Chiyang Daoren, Eastern Taoism
All Taoist precepts share the same core aim: to guide all beings to “illuminate the mind and see their nature, and reach the highest good.” Whether it is the basic Five Precepts or the advanced Great Precepts of the Three Altars, in essence they help practitioners, by restraining words and deeds and purifying the mind and nature, to “accumulate good until merit is complete, accumulate essence until it becomes spirit, and when the spirit is complete, attain immortal longevity.”
Because of the different schools, the different stages of practice, and the different eras in which they arose, Taoist precepts fall into many categories, but their content is broadly similar. The main ones are described below:
The main Taoist precepts include the Nine Xiang'er Precepts; the Five Precepts; the Ten Precepts; the Great Precepts and Rules of the Jasper Palace of Perfection; the Ten Precepts of Divine Lord Fuyou; the Great Superior Precepts of Wisdom; the Superior Precepts of Wisdom for Closing Off the Six Emotions; the Great Superior Precepts of Wisdom for Saving Beings; the Texts of the Precepts of the Three Caverns; the Great Precepts of the Three Altars; “Venerating the Hundred Medicines,” “Discourse on the Hundred Illnesses,” and so on.
1. The Nine Xiang'er Precepts: These are the “Xiang'er Precepts of Lord Lao,” also called the “Xiang'er Precepts of the Venerable Scripture of the Tao and Its Virtue” (that is, the Tao Te Ching). The text derives from the Xiang'er Commentary on the Laozi (Laozi Xiang'er Zhu), and is divided into upper, middle, and lower grades, nine precepts in all. The upper-grade precepts are: practice non-action; practice softness and weakness; practice holding to the feminine and do not be first to move. The middle-grade precepts are: practice namelessness; practice clarity and stillness; practice all good deeds. The lower-grade precepts are: practice desirelessness; practice knowing when to stop and being content; practice yielding to others. The Way of the Celestial Masters holds that those who can keep the upper-grade precepts may hope to be ranked among the immortals; those who can keep the middle-grade precepts may prolong their years; and those who can keep the lower-grade precepts may avoid early death and injury. The Nine Xiang'er Precepts became one of the principal sets of precepts of the Zhengyi (Orthodox Unity) school.
2. The Taoist Five Precepts: These are the Five Precepts of Lord Lao, said to have been expounded by Lord Lao the Most High (Taishang Laojun). The first precept is against killing, the second against stealing, the third against sexual misconduct, the fourth against false speech, and the fifth against alcohol. Taoist rules stipulate that register-holding disciples, after receiving the Three Precepts, then receive the Five Precepts; the Five Precepts together with the Three Precepts make the Eight Precepts. In heaven, the Five Precepts are the five planets: when the way of heaven fails the precepts, calamities and strange portents appear. On earth they are the Five Peaks: when the way of earth fails the precepts, the hundred grains do not ripen. In number they are the Five Phases: when the five numbers fail the precepts, water and fire clash and metal and wood harm each other. In government they are the Five Emperors: when the Five Emperors fail the precepts, their reigns are cut short and they perish. In the human being they are the five zang organs: when the five organs fail the precepts, one’s nature is driven to madness. If even one of the Five Precepts is lost, life cannot be fulfilled.
The Precepts Scripture of Lord Lao the Most High (Taishang Laojun Jiejing) says: “These Five Precepts are the foundation for upholding oneself and the root for upholding the teaching. Good men and good women who delight in the good teaching, receive them, and keep them all their lives without transgression are called disciples of pure faith.” These, then, are the precepts received by disciples of pure faith and disciples of pure truth.
3. The Nine Perfect Precepts: Also called the “Nine Wondrous Perfect Precepts,” these are precepts kept by the dead. They were proclaimed by the Divine Lord of the Nine Heavens in person: those who wear and honor them ascend to the Nine Heavens, while those who treat them lightly fall into the Nine Earths.
Chapter 20 of the Corpus of Taoist Ritual (Daofa Huiyuan) says: “The Nine Perfect Precepts are proclaimed to the souls of the departed; if they keep the precepts with a focused heart, they can attain the wondrous Tao.”
According to chapter 6 of the Wondrous Scripture of the Northern Emperor’s Divine Incantations for Subduing Demons (Beidi Fumo Shenzhou Miaojing), the precepts are: first, be respectful and yielding, and care for your parents with filial piety; second, be diligent, and be loyal to your sovereign; third, do not kill, but compassionately save all living beings; fourth, do not commit sexual misconduct, but keep yourself upright in dealing with things; fifth, do not steal, but uphold righteousness even at your own cost; sixth, do not give way to anger, bullying others with fury; seventh, do not deceive, flattering and scheming to harm the good; eighth, do not be arrogant, slighting the Perfected; ninth, do not be divided, but keep the precepts with single-minded devotion.
The Great Rites of the Jade Hall of the Three Heavens of the Supreme Mysterious Origin (Wushang Xuanyuan Santian Yutang Dafa) says: If people of the world can receive the Nine Wondrous Perfect Precepts and wear the precious tablet of salvation from suffering and long life, then while they live they will receive blessings and enjoy long life; and when their allotted span is exhausted, they will not enter the cycle of rebirth but will ascend directly to the Cinnabar Heaven.
4. The Precepts of Initial Perfection: The Precepts of Initial Perfection are the golden rules and jade laws that all who enter the Tao must observe; they are the gateway to the Tao and the starting point of cultivating it. They include the Five Precepts, the Eight Precepts, the Ten Precepts, and the Nine Precepts for Female Perfected. The Explanation of the Precepts of Initial Perfection explains in great detail the purpose of establishing these precepts: namely, to establish the heart of the Tao, spread the Tao, and establish virtue.
The Precepts of Initial Perfection require that the ten evils not arise, that one be without thought and without action, that one’s single thought be on cultivating the Tao, that the ordinary mind be cast off, and that one take the precepts as one’s teacher.
In the Precepts of Initial Perfection (Chuzhen Jielü) by Wang Changyue of the Qing dynasty, those entering the Tao first receive the precepts of taking refuge in the Three Treasures: first, take refuge with your body in the Great Tao of the Ultimate of Nothingness (Wuji) of the Most High, so as to escape the cycle of rebirth forever—this is called the Treasure of the Tao; second, take refuge with your spirit in the Venerable Scriptures in Thirty-Six Sections, so as to hear the true teaching—this is called the Treasure of the Scriptures; third, take refuge with your life in the Great Masters of the Law within the Mystery, so as not to fall into false views—this is called the Treasure of the Masters.
(1) The Five Precepts of Initial Perfection: The Five Precepts of Initial Perfection are the foundation of the Precepts of Initial Perfection: the first gate for entering the Tao, a good prescription for purifying the mind, and the pivot between leaving the world and entering it. Everyone who enters the Tao must grasp their meaning firmly.
The Taoist Five Precepts are: 1. Do not kill living beings; 2. Do not eat meat or drink alcohol; 3. Do not say one thing while meaning another; 4. Do not steal; 5. Do not commit sexual misconduct.
These Five Precepts are the foundation for upholding oneself and the root for protecting the teaching. If one can measure oneself against them, one’s years will be increased and life prolonged, the gods of heaven will protect one, one will escape the suffering of the five punishments forever, and in life after life one will not lose a human body.
The Taoist “Eight Precepts”: The Five Precepts later developed into the “Eight Precepts.” Lu Xiujing says in Receiving and Keeping the Eight Precepts that to the Five Precepts are added: 6. Do not lie on high, wide, large beds; 7. Do not anoint yourself all over with fragrant oils for adornment; 8. Do not indulge in pleasures by performing as an entertainer.
(2) The Ten Precepts of Initial Perfection: Those who keep the Five Precepts, having corrected body and mind and removed stray thoughts, are permitted to receive the Ten Precepts of Initial Perfection decreed by the Heavenly Worthy the Void Sovereign. The Ten Precepts are:
The first precept: Do not be disloyal, unfilial, inhumane, or untrustworthy; exhaust your devotion to sovereign and parents, and extend sincerity to all things;
The second precept: Do not plot harm in secret, harming others to benefit yourself; practice hidden merit and help all living beings widely;
The third precept: Do not kill living creatures to gratify your palate; practice kindness and compassion, extending even to insects;
The fourth precept: Do not indulge in lewdness that ruins your true nature and defiles the numinous qi; guard your chastity and let it suffer no breach;
The fifth precept: Do not ruin others’ achievements or separate them from their own flesh and blood; use the Tao to help others, and bring harmony to the nine generations of kin;
The sixth precept: Do not slander the worthy and good, or show off your talents and exalt yourself; praise the good qualities of others, and do not boast of your own abilities;
The seventh precept: Do not drink wine or eat meat, breaking the rules and violating the prohibitions; harmonize your qi and nature, and devote yourself to purity and emptiness;
The eighth precept: Do not be insatiably greedy, hoarding wealth without sharing it; practice frugality, and be kind and caring to the poor;
The ninth precept: Do not keep company with the unworthy, or live amid filth and disorder; aspire to those better than yourself, and dwell in purity and emptiness;
The tenth precept: Do not speak or laugh frivolously, or act without sincerity; be grave and sparing of words, and make the Tao and its virtue your task.
These Ten Precepts are decreed by the Heavenly Worthy the Void Sovereign. Those who can keep them will be protected by the gods of heaven and escape all suffering and vexation forever.
The “Ten Precepts” focus on the moral cultivation of Taoists, requiring loyalty, filial piety, helping the world, guarding one’s body, frugality, benefiting others, and pure cultivation. As the precondition for cultivating the Tao and nurturing one’s nature, and as moral norms for keeping oneself pure and observing the precepts, they make Taoists upright in conduct, so that people vie to admire them and come to them.
Taoism places special emphasis on helping all beings widely. One should turn the light inward and illuminate oneself, and be kind to others; to bestow hidden merit widely and help all beings universally is the foundation for entering the Tao. As for chastity, one should rise above ordinary human relations, abruptly end worldly ties, cut off sexual desire, and practice the Tao diligently; then one will attain the rank of immortal, blessings will reach one’s nine generations of ancestors, and good fortune will flow to the whole family. As for wealth: a person’s poverty or riches are all fixed by fate at the beginning of life. If one is destined to have wealth, it will come back even when used up; if one is born to poverty, one will not be rich however widely one seeks. If one understands this principle, one leaves all seeking and getting to naturalness: one does not wrongly take wealth that is not one’s own, nor carelessly obtain wealth that is not righteous. Wealth that one ought to have, one takes according to one’s lot, and does not fall into insatiable greed. One who can keep the “Ten Precepts” understands them in heart and spirit, with a clear and lucid spirit, and the first step in cultivating the Tao and accumulating virtue is accomplished.
(3) The Nine Precepts for Female Perfected: After the Precepts of Initial Perfection, Wang Changyue also added the Nine Precepts for Female Perfected as precepts for Taoist nuns and female believers to keep. The nine precepts are: first, be filial, respectful, gentle, and harmonious, careful in speech and free of jealousy; second, keep yourself chaste and pure, far from all impure conduct; third, cherish the lives of all creatures, be compassionate and do not kill; fourth, be diligent and careful in worship and recitation, and give up meat and wine entirely; fifth, keep your clothing and belongings plain, without ornament; sixth, regulate your temperament and let no vexation arise; seventh, do not attend fasts and gatherings too often; eighth, do not mistreat servants; ninth, do not steal others’ belongings.
The Taoist scriptures say that as long as one can keep the precepts and practice, one will surely be born into a family of the ten good deeds and will not undergo the sufferings of hell; and by cultivating the Tao with diligence, one’s name will be entered in the Purple Palace and one will be ranked among the immortals.
5. The Great Precepts of the Central Ultimate: The Precepts of the Central Ultimate were conferred by the Primordial Heavenly King on the Most High Lord of the Tao of High Sageliness, to be transmitted to the Heavenly Emperor of Grand Tenuity and the high immortals of the Supreme Ultimate. There are three hundred precepts in all, called the “Three Hundred Great Precepts of the Central Ultimate.” Their content is extremely detailed, covering everything from speech and conduct to the transmission of precepts and registers, and they may be called one of the most detailed sets of Taoist precepts. However, some of their content no longer suits the needs of the times and should be treated accordingly. Only those who have kept the Precepts of Initial Perfection without any transgression are permitted to receive the Precepts of the Central Ultimate.
6. The Great Precepts of the Celestial Immortal: The Great Precepts of the Celestial Immortal are the last of the great precepts in the complete ordination of the three altars. The complete ordination of the three altars is the Quanzhen (Complete Perfection) method of ordination with precepts, conferred on three altars, centered on the three sets of precepts: the Precepts of Initial Perfection, the Precepts of the Central Ultimate, and the Great Precepts of the Celestial Immortal. Only those who have kept the three hundred Great Precepts of the Central Ultimate without any transgression receive the Great Precepts of the Celestial Immortal.
The Precepts of Initial Perfection, the Precepts of the Central Ultimate, and the Great Precepts of the Celestial Immortal are collectively called the “Great Precepts of the Celestial Immortal of the Complete Three Altars.” Taoist texts say that one who has received the Precepts of the Celestial Immortal is called a Master of the Wondrous Tao; one who has received the Precepts of the Central Ultimate, a Master of Wondrous Virtue; and one who has received the Precepts of Initial Perfection, a Master of the Wondrous Scriptures.
7. Fast Days: Fast days are certain days in the fasting months, the birthdays of the patriarchs, or occasions of fasts and offerings (zhaijiao) and other rites, when Taoists must act strictly according to what the Taoist rules of ritual prescribe.
When Taoism laid down its precepts, it also specially established fast days—the days in each month on which one should keep fasts and precepts. On these days one must strictly observe the Taoist precepts; only then, when rites are held, will the gods of heaven give their protection, every prayer be answered, and heart and spirit be in communion.
Taoist fast days include the Ten Upright Fast Days, the Eight Festival Fast Days, the Three Primes Fast Days, the Four Beginnings Fast Days, and the Three Assemblies Fast Days.
(1) The Ten Upright Fast Days: the 1st, 8th, 14th, 15th, 18th, 23rd, 24th, 28th, 29th, and 30th days of each month (in a short month, the 27th may be used).
(2) The Eight Festival Fast Days: the days of the Beginning of Spring, the Spring Equinox, the Beginning of Summer, the Summer Solstice, the Beginning of Autumn, the Autumn Equinox, the Beginning of Winter, and the Winter Solstice.
(3) The Three Primes Fast Days: the 15th day of the first lunar month, the 15th day of the seventh month, and the 15th day of the tenth month.
(4) The Four Beginnings Fast Days: the 1st day of the first lunar month, the 1st day of the fourth month, the 1st day of the seventh month, and the 1st day of the tenth month.
(5) The Three Assemblies Fast Days: the 7th day of the first lunar month, the 7th day of the seventh month, and the 5th day of the tenth month.
These fast days are set times for keeping precepts and holding fasts. On them one must strictly keep and guard the precepts; only then can one truly teach the world by one’s upright example and move people by one’s pure heart.
Penalties for violating precepts: “Violating precepts” means that an ordained Taoist priest goes against the rules and precepts they are bound to keep. “Breaking precepts” means that a Taoist priest, having received and kept the rules and precepts, violates them again. Originally there were uniform rules for those who violated or broke precepts; later each of the Taoist temples and monasteries took its own monastic rules as the standard for punishment. Today the approach is mainly criticism and education, up to being urged to leave (cuidan, that is, dismissal).
Main fast days observed today: The fast days in Quanzhen temples today differ somewhat from the traditional system. Each public monastery (shifang conglin) mainly observes the first and fifteenth days of the month in the lunar calendar and the birthdays of the patriarchs as fast days, while hereditary temples still mainly follow the traditional fast days.