Yang Rui
Perfected Changchun, Liu Yuanran, was an important figure in the history of early Ming Taoism who carried on the past and opened the way for the future. He received the transmissions of the Jingming (Pure Brightness), Qingwei (Pure Subtlety), and Quanzhen (Complete Perfection) traditions, integrated the Taoist methods of various schools, and was honored by the Jingming school as its sixth successor master.
The Recorded Sayings of Perfected Liu Changchun (Changchun Liu Zhenren Yulu; hereafter the Recorded Sayings of Patriarch Liu) was compiled by the eminent Ming Taoist Shao Yizheng from the teachings of his master, Perfected Changchun, Liu Yuanran. It is an important text that gives concentrated expression to Taoist ideas of spiritual practice, and especially to views on precepts and on cultivation. In question-and-answer form, it sets out the place of precepts in Taoist practice, the methods of observing them, and their close connection with the cultivation of the mind and nature and with the practice of helping the world.
The thought on precepts in the Recorded Sayings of Patriarch Liu holds important practical lessons for rectifying religious conduct and correcting practice today.
1. Precepts as the Root
The Recorded Sayings of Patriarch Liu places precepts first in cultivating the Tao, regarding them as the foundation for entering the Tao, the root of practice, and the ladder to attaining the Tao.
In Liu Yuanran’s view, precepts are not merely an outward restraint on behavior but an inward self-discipline reaching to the very source of the mind and nature; he stresses cultivating both inner and outer, and the unity of knowledge and action.
Loyalty and filial piety are the starting point of cultivating the Tao. “Those who study the Tao should first devote themselves to loyalty and filial piety… for loyalty and filial piety are the root of the Great Tao.” Raising loyalty and filial piety to the level of “the root of the Great Tao,” he states plainly: “As for attaining the Tao without being rooted in loyalty and filial piety, I have never heard of it.” This carries on the idea of “loyalty and filial piety” in the Discourse on the Great Tao of Pure Brightness (Jingming Dadao Shuo) and puts into practice the saying that “loyalty and filial piety are the source of all conduct.”
In terms of the actual practice of those who study the Tao, “loyalty and filial piety” are the basis for accumulating merit and good deeds. Fulfilling one’s obligations to the family (filial devotion to parents) and one’s responsibilities to the country is the starting point for a cultivator to take part in and serve society, and also a practice for tempering the mind and nature and removing “attachment to self.” As the saying goes, “When the way of humanity is established, the way of the immortals is achieved.” Those who cultivate the Tao cannot separate themselves from real human relationships or social ties; they must practice filial piety and brotherly respect in real life, take on social responsibilities, and actively serve society. In this way, “without praying for blessings from heaven, one studies the Tao and attains the Tao of itself.”
Fasting and Precepts Are the Bridge to Inner Purity
The Scripture of the Void Sovereign (Xuhuang Jing) says: “Fasting and precepts are the root of the Tao and the ferry and bridge to the teaching.” Fasting and precepts do not merely stress outward purity of diet and the various prohibitions on behavior; their core lies rather in “fasting purely and keeping the precepts, keeping every thought upright and true, and staying far from worldly defilement.” The fundamental aim of fasting and precepts is, by regulating and restraining behavior, to reach inner “clarity and stillness” and “uprightness and truth.”
Liu Yuanran points out that practitioners must “cut off the roots of craving, remove the obstructions of vexation, and purify body and mind, so as to establish the foundation.” This reveals the core function of precepts: to clear away obstacles and lay a foundation in the mind and nature for deeper practice.
Keeping the Precepts Is the Foundation of Practice
The Precepts Scripture of Lord Lao the Most High (Taishang Laojun Jiejing) says: “The six emotions are the six desires: the eyes desire lewd sights, the ears lewd sounds, the nose fragrance, the tongue rich flavors, the body softness and smoothness, and the mind license.” These six all arise from the mind, and so they are called emotions; they are the source of evil karma, and so must be strictly checked and controlled, cast off and kept far away. Keeping the precepts can “control the six emotions, and by keeping the Tao in mind dispel what one desires.”
Only by keeping the precepts with meticulous strictness can those who cultivate the Tao gradually tame the mind and consciousness, clarify the spirit, and merge with the Tao in truth. Here precepts are not only norms of behavior but a sharp tool for washing away the dust of body and mind. Their ultimate goal is to return to the root and origin, to go back to the substance of the Tao in prior heaven—clear, still, in non-action, profound, and ever tranquil. They are truly the irreplaceable and indispensable fundamental safeguard for advancing in cultivating perfection.
2. Keeping the Precepts
Liu Yuanran attached special importance to the work of introspection. Drawing on the practice of his master, Perfected Yuanyang, of “keeping a daily journal,” he required that “every day, every thought that arises and every stirring of the mind, every word spoken and every stroke of the brush, every dealing with people and every handling of affairs, be written in the journal. What cannot be written must not be done. And what has been done must be written.”
He warned: “The human heart is the heart of heaven; to deceive one’s heart is to deceive heaven.” This profoundly reveals that the essence of precepts is illuminating awareness of and honesty toward one’s own mind—turning outward norms and restraints into inner self-examination and self-discipline. It requires practitioners to maintain a high degree of awareness of every stirring thought and every word and deed, to keep body and mind in check at all times, and truly to be “watchful over oneself when alone.”
This method not only strengthens moral awareness; it also uses writing as a mirror to reveal the hidden currents of habit, uses the act of writing as a pledge to fix good habits, and takes unbroken daily practice as its discipline, gradually dissolving the veils of ignorance so that the mind and nature become clear as a mirror and accord with naturalness and the order of the Way of Heaven.
3. Criticism of What Departs from the Spirit of the Precepts
The Recorded Sayings of Patriarch Liu not only sets out the requirements of the precepts systematically but also criticizes profoundly the behavior and tendencies that depart from the spirit of the precepts, thus preserving the purity of Taoist precepts.
It criticizes fasts and offerings (zhaijiao) that concern themselves only with empty forms and descend into performance, stressing that one must not cling only to chanting and singing, the grandeur of the altar, and elaborate ceremony; the soul of the fasts and offerings lies in inner sincerity and reverence and in the heart’s accord with the truth of the Tao, not in outward extravagance. This is a profound understanding of the spirit of “sincerity” and “reverence” in the precepts.
It criticizes the arts of the furnace and of transmuting gold and silver that use the Tao to amass wealth, pointing out directly that “those in recent times who practice the arts of the furnace have all had their original mind bewildered by the single word ‘wealth,’” and exposing the delusion of these arts, in which “few ever succeed.” Such practices betray the compassionate original intention of “nurturing the Tao and relieving the poor,” and gravely trample on the ethical bottom line of “not coveting” and “not stealing” in the precepts.
It criticizes false Taoists and seekers after profit and fame, rebuking them for “being unable to cultivate virtue and keep themselves upright” and “devoting themselves only to profit and fame,” and stresses that only when one’s precepts and conduct are meticulous and strict and one’s mind and nature clear can inner refinement succeed.
4. The Inner Unity of Precepts and Cultivation
The Recorded Sayings of Patriarch Liu profoundly reveals the inner unity of precepts and cultivation, stressing that precepts do not exist in isolation but are the cornerstone and safeguard of the whole system of practice.
Keeping the Precepts Is the Precondition for Cultivating the Mind in Clarity and Stillness
The Recorded Sayings of Patriarch Liu stresses that only by strictly observing the precepts and cutting off deluded thoughts can one reach the state of mind in which “the square inch of the heart is empty and bright, untainted by a speck of dust,” and finally reach the realm where “if people can remain constantly clear and still, heaven and earth will all return to them.” This accords with the requirement stressed in the Ten Rules for the Taoist Community (Daomen Shigui) by Zhang Yuchu, the forty-third Celestial Master: “Leave emotions behind and cut off attachments, abandon the false and return to the true. One must make it one’s task to investigate and illuminate the ground of the mind and to cultivate the heaven of one’s nature.”
Keeping the Precepts Is the Foundation of Dual Cultivation of Nature and Life
Whether nurturing one’s nature (emptying the mind and concentrating the spirit) or preserving one’s life (cherishing one’s essence and caring for one’s qi), those who cultivate the Tao must take keeping the precepts as the foundation. Indulging the passions and stirring up ignorance will inevitably dissipate essence, qi, and spirit and obstruct the work on nature and life.
The Precepts of Initial Perfection (Chuzhen Jielü) by the eminent Qing Taoist Wang Changyue stresses: “All who devote themselves to the dual cultivation of nature and life absolutely must keep fasts and receive the precepts.”
Liu Yuanran repeatedly stressed that “the key lies in daily practice of stillness.” Only when cultivators keep the precepts and gather in their deluded thoughts can they settle body and mind. Extending from the inner to the outer, precepts are also the norms for the practice of helping the world.
The Recorded Sayings of Patriarch Liu repeatedly cites the sayings of Master Yuzhen in the Complete Book of Loyalty and Filial Piety of the Jingming School (Jingming Zhongxiao Quanshu), such as “Only one who can cure the inner demons can subdue outer evils.” The true merit of helping the world lies not in how elaborate or simple one’s talismans and registers are, nor in how profound one’s incantations and hand gestures, but in how faithfully one keeps the precepts and how pure and generous one’s intentions are.
5. Lessons for Today from the Thought on Precepts in the Recorded Sayings of Patriarch Liu
As the core regulation of Taoist practice and the basic safeguard of the practice of faith, precepts have developed and changed throughout the history of Taoism, always closely in step with the social ethics and the laws and regulations of their time.
The Recorded Sayings of Patriarch Liu establishes the fundamental place of precepts in the system of Taoist practice, revealing that precepts are not only outward norms of behavior but also inner cultivation of the mind and nature—the cornerstone and safeguard for reaching the realm of clarity and stillness, accomplishing the work on nature and life, and practicing the spirit of helping the world.
The profound thought on precepts contained in the Recorded Sayings of Patriarch Liu can provide intellectual resources and practical inspiration for raising awareness of the precepts, strengthening their observance, and regularizing the system of precepts.
For individual Taoists keeping the precepts, one should deeply grasp the idea in the Recorded Sayings of Patriarch Liu of “keeping in mind the benefit and relief of others, and holding firmly to the precepts,” understand the spirit of the precepts deeply, grasp their essence and meaning, examine one’s own words and deeds with a strong spirit of introspection, and turn the keeping of precepts into a profound process of cultivating the mind and nature, continually raising one’s inner awareness and capacity for self-discipline, and in this way nourishing one’s nature and improving one’s personal character.
For the system of Taoist precepts as a whole, religious conduct must be rectified and the good image of Taoism as pure, still, and dignified maintained.
In response to the various behaviors and phenomena criticized in the Recorded Sayings of Patriarch Liu that depart from the spirit of Taoist precepts, there should be careful scrutiny, stronger internal management and supervision of religious conduct, and effective mechanisms of oversight and discipline, so as to perfect the system of precepts and better adapt it to the development of the times.