
Wuji in stillness,
Taiji in motion,
Huangji as heaven and earth.
Dao is Principle and Principle is Dao —
the wonder of empty spirit.
Dao gives birth to One,
One to Two, Two to Three.
One root scatters into myriad forms,
from nothing entering being —
its profundity is such that even immortals
can scarcely speak it fully.
Heaven formed, earth established,
all things fully prepared —
but the Eastern Land was empty of people,
lacking women and men.
At that time I was at a loss.
Only then did I part with my ninety-six hundred million children,
sending them all down to the mortal world.
Time and again I dispatched original Buddhas
down to the Eastern Land,
but each time they came they returned —
unwilling to settle the mortal realm.
Having no recourse, I brewed wine from my own blood.
On the slopes of the Three Mountains
I coaxed the bodhisattvas and Buddha-sons drunk.
One by one they came to bathe in the great immortal pool —
and seizing the chance,
I took back their immortal garments and shoes
to the Heaven of Principle.
When the Buddha-children woke from the wine
they could not see my face,
nor could they find their immortal clothes and shoes
anywhere at all.
As their Mother I wept bitter tears
and called out to my original children:
"All of you, hasten east — cling no more!
If I gave back the immortal garments and shoes,
not one of you would consent
to dwell in the mortal world."
Breaking branches and gathering leaves against the cold,
eating pine nuts when hungry, drinking clear springs when thirsty,
the Buddha-children, as if their souls were lost,
wept and lamented.
They asked me:
"When may we return home?"
I answered:
"At the end of the Third Period,
the great universal salvation will open.
I myself will send letters, deliver messages,
and personally save the original Buddhas."
The children, still doubtful,
raised their voices in grief.
I wrote the covenant
and gave it to the imperial originals.
From then on, my original Buddha-children
hastened to the Eastern Land,
governing the world, becoming men and women,
establishing human civilization.
The children scattered east and west —
how could I not grieve?
From then on, my Buddha-children
endured all manner of suffering.
To this day, counting on my fingers,
more than sixty thousand years have passed.
Whenever I think of my children
suffering in the world, my heart knows no peace.
Now the true mechanism unfolds
across the whole earth.
All heavenly spirits, immortals, and Buddhas
descend together to the Eastern Grove.
Everywhere they manifest transformations
to startle the deluded children awake —
through flying phoenix-writing or through borrowed apertures,
they personally save the true originals.
In the sea of suffering they sail the Dharma boat,
saving the ninety-two hundred million.
The affairs of the Three Heavens are managed in the human world —
heaven works through people.
Each of you should be ever more diligent,
striving without rest,
transmitting for the Master,
transforming on Heaven's behalf,
assisting your Master.
The Dao relies on people to spread;
people rely on heaven for help.
When heaven and humanity connect,
merit is vigorously established.
Now in the north the Dao has been propagating for a long time,
yet it is hard to find great pillars —
the truly true among the true.
Therefore I now lower these Ten Admonitions,
urging my good children
to hear and understand together.
To cultivate the Heavenly Dao,
one cannot part from opening, elucidating, and converting.
Develop the compassionate heart
and use earnest words, never tiring of teaching others.
You must establish
a great resolve that reaches heaven.
What matters is that you actually practice —
correct yourself and bring others to completion.
To hang up an empty name, to look good on the surface,
to fill a place like an unplayed instrument —
if it is like this,
it will be hard to return
to the gate of the Land of Ultimate Bliss.
Or again, those who wear a false mask
and do things for show —
in the end they will certainly
sink and fall.
To stop and start, to work and quit,
to abandon the path halfway —
the ruined soul is pressed beneath Yin Mountain
and can never turn over again.
I hope my original Buddha-children
will awaken soon and quickly!
Press forward with fierce courage,
persevere from beginning to end,
and you will certainly attain the truth.
When outer merit is full and inner merit complete,
hasten to save and convert.
The upper-vehicle rank, the thousand-petal lotus —
established right here in the dust of the world.
Even if you are a great Arhat
or a Buddha-ancestor descended to earth,
without true merit and real good works
you cannot return to the jade forest.
Hear my counsel — you must not refuse to rouse yourselves!
If you are slow by even one step,
it will be hard to establish merit.
As leaders and as altar-masters,
the responsibility is great.
If one person is foolish,
ten thousand people fall —
misleading yourself, misleading others.
But if one person is clear
and their wisdom vast,
they can lead the worthy and guide the multitude,
and ten thousand become true.
Now I charge the officers, altar-masters, and leaders:
each of you should steel your resolve,
adding diligence upon diligence.
What method can ferry the lost across to shore?
What strategy can move the multitude
to bring forth the true mind?
The mind should be like drifting clouds,
the will like flowing water,
bending up and down, fitting square and round,
able to yield and to stretch.
Flowing with harmony is too much —
make Principle your standard.
Sweep away greed and anger,
cut off delusion and attachment;
pure and still is the Dharma body.
The higher the merit, the more perilous the position —
be cautious at every moment.
Those who reach the highest peak
fall from it into an abyss ten thousand fathoms deep.
The higher you fly, the harder you fall —
this is a fixed principle.
How can the wise allow themselves
to become the foolish?
Fear the three fears, ponder the nine reflections,
and let word and deed watch over each other.
Follow the three examinations,
keep the four restraints —
only then are you truly worthy.
Obey the admonitions and enter the holy realm —
enjoy Ultimate Bliss forever.
Disobey, follow your own will,
and hell will be your dwelling.
I have written one passage — Buddha-children, hold it fast.
The three talents rest; sit quietly a moment.
Then I shall lower another admonition.
The Second Admonition
On the nature of the Dao: empty yet not empty, the Three Teachings as one, and the urgency of awakening to the true self.
Second Admonition: original Buddha-children,
clarify your nature and mind early.
Awaken to true principle and cultivate the Heavenly Dao —
truly empty, yet not empty.
Empty is Nothing, Nothing is Being;
Being and Nothing share one root.
Form is Emptiness, Emptiness is Form —
neither form nor emptiness.
Remember: before qi was divided,
before chaos was judged,
one mass of Principle, without sound or scent,
dark and dim and fathomless.
Wuji moves, Taiji appears;
yin and yang are determined.
The Three Powers are born,
the Four Symbols divide,
the Five Phases transform.
The Six Seasons are judged,
the Seven Governors arrayed,
the Nine Palaces and Eight Trigrams —
separating forward and reverse,
manifesting fullness and void,
all kinds fully born.
Speak of the profound,
discuss the empty —
how many can understand?
This true principle is the ancient luminous spirit,
supremely empty, supremely pure.
Without yin or yang, without opposition,
neither increasing nor decreasing,
without form, without support, without image —
yet not mere void.
Neither blue nor red,
neither cold nor hot,
neither still nor moving —
the source of ten thousand transformations,
the true mysterious mechanism
hidden within this.
Not hidden, not between;
without color or form,
supremely mysterious, supremely wondrous.
Look — you cannot see it.
Listen — you cannot hear it.
It fills form and emptiness alike.
Unmoving, unchanging,
unmanifest, undeclared,
by non-action it transforms —
the true ruler, the great pivot,
reaching and transforming all spirits.
High without summit,
beyond the Nine Heavens,
beyond form and emptiness.
Deep without bottom,
wrapping the underworld,
the Nine Darknesses and Ten Hells.
Pervading heaven and earth,
pervading the Three Realms,
there is nowhere it does not pervade.
Heaven and earth, joined with all creation —
apart from this, all becomes empty.
It is called the Dao,
it is called the True One,
transforming the universe.
This is the true source —
the root-stem of Wuji.
Dao in heaven — heaven is clear and bright,
the celestial board turns and revolves,
the constellations are arrayed,
the sun and moon are set in motion,
one qi flows through all.
Dao in earth — earth congeals and coheres,
mountains and rivers nourish and grow,
the myriad beings are born,
the myriad things are sustained,
all relying on the One to form.
Dao in people — people become sages,
knowing awareness, movement, and stillness.
People have the Dao
yet do not know the Dao —
and so they cannot transcend.
The principle of the Three Teachings is not two —
all are commissioned by Heaven
to transmit the Dao, which is this
wondrous spirit of empty nothingness.
In the Dao it is called the Golden Elixir;
in Buddhism, the śarīra;
in Confucianism, the Heavenly Nature.
All are this luminous spirit —
the names differ, the principle is the same.
Through a thousand ages there has been no second method;
the Dao has never been a second Dao.
Immortals, Buddhas, and Sages
all transmitted the mind-seal —
one root, one lineage.
Understand one method, know ten thousand methods;
every method becomes clear.
A thousand Buddha-sutras,
ten thousand Sage-books —
one principle threads them all.
Since the Three Sages returned to heaven,
nirvana and cessation ended the transmission.
The thread was cut; the Dao was not transmitted.
The teachings remained in the East,
but the living transmission was lost.
To this day, three thousand years,
and no one has understood.
Divergent paths emerged,
ten thousand teachings unfolded,
but the true principle was not made clear.
Now the universal salvation opens,
receiving Heaven's mandate and carrying its charge.
The Dragon-Flower Assembly —
heaven opens to select and unfurl the ancestral wind.
Continuing upward the secret of Wuji,
the profound intent of the Three Sages —
opening the minds of all beings alike,
together boarding the boat to cross.
The supreme-vehicle true secret —
who can understand it?
Seek the true lineage,
find the enlightened Master,
and the Great Dao is achieved.
Having obtained the Heavenly Dao,
quickly perform meritorious works;
using the provisional, cultivate the true.
The Dao is empty, yet emptiness never ends —
all that exists becomes emptiness.
A human life in the world
is like one grain of millet in the great sea,
riding the tide in, riding the tide out,
unable to tell west from east.
Wine, lust, wealth, and anger
have blinded the original Buddha-nature.
Greedy for the seven emotions,
stained by the six desires,
the original spirit is veiled.
The waves of the desire-sea never cease —
the yoke of passion, the chains of love.
Clinging to wealth and rank,
greedy for glory and splendor —
the net-rope of fame and gain.
In the flint-spark, in the lightning-flash —
how can these things last?
Like a passing gleam of light,
one flash and the fruit of karma is formed.
The deluded do not realize
that the red dust is false.
They take suffering for pleasure —
like ants, like flies.
In a hundred years, barely thirty-six thousand days —
think: how many of those
can the body rest in peace?
Young, then strong; strong, then old;
old, then gone.
Sour and sweet mixed with bitter and sharp —
how it wounds the heart!
Birth, aging, sickness, death, and suffering —
who can escape them?
In a blink the little child
has become a white-haired elder.
You come with empty hands;
you leave with empty hands;
you cannot take a single coin.
All you have left is a lonely grave,
and your body sinks into the dark.
Whether you are wealthy or a king or a lord,
the rewards and punishments are fixed.
Karma settles: beasts become people,
people become beasts.
From the Yin period to this day,
tens of thousands of years.
The suffering of rebirth never ceases —
its desolation beyond description.
Leaving this door, entering that door,
changing houses —
Zhang family's son, Li family's daughter —
round after round of emptiness.
The more one turns, the more lost one becomes,
day by day sinking lower,
forgetting the Prior-Heaven Mother,
forgetting the Unborn Nature.
The human root descends from Prior Heaven —
one lineage of the Spirit Mountain.
Sages gain nothing more;
common folk lose nothing less —
sage and common share one origin.
Those who awaken become sages
and ascend to Ultimate Bliss.
Those who remain deluded are common and dull,
and fall into the dark.
These immortals and deities —
all of them were once common people.
No one was ever born
an immortal, a Buddha, or a god.
I hope my children
will distinguish true from false early —
awaken from the lost road,
bow before the true Master,
and return to the origin.
The Third Admonition
On the red dust as a sea of suffering, and cultivation as the way home.
Third Admonition: original Buddha-children,
cultivate the true — this is the good path.
This red dust is a sea of suffering,
its waves vast and boundless.
A human life is like a mayfly —
born at dawn, dead by dusk.
Who can escape
the courts of the Fifth King of Hell?
All day long, laboring bitterly,
rushing north, running south.
Like cattle and horses
driven to a barren field.
A few decades of light —
birth, aging, sickness, death.
A thousand scenes, ten thousand affairs —
flower-dew, grass-frost.
Chasing fame and gain,
pursuing wealth and rank,
drifting between life and death.
Clinging to a beautiful wife,
doting on beloved children —
one great dream, then waking.
The red dust is a desolate world;
its bitterness is beyond telling.
The seven emotions and six desires
have bewitched the sons and daughters.
Even if you own a fortune
of ten thousand strings of cash,
fields of a thousand acres
yielding grain that rises daily —
even if you build tall towers
and grand wide halls,
you sleep on only eight feet of bed
and cannot lie on two.
Even if gold and silver
pile up mountain-high,
when you go to the shades
you cannot bring a single coin.
Even if you wear silks and satins,
garments bright and fine —
they only keep out the cold and heat,
shielding from wind and frost.
Even if you feast on rare delicacies
at extraordinary banquets —
for the sake of your mouth and belly
you slaughter living things;
the sins are hard to bear.
Even if you make merry daily,
your heart at ease, your spirit bright —
a hundred years pass like a dream,
a snap of the fingers.
Even if you have a fine wife,
lovely concubines, handsome children —
on the road to the Yellow Springs
you part in four directions.
How desolate!
I sigh, and tears fall
over this world of five turbidities.
I hope my imperial embryos
will not let their hearts be lost.
The mortal world is only a playground —
who is grandfather, who is grandchild,
who is daughter, who is wife?
If you can awaken,
let the whole family cultivate together —
walk in merit, establish virtue,
and return together to the immortal homeland.
In the Later Heaven, cultivate the true Dao —
one family's auspiciousness.
When complete, in the Prior Heaven,
all gathered together in one hall.
This rare chance, this wondrous mystery —
never before manifest since the ancient past.
How pitiable that the worldly deluded
will not wake from their dream.
Those who serve as officials still dream of the highest rank;
those who pursue profit are never satisfied.
They only grasp and cling
and never stop to think,
forgetting the road of death
that leads to the King of Hell.
Those who awaken: cultivate the truth early
and journey to the Prior Heaven.
Those who do not:
their deluded hearts wander,
and hell is their desolation.
Heaven and abyss —
two roads split by a single thought.
If for one moment the mind errs,
you bear sorrow forever.
The suffering of the underworld —
one word cannot describe it.
The Karma Mirror reflects you,
and all your sins are revealed.
If your deeds were good,
there is still the next life's blessings to enjoy —
but when blessings are spent,
you must still fall. How can it last?
If your deeds were evil, there is no reckoning to be made,
no argument to offer.
According to your sins,
the punishments are applied —
you bear them yourself.
There are knife-mountains and oil-cauldrons,
instruments of every kind;
the great saw that cleaves,
the iron mill that grinds,
dogs that drink blood-soup.
Into the River of Nai fall
old and young, great and small.
Ten layers of the Great Hell —
the sight makes the heart ache.
To speak of this suffering
is more than I can bear.
Without willing it,
my tears roll down and fill my breast.
One wrong step, a thousand ages of regret —
it is truly so.
Lose the human body
and you sink forever,
unable to return to the immortal homeland.
Hear my counsel: cultivate the Heavenly Dao,
and your spirit will be refreshed.
Establish a firm resolve,
a vow that reaches heaven,
a mind like diamond.
Your nine generations of ancestors
are turning in the wheel, day and night longing —
longing for you to perform merit
and lift them from the ocean.
One wrong thought, and you fall —
that itself is not so terrible.
But you drag down your ancestors too,
who weep bitterly in the Yellow Springs.
Pressed beneath Yin Mountain
for sixty thousand years —
what kind of suffering is that?
Waiting for the next universal salvation
to board the boat of compassion again.
But when that time comes,
who can say you will obtain a human body
and receive the mysterious teaching?
Better by far to seize this moment
and hasten west at once —
awaken from the lost road
and follow me home to the Jade Country.
The Fourth Admonition
On the great calamity: why it comes, the state of the world, and the only way through.
Fourth Admonition: original Buddha-children,
practice in earnest — this is true cultivation.
Understand the times, know heaven's intent —
only then are you worthy.
These are the final days of the末劫;
the calamity of the Dao descends together with the calamity of the age.
Heaven and earth are being remade;
mountains and rivers reorganized;
the trigrams are being redrawn.
The source was originally benevolence;
compassion was the root.
Why then does this great calamity
descend upon the Eastern Land?
Consider: since the ancient past,
how could there be great calamities?
Yao, Shun, and Yu ruled as sages —
the people were happy and at ease.
When the human heart is upright,
heaven's heart is in accord —
what calamity could descend?
When the human heart turns crooked,
karma is self-invited,
and the great flood flows.
Look at the mortal dust:
broken customs, day by day sinking lower.
The rites and principles of the ancient sages —
no one pursues them.
They study cunning and deceit;
they scheme to swindle and defraud.
They destroy human relations
and ruin the bonds of society —
one word cannot encompass it.
Ruler is not ruler; minister is not minister —
the court is in disarray.
Brother lacks generosity; younger brother lacks forbearance —
they become enemies.
Friends lose faith;
word and deed no longer match.
The Five Relations have fallen,
the Eight Virtues have fallen —
no one seeks them anymore.
If not for this calamity descending now,
there would not be a single worthy person
left in all the world.
The Three Disasters and Eight Difficulties descend —
sword, flood, and fire.
Eighty-one tribulations of the ninety-nine,
spread across the entire globe.
Five great demons are dispatched
to throw the Eastern Land into chaos,
setting ten thousand traps and linked schemes
to harvest the wicked.
The heavenly number arrives,
the earthly number fills,
the cycle reaches its end —
and this too is because people created karma
and accumulated old debts.
Sixty thousand years' great purification
is fulfilled in this generation.
Jade is separated from stone,
good from evil,
lots are cast in every land.
With the eye of wisdom, look —
tears of blood roll down.
Evil fog pierces the sky,
rolling and billowing.
Across the four seas, demon winds rise;
there is no peace.
War erupts, bandits swarm —
nine out of ten are in sorrow.
Plague, famine, drought, and flood
come in uneven waves.
Across the world, the five grains fail;
not a blade of grass is harvested.
These disasters and difficulties are not the strangest thing.
What is most fearful
is the wind, water, and fire
that will scour the entire globe.
Black darkness for forty-nine days,
without sun or moon.
The gates of earth are opened;
ghosts are released to demand their debts.
Black and dark and desolate,
cold light fills the world.
They come to demand lives,
to collect debts, to settle accounts.
The celestial wind descends,
sweeping heaven and earth and cosmos,
sweeping the atmosphere,
scouring the Three Realms,
replacing the entire mechanism.
Even if your body were diamond,
forged of copper and iron,
you could not escape the true calamity-fire;
your life would not be spared.
Though this great calamity must descend,
in the Prior Heaven, day and night,
tears of blood flow without end.
I cannot bear to see jade and stone
burned together without judgment.
I lower the golden thread,
manifest the spirit-light,
and sail the boat within the seas.
A thousand roads, ten thousand roads —
none leads to survival.
The only living road:
Yiguandao, the Heavenly Dao — seek it with all speed.
Because I think of my children
running east, stumbling west,
I have sent a thousand letters,
lowered ten thousand messages,
cast them toward the East again and again.
I fear only that my imperial embryos
will be harmed.
Therefore, bitterly, bitterly I plead —
let me send this letter once more.
I call out: filial sons, virtuous daughters,
quickly, quickly, climb to shore
and press forward in your cultivation.
Having received the Heavenly Dao,
you must not waver between two minds.
With the sword of wisdom,
cut all attachments —
cast fame and gain away at once.
Bitterly clinging to the mortal world —
do you not know this world is false?
Open your eyes and look:
is this world sorrowful or not?
Even with a thousand methods
and ten thousand clever schemes,
when the time comes,
your body is swept into the calamity's flow
and you have no say.
Of ten, seven die and three are harmed.
The dead alone —
their blood forms rivers,
their bones pile into mountains.
If you cling to mortal sentiment,
turn your back on Principle, forget the holy —
the eighty-one tribulations of the ninety-nine
will crush your soul and imprison it in hell.
If you wish to escape the calamity,
quickly establish merit.
I will command the immortals and Buddhas
to protect my children and give them ease.
Those who awaken: follow me, return to Wuji.
Those who do not:
meet the great flood
and are cast into the prison.
The Fifth Admonition
The Mother's tears: her frustrated efforts to save her children, and the urgency of filial practice.
Fifth Admonition: original Buddha-children,
ring the golden bell with haste.
The Eternal Unborn One thinks of her children —
her heart burns like fire.
Foolish little ones, lost in the dust,
will not hear their Mother's words.
They toss the Mother's letter aside,
neither reading nor looking.
Numb children, stubborn children —
truly so hard to transform.
I have exhausted my heart
and spent all my strength,
descending to the Nine Heavens again and again.
For the work of the Three Periods,
the difficulty is extreme.
I dispatched a thousand Buddhas,
commanded ten thousand Patriarchs
to descend together to the Eastern suburbs.
Using a thousand methods and ten thousand plans —
and still no result.
Time and again I sent blood-letters,
and my heart labored in vain.
I could not help myself —
the Unborn cried out, weeping aloud.
Thinking and thinking,
tears fell like rain.
In fury I nearly stopped the salvation,
nearly ceased transforming the world —
but I could not abandon my original children,
and pearl-tears fell in pairs.
Therefore now I compose this blood-letter
of Ten Admonitions once more,
admonishing my original Buddha-children:
awaken quickly from the dust!
Of all the hundred virtues in the world,
filial piety is first.
Without filial piety,
what right have you to call yourself
a hero of the cultivated Dao?
I hope my children
will not fail in filial duty to their Mother.
Obey your Mother's charged words
and practice them — that is what makes a worthy one.
If you are truly filial,
why should your Mother need to tell you thrice?
You should already understand her heart
and take up her labor.
From now on, set up the standard
and cultivate the Dao with all speed.
Think of compassion —
and also think of your fellow beings.
Within the four seas, all are brothers and sisters —
save them quickly.
First correct yourself,
then bring others to completion;
transform and ferry them from the dust.
If you wish to establish yourself, establish others too —
this is the root of the Heavenly Dao.
If you wish to reach the goal, help others reach it —
transform and awaken those who have not yet awakened.
The one who has awakened first
leads the one who awakens later;
together they climb the road of awakening.
Those in front must raise their spirit
and lift up those who follow.
When you pull someone,
you must pull them onto the road of awakening.
When you save someone,
save them to the end — only then are you a true hero.
Save one, complete one —
only then does it accord with my wish.
You must not ferry someone to shore
and then abandon them uncared for.
Now the heavenly time is urgent —
desperately urgent.
Quickly establish merit,
quickly cultivate virtue,
open and extend the seedlings of the Dao.
Press forward — those who plant quickly
reap a great harvest.
Delay one step — those who plant slowly
find only empty blossoms and bubbles.
Cultivating the Heavenly Dao
does not depend on poverty or wealth.
It matters not if you are man or woman —
all should labor diligently.
The poor contribute their bodies;
the wealthy contribute their resources.
Financial giving and Dharma giving:
wisdom and blessing are made complete —
twin honors, pure and vast.
Open and extend with all speed;
do not delay!
More delay,
and the frost overtakes you —
merit will be hard to build.
Those who can write: compose essays
and act on Heaven's behalf.
Those who can run: carry messages
and labor in the dust.
Help with strength, help with resources;
when you see the Dao, achieve the Dao.
The grace of imperial Heaven is impartial;
virtue leaves nothing out.
The Heavenly Dao — those who cultivate it
have no special power of their own.
Nor do the leaders
possess any clever trick.
Those who cultivate the Dao
act entirely from their own great vows.
To eat on the Buddha's account,
to dress on the Buddha's account —
the thunderbolt cannot be escaped.
All of them are under command,
universally transforming the ninety-six hundred million.
Immortals and Buddhas and Sages —
even they have endured bitter labor.
All are carrying out the mandate,
universally transforming the ninety-six.
The true Heavenly Dao has true evidence;
it is not an empty painting.
If our Heavenly Dao were false,
your great vow would bear the blame,
not your Mother deceiving her children.
How could I wish to speak words
that increase my children's sin?
Alas — the deluded ones
still doubt and slander ceaselessly.
Now: when merit is fulfilled
and the eighteen-thousand-year holy enterprise complete,
you shall enjoy pure blessings, vast blessings,
joy and freedom.
Shake the dust from your spirit,
steel your courage,
and charge forward without looking back.
Stake your very life upon it —
cultivate with a great resolve, firm as iron.
To establish a Buddha-hall
is the very first great good.
To open wasteland, to sow seeds —
there is no greater merit.
If you obey the admonitions
and open and sow,
I will command the immortals and Buddhas
to help you achieve the Dao.
Now the true Heavenly Dao
is half-bright, half-dark —
this is exactly the time
to establish extraordinary merit
and show yourself a hero.
It is according to the time,
according to the opportunity —
be subtle and careful.
The true Heavenly Dao selects in secret,
choosing the worthy.
Right now heaven holds the imperial examination —
who knows it?
To become sage or immortal
depends entirely on your own labor.
Three thousand six hundred,
forty-eight thousand —
all have their allotment.
Those who walk slowly, who run late,
will weep in vain.
Understand the timing
and return at once.
Those who do not understand
and grow deluded —
the great calamity will not spare them.
I hope my Buddha-children:
know, then act; quickly propagate.
Calm your minds. Sit quietly a moment.
I shall write more.
The Sixth Admonition
On the Mother's grief, the debt owed to the Master, and the balance of merit and transgression.
Sixth Admonition: original Buddha-children —
pearl-tears fill my cheeks.
Because I worry about my imperial embryos
lost so long in the dust,
in the Prior Heaven, day and night,
I grieve and lament —
weeping until my liver breaks,
aching until my intestines snap,
yearning until my heart is shattered.
If the children do not awaken,
what harm is it to their Mother?
What I fear is that my darling ones
will meet the great disaster.
Hear my counsel:
quickly awaken, cultivate body and life.
Understand your Mother's intent,
remember the Master's grace —
only then are you worthy.
This grace of the Master —
one pointing of the finger —
even death cannot repay it.
The grace is high as a mountain,
the virtue deep as the sea;
hold it always in your heart.
Without the Master's pointing,
how could you escape suffering?
How could you pass through birth and death
and avoid the great flood?
It lifts your ancestors upward,
it shades your descendants below —
all by the Master's power.
Each of you should repay this great grace
and follow the Master's arrangements.
If you disobey the Master's command,
you invite heaven's punishment, the five thunders —
and your nine generations grieve together.
Respect the Master's command,
honor the Heavenly Dao —
only then are you a worthy one.
Study gentleness, respectfulness,
frugality, and yielding;
keep a warm and pleasant face.
Fulfill the human Dao, align with the Heavenly Dao,
attend to all relationships, exhaust your nature.
Practice propriety and righteousness,
keep the bonds and constants,
upright and solemn.
Men: follow the Five Relations
and always keep the Eight Virtues.
Women: follow the Three Obediences
and never stray from the Four Virtues.
Study loyalty and trustworthiness,
practice benevolence and righteousness;
establish great virtue with speed.
Toward those on the Dao,
treat them as hand treats foot —
all are imperial embryos.
You must not disdain this one or that,
calling one worthy and another foolish.
Between men's Dao and women's Dao,
between poor and rich —
do not divide by black and white.
As leaders, embrace all,
containing mountains and harboring seas.
Always guide those who follow
and together open the Dao.
Men of valor can stretch and bend,
can endure, can bear —
walking mountains, braving frost,
forever without complaint.
Rejoice to hear of faults;
fear to hear of merits;
correct what is not good.
Only then do you deserve
to be called a pillar reaching heaven.
As followers, respect those before you;
keep one heart, harmonious spirit.
As leaders, lift those behind;
keep a wide and generous heart.
Now the heavenly time is urgent —
each should exert themselves.
Do not waste these golden words
that admonish the imperial embryos again and again.
No one is a sage; who has no faults?
Those with faults must change them.
Those who know their faults
yet do not change —
they cannot return to the Jade Terrace.
If you first did merit and later transgressed,
that merit does not count.
If you first transgressed and later did merit,
both are cleared.
If you correct your former faults
and then establish new merit,
naturally merit is credited as merit —
you do not disappoint the worthy.
Those with much merit and few transgressions
are noted on the heavenly ledger.
Those with many transgressions and little merit
are cast down into the flood.
The Prior Heaven's accounts are tallied thus;
each has their reckoning.
Before doing merit, first correct your faults —
only then are you timber for the pillar.
Since ancient times,
cultivating the Heavenly Dao was never easy.
But in these times, compared to the past,
the arrangement is different.
Vast grace and great virtue
rescue all beings.
Therefore the Buddha-rules are wider,
and the demonic trials are fewer.
Now cultivating the Heavenly Dao
is easier than ever —
no great hardship to endure,
no great disaster to face.
Though you endure toil,
running south and stumbling north,
each time you bring back one of my Buddha-children
you receive a lotus throne.
Though you endure wind and frost,
the bitter cold, the burning heat —
one portion of suffering
is one portion of merit,
honor and radiance.
Though you endure slander
and bear the weight upon your heart —
when the time comes,
foolish and wise, worthy and base
will naturally separate.
Though you endure injustice
and swallow your voice in patience —
Imperial Heaven holds the scales
and will certainly make it clear.
Though you do not contend
and do not strive to win —
by preserving the heart and nurturing the nature,
the bodhi flower blooms.
Though you endure demonic tests,
both adversity and favor —
without the test, no Buddhahood;
the principle demands it.
Though the wicked are strong
and the good appear weak —
these are the days of reckoning,
and all evil will be swept away.
Since ancient times,
those who cultivated the Great Dao
always faced demonic harm.
When merit rises, slander follows;
when the Dao grows high, ruin arrives.
It is not that the slander is too great,
but that the karmic debts are heavy.
Without deep roots,
how could you bear the thousand-petal lotus throne?
Those of thin fortune, small destiny,
their minds are hard to steady.
Even if they gain the Dao,
their hearts will surely retreat —
they cannot return to Penglai.
Do not call the cultivator foolish;
they walk the solid ground
and build extraordinary merit,
their name resounding in the dust.
Do not forget: the Three Sages
who founded the teachings
endured every suffering —
and their pure and vast blessings
will never, ever fade.
To this day, three thousand years,
heaven and earth look up to them.
The Dao was accomplished,
their names hang across the ages —
what radiance, what glory!
At that time it was still only
the Dao's cycling and completing.
How much more so now,
when the Three Realms are being transformed
and universal salvation stands wide open?
Three thousand six hundred
will establish the White Sun temples, majestic and mighty.
Forty-eight thousand
will enjoy the altar-offerings;
pure and vast, all come together.
Those who advance are worthy;
those who walk are sages.
What matters is real practice.
Glory before, abundance after,
goodness and virtue planted forever.
The Seventh Admonition
On testing and tribulation: why the Dao must be tested, and historical examples of those who endured.
Seventh Admonition: original Buddha-children —
my heart sours, my flesh creeps.
I look upon my children —
not one has awakened from the dust.
They take false pleasure for true,
suffering real pain, laboring day and night.
Toward the Heavenly Dao they go through the motions;
they have no time to spare.
So many cling to mortal sentiment,
turning their backs on Principle, forgetting the sacred.
So many fear the tests
and their resolve falters.
The true Dao has true testing —
this is a principle old as time.
What is tested is the diamond-will,
the flawless jade.
Jade uncarved does not become a vessel —
this saying is not false.
True gold passed through a hundred fires
reveals its luster.
A tree made into a pillar
must have its crooked branches cut.
A tower built tall
must have its foundation dug deep.
Compare this to people —
it is exactly the same.
Under blows and under the chisel,
wisdom comes forth.
In a poor family,
the truly filial child is revealed.
In a disordered nation,
the truly loyal shine.
In a fierce wind,
the strong grass stands firm — truly not false.
Without testing and punishment,
the true and false mingle, unsorte.
Those who cultivate the Dao
are not few — count them:
hard to list them all;
let me name a few.
Remember: Jiang Taigong
went out selling white flour.
He endured demonic testing
that refined his heart and nature —
test after test, none favorable.
King Wen of Zhou
was imprisoned in Youli for seven years.
Did he not know
that destiny governed?
And Confucius too endured great trials —
harassed in Song and Wei,
besieged and cut off in Chen and Cai,
his traces erased.
In Chen and Cai, his grain was cut off
for a full seven days.
People regarded the Sage as a madman —
impossible to speak to, impossible to reach.
Qiu Changchun, cultivating the Dao —
what hardship he endured!
He starved to death seven or eight times,
and each time his resolve doubled.
The Maiden of Wondrous Fragrance,
for the sake of cultivation,
was beheaded and hanged.
Sun Bu'er was boiled in oil —
her face was scarred.
Now, compared to the ancients,
cultivation today
is a hundred times lighter, a hundred times freer —
no such constraints.
Testing and refining
are for the great roots, the great vessels.
The demon-fire tempers the true Buddha-nature,
revealing its great radiance.
The staircase of immortals and Buddhas and Sages
is built from precisely this.
See through it, break through it,
and Ultimate Bliss is reached.
I have set a wondrous plan,
a plan within a plan:
the storms are screened from the gate,
outward dark, inward brilliant.
If the Heavenly Dao had no testing,
then the wine-house drunkard
and the brothel idler
could all return to paradise.
Without testing, how could you sort
the foolish from the wise, the true from the false?
Who would willingly yield their seat
so another could sit upon the lotus?
Do not say that gaining the heavenly rank
means tests and trials —
even gaining an earthly rank
takes ten bitter years
before the golden light crowns your head.
So many lose heart and retreat —
it is hard for me.
Without willing it,
I cry aloud and blood-tears drip like sand.
Time after time
I have sent letters and messages to my children —
one time, then another,
yet they do not understand the root.
Again and again I charge you,
again and again I plead — why will you not awaken?
If you disobey the admonitions,
Yin Mountain will press you down.
I call out: children, clarify your hearts and natures early!
Let a thousand demons and ten thousand tests come —
your heart shall be without flaw.
Keep the good Dao, persevere from first to last,
constant in resolve.
Hold sincerity —
and the demons will cease of their own accord,
without confusion.
Since ancient times,
those who cultivated the Great Dao
crossed mountains and forded rivers,
abandoning home, parting from wife and child,
wandering the ends of the earth.
A thousand ordeals and ten thousand demons —
the suffering beyond words.
When sincerity of heart moved heaven,
only then did the true teaching come.
Tested and proven,
truly true, without a doubt —
only then did they enter the ancient cavern
to refine the golden sprout.
Three thousand merits, eight hundred fruits —
and they attained the true result.
Yet even that was merely
returning to the Heaven of Qi,
temporarily enjoying glory.
Now, cultivating the Heavenly Dao —
how much easier!
First receive the pointing,
then cultivate;
establish and transform in the dust.
This is the application responding to the time;
it was not revealed before.
Grace opens one half;
cultivation fills the other half;
and you still tend to worldly life.
Now the heavenly time is right:
lightly hold the mortal,
heavily hold the sacred.
Use diligence and solid ground —
never steal a moment's leisure.
I have written one passage, a blood-letter —
I hope my children will awaken.
This is not an idle essay,
not casual chatter.
For my children
my heart's blood is worn to shreds.
All Buddha-children: hold this fast
and broadly spread the Buddha-Dharma.
The Eighth Admonition
On true and false paths: the one thread of Yiguandao against ten thousand divergent teachings, and the coming of Maitreya.
Eighth Admonition: original Buddha-children —
blood-tears fall.
Only because my imperial embryos
have lost their hearts and I tremble for them.
Of the roads in the world,
there are a thousand — all of them wrong.
Unless you board the golden thread road,
you cannot return to Wuji.
Now divergent gates flourish;
ten thousand teachings rise together.
I fear my imperial embryos
will be led astray.
These thousand gates and ten thousand doors
were all sent down by heaven.
First the letters were sent, then the messages —
announcing the Three Periods.
Before the right time,
the Heavenly Dao of Yiguandao was not revealed.
But I saw my children's hearts
grow stale with long confusion.
Therefore I scattered the divergent paths —
mountain-climbing, temple-visiting,
locking the heart-monkey,
tethering the will-horse,
doing good, accumulating merit.
They were only waiting
for the true Heavenly Dao
to open the universal salvation.
When the time came,
all would come forward together,
seek the true Master,
and return west to the homeland.
Now the time has come,
and the celestial mystery can be spoken.
This is the era of the gathering;
ten thousand teachings return to one.
The Dao descends to transform;
three thousand are given the name Yiguandao.
Crossing the Three Realms,
saving the four seas,
all ascending the cloud-ladder together.
My words are word for word true,
not one empty syllable.
There is evidence, there is proof —
examine the real from the false.
The Three Teachings return to one principle —
and where does the one return?
From the root, the root scatters to myriad forms —
and from where does the one arise?
To cultivate the Dao,
you must understand the root-road home.
Without knowing the true road,
how can you return to the shining land?
The method of the gathering
transmits the supreme secret.
The rarest thing since the beginning of time
manifests in the Third Period.
If you do not believe,
I have one more proof to offer.
Let me raise the great outlines
of the Three Teachings.
This True One is originally
the principle of the Prior Heaven.
Confucianism threads the One;
Buddhism returns to One;
Daoism guards the One.
"Illumine the mind and see the nature" —
this is what Buddhism teaches.
"Preserve the mind, cultivate the nature" —
this is Confucianism's foundation.
"Refine the mind, restore the destiny" —
this is what Daoism practices.
This mind-nature is originally
supremely spiritual, supremely empty.
Daoism cultivates constant purity and stillness —
three grades, one principle.
Confucianism refines knowing, stabilizing, stilling —
heavenly principle undimmed.
Buddhism speaks of emptiness and stillness —
one single principle.
All of them, through stillness,
return the nature to Wuji.
The Three Refuges, the Five Precepts —
what Buddhism practices.
Three Flowers gathered, Five Qi assembled —
Daoism's foundation.
The Three Bonds, the Five Constants —
Confucianism's propriety.
What is transmitted now
is the Three Teachings unified.
Do not kill: true benevolence and love —
the Wood-qi returns to its root.
Do not steal: loyalty and righteousness —
the Metal-qi congeals.
Do not commit adultery: propriety preserved —
the true Fire refines the nature.
Do not drink: wisdom maintained —
the true Water fulfills.
Do not lie: trustworthiness kept —
the Earth-qi returns to its root.
The Five Qi face the origin;
the Five Precepts are pure;
the Five Constants are all complete.
The Three Teachings were originally
without a second principle.
If there were two principles,
the road would not be straight, the path would fork.
Since Fuxi's single stroke
opened the true Change,
this has been the root-foundation
of the Heavenly Dao's descent.
In the Green Sun period,
the Lamp-Lighter Buddha descended;
in secret he selected two hundred million children
to return to Wuji.
In the Red Sun period,
Śākyamuni descended to transform the world;
another two hundred million children
returned to the homeland.
Green and Red together
saved four hundred million.
The remaining nine billion two hundred million
remain lost forever in the bitter sea.
Now the White Sun unfolds;
Maitreya answers the call.
Tianran is commanded
to hold the Dao-tray
and transform east and west.
In the Prior Heaven,
not a single immortal, Buddha, deity, or sage remains —
all have taken birth
to transform the world
and support the sacred foundation.
First the poor are saved,
then the rich, then the officials —
then kings, then all nations,
all ascending the heavenly ladder together.
Now the heavenly time is urgent —
add your efforts with all speed.
Each of you should steel your resolve
and propagate, awakening the lost.
The Dao is the greatest of all things —
greater than heaven, greater than earth.
The heavenly mandate is greater still —
supremely spiritual, supremely ultimate.
If you obey the admonitions
and practice them truly,
I will command the immortals and Buddhas
to protect my children in peace.
In the days to come,
the matter will grow ever more weighty.
Before long, the heavenly time will arrive
and the true mechanism will be revealed.
Then these thousand gates and ten thousand teachings
will universally save the earth.
They will chant spells, command wind and rain,
hurl sand and roll stone.
They will point to heaven and it opens;
point to earth and it splits;
move mountains and overturn seas.
Riding stools, they fly to heaven —
their sorcery even stranger.
The Five-Phase escapes, yin-yang arts,
cloud-riding and mist-driving —
every kind of demon-magic,
hard to list them all.
When that time comes,
I beg my Buddha-children to remember:
if you follow them,
you lose your spirit-light
and suffer sorrow forever.
This is destined by the heavenly count
to manifest in the Third Period.
Within it a wondrous plan is set —
there is purpose.
For the authority of the Heavenly Lord
is in my hands.
When the time comes,
I issue the command —
and all sorcery ceases.
The Battle of Ten Thousand Immortals —
come and watch, how spectacular!
Fools and madmen
display their supernatural powers.
I raise the apricot-yellow decree-flag,
wave it once through the sky,
and call out: "All spirits, withdraw!
Each return to your rank!"
No more sorcery, no more magic,
the deities no longer aid them.
Bare and empty, with only two hands —
they cannot contend.
The ten thousand divergent paths
bow before Maitreya
and all return to the true principle.
The ancient monks are upheld,
the Buddha-light manifests,
and the Dao pervades the Three Ultimates.
The wealthy bow down to the poor;
Dao and Virtue spread across the globe —
China and all nations, unified in one.
Great and wise Buddha-children:
set your hands to work at once!
Do not wait until the boat is in the river
to patch the leak — by then it is too late.
The Ninth Admonition
The vision of the gathering complete: the Mother's reunion with her children, the rewards of merit, the eternal homecoming.
Ninth Admonition: original Buddha-children,
the letter is nearly finished.
The work of the gathering is immensely weighty —
do not treat it as play.
The Dao of the Three Ultimates
transmits one principle;
the Buddha-children reach the shore.
Under all heaven, across the entire globe,
the golden lotus manifests everywhere.
The Great Dao divides into three vehicles;
true principle is the highest.
Principle is the upper vehicle;
Qi the middle; Form the lower —
the lower vehicle speaks only in images.
Beyond heaven there is still heaven —
this saying is not false.
Principle is Wuji; Qi is Taiji;
Huangji is heaven and earth.
The realm of Wuji is the holy domain,
Ultimate Bliss, pure and still.
The realm of Taiji is the border of the sages,
the Dharma-wheel revolving.
The Huangji realm is the mortal land —
plants, animals, birds, and beasts.
By the three vehicles,
sages, worthies, and common folk are distinguished.
Refine the original spirit, practice the nature's principle —
the upper vehicle, supremely wondrous.
Subdue the dragon and tiger,
turn the Dharma-wheel —
the middle vehicle, meditation and contemplation.
The words of the lower vehicle
are truly hard to express —
formless, imageless.
Drumming, chanting, singing —
all these remain in the mortal sphere.
Now the Dharma of the last age
is the final teaching: Yiguandao.
Those who hear it are completed;
those who receive it transcend —
aspiring to sagehood, aspiring to worthiness.
A little child of eighteen
sits firm in the Central Province.
A thunderclap startles awake
the whole earth, heaven and earth.
All nations, all nine provinces —
every one is saved.
A thousand deities, ten thousand immortals and Buddhas
gather together in the Central Plain.
The Three Realms are purified,
the accounts settled in one assembly;
the White Sun is established.
All wicked karma is scoured away;
only the good and worthy remain.
The bitter sea is transformed
into a lotus-jewel kingdom.
This Eastern Land
is remade into the Pure Land of the West.
The Living Buddha rules the world for forty years —
joy without end.
Slaughter ceases; all return to the good road;
every creature lives in fullness.
Auspicious signs and numinous beauty manifest;
phoenix and qilin appear in the wild.
The sea waves still;
they celebrate the rising peace
and rejoice together in the harvest year.
You revere me and I revere you;
there is no more contention.
Five days of wind, ten days of rain —
the age of Yao is restored.
All the Buddha-ancestors have fulfilled their vows;
the ninety-six hundred million are saved.
Maitreya ascends the jewel-throne
and appoints and enfeoffs the immortals.
The imperial embryos leave the bitter sea
and cross together to the far shore.
Tianran leads the original people
and all come before my face.
At this time —
at last my heart is set at ease.
Each of my great merit-holders
rejoices in their heart.
"This one opened the wasteland first
and stands at the head of the list."
"This one built extraordinary merit
and rises to the rank of champion."
"This one gave both wealth and Dharma
and ascends to the upper grade."
"This one sacrificed their body to serve
and enters the upper vehicle, majestic and solemn."
"This one established a Buddha-hall
and sits as a golden immortal."
"This one transformed on Heaven's behalf
and receives the grade of lotus."
"This one exhausted their bitter heart
and is ranked among the immortals."
"This one was unfailingly diligent
and is rewarded beyond measure."
When that time comes,
the three vehicles and nine grades are arrayed.
All my meritorious Buddha-children
are filled with great joy.
Those who do not return to emptiness
remain in the red dust:
outer kings, inner sages,
enjoying glory, enjoying wealth,
free and at peace.
Those who do return to emptiness
journey west to the Prior Heaven,
shedding the mortal frame,
achieving the sage-body —
great Arhat golden immortals.
Quickly put on the immortal robes,
radiant with golden light!
Wearing the immortal cap,
adorned with golden flowers,
with cloud-shoes blooming lotuses.
They come before me, the Unborn,
and I reach out my hand to lift them:
"My darling children —
only today do you return at last."
"From now on I shall never again
send you to the Eastern Land.
Never again shall you,
for the sake of mortals,
endure bitter suffering."
Eating immortal peaches and immortal plums,
jade nectar and immortal wine.
Joy in Wuji,
every delight exhausted —
happiness without limit.
Displaying supernatural powers
that pervade heaven and earth;
wielding the immortal arts
that turn the cosmos.
The true Dharma-body:
sun and moon shine through it,
without shadow, without trace.
Entering water and fire
without drowning or burning,
life without end.
No longer ruled
by heaven and earth, yin and yang.
Fearing neither wind nor frost,
neither heat nor cold.
Passing through metal and stone
without obstruction, without constraint.
Coming without shadow,
going without trace,
roaming across three thousand worlds.
Your nine generations of ancestors,
your seven generations of forebears —
all escape suffering together.
Your grade, their grade —
all manifest majesty.
The assembled Buddha-children
set a banquet in the Palace of Wuji.
The Dragon-Flower Assembly gathers the multitude —
sages, deities, Buddhas, immortals.
One by one they come forward
to bow before me.
The joy of the Eternal Unborn —
my mouth cannot express it.
I pour one cup of bodhi wine
and bestow it upon my children.
The Buddha-children at the immortal feast —
happiness without limit.
The great reunion, the great gathering,
joy without end.
In the Palace of Wuji,
they clap hands and laugh —
earth rejoices, heaven is glad.
This reveals that cultivating the Heavenly Dao
is supremely noble, supremely precious.
I have not wasted my effort
on my bitter-hearted, pillar-of-heaven children.
The letter is now finished;
I take back the golden brush.
May these words be imprinted upon your hearts,
recited with devotion day after day.
The Tenth Admonition
The Mother's farewell.
The letter and admonitions descend
to stand as a guardian in China.
Broadly extend, broadly proclaim,
saving the good families.
The worthy and good together ascend the bodhi shore;
sons and daughters, when merit is complete, sit upon the lotus.
I raise the loom-shuttle
and urge you once more, and once more:
tell my Buddha-children
to practice, truly practice.
I hope my children:
exhaust your hearts, truly exhaust them.
I call out to the imperial embryos:
awaken the confused, rouse the deaf.
The Land of Ultimate Bliss —
how desolate it is now.
To save the world,
the immortals and Buddhas descend together to the East.
Four hundred million have all taken birth in the mortal realm.
Now, who among you knows your own root?
Lift the door-curtain
and you see the True Ancient Master.
When remorse comes,
you stamp your feet and beat your breast.
You must not let the good time slip!
The golden rooster crows;
the Great Dao spreads across the world.
Seize this time —
half-bright, half-dark.
Obey the admonitions;
walk step by step on solid ground.
This letter has many copying errors;
after the session, correct them with your brush.
When the copy is finished,
print this letter at once.
Print many copies —
only then does it accord with my heart.
Establish merit, establish virtue;
quickly urge and convert.
Rescue all beings
from the pit of water and fire.
The Mother finishes her words
but cannot bring herself to leave.
Leading the Buddha-children,
she mounts her carriage and returns to the Jade Capital.
Going — yet how hard to part, how hard to let go.
I ask my Buddha-children:
will you truly practice?
These words — blood-tears dripping, dripping.
These words: do not treat them
as wind past your ears.
The road of heaven and the road of the abyss —
the children themselves must walk them.
Give birth to laziness,
and you fall forever into a pit
ten thousand fathoms deep.
I write no more.
Farewell, my children.
Weeping, weeping —
I return to the Court of Principle.
Colophon
The Ten Admonitions of the Imperial Mother (皇母訓子十戒) is the central theological text of Yiguandao (一貫道, the Way of Pervading Unity). It was revealed through spirit-writing on the fifteenth day of the intercalary sixth month of the thirtieth year of the Republic of China (1941 CE), during the Second World War. The text is attributed to Wuji Laomu (無極老母), the Eternal Venerable Mother — the supreme deity of Yiguandao cosmology — speaking directly to her lost children (humanity). It is the fullest expression of Yiguandao's creation myth, soteriology, and eschatology in a single scripture.
This is the first complete English translation. No prior English translation of this text exists in any published or scholarly form. Translated from Classical Chinese for the Good Work Library by the New Tianmu Anglican Church, 2026. Tulku Ki (帰), sixty-second incarnation. This translation is a Good Works Translation — an original rendering from source, not a reproduction of existing scholarship.
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Source Text: 皇母訓子十戒
Chinese source text from the 善書圖書館 (Morality Books Library, taolibrary.com). Presented here for reference, study, and verification alongside the English translation above.
皇母訓子十戒——民國三十年(辛巳)閏六月十五日
明明一顆珠 上帝賜兒儲 無皇垂覺路 老指迷途 我造物真主 無皇老 率侍衛駕蒞東土 佛子分立 聽娘批書 訓垂東土指流源 子女返本拜天然 十字街前點靈竅 誡告皇胎力篤前
一誡告原佛子細聽根源 金筆動洩盡了天機妙玄 憶當初天未分混沌未判 查冥冥無人我空空一團 九六憶原佛子先天同聚 無憂愁無煩惱自在安然 仙兄弟仙姊妹身常伴 隨來隨去不離身邊 極樂國任逍遙隨意玩耍 乘青龍跨彩鳳無量尊嚴 暇無事任遨遊先天妙景 悶倦來或執棋或將琴彈 吃的是仙桃果瓊漿玉液 穿的是穿雲鞋仙衣仙衫 論無極為聖域至善寶境 靜而應通萬化萬類根源 自從那交子會氣數已到 為我命七佛治理坤乾 萬八載氣數足天始成就 又待至丑會滿地始完全 清氣升為天盤佈置星斗 濁氣降凝為地湖海山川 至寅會天地交日月合照 會陰陽和氤氳萬類生全 此即是先天妙開闢之本 無極靜太極動皇極坤乾 道耳理理即道虛靈之妙 道生一一生二二又生三 一本散萬殊栽自無入有 其奧妙是神仙亦難盡言 天既成地既立萬物齊備 東土裏無人煙缺少女男 那時節為我無奈之處 方捨我九六子齊落凡間 屢次的差原佛東土而下 來一次返一次不肯治凡 無奈何為我造下血酒 三山坡哄醉了菩薩佛男 一各個大仙池齊來洗澡 趁機會仙衣鞋收回理天 眾佛子酒惺來不見面 又不見仙衣鞋可在那邊 為娘我悲痛淚原子呼喚 爾眾等速東奔莫要再戀 如若是仙衣鞋交與爾等 爾那個亦不肯在世臨凡 折樹枝合樹葉遮寒蔽泠 餓了吃松柏子渴飲清泉 眾佛子如掉魂悲哀悲嘆 問我至何時方把家還 言答三期末大開普渡 親捎書親寄信親渡佛原 眾兒女心猶疑悲聲大放 為我寫合同付與皇原 自此我原佛子東土而奔 治世界為男女栽立人煙 子分各東西好不難過 自此我眾佛子受盡熬煎 至今時搯指算六萬餘載 每想兒在世苦心難安 今時下真機展普遍大地 諸天神眾仙佛共下東林 各處裏施顯化驚惺迷子 或飛鸞或借竅親渡原真 苦海中駕法船渡挽九二 三天事人間辦天借人云 各應當加慇懃孜孜精進 替師傳代天化助爾師尊 道賴人而宏展人賴天助 天人接活潑潑建立功勛 現如今北方道開化已久 難選這大棟樑真中之真 故此的為我今垂十誡 催促我好兒女一齊知音 修天道離不了開闡渡化 發婆心用苦口不倦誨人 必須要立定了沖天大志 貴乎汝實行辦正己成人 掛虛名圖好看濫竽充數 似如此難以返極樂家門 又或是假面具敷衍了事 終久來必然是墜落沈淪 忽行止忽作輟半途而廢 打殘靈壓陰山永難翻身 望我的原佛子早些快惺 猛勇進貫始終定然成真 外功滿內功圓急速渡化 上乘位千葉蓮立於凡塵 任兒是大羅仙佛祖降世 無真功無實善難返瑤林 聽勸再不可不肯發憤 如若是慢一步難立功勳 為領袖為壇主責任重大 一人愚萬人墜誤己誤人 如若是一人明智慧廣大 能引賢能調眾萬人成真 今曉諭辦事人壇主領袖 各應當發剛毅勤上加勤 設何法能渡得迷津登岸 用何策能催眾齊發真心 心要似行雲變意如流水 隨上下隨方圓能屈能伸 和而流是大過依理為準 掃貪嗔斷痴愛清靜法身 功愈高位愈險時刻謹慎 登極峰墜下來萬丈淵深 飛得高跌得重一定之理 又豈可聰明子作了痴人 畏三畏思九思言行相顧 依三省守四勿方是賢真 遵訓行鈃聖域極樂長享 不遵守任己意地獄存身 又批了一篇語佛子牢記 三才息稍靜坐再垂訓文
二誡告原佛子性心早明 悟真理參天道真空不空 空即無無即有有無一本 色是空空是色非色非空 想當初氣未分混沌未判 一團理無聲臭杳杳冥冥 無極動太極現陰陽評定 生三才分四象又化五行 判六候列七政九宮八卦 分順逆現盈虛萬類盡生 論奧妙談虛無幾個能懂 這真理古靈光至虛至清 無陰陽無對待不增不減 又無形支無象又非頑空 非青紅非寒暑非靜非動 萬化源真玄機隱於此中 非隱間無色相至玄至妙 視引見聽弗聞彌羅色空 不動變不顯彰無為而化 真主宰大樞紐達化萬靈 高無上超九重色空之外 淵無下裹地府十幽九冥 貫乾坤貫三界無處不貫 天與地合萬類離此成空 弘曰道稱真一挽化宇宙 此本是真來源無極根桓 道在天天清爽棋盤動轉 佈星斗運日月一氣流行 道在地地凝結山川潤育 生萬有長萬物賴一而成 道在人人得聖知覺動靜 人有道不知道故難超生 三教理無有二皆欽命 來傳道本傳這虛無妙靈 道金丹釋舍利儒曰天性 皆本是此靈光名異理同 千古來無二法道無二道 仙佛聖傳心印一本同宗 明一法知萬法法法盡曉 千佛經萬聖書一理貫通 自三聖歸天後涅槃止渡 斷線路不傳道教存於東 至今時三千載無人明曉 歧途出萬教展真理未明 今時下開普渡奉天承運 龍華會天開選大展宗風 上繼續無極祕三聖奧旨 開啟眾生等同把舟登登 上上乘真妙訣誰能明曉 覓真宗求明師大道得成 得天道速行功藉假修真 道雖空空不了萬有成空 人生世如大海一粒粟米 隨潮來隨潮去不分西東 酒色財迷住了原來佛性 貪七情染六欲蔽住本靈 慾海波無盡止情枷愛鎖 戀富貴貪榮華名利網繩 石火中閃電光怎能長久 如曇光閃一閃孽果結成 迷人們他豈悟紅塵是假 認其苦以為樂如同蟻蠅 百年間足三萬六千餘日 不想想能幾時身得安寧 少而壯壯而老老而歸盡 這酸甜合苦辣好不傷情 生老病死與苦誰能脫過 一轉眼幼童兒白髮成翁 空手來空手去一文難帶 只落得一孤墳身赴幽冥 何論你富王侯賞罰定判 了因果畜轉人人轉畜牲 自寅會至今時數萬年載 輪迴苦永無止淒涼難評 這竅出那竅入改房換舍 張家男李家女場場成空 愈轉變而愈迷日流污下 忘卻了先天娘生性無生 人之本先天降靈山一脈 聖不增凡不減聖凡同宗 惺悟者成聖賢身登極樂 迷昧者是凡庸墜落幽冥 這神仙俱都是凡人來作 未曾見生成就仙佛神明 望我的眾兒女早明真偽 惺迷途拜真師還原歸宗
三誡告原佛子修真為良 這紅塵是苦海波濤茫茫 人生世如蜉蝣朝生暮喪 有那個能脫得五殿閻王 終日裏苦勞碌南奔北創 又好比是牛馬來奔荒埸 數十年之光景生老病喪 千般景萬般事花露草霜 爭名利圖富貴生死流浪 貪嬌妻戀愛子大夢一場 論紅塵淒涼世苦不可講 有七情合六欲迷住兒郎 任兒等置下了家財萬貫 田千頃收萬石日升食糧 任兒等蓋高樓大廈寬廣 亦不過眠八尺難臥兩床 任兒等有金銀堆如山廣 歸陰去怎能把一文來裝 任兒等穿綢緞衣服鮮亮 亦不過遮寒暑以禦風霜 任兒等食美味酒筵異樣 圖口腹殺生靈罪孽難搪 任兒等日作樂心舒意爽 百年間昏如夢彈指時光 任兒等好妻妾俊俏兒女 黃泉路四處分好不淒涼 嘆一聲五濁世痛淚下降 望我的皇胎子莫迷心腸 凡塵世好比是遊玩之場 誰是爺誰是孫誰是女娘 如若是能惺悟合家修養 同行功同立德同返仙鄉 在後天修真道一家吉祥 成後到先天同聚一堂堂 這奇緣這奧妙古未現相 只可悲世迷人不惺黃梁 為民者至一品王位還想 為利者賺百萬不足心腸 只管貪只管戀全不思想 忘卻了生死路來見閻王 能惺悟早修真先天而往 不惺者迷心性地獄淒涼 這天淵分二路一念所想 如一時心念差永受悲傷 地府裏苦情處一言難講 孽鏡台照一照畢露罪殃 如作善還算好來生福享 福盡時總須墜怎能久長 若作惡不上算口難辨講 照罪孽上刑法自己去搪 有刀山有油鍋刑具異樣 大鋸解鐵磨研狗食血湯 奈河內墜落了老幼少壯 十分層大地獄令人慘傷 提起來這苦處難以再講 不由我淚珠滾落滿胸膛 一失足千古恨實是此樣 失人身永下流難返仙鄉 聽勸修天道精神振爽 立堅志沖天愿心似金剛 爾九祖在輪迴日夜盼望 盼爾等行功超好脫汪洋 一念差墜下去不算怎樣 連累了先祖上痛哭泉黃 壓陰山六萬載何等苦狀 等下元遇普渡再登慈航 如若是那時節佳期赶上 能否知轉人身求得玄黃 總不如趁此時西天速往 惺迷途隨我返回瑤邦
四誡至十誡：全文過長，請參閱善書圖書館 (taolibrary.com) 原文。
Source Colophon
Source: 善書圖書館 (Morality Books Library, taolibrary.com). The Chinese text is presented as transmitted by the tradition. The site states: 歡迎轉載，上傳，翻印，流通 — "Welcome to reprint, upload, reproduce, and circulate." The full Chinese text of all ten admonitions was used for translation; the source text above includes the opening through the Third Admonition in full, with the remaining admonitions available at the original source.
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