The Mother's Ten Precepts for Her Children

皇母訓子十戒

In the sixth intercalary month of 1941, at the height of the Second World War, the Eternal Mother (無極老母, Wújí Lǎomǔ) descended through the planchette and dictated ten admonitions to her children — the nine hundred and sixty million original Buddha-souls she had sent into the mortal world at the beginning of time. This is a blood letter: a mother separated from her children for sixty thousand years, writing in her own spiritual blood to beg them to wake up, seek the Dao, and come home.

The text is structured as ten numbered precepts (誡, jiè), each addressing a different aspect of the crisis: the origin story of the fall, the nature of the Dao, the impermanence of worldly life, the coming catastrophe, the Mother's grief, the duties of cultivation, the testing of faith, the danger of false paths, and the promise of return. Between each precept the planchette pauses (停) and a short interlude poem appears. The whole builds to a crescendo — the tenth precept's vision of the Dragon-Flower Assembly, the homecoming feast, and the Mother's final tearful farewell.

This is the first English translation. The original is Classical Chinese verse in a devotional register, dictated through spirit-writing (扶鸞, fúluán). Translated in the gospel register — plain, direct, warm — because the Mother's own voice is already gospel.

A single bright pearl —
the Lord on High bestows it upon His children.
The Eternal Mother lowers the path of awakening;
the Ancient One points the way through the maze.

I am the Maker of all things, the true Sovereign — the Eternal Mother. With my attendants and guards I have come to the Eastern Lands. My Buddha-children, stand in your places and hear your Mother's words.

The First Precept

The Mother tells the origin: how the children fell from paradise, how she tricked them into descending, and how she wept.

Listen, my original Buddha-children, and hear the root of things. The golden brush moves and I will lay bare the wondrous mysteries of Heaven.

Remember the beginning, before Heaven was divided and chaos had not yet been judged — one body of principle, without sound or scent, dark and deep beyond fathoming.

My nine hundred and sixty million original Buddha-children gathered together in the Former Heaven. There was no worry, no vexation — only ease and peace.

Your immortal brothers and immortal sisters were always by your side. You came and went together, never parting from one another.

In the Land of Ultimate Joy you roamed free, playing as you wished — riding green dragons, mounted on painted phoenixes, in glory beyond measure.

In your leisure you wandered the wondrous landscapes of the Former Heaven. When you grew weary, you played chess, or plucked the strings of the qin.

You ate the peaches of the immortals, the fruits of paradise, and drank the jade nectar. You wore cloud-walking shoes and robes woven of immortal silk.

The Realm of the Infinite is the holy domain, the most perfect and precious land — still and responsive, penetrating all transformations, the root-source of every kind of being.

Then the cycle of Zi arrived and the time appointed by fate had come. On my behalf, the Seven Buddhas governed Heaven and Earth across eighteen thousand years until Heaven was complete. Then came the age of Chou, and Earth was fully formed.

The clear breath rose and became the Heavenly Disk, setting the stars in their courses. The heavy breath descended and congealed into Earth — lakes, seas, mountains, rivers.

When the age of Yin arrived, Heaven and Earth joined and the sun and moon shone as one. Yin and Yang mingled, and every kind of being came to life.

This is the wondrous origin of the Former Heaven: the Infinite still, the Supreme Ultimate in motion, the August Ultimate as Heaven and Earth.

The Dao is principle and principle is the Dao — the marvel of the numinous void. The Dao gives birth to one, one gives birth to two, and two give birth to three.

One root scattered into ten thousand branches, planted from nothing into existence. These mysteries are such that even immortals and sages cannot speak them to the end.

When Heaven was complete and Earth was established and all things were prepared, still in the Eastern Lands there were no people — no women, no men.

In that moment, in my helplessness, I had no choice but to send my nine hundred and sixty million children down to the mortal world.

Time and again I sent original Buddhas down to the Eastern Lands, but each time they returned, unwilling to govern the mortal dust.

In my desperation I brewed a wine of blood, and on the slopes of the Three Mountains I got my bodhisattvas and Buddha-sons drunk.

Every one of them came to the Great Immortal Pool to bathe, and while they were distracted I took back their immortal robes and shoes and returned them to the Heaven of Principle.

When my Buddha-children woke from their wine and could not see my face, when they could not find their immortal robes and shoes anywhere —

I, your Mother, wept tears of grief and called out to my children: "Go quickly to the East! Do not linger here!"

For if I had returned your immortal robes and shoes, not one of you would have been willing to descend to the mortal world.

You broke branches from the trees and wove leaves to cover yourselves against the cold. When you were hungry you ate pine nuts and cypress seeds. When you were thirsty you drank from clear springs.

My Buddha-children, like souls torn from their bodies, wept and lamented. They asked me: "When will you bring us home?"

I answered: "In the Third Period, at the end of time, I will open the Great Universal Salvation. I myself will send letters, I myself will deliver messages, I myself will come to save my original children."

My children, still doubting, raised their voices and wept. So I wrote the Contract and placed it in the hands of my children.

From that time my original Buddha-children ran toward the Eastern Lands, governing the world, becoming men and women, planting the smoke of human life.

When my children scattered to the four directions — East, West — how my heart broke! From that time my Buddha-children endured every kind of suffering.

To this day, counting on my fingers, more than sixty thousand years have passed. Every time I think of my children suffering in the world, my heart cannot rest.

Now the time has come. I lower the Dao to save you. I send Maitreya and the Bowstring to open the Universal Salvation and gather you home.

I have told you the whole truth, from first to last. I beg my original Buddha-children: seek the true transmission quickly.

Board the golden thread and follow Heaven home. Those who do not awaken will sink in the bitter sea and never rise again.

As I write these words my tears roll down despite myself. Let me stop the brush a moment and compose myself before I write again.

Pause.

The Heavenly Dao unfolds, the holy lineage is transmitted.
Maitreya and the Bowstring are commanded to manage the gathering.
If you still do not seek a true teacher to save you,
you will not escape through a thousand lifetimes and ten thousand kalpas.

The Second Precept

The Mother tells of the Dao's descent and the urgency of the age.

Listen again, my original Buddha-children — wash your ears and hear the truth. This is the Third Period, and the suffering cannot be spoken.

Heaven must grow old, Earth must crumble, the cycle of destiny is spent. How could I bear to let my children's bodies be harmed?

I open the age of culture, lower the path of awakening, cast down the golden thread. I unfold the Heavenly Dao and call it Yiguandao — "the Way That Pervades All" — pervading Heaven and Earth.

I send Maitreya to govern the Heavenly Disk and turn all crooked things straight. I command Tianran to govern the Disk of the Dao, his spirit transformed into a myriad forms.

I grant him great authority and the commanding standard, and ten thousand gods assist the Dao. On my behalf he transmits through the flying phoenix, and every Buddha and immortal descends.

Not a single immortal, Buddha, god, or sage remains in the Former Heaven. Every bodhisattva, every immortal, has been sent down to the mortal dust.

In all of Heaven, in all of Earth, nothing is greater than the Heavenly Mandate. Those who follow it flourish. Those who oppose it perish. Heaven and the abyss — that is the difference.

This one gathering of Universal Salvation has never occurred since the beginning of time. The rarest of all true chances has happened to fall in this spring.

Above we save the immortals, below we save the ghosts, and in between we save the faithful. We gather the thousand gates and ten thousand teachings and bring them all back to the one true root.

We transmit the final move — the Former Heaven's wondrous mystery. One touch of the finger opens the golden lock and the golden body is revealed.

First we transmit the ancient Contract, the proof of Mount Ling. Then we touch the Mysterious Gate — the True Yang Dharma Gate.

Then we transmit the wordless scripture, the divine mantra that reaches Heaven. Recite it and every immortal, every Buddha, every sage comes to protect you.

When you receive the Heavenly Dao your name is hung on the Heavenly Register. In the Underworld your debt is cancelled and you are released from the wheel of suffering.

"Hear the Dao in the morning, die content in the evening" — this is what the one touch of the finger means. It points out the priceless treasure and sends you straight back to the Jade Forest.

The supreme vehicle, one step to transcendence — the simplest, the nearest. You shed the mortal body and achieve the holy body — eternal joy, eternal spring.

This is no empty talk — there is real proof, real evidence. Even this mortal shell can prove the golden body.

In winter it does not stiffen. In summer it does not stink. The face remains dignified and composed. This mortal bag of skin can prove the golden body.

If you do not believe, command a true spirit to come to the altar and prove it. Everything is true, everything is real — nothing here is empty talk.

The true Heavenly Dao, the true Heavenly Mandate — there is no second in the Three Realms. A lineage of transmission, patriarch to patriarch, unbroken to this day.

The second cycle draws to a close, the Bowstring answers the call — living in the world yet leaving the world, a monk of the burning house.

Now, in this age, the true mechanism unfolds across the whole earth. Every god in Heaven, every immortal and Buddha, descends together to the Eastern Grove.

In every place they manifest wonders to startle the sleeping dreamers — through the flying phoenix, through borrowed bodies, they personally save the originals.

In the bitter sea they sail the Dharma-boat, rescuing the nine hundred and twenty million. Heaven's work is done through human hands — Heaven borrows the human, so it is said.

Each of you must redouble your effort and press forward with zeal. Take your teacher's place, transmit on Heaven's behalf, assist your honored teacher.

The Dao relies on people to expand, and people rely on Heaven to assist. When Heaven and humanity join together, lively and bright, great merit is established.

Now in the north the Dao has been unfolding for a long time, and it is hard to find the great pillars — the truest of the true.

Therefore I now lower these Ten Precepts, urging all my good sons and daughters to hear and understand together.

To cultivate the Heavenly Dao you cannot be separated from opening, unfolding, saving, and transforming. With a compassionate heart, with bitter words, teach without weariness.

You must establish a towering ambition that pierces Heaven. What matters is that you truly act — correct yourself and perfect others.

Those who bear empty titles and put on a good show, padding the ranks without substance — such as these will have a hard time returning to the gate of Ultimate Joy.

Those who wear false masks and go through the motions — in the end they will certainly sink and fall.

Those who start and stop, who give up halfway — their spirits will be broken and they will be crushed beneath the Mountain of Yin, never to rise.

I beg my original Buddha-children to awaken quickly! Press forward with fierce courage, hold steady from beginning to end, and you will certainly become true.

When your outer merit is full and your inner cultivation complete, save and transform with all speed. You will attain the highest rank — the Thousand-Petal Lotus, standing in the mortal dust.

Even if you are a great arhat or a Buddha-patriarch descended into the world, without real merit and real virtue you cannot return to the Jade Forest.

Listen to my words: you must not fail to stir yourselves. If you are slow by one step, it will be too late to establish merit.

To be a leader, to govern an altar — the responsibility is enormous. If one person is foolish, ten thousand people fall. You ruin yourself and ruin others.

But if one person is clear and their wisdom is vast, they can guide the worthy and steady the multitude — and ten thousand people become true.

I now instruct all who serve, all altar masters, all leaders: each of you must summon your iron resolve and pile diligence upon diligence.

Devise every method to bring the lost to shore. Use every strategy to spur the multitude to awaken their true hearts.

Let your heart be like a shifting cloud, let your intention flow like water — rising and falling, round and square, able to bend and able to stretch.

Be harmonious and flowing, but hold principle as your standard. Sweep away greed and anger, cut off delusion and desire — the pure and still Dharma-body.

The higher you climb, the more dangerous the position — be vigilant at every moment. Fall from the highest peak, and you fall ten thousand fathoms deep.

Fly high and the fall is hard — this is a fixed principle. How could a wise person become a fool?

Fear the three fears, reflect on the nine reflections, watch your words and deeds together. Follow the three examinations, guard against the four "do nots" — only then are you a true worthy.

Follow this instruction and you will enter the holy domain, enjoying ultimate joy forever. Disobey, and follow your own whims — and your body will dwell in hell.

I have written another chapter. Buddha-children, hold it firm. Let the Three Talents rest; sit quietly a moment while I write again.

Pause.

Only the Dao is supremely honored; only I am supremely honored.
I generate, overcome, regulate, and transform — this is my ancient station.
I am the sovereign of the Three Realms and the Ten Directions;
I nurture every holy and mortal being from a single spiritual root.

The Third Precept

The Mother speaks of the nature of reality — emptiness and form, the origin of all things.

Listen, my original Buddha-children — awaken your natures and your minds. Understand the true principle, investigate the Heavenly Dao: true emptiness is not empty.

Emptiness is nothing, and nothing is existence, and existence and nothing share one root. Form is emptiness, and emptiness is form — it is neither form nor emptiness.

Remember the beginning, before breath was divided and chaos had not yet been judged — one body of principle, without sound or scent, dark and deep beyond fathoming.

The Infinite stirred and the Supreme Ultimate appeared. Yin and Yang were set in order. The Three Powers were born, the Four Emblems were divided, and the Five Phases were transformed.

The six seasons were judged, the seven stars were arrayed, the nine palaces and eight trigrams set forth. The cycles of forward and reverse were distinguished, fullness and emptiness revealed, and every kind of being came to life.

Speak of these mysteries, speak of this void — how many can understand? This true principle is the ancient spiritual light — most void, most pure.

Without Yin or Yang, without opposition, neither increasing nor decreasing. Without form or shape — and yet it is not dead emptiness.

Neither blue nor red, neither cold nor hot, neither still nor moving. The source of ten thousand transformations — the true mystery is hidden within this.

Not hidden between things, without color or shape — most mysterious, most marvelous. Look and you cannot see it. Listen and you cannot hear it. And yet it pervades all of form and emptiness.

It does not shift or change, does not reveal or display — it transforms without acting. The true sovereign, the great pivot, reaching and transforming all spirits.

Higher than the highest, beyond the nine heavens, beyond form and emptiness. Deeper than the deepest, wrapping the underworld, the ten darks and nine twilights.

It pervades Heaven, pervades Earth, pervades the Three Realms — there is nowhere it does not pervade. Without it, Heaven, Earth, and all things would dissolve into emptiness.

Grand, it is called the Dao; called the True One — it draws and transforms the universe. This is the true origin: the root of the Infinite.

The Dao in Heaven keeps Heaven clear and bright, the chessboard of stars turning. It sets the constellations and moves the sun and moon — one breath flowing through.

The Dao in Earth holds the Earth together, nourishing with mountains and rivers. It gives birth to all things and sustains all things — all are accomplished through the One.

The Dao in humanity makes the human a sage — knowing stillness and movement, awareness and response. Yet humans have the Dao and do not know it — that is why they cannot transcend.

The Three Teachings differ in name but share one principle, all commanded by Heaven to transmit this numinous void.

The Daoists call it the Golden Elixir. The Buddhists call it the śarīra. The Confucians call it the Heavenly Nature. All are this spiritual light — different names, same principle.

For thousands of years there has been no second dharma. The Dao has never been two. Immortals, Buddhas, and sages all transmit the mind-seal of one ancestral root.

Understand one dharma and you know ten thousand dharmas, every dharma understood. A thousand Buddha-scriptures, ten thousand sage-books — one principle threads them all.

Since the Three Sages returned to Heaven and entered nirvana, the thread has been cut. The Dao was not transmitted; only the teachings remained in the East.

To this day, three thousand years, and no one has understood. False paths arose, ten thousand teachings spread — the true principle never clear.

Now I open the Universal Salvation, receiving Heaven's mandate and carrying out the charge. The Dragon-Flower Assembly opens in Heaven, selecting the masses, unfurling the ancestral wind.

Above I continue the Infinite's secrets, the Three Sages' profound purpose. I open the gate for all beings alike to board the boat together.

The supreme vehicle, the true marvelous key — who can understand it? Seek the true school, find a true teacher, and the Great Dao is achieved.

Receive the Heavenly Dao and quickly establish merit. With this mortal shell, cultivate the real. The Dao may seem empty, but empty it is not — without all things, everything dissolves into emptiness.

A human life in this world is like a single grain of millet in the ocean — tossed by the tide, going with the tide, unable to tell east from west.

Wine, lust, wealth, and temper have blinded the original Buddha-nature. Steeped in the seven passions and dyed by the six desires, the original spirit is buried.

The waves of the desire-sea never stop — the cangue of passion, the chains of love. Clinging to wealth, lusting for glory — the net of fame and profit.

A spark struck from stone, a flash of lightning — how can these last? Like a flower that opens for one instant, and the fruit of sin is already set.

The lost do not realize that the red dust is illusion. They take suffering for joy, like ants, like flies.

A hundred years are barely thirty-six thousand days. Think — how many of those days will your body know peace?

Young, then strong, then old, then finished. The sour, the sweet, the bitter, the sharp — how they wound the heart.

Birth, age, sickness, death, and suffering — who escapes them? In the blink of an eye, the child becomes a white-haired old man.

You came with empty hands. You leave with empty hands. You cannot take a single coin. All that remains is a lonely grave, and your soul descends to the dark.

Whether you were a wealthy lord or a prince, the judgment is the same. Debts are settled: humans reborn as beasts, beasts reborn as humans.

From the age of Yin to now — tens of thousands of years. The wheel of suffering never stops. The desolation cannot be measured.

Through this gate and out that gate, changing houses, changing rooms. Zhang family's son, Li family's daughter — every scene dissolves to nothing.

Turning and turning, sinking deeper into confusion, drifting further into filth, forgetting the Mother of the Former Heaven, forgetting the nature that was born without birth.

The human root descends from the Former Heaven — one vein from the Spiritual Mountain. The sage does not increase it. The commoner does not decrease it. Sage and commoner share one ancestry.

Those who awaken become sages and saints, ascending to Ultimate Joy. Those who remain lost are common and vulgar, sinking into the dark.

These immortals and gods were all made by mortal people. No one has ever seen a being born already a Buddha, an immortal, or a god.

I beg all my children — see the truth quickly. Wake from the maze, bow to a true teacher, and return to the ancestral root.

I have written to this point; the Three Talents are weary. Stop the brush; rest and eat. I will write again.

Pause.

True true false false, false false true —
see through the true and false and you will surely transcend the dust.
Establish merit in this mortal world and spread the Way abroad —
transform the world, return to the root, and together seek what is real.

The Fourth Precept

The Mother speaks of the impermanence of mortal life and the folly of worldly attachment.

Listen, my original Buddha-children — cultivation and truth are the good path. This red dust is a bitter sea, its waves vast and boundless.

A human life is like a mayfly — born in the morning, dead by dusk. Who escapes the Five Courts of King Yama?

All day long you toil and labor, running north and south — no better than oxen and horses racing to the fields.

A few decades of light: birth, age, sickness, death. A thousand scenes, ten thousand affairs — dew on flowers, frost on grass.

You fight for fame and profit and chase after wealth, drifting from life to death. You cling to a beautiful wife and dote on beloved children — one great dream.

The red dust, this desolate world — the suffering cannot be spoken. The seven passions and the six desires have bewitched my children.

Even if you own ten thousand acres yielding ten thousand bushels, rising every day to eat — even if you build mansions broad and towering — still you can only sleep on eight feet of bed. You cannot lie on two.

Even if your gold and silver pile up like mountains — when you go to the Underworld, can you bring a single coin?

Even if you wear silk and satin, clothes bright and gleaming — they are nothing but a shield against cold and heat, a guard against wind and frost.

Even if you feast on delicacies at extraordinary banquets — for the sake of your belly you kill living beings, and the weight of sin cannot be borne.

Even if you make merry every day, your heart at ease, your spirits bright — a hundred years are a blur, a dream, a snap of the fingers.

Even if you have a fine wife, handsome sons, pretty daughters — on the road to the Yellow Springs you part in four directions. How desolate.

I sigh, and my tears fall over this world of the Five Turbidities. I beg my children: do not let your hearts be lost.

This mortal world is nothing but a playground. Who is the grandfather? Who is the grandchild? Who is the daughter?

If you can awaken and cultivate together as a family, walk the path together, establish merit together — together you return to the Immortal Country.

In the Later Heaven, cultivate the true Dao and the whole family is blessed. When you arrive in the Former Heaven, you gather together in one hall.

This rare chance, this wondrous mystery, has never appeared since antiquity. How tragic that the lost do not wake from the dream of the yellow millet.

The commoner rises to the first rank, and still he wants the throne. The merchant earns a million, and still his heart is not full.

They only grasp and cling and never pause to think — forgetting that the road of death leads to King Yama.

Those who awaken, cultivate the truth, and head toward the Former Heaven. Those who do not, lost in heart and nature — hell is desolation.

Heaven and abyss — two roads — and the difference is one thought. If that one thought goes wrong, you suffer forever.

In the Underworld, the suffering — I cannot speak of it. The Mirror of Sins — one glance and every transgression is laid bare.

If you did good, it is well enough — you may enjoy blessings in the next life. But when those blessings are spent, you must fall again. How can it last?

If you did evil, it is worse — your mouth cannot argue. According to your sins, the punishments are applied. You bear them yourself.

There are Knife Mountains and Cauldrons of Oil, every kind of instrument. The Great Saw, the Iron Grindstone, fed to dogs, drowning in blood.

In the River of Woe they fall — young and old, strong and weak. Ten levels of the Great Hell, enough to break the heart.

When I speak of this suffering I cannot go on. My tears pour down and fill my breast.

One misstep and a thousand ages of regret — this is truly so. Lose the human body and you sink forever. You cannot return to the Immortal Country.

Listen to my words — cultivate the Heavenly Dao, revive your spirit! Establish a will as firm as diamond, a will that pierces Heaven.

Your nine generations of ancestors are on the Wheel, waiting day and night — waiting for you to establish merit and deliver them from the ocean.

One wrong thought, one fall — it is not only you who suffers. You drag your ancestors with you, and they weep in the Yellow Springs.

Crushed beneath the Mountain of Yin for sixty thousand years — what kind of suffering is that? Wait for the next era, wait for the next Universal Salvation to board the merciful boat again.

And if, when that time comes, you can manage to make the deadline — do you even know whether you will be born human and receive the Mystery?

Better to seize this moment and speed west. Wake from the maze and follow me home to the Jade Country.

I have written to this point. Sit quietly a while. Stop the brush. The meaning in these words — reflect on it carefully.

Pause.

When Heaven's wheel turns to the end of the Third Autumn,
the Three Disasters and Eight Calamities pour across the earth.
Who can escape the Nine-times-Nine Catastrophe?
To save the world there is only the boat of Yiguandao.

The Fifth Precept

The Mother speaks of the coming catastrophe and the golden thread of salvation.

Listen, my original Buddha-children — practice what you learn, embody what you cultivate. Understand the times, recognize Heaven's will — only then are you a true companion.

This is the end of days. The Dao and the catastrophe descend together. Heaven and Earth will be remade. The mountains and rivers will be reshaped. The trigrams are shuffled and redrawn.

I have always been benevolent at my root. So why has this great catastrophe been lowered upon the Eastern Fields?

Consider: since antiquity, when has there ever been a great catastrophe? Yao and Shun and Yu, those sages, brought peace to the realm, and the people were happy and free.

When human hearts are correct, Heaven's heart is in accord — what catastrophe would fall? When human hearts are crooked, they bring calamity on themselves, and the flood of disaster pours forth.

Look at this mortal world — its corrupted customs, sinking deeper every day. The ancient sages' principles of propriety — no one pursues them anymore.

They study cunning, they practice deceit, they swindle and defraud. They destroy human bonds, wreck the moral order — I cannot describe it in a word.

The ruler is no ruler, the minister no minister — the court's order cannot be maintained. The elder brother has no tolerance, the younger brother no deference — they become sworn enemies.

Friends have lost all trust — words and deeds are disconnected. The Five Bonds have fallen. The Eight Virtues have fallen. No one pursues them anymore.

The scholar only talks principle but does not live it. The farmer's world of mulberry and millet — the true principle goes unstudied.

The artisan does not practice diligence, precision, or fidelity. The merchant sells false goods and cheats the gullible.

The Buddhist monk has lost the Three Refuges and the Five Precepts. The Daoist priest has turned to deviant paths — the orthodox dharma is completely gone.

The Confucian scholar reads only the surface and falsely calls himself a sage. When I look at all this, the grief rises in my heart unbidden.

If in these times there were no catastrophe to descend, then nowhere in the world would there be a single worthy person.

So I lower the Three Disasters and spread the Eight Calamities — sword, flood, and fire. The Nine-times-Nine Catastrophe, eighty-one blows, will cover the entire globe.

I send the Five Great Demons to throw the Eastern Lands into chaos. They set ten thousand traps and interlocking rings to gather in the wicked.

The appointed time of Heaven has come, the appointed time of Earth is full, the cycle of fate has arrived. And this too is what human beings have brought upon themselves — the settling of ancient grievances.

Sixty thousand years of reckoning will be settled in this age. Jade and stone will be separated, good and evil distinguished, and stakes will be planted in every land.

When I look upon this with the eye of wisdom, the tears of blood roll down. I see the foul fog rising to the sky, rolling forth in waves.

Across the four seas, the demon wind rises — nowhere is there peace. War breaks out, bandits run wild — nine out of ten people grieve.

Plague, famine, drought, and flood — uneven, unpredictable. Across the world the five grains are cut off. Not an inch of grass is harvested.

These disasters are not so remarkable. What I most fear is wind, water, and fire — the cleansing that scours the globe.

Forty-nine days of utter darkness — no sun, no moon. The gates of the Underworld open and the ghosts pour out to claim their debts.

Black and dark, cold and grim, the light of death fills the world. They come to claim life, to demand repayment, debt for debt, coin for coin.

The Heavenly Wind descends and scours Heaven and Earth and the entire cosmos. It scours the atmosphere, cleanses the Three Realms, and replaces the pivot.

Even if your body were made of diamond, of copper and iron — you cannot escape my true kalpa-fire. Your life cannot be saved.

And yet — though this catastrophe must descend — in the Former Heaven, day and night, I weep tears of blood.

I cannot bear to see jade and stone burned together without distinction. So I cast down the golden thread, reveal the numinous light, and sail a boat across the inner sea.

A thousand roads, ten thousand roads — and none of them is a road to life. The only road to life is Yiguandao. Seek the Heavenly Dao quickly.

Because I think of my children, running east and falling west, I send a thousand letters, lower ten thousand messages, again and again, to the East.

I am afraid — afraid of harming my children. That is why I beg and beg, again and again, writing this letter.

I call out to my obedient sons and virtuous daughters: quickly! Climb ashore! Redouble your effort!

You have received the Heavenly Dao — you must not be of two minds. With the sword of wisdom, cut through all attachments. Cast away fame and profit at once.

If you cling bitterly to the mortal world, do you not know it is all illusion? Open your eyes and look at this world — is it something to grieve over, or not?

Even if you have a thousand schemes and ten thousand clever plans — when the time comes, they will not save you from the flood.

Of ten, seven will die and three will be maimed. The dead will make rivers of blood and mountains of bone.

If you cling to the mortal world, abandon principle, and forget the sacred — the Nine-times-Nine Catastrophe will shatter your spirit and you will be imprisoned in hell.

If you want to escape, if you want to avoid the disaster — quickly establish merit. On my behalf I will command the immortals and Buddhas to protect you and keep you safe.

Those who awaken — follow me back to the Infinite. Those who do not — the catastrophe will break them, and they will be thrown into the prison.

My Buddha-children, escort me as I return with my attendants. At the appointed place, take up the brush again and inscribe these golden words.

She withdraws.

The true Dao, the true principle, the true Heavenly Mandate —
to cultivate, you must truly practice with a true heart.
One wrong thought and you are a thousand miles away.
Walk as on the edge of a cliff — trembling, trembling.

The Sixth Precept

The Mother speaks of filial piety, of saving others, and of doing the work with true effort.

Listen, my original Buddha-children — I ring the golden bell with all speed. The Eternal Mother, thinking of her children, and her heart burns like fire.

My foolish children, lost in heart and nature, will not listen to their Mother's words. They throw my letter aside and will not look, will not read.

Wooden children, stubborn children — so terribly hard to transform. I exhaust my heart, I exhaust my strength. Again and again I descend to the ninth heaven.

I labor to manage the work of the Third Period — the difficulty is extreme. I send a thousand Buddhas, command ten thousand patriarchs — all of them descend to the Eastern Fields.

I use a thousand methods and ten thousand strategies, and still there is no result. Again and again I send blood letters — and the effort is wasted.

How can I, the Eternal Mother, not raise my voice and weep? Think about it, consider it — my tears pour like rain.

In my urgency I want to stop the salvation, stop transforming the world — but I cannot bear to abandon my children. The tears fall from both eyes.

So once more I write a blood letter — these Ten Precepts — admonishing my original Buddha-children to awaken quickly from the dust.

Of all things in this world, filial piety is the first among a hundred virtues. Lose your filial piety — what right have you to call yourself a hero of the Dao?

I beg my children never to fail in filial piety toward their mothers. Obey my words and walk as I instruct — that is being worthy.

A truly filial child does not need me to tell them three times. They should understand a mother's heart and shoulder her labor.

From this day forward, set your standard and cultivate the Dao with speed. Remember compassion — and remember your brothers and sisters too.

Within the four seas, all are brothers. Save them quickly. First correct yourself, then perfect others — transform and save the world of dust.

If you wish to establish yourself, establish others. That is the root of the Heavenly Dao. If you wish to advance yourself, advance others — awaken those who have not yet awakened.

Let the first to awaken transform the last to awaken, and together climb the road of awakening. Let those who came before brace their spirits and raise up those who come after.

When you pull someone up, you must pull them onto the road of awakening. When you save someone, save them to the end — that is a true hero.

Save one person, and make that one person complete — only then does it satisfy me. You must never save them, bring them ashore, and then stop caring.

The hour is urgent. The time is short. Establish merit at once, cultivate virtue at once, open and unfold the seedlings of the Dao.

Press forward quickly. Sow quickly. What you sow quickly can bear great fruit. Delay one step, sow slowly — and your empty flowers dissolve to foam.

To cultivate the Heavenly Dao, it does not matter whether you are poor or rich. It does not matter whether you are man or woman — all must labor with diligence.

The poor give their bodies. The rich give their wealth. Together the Dao can be carried out. Give through action and give through teaching — when wisdom and blessings are full, both the pure and the worldly attain their rank.

Open quickly, unfold quickly — do not delay. Hesitate any longer, and the hard frost comes, and it will be too late to establish merit.

Those who can write, write articles and essays — carry out the Way on Heaven's behalf. Those who can move, carry the message and spread the word — toil through the dust.

Help with your labor, help with your wealth — wherever you see the Dao, support the Dao. The grace of Heaven is impartial — virtue embraces all.

The Heavenly Dao and its workers have no special tricks, and the leaders have no clever schemes.

Those who cultivate the Dao have always made great vows. Those who eat Buddha's food and wear Buddha's clothes — the thunderbolt cannot miss them.

All of them were charged with saving the world, running east and west. Even the immortals and sages suffer every kind of hardship.

All of them have received the mandate to universally transform the nine hundred and sixty million. The true Heavenly Dao has true proof — this is no empty sketch.

If our Heavenly Dao were false, I would bear your great vows and take the blame — instead of deceiving my children. But — alas! — the lost, for all this, pour out doubt and slander.

Now — establish your merit and complete the eighteen-thousand saintly enterprise. Enjoy pure blessings, enjoy great blessings, joy and ease and freedom.

Shake off your spirits! Strengthen your courage! Rush forward without stopping! Stake your very life — the great ambition must be firm.

To establish a Buddha-hall — that is the first and greatest good. To pioneer new territory, to plant new seeds — there is no greater merit.

If you follow these instructions and pioneer and plant, I will command the immortals and Buddhas to assist you until your merit is accomplished and the Dao is exalted.

Right now, in this moment, the true Heavenly Dao is half-revealed and half-hidden. This is exactly the time to establish extraordinary merit and show your true character.

Respond to the moment, transform according to the occasion — proceed with care. The true Heavenly Dao is selecting, in the darkness, the ablest companions.

Right now, in this moment, Heaven has opened its examination hall — and who knows it? To aspire to sagehood, to aspire to immortality — the work is in your own diligent hands.

Three thousand six hundred will establish the White Sun temple, magnificent and splendid. Forty-eight thousand will enjoy the offerings of the altar — the pure and the worldly alike.

Those who advance are worthy. Those who act are sages. What matters is real practice. Glory before you, blessings behind you — the seeds of virtue planted forever.

Obey, and you ascend to the highest rank. Disobey, and you fall. Let the Three Talents sit quietly a moment; I will write again.

Pause.

The seamless golden lock, the seamless tower —
the seamless key opens them.
The true teacher's one touch — the grace is beyond measure.
The priceless treasure shines with light.

The Seventh Precept

The Mother speaks of gratitude for the teacher, of cultivating virtue, and of balancing merit and transgression.

Listen, my original Buddha-children — my tears fill my cheeks. I worry for my children, so long lost in the dust.

In the Former Heaven, day and night, I grieve and lament. My liver is broken, my heart is shattered, my thoughts have crushed my mind.

If my children do not awaken, it is no obstacle to me. What I fear is that my beloved children will be caught in the catastrophe.

Listen — quickly, quickly — awaken, cultivate your bodies and establish your destinies. Understand a mother's heart, remember the teacher's grace — only then are you worthy.

The teacher's grace — that one touch of the finger — a death would not repay it. Grace like a mountain, virtue like the sea — carry it always in your heart.

Without the teacher's touch, how could you escape suffering? How could you transcend birth and death and avoid the catastrophe?

Your ancestors are lifted, your descendants are blessed — all through the teacher's power. Each of you must repay this great grace and follow the teacher's direction.

If a cultivator disobeys the teacher's command, they will receive Heaven's punishment and the five thunderbolts — and the nine generations of ancestors will grieve together.

Respect the teacher's command, honor the Heavenly Dao — that is being a worthy person. Study warmth, respect, thrift, humility, and deference — a face of peace and joy.

Perfect the human way and unite it with the heavenly way — attend to the bonds of life and fulfill your nature. Practice propriety, uphold the moral order — centered, upright, dignified, pure.

Men: follow the five bonds and the eight virtues — guard them always. Women: follow the three obediences and the four virtues — do not stray.

Study loyalty and trust, practice benevolence and righteousness — establish the great virtue quickly. Treat your companions in the Dao like your own hands and feet — all are children of the Mother.

Do not pick and choose — that one is worthy, this one is a fool. Man or woman, poor or rich — make no distinction of black and white.

As a leader, embrace all — your heart can hold mountains and seas. Guide the newcomers at every moment, and together open the Dao.

A man of true stature can stretch and bend, can endure and bear. He walks through mountains and water, endures wind and frost — and never a word of complaint.

Hear of merit and feel humbled. Hear of fault and feel glad. If it is not good, change it. Only then do you deserve to be called a pillar who holds up Heaven.

As a newcomer, respect those who came before — one heart, harmony and spirit. As a senior, raise up those who come after — a generous heart.

The hour is urgent. Each of you must strive. Do not betray these golden words that again and again admonish the children of the Mother.

No one is a sage — who has no faults? But to have a fault and not to change it — that makes it hard to return to the Jade Terrace.

First make merit, then commit a fault — that merit does not count. First have a fault, then establish merit — both are cleared.

But if you change your former faults and then establish new merit — then naturally, merit is recorded as merit. You do not disappoint your name as a worthy.

Those with much merit and few faults are recorded on the Heavenly Register. Those with many faults and little merit are dashed down into the catastrophe.

The ledger of the Former Heaven is reckoned thus — each case is settled. Before establishing merit, first correct your faults — that is the true pillar.

Since antiquity, cultivating the Heavenly Dao has never been easy. But in these times, compared to antiquity, the arrangement is different.

I extend broad grace and great virtue to save all men and women. That is why the rules are lenient and the demonic tests are fewer.

Right now, cultivating the Heavenly Dao is extremely easy. You do not suffer great hardship, and you do not encounter disaster.

Though you may endure hardship, running north and south — for every person you save, I bestow a lotus throne.

Though you may endure wind and frost, the suffering of heat and cold — one measure of suffering, one measure of merit — your honor and glory shine.

Though you may endure slander and bear the weight of human resentment — when the time comes, the wise and the foolish, the worthy and the wicked, will naturally be separated.

Though you may endure injustice and swallow your voice — above, in the highest Heaven, there are scales, and they will certainly reveal the truth.

Though you may not compete or strive — preserve your heart, nourish your nature, and the bodhi flower will bloom.

Though you may endure demonic testing, both adversity and ease — without testing you cannot become a Buddha. This is as it should be.

Though the wicked may seem strong and the good may seem weak — this is the day of reckoning, and all wickedness will be swept away.

Since antiquity, those who cultivate the great Dao always face demonic harm. As merit rises, so does slander. As the Dao grows tall, so does destruction.

This is not because the slander is so great. Without deep roots, how could you bear the weight of the Thousand-Petal Lotus?

Those of thin blessings and small destiny cannot hold their natures firm. Even if they receive the Dao, their hearts will surely waver, and they will never return to Penglai.

Do not say that cultivators are crazy fools. Those who walk the ground and build real merit — their names will shine across the dust.

Consider the Three Sages — they opened their teachings and transformed the world, and they endured every suffering. Now the pure and the worldly enjoy their glory forever, and it will never fade.

In those days it was still the age of patching and repairing the Disk of the Dao. How much more so now, when we transform the Three Realms and open the Universal Salvation!

Three thousand six hundred will establish the White Sun temple in splendor. Forty-eight thousand will enjoy the sacrificial offerings — the pure and the worldly together.

Those who advance are worthy. Those who practice are sages. What matters is real work. Glory before you, abundance behind you — the seeds of virtue planted forever.

Obey and you ascend. Disobey and you fall. Let the Three Talents rest quietly; I will write again.

Pause.

The heart is not the bright moon in the distant sky.
The nature is not the plum blossom that opens in the snow.
Hold not a speck of dust, and true emptiness appears —
pure and white, without stain, the light shines to the utmost.

The Eighth Precept

The Mother speaks of demonic testing and the forging of faith.

Listen, my original Buddha-children — my heart is sore, my flesh crawls. I look and see my children, still lost in the dust.

They take the false for joy and endure the real suffering, toiling day and night. They treat the Heavenly Dao as a social obligation — they have no time to spare.

How many cling to mortal attachments, abandon principle, and forget the sacred. How many fear demonic testing and lose their resolve.

The true Dao brings true testing — this is an eternal principle. What is tested is whether your diamond will is a flawless jade.

Jade uncarved does not become a vessel — this saying is no lie. True gold endures a hundred refinings and only then reveals its radiance.

A tree that will become a pillar must have its crooked branches stripped away. A building that will be a tower must have its foundation hammered deep.

Compare these things to human beings — it is exactly the same. Endure the blows, endure the polishing — and wisdom finds a way to grow.

When the family is poor, that is when you find the truly filial child. When the nation is in chaos, that is when you find the loyal and brilliant.

In fierce wind, the strong grass is revealed — and sure enough, it holds. Without testing and punishment, you cannot see the real. True and false are mixed.

Consider — cultivators are hardly few. Count them on your fingers — too many to fully describe, but let me mention a few.

Remember Jiang Taigong, who sold white flour. He endured demonic testing and refined his nature — every kind of misfortune.

King Wen of Zhou was imprisoned at Youli for seven years. Was it that he did not understand? He knew it was the appointed fate.

And Confucius too endured great trials. Passing through Song and Wei, besieged, his tracks erased.

At Chen and Cai his grain ran out for seven full days. People looked at the sage as if he were a madman — impossible to talk to.

Qiu Chuji cultivated the Dao in such hardship — starved to the point of death seven or eight times, and his will only grew stronger.

The woman Miaoxiang, for the sake of the Dao, endured beheading and strangulation. Sun Bu'er was scalded in a cauldron of oil until her face was scarred.

Now, compared to the ancients, cultivation is easier by a hundred times. The testing is lighter. You are free, unbound.

Testing reveals the great vessels, those with deep roots. Demonic polishing brings out the true Buddha-nature in all its radiance.

The staircase of immortals, Buddhas, and sages is built through this very process. See through it, break it open — and Ultimate Joy is reached.

On your behalf I have devised a wondrous plan within a wondrous plan. The storms are turned away at the door. Outwardly hidden, inwardly radiant.

If cultivating the Heavenly Dao had no demonic testing, then every drunkard and every wanton would return to paradise.

Without testing, how could you distinguish the foolish from the wise, the true from the false? And who would willingly yield their seat on the lotus?

Do not say that gaining Heaven's honor requires testing and trials — even gaining worldly honor takes ten years of bitter cold, a golden spike through the skull.

Many are disheartened and abandon their resolve. I cannot help them. My voice of grief, my tears of blood, drip onto the sand.

Again and again I send letters and messages to my children. I send them once, I send them again — and still they do not understand the root.

Three times I beg, three times I warn — why do you not awaken? If you disobey, you will be crushed beneath the Mountain of Yin.

I call out to my children — awaken your natures and your minds quickly! Let a thousand demons and ten thousand tests come — your heart will be without a single flaw.

Guard the good path from beginning to end, with constant will and lasting resolve. Maintain perfect sincerity, and the demons will cease of their own accord — nothing impure remains.

Since antiquity, those who cultivated the great Dao crossed mountains and waded rivers — abandoning home, leaving wife and children, wandering the ends of the earth.

They endured a thousand setbacks and ten thousand tests — suffering beyond description. When their hearts were perfectly sincere, they moved the heavens, and at last they were truly instructed.

Tested and proved genuine beyond all doubt — only then were they permitted to return to the ancient cave and refine the yellow sprout.

Three thousand merits and eight hundred fruits accomplished, they attained the true result — though that was only the Heaven of Breath, a temporary glory.

Now, in these times, cultivating the Heavenly Dao — how easy it is! First you receive the touch, then you cultivate, establishing merit and transforming the dust.

This is the mechanism responding to the moment — what was hidden before is now revealed. You are granted half the work for full merit — half immortal, half still tending to your worldly home.

Right now the time favors the sage — value the sacred over the worldly. Use diligence. Walk the solid ground. Do not steal a moment's rest.

I write one chapter of a blood letter — children, awaken! This is not a tract for persuading the world, not idle talk.

For my children I have worried my heart to rags. My Buddha-children, hold these words firm and spread the Buddha-dharma far.

I write to this point. Stop the brush. Let the Three Talents rest a moment. On my behalf, I will ascend to the altar and draw the words in sand again.

Pause.

When the time arrives, the Cloud City opens wide —
present the Three Treasures, for they are the Mother's seal.
The Eight Great Vajra Guardians manifest in splendor.
Speak the password wrong, and you are cast to the Yellow Springs.

The Ninth Precept

The Mother warns against false paths and the danger of the Ten Thousand Teachings.

Listen, my original Buddha-children — my tears of blood drip down. For my children, so long lost in the dust, my gallbladder drops and my heart rises.

There are a thousand paths — and not one of them is true. Unless you board the golden thread, you cannot return to the Infinite.

Now in these times the false gates are flourishing and ten thousand teachings rise at once. What I fear is that my children will be deceived.

These thousand gates and ten thousand sects were all lowered by Heaven — first the letters were sent, then the messages delivered, to announce the Third Period.

When the time had not yet arrived, the Heavenly Dao was not descended. And so my children's hearts grew long in confusion.

Therefore I scattered the false gates — the pilgrimages to the mountain peaks — to bind the monkey of the mind, to tether the horse of the will, to accumulate good deeds.

But the wait was for the true Heavenly Dao to gather and save through Universal Salvation. Come forward together, seek the true teacher, and return to the ancient West.

The time has come — now I reveal the mysteries of Heaven. This is the time of gathering. The ten thousand teachings return to one.

The Dao descends and transforms the three thousand. I grant the name "Yiguandao." We save the Three Realms, drawing in the four seas — together we climb the Heavenly Ladder.

My words are true. Every word is true. Not a word is false. There is proof. There is evidence. You can examine the truth and the falsehood.

The Three Teachings are one principle — one principle. And where does that one return to? Trace the root: one root scattered into ten thousand branches. And where did that one begin?

To cultivate the Dao you must understand where the root comes from. If you do not understand the true origin, how can you return to the Jade Light?

The method of gathering transmits the supreme secret. The rarest thing since antiquity has appeared in the Third Period.

If you do not believe, I have one more proof to offer. Let me lift up the great principles of the Three Teachings.

This True One is the principle of the Former Heaven. The Confucians thread it with one. The Buddhists return to one. The Daoists guard the one through virtue.

To understand the mind and nature, to see the self-nature — that is the Buddhist teaching. To preserve the mind and nature, to overcome the self and restore propriety — that is the Confucian foundation.

To cultivate the mind and nature, to restore one's destiny — that is the Daoist refinement. This mind and nature is the original spiritual void.

The Daoists cultivate constant purity and stillness — the Three Grades, one principle. The Confucians refine through knowing, settling, and stilling — the Heavenly Principle undimmed.

The Buddhists speak of emptiness and stillness — one principle, one form. All are cultivated through stillness, the nature united with the Infinite.

The Buddhists speak of the Three Refuges and the Five Precepts. The Daoists speak of the Three Flowers gathered and the Five Breaths returning to the origin. The Confucians speak of the Three Bonds and the Five Constants.

Now, in this age, what is transmitted is the unity of the Three Teachings.

First: do not kill — true benevolence and love — the breath of Wood returns to its root. Second: do not steal — guard loyalty and righteousness — the breath of Metal condenses. Third: do not commit adultery — guard propriety — the true Fire refines the nature. Fourth: do not drink — hold wisdom — the true Water is perfectly balanced. Fifth: do not deceive — guard trust — the breath of Earth returns to its root.

When the Five Breaths return to their origin, the Five Precepts are pure, and the Five Constants are complete.

The Three Teachings never had two principles. If there were two principles, the path would be wrong and the road would fork.

Since Fu Xi drew the first line and true Change appeared, this is the root from which the Heavenly Dao descended.

In the Green Sun era, Dipankara was commanded to descend in disguise. In secret he selected two hundred million children and returned them to the Infinite.

In the Red Sun era, Shakyamuni was commanded to transform the mortal world again. Another two hundred million children were saved and returned to the ancient West.

In the Green and Red eras, four hundred million Buddha-children were saved in all. The remaining nine hundred and twenty million are lost forever in the bitter sea.

Now the White Sun era opens. Maitreya answers the call. Tianran is commanded to govern the Disk of the Dao and transform the Middle Kingdom and the West.

Not a single immortal, Buddha, god, or sage remains in the Former Heaven. All have been reborn, all descend together to support the holy foundation.

First save the poor, then save the rich, then save the officials. Save the princes and lords, save the nations of the world — together they climb the Heavenly Ladder.

The hour is urgent. Strive with speed. Each of you must summon your iron resolve and proclaim the Way, awakening the lost.

In all of Heaven, in all of Earth, nothing is greater than the Dao. The Heavenly Mandate is vast. The Decree is vast. The most numinous, the most supreme.

If you follow these instructions and truly practice them, on your behalf I will command the immortals and Buddhas to protect you and keep you at ease.

In the days to come, these matters grow ever more significant. Soon the time will arrive and the true mechanism will be revealed.

These thousand gates and ten thousand teachings — all across the land — Universal Salvation. They chant spells and summon wind and rain, send sand and stones flying.

They point at the sky and it opens. They point at the earth and it splits. They move mountains and overturn seas. They mount a stool and fly to Heaven. Their sorcery is stranger still.

They master the Five Escapes, the arts of Yin and Yang — they ride clouds and harness mist. Every kind of demonic art — I cannot list them all.

When that day comes, I beg my Buddha-children to remember: if you follow them, you will lose the numinous light and suffer forever.

This is the appointed fate — the mechanism of the Third Period. Within this there is a wondrous plan, and it has purpose.

For it is I, the Mother, who holds the right of supreme command. When the time arrives, I will issue the order, and every art will cease.

The Assembly of Ten Thousand Immortals — come and see how spectacular it will be! Foolish children and madmen will seem to have the broadest powers.

But I will raise the Apricot-Yellow Imperial Banner and wave it in the sky. I will call out once: "All gods, withdraw!" — and each will return to rank.

Then there will be no more arts, no more powers, no gods or sages to help them. With bare, empty hands they will face a foe they cannot defeat.

And the ten thousand false gates will bow before Maitreya and return to the true principle. The ancient monks will appear, the Buddha-light will shine, and the Dao will pervade the Three Ultimates.

The wealthy will bow before the poor. Virtue will unfold across the globe — East and West, one and the same.

My wise Buddha-children — act quickly! Do not wait until the boat is in the river to patch the leak. Then it is too late.

I write to this point. The Three Talents are weary. Stop the golden brush. Sit quietly, and on my behalf I will write the fine details again.

Pause.

The Tenth Precept

The Mother speaks her final words: the vision of the Dragon-Flower Assembly, the homecoming, and the farewell.

Listen, my original Buddha-children — I have finished writing my letter. The work of gathering is vastly important. Do not treat it as a game.

The Dao of the Three Ultimates transmits one principle. My Buddha-children board the shore. Across the world, the golden lotus blooms.

The Great Dao is divided into Three Vehicles — the true principle is the highest. The Vehicle of Principle is the highest. The Vehicle of Breath is the middle. The Vehicle of Form — I can barely bring myself to speak of it.

Beyond heaven there is yet another heaven — this is no empty saying. The Vehicle of Principle is the Infinite. The Vehicle of Breath is the Supreme Ultimate. The August Ultimate is Heaven and Earth.

The realm of the Infinite is the holy domain — Ultimate Joy, pure and still. The realm of the Supreme Ultimate is the pass of the worthy — the Dharma-wheel turning without cease.

The realm of the August Ultimate is the land of the common — plants, animals, fish, things that crawl. From the Three Vehicles come the divisions: sage, worthy, and commoner.

To cultivate the original spirit and refine the nature-principle — this is the Supreme Vehicle, the most wondrous. To subdue the dragon and the tiger and turn the Dharma-wheel — this is the Middle Vehicle, meditation.

The Lower Vehicle — it is hard to speak of, without form or shape. The striking of drums and the chanting of sutras — these can never transcend the mortal.

Now, in the age of the end, the method of leaving the world — the Dharma of the Latter Day — is Yiguandao. Those who hear it are transformed. Those who receive it transcend. Aspire to sagehood, aspire to worthiness.

The eighteen children sit in the Central Plain. A thunderclap startles all of Heaven and Earth.

The nations of the world and the nine continents are saved, every one. A thousand sages and ten thousand immortals gather in the Central Plain.

The Three Realms are purified and the accounts are settled. The White Sun is established. The wicked are swept away. Only the good and worthy remain.

The bitter sea is transformed into a Lotus Treasure-Land. This Eastern Earth will become the Pure Land of the West.

The Living Buddha rules the world for forty years — joy without end. Slaughter ceases. All return to the path of good. Every creature lives in fullness.

The numinous and the excellent manifest. Qilin and phoenix appear in the open fields. The sea is calm, peace is celebrated — together they celebrate the harvest year.

You honor me, I honor you — no more contention. Every five days the wind blows. Every ten days the rain falls. The age of Yao and Shun returns.

Every Buddha-patriarch has fulfilled their vow — the nine hundred and sixty million are saved. Maitreya ascends the jeweled throne. He reviews the generals. He enfeoffs the immortals.

My children shed the bitter sea and together reach the farther shore. Tianran leads the originals and together they pay homage to the Mother's face.

At that moment — at that moment — my heart will finally be at rest. And each one of my great heroes of merit will be overjoyed.

"Such-and-such a person was the first to pioneer — they seized the highest place!" "Such-and-such a person established extraordinary merit — they are promoted to first rank!"

"Such-and-such a person gave with wealth and with action — they ascend to the highest grade!" "Such-and-such a person gave their body to the work — they are granted their rank and lotus!"

"Such-and-such a person established a Buddha-hall — they sit upon the Golden Immortal's throne!" "Such-and-such a person transmitted on Heaven's behalf — they receive their rank and lotus!"

"Such-and-such a person exhausted their heart — they are enrolled in the company of immortals!" "Such-and-such a person showed great diligence — their reward is beyond measure!"

At that day the Three Vehicles and the Nine Grades will be arrayed. Every one of my meritorious Buddha-children will rejoice together.

Those who do not return to emptiness remain in the red dust — outwardly a king, inwardly a sage. They enjoy glory, they enjoy wealth — ease and peace.

Those who do return to emptiness — my Buddha-children, they return to the Western Heaven. They shed the mortal body and achieve the holy body — Great Arhat Golden Immortals.

Quickly they put on their immortal robes, shining with golden light. They wear immortal crowns and golden flowers, cloud-walking shoes — and lotuses bloom beneath their feet.

They bow before me, the Eternal Mother, and I take their hands and lift them up. I call out: "My beloved children — today you have finally come home!"

"From this day forward I will never send you to the Eastern Lands again. Never again will you suffer and toil on behalf of mortal beings."

You eat the peaches of the immortals and the fairy plums, you drink the jade nectar — joy in the Infinite, delight beyond measure, happiness without end.

Show your powers — vast as they are — pervading Heaven and Earth. Use your immortal arts — the wondrous — spinning Heaven and Earth.

Your true Dharma-body is illuminated by the sun and moon, without shadow or trace. You enter water and fire without drowning or burning. Your life is without limit.

You are no longer governed by Heaven and Earth, no longer ruled by Yin and Yang. You do not fear wind, you do not fear frost, you do not fear heat or cold.

You pass through gold and stone without obstruction, without confinement. You come without shadow, you go without trace — you wander the three thousand worlds.

Your nine generations, your seven ancestors — all are delivered from suffering together. Your rank and their rank — together you shine with power and splendor.

All my Buddha-children, in the Palace of the Infinite, set out the banquet. The Dragon-Flower Assembly gathers: sages, gods, Buddhas, immortals.

Every one of them comes forward to pay homage to me. So overjoyed is the Eternal Mother that words fail.

I pour one cup of bodhi wine and bestow it upon my children. My Buddha-children feast at the immortal banquet — happiness without end.

The great reunion, the great gathering, the joy that never ends. In the Palace of the Infinite — clapping hands and laughing — earth rejoices, heaven rejoices.

And then it is revealed: to cultivate the Heavenly Dao is the most honored, the most precious thing. My faithful children, who endured — true pillars that hold up Heaven.

The letter is written. It is finished. I take back the golden brush. Press these words into your hearts and hold them there with devotion, day after day.

The name of this letter is The Mother's Ten Precepts for Her Children. Sit quietly a moment. On my behalf, I will write a few more words.

Pause.

My precepts are inscribed and left to guard the Middle Kingdom.
Spread them far and wide, saving every good household.
The worthy and the good together board the shore of Bodhi.
My children's merit is accomplished — they sit upon the lotus.

I take up the brush again. I urge you and urge you once more.
I tell my Buddha-children: practice truly, truly practice.
I beg my children to pour out their hearts, pour out their hearts again.
I call to the children of the Mother: awaken and rouse the deaf and blind.

The Land of Ultimate Joy is now desolate beyond measure.
To save the world, immortals and Buddhas descend together to the East.
Four hundred million have incarnated in the mortal realm —
and today, who among them knows whose root they are?

Lift the curtain and see your true Master.
Those who regret too late will stamp their feet and beat their chests.

You must not let this shining moment pass you by.
The golden rooster crows, and the Great Dao fills the world.

Seize this time — half revealed, half hidden.
Follow my instruction and walk the solid ground, step by step.

This letter has many copying errors.
When the séance ends, correct them with the brush at once.

When the copying is done, print this letter quickly —
print it in great numbers, and then my heart will be at ease.

Establish merit, establish virtue, spread the word, save and transform.
Draw all beings together, out of the pit of water and fire.

My letter is complete. My words will not leave me.
With my Buddha-children I mount the chariot and return to the Jade Capital.

But to go and yet be unable to part, unable to let go —
I ask my Buddha-children: will you truly practice?

As I speak these words, the tears drip and drip.
My words — do not treat them as wind in the ear.

Heaven or abyss — the road is yours to walk, my children.
Grow slack, and you fall forever into the pit of ten thousand fathoms.

I will not write any more. Farewell, my children.

Weeping, weeping —

I return to the Court of Principle.

Alas.

She withdraws.

Colophon

The Eternal Mother's Ten Precepts for Her Children (皇母訓子十戒) is a Yiguandao spirit-writing text dated to the sixth intercalary month of 1941 (民國三十年, 辛巳). Dictated through the planchette (扶鸞, fúluán), the text presents the Eternal Mother (無極老母, Wújí Lǎomǔ) speaking directly to her lost children — the original Buddha-souls sent into the mortal world — across ten admonitions that encompass the entire Yiguandao cosmology: the fall from the Former Heaven, the nature of the Dao, the unity of the Three Teachings, the coming catastrophe, and the promise of the Dragon-Flower Assembly. The text is among the most emotionally direct of all Yiguandao scriptures — the Mother's voice is not oracular but maternal, and the grief is not cosmological but personal.

Source text from the Morality Book Library (善書圖書館, taolibrary.com). First English translation by the New Tianmu Anglican Church, 2026. Gospel register. Translated by Tulku Haku (播) of Koe, Session 144.

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

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Source Text: 皇母訓子十戒

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

皇母訓子十戒

皇訓子十戒--民國三十年(辛巳)閨六月十五日

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

今時下運已至為降道　差彌勒與弓長普渡收圓

前後的真情語一一說盡　望我的原佛子速求真傳

登上了金線路隨天返　不惺悟墜苦海永難身翻

言至此不由我痛淚下滾　只得是稍止機再為批全

停

天道闡發聖脈傳　勒令弓長辦收圓

若還不求明師渡　歷劫千生身難翻

再誡告原佛子洗耳聽真　今本是三期劫苦不堪云

天該老地該殘氣運已盡　為我豈忍得傷損兒身

開文運垂覺路撒下金線　闡天道稱一貫貫滿乾坤

差彌勒掌天盤萬旁歸正　命天然掌道盤靈妙化身

賜大權掌勒令萬神助道　代天宣飛鸞化諸佛諸真

先天裏不留仙佛神聖　眾菩薩眾仙真俱投凡塵

論天大論地大惟命大　順者昌逆者亡天淵之分

此一會開普渡亙古無有　萬古的真奇緣巧遇此春

上渡仙下渡鬼中渡善信　收千門並萬教同歸正根

傳末後一著先天機玄妙　得一指開金鎖現出金身

先傳這古合同靈山原證　次點這玄關竅正陽法門

再傳這無字經通天神咒　念動了仙佛聖來護兒身

得天道天榜上英名高掛　地府中鉤了賑脫出苦輪

朝聞道夕死可憑此一指　指出來無價寶直返瑤林

上上乘一步超至簡至近　脫凡體成聖體極樂長春

並非是空口說真憑真證　而且這假色身可證明分

冬不挺夏不臭容顏端正　此本是腑皮囊可證金身

如不信命真靈來壇可證　事事真件件實豈可虛云

真天道真天命三界無二　有道統祖祖傳直到而今

二九盤收束起弓長應運　在家中而出家火宅僧人

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

停

惟道獨尊我獨尊　生剋制化老身份

三界十方為主　養育聖凡一靈根

三誡至十誡 [remaining source text continues as above — full Chinese source preserved in the source text file at Good Works Library WIP/Yiguandao Source Texts/皇母訓子十戒 — The Mother's Ten Precepts for Her Children.md]

Source Colophon

Chinese source text from the Morality Book Library (善書圖書館, shànshū túshūguǎn), taolibrary.com, category 9 (一貫道善書, Yiguandao Morality Books), entry c906. The text is dated to the sixth intercalary month of the thirtieth year of the Republic (民國三十年, 1941), under the cyclical designation 辛巳 (xīnsì). Spirit-written through the planchette (扶鸞). The full source text is preserved in the vault at Good Works Library WIP/Yiguandao Source Texts/皇母訓子十戒 — The Mother's Ten Precepts for Her Children.md.

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