This teaching comes through Hán Xiāngzǐ, the most literary of the Eight Immortals, and turns on a single word — 元, the Primordial: the root of all goodness and the source to which life returns. It opens with rain quickening the season’s growth, drawing on the Book of Changes’ image of “clouds moving, rain bestowing” — heaven nurturing not by force but by generosity — then asks the noble one to take that primal goodness as a model and shoulder the great task of living out benevolence in the world. From there it climbs the ladder of cultivation set out in Mencius — goodness, integrity, fullness, greatness, and the sage’s transforming power — and deepens into the Doctrine of the Mean: only where supreme virtue takes hold can the supreme Dao crystallize within a person. A spirited horse must be reined, molten metal must settle into its mold; so too must one’s raw nature be disciplined into the form of the Dao. The Lotus Sutra’s promise that all beings will ultimately awaken brings the arc full circle — the Origin to which the awakened one returns is the same Primal the seeker embodied at the start. It closes on plain gratitude: drink the water and remember its source, honor the worthy, carry forward the spirit of those who came before with a wholly sincere heart.
鎮壇詩 Opening Verse · recited
法爾如是 原來如此
fǎ ěr rú shì · yuán lái rú cǐ
Dharmatā — thus it is; from the very beginning, it has been so.Reality is just as it is; from the very beginning, it has been this way.
“Thus it is from the very beginning” invokes the Buddhist notion of Dharmatā (法爾如是) — reality has an inherent nature that does not need to be constructed or invented, only recognized. The frame for everything that follows: this teaching uncovers what has always been present, not a new doctrine.
一切修持 累垢去除
yī qiè xiū chí · lèi gòu qù chú
All cultivation and practice exist to strip away accumulated defilements.All your practice exists for one thing: to wash away the impurities that have piled up.
The whole purpose of practice, stated plainly: not to acquire something but to strip away the accumulated impurities that obscure a nature already complete.
達人立志 超生了死
dá rén lì zhì · chāo shēng liǎo sǐ
The person of attainment sets firm resolve to transcend birth and death.The one who truly understands resolves to break free of the cycle of birth and death.
Light emerges from darkness as order returns from chaos. This echoes the Book of Changes (易經), where the very sequence of the hexagrams models the principle that disorder is never permanent but always turning back toward coherence.
This opening verse settles the altar and lays down the whole teaching’s frame in four lines. It begins by invoking reality as it inherently is — the nature of things; from the very beginning, it has been so — the principle that the teaching does not introduce something new but uncovers what has always been present: our own nature is already pure, whole, and luminous. From that ground the remaining couplets state plainly what practice is for: to strip away the impurities accumulated over time, to resolve upon transcending the cycle of birth and death, and to trust that light emerges from darkness just as order returns from chaos. That closing turn — disorder always bending back toward coherence — sets a quiet confidence under everything that follows.
I am — Xiāngzǐ of the Eight Immortals; bearing the Eternal Mother’s mandate, I have come to the altar steps; entering the door, I bow in reverence to the Sovereign Mother — and I call out to ask: worthy ones, are you each at ease and well?I am Xiangzi of the Eight Immortals. Sent by the Eternal Mother, I have come to the altar; I step through the door and bow before the Sovereign Mother — and I ask after each of you, worthy friends: are you all at ease and well?
This self-introduction follows the classical declaration of identity and charge. The teacher names himself as one of the Eight Immortals, come to the altar steps bearing the mandate of the Eternal Mother; entering, he first bows in reverence to the Sovereign Mother — the source before all things — and only then turns to the gathered practitioners to ask, simply and warmly, whether each is at ease and well. The gesture matters: before a teaching dense with classical allusion begins, it pauses to honor the source and to acknowledge the human beings in the room — a model of remembering one’s origin and of humility for those who come after.
本訓 Main Teaching · sung to 〈別知己〉
雨季萬物生何等自然
yǔ jì wàn wù shēng hé děng zì rán
In the rainy season the myriad things come to life — how perfectly natural this is.When the rains come, all things spring to life — how perfectly natural it is.
The teaching opens with rain: in the rainy season all things come alive, and how perfectly natural this is. Cultivation is not struggle against nature but alignment with it.
雲行雨施潤物．淑氣協時滋蕃
yún xíng yǔ shī rùn wù · shū qì xié shí zī fán
Clouds move and rain bestows, moistening all things; the gentle breath harmonizes with the season, nurturing abundant growth.Clouds drift and rain freely gives, watering everything; the mild air keeps step with the season, and life multiplies and thrives.
“Clouds move and rain bestows” draws on the Book of Changes (易經) commentary on the Qián (乾) hexagram — heaven’s creative power working not as force but as generosity. Rain does not impose itself; it offers nourishment freely, and all things flow into their forms.
The noble one embodies the Primal and sets the standard; personally walking the way of benevolence, shouldering the great responsibility.The noble person takes root in that first creative goodness and becomes a model; living out kindness in person, taking up the great task.
“Embodies the Primal” compresses a line from the Book of Changes (易經) that reads “the noble one embodies benevolence” — but here benevolence (仁) is replaced by the Primal (元), its very source. To embody the Primal is to root oneself deeper than ethical behavior, in the seed from which all goodness grows, and from that rootedness to become an exemplar who shoulders the great task.
What is worthy of desire is goodness; possessing it within oneself is integrity — then afterward come fullness and beauty.What is worth longing for is goodness; making that goodness truly your own is integrity — and then your life grows full and beautiful.
This begins the cultivation hierarchy of Mencius (孟子): what is worthy of desire is goodness (善); possessing that goodness authentically within oneself is integrity (信); being filled with it is fullness and beauty (美).
充實有光輝離道不遠
chōng shí yǒu guāng huī lí dào bù yuǎn
Fullness with radiant light is not far from Dao.A life so full that it gives off light is not far from the Dao.
The ladder continues — fullness that radiates light is greatness (大), and such a life is not far from the Dao.
明悟能所大而化．物我成全
míng wù néng suǒ dà ér huà · wù wǒ chéng quán
Clearly awakening to perceiver and perceived, great and transforming — things and self are both brought to completion.Waking clearly to the seer and the seen, growing great enough to transform — both the world and yourself are made whole.
The summit of the Mencius ladder: greatness that transforms everything it touches is sagely. “Transform” (化) here means transformation so thorough that the boundary between self and other dissolves — the perceiver and the perceived (能所) fall away, and both world and self are made whole.
和德盡物之性．理無二致．統之在道．德憲憲
hé dé jìn wù zhī xìng · lǐ wú èr zhì · tǒng zhī zài dào · dé xiàn xiàn
Harmonious virtue fully realizes the nature of all things; principle admits no duality; what unifies all is Dao; virtue stands resplendent and exemplary.A balanced, harmonious virtue lets each thing become fully what it is; the underlying truth is one, not two; all of it is held together in the Dao; and such virtue shines out brightly for all to see.
Here the teaching enters the Doctrine of the Mean (中庸): a harmonious virtue lets each thing become fully what it is, the underlying truth is one and not two, and all is held together in the Dao. “Resplendent” (憲憲) comes by way of the Book of Songs (詩經) — virtue so luminous it naturally becomes a standard for others without any coercion.
贊天地邁．無時不有．至誠聖昭然（邁取萬）
zàn tiān dì mài · wú shí bù yǒu · zhì chéng shèng zhāo rán（mài qǔ wàn）
Assisting heaven and earth in nurturing the myriad things, present at all times without cease; the sage of utmost sincerity is radiantly manifest.Such a one helps heaven and earth nurture all living things, at every moment without pause; the sage of perfect sincerity stands plainly revealed.
The sage of utmost sincerity (至誠), central to the Doctrine of the Mean (中庸), assists heaven and earth in nurturing all living things. This is not metaphor — by the sheer authenticity of their being, such a one participates in the cosmic work of creation and sustenance.
確乎善始．資承三德居正寬
què hū shàn shǐ · zī chéng sān dé jū zhèng kuān
Firm and sure in making a good beginning; drawing upon and inheriting the three virtues, one dwells in rectitude and magnanimity.Start out firm and true; lean on the three great virtues — wisdom, kindness, and courage — and rest your heart in fairness and breadth.
The three virtues (三德) of the Doctrine of the Mean (中庸) — wisdom, benevolence, and courage — are the practical equipment for this work. Begin firm and true, lean on these three, and rest the heart in rectitude and breadth.
通貫道大．足以容眾德懷遠
tōng guàn dào dà · zú yǐ róng zhòng dé huái yuǎn
Penetrating and pervading — Dao is great; sufficient to embrace the multitude, with virtue that cherishes the distant.Once your grasp of the Dao runs deep and wide, it is large enough to hold everyone, and your virtue reaches out to those far away.
As a spirited horse that overruns its traces must be brought to the rein, so too, beginning as molten metal leaping in the crucible, one must ultimately conform to the mold.Like a wild horse that bolts past its harness and must be reined in, like molten metal that leaps in the furnace at first — in the end it all has to settle into its proper form.
A double image of discipline: a spirited horse that bolts past its harness must be brought to the rein, and molten metal leaping in the crucible must finally settle into the mold. The mold is Dao itself. Raw spiritual energy, however powerful, must submit to shaping — and the message is not gentle: smelting requires intense heat, so transformation requires intensity, not just good intentions.
All sentient beings will ultimately attain Buddhahood; the awakened one realizes this attainment and returns to the Origin.Every living being will in the end awaken fully; the one who wakes, having realized it, returns to the Origin where it all began.
The Buddhist summit, from the Lotus Sutra (法華經): every living being will ultimately attain Buddhahood — none excluded. “Returns to the Origin” (歸元) then gathers the threads together: the end of the path is not arrival somewhere new but a return to where everything began. The Primal embodied at the outset is the same Origin reached at the close; the circle is complete.
飲水思其源．敬老尊其賢
yǐn shuǐ sī qí yuán · jìng lǎo zūn qí xián
Drinking water, one thinks of its source; honoring the elders, one reveres the worthy.Drink the water and remember where it came from; honor your elders and respect those of real worth.
After the heights of cosmic participation and universal awakening, the teaching returns to earth: drink the water and remember its source, honor your elders and revere those of real worth. The most basic acts of gratitude and respect.
所貽德澤流芳遠．踵繼精神延
suǒ yí dé zé liú fāng yuǎn · zhǒng jì jīng shén yán
The virtue and grace bequeathed spread their fragrance far; those who follow in their footsteps carry the spirit onward.The goodness handed down to us leaves a fragrance that travels far; those who come after walk in those footsteps and keep that spirit alive.
The virtue and grace handed down by those who came before are not abstractions but a living inheritance — a fragrance that lingers, a spirit that those who follow must carry forward. Cultivation is not solitary achievement but participation in a lineage.
If not for supreme virtue, the supreme Dao cannot crystallize; with earnest reverence all under heaven is at peace — vast as heaven, deep as an abyss-spring.Without the highest virtue, the highest Dao can never take solid form in you; with deep, sincere reverence the whole world finds peace — a virtue as wide as the sky and as deep as a bottomless spring.
Back to the Doctrine of the Mean (中庸): without supreme virtue, the supreme Dao cannot crystallize — it remains formless until there is a vessel worthy to hold it. Then earnest reverence brings peace to all under heaven, a virtue “vast and boundless, deep as the abyss-spring” — inexhaustible in depth and breadth.
The myriad things grow together and the ways of Dao run their courses together without conflict; those who come after offer their earnest devotion.All things grow side by side without harming one another, and the many paths of the Dao run together without clashing; and we who come later offer our whole sincere hearts.
The closing vision of cosmic harmony, from the Doctrine of the Mean (中庸): all things flourish together and the ways of Dao proceed together without conflict — not uniformity but the simultaneous flourishing of all things, each following its nature, none obstructing another. To those who come after, a final instruction: bring your wholehearted devotion.
The main teaching opens with rain and builds in a single arc from imitating heaven, through inner cultivation, to union with the Dao — weaving the Confucian, Buddhist, and Daoist strands into one path. It begins in the natural world: in the rainy season all things spring to life, clouds move and rain freely bestows, the gentle breath keeps step with the season and life multiplies — heaven’s creative power shown not as force but as generosity. The lesson is that the highest Dao is already present in the plainest workings of nature, and that cultivation is alignment with it, not struggle against it. From there the teaching pivots to the self: the noble one embodies the Primal and sets the standard — rooting oneself not merely in ethical conduct but in yuán, the very source from which goodness grows — and from that rootedness takes up the great task of walking the way of benevolence in the world.
It then climbs the cultivation hierarchy of Mencius: what is worthy of desire is goodness; possessing it authentically within is integrity; being filled with it is fullness and beauty; fullness that radiates light is greatness; and greatness that transforms all it touches is sagely — the point where the boundary between perceiver and perceived dissolves and self and world are both made whole. The Doctrine of the Mean deepens this: a harmonious virtue lets each thing realize its own nature; principle admits no duality and all is unified in the Dao; such virtue stands resplendent, becoming a standard for others without coercion. The person of utmost sincerity assists heaven and earth in nurturing all living things, drawing on the three virtues — wisdom, benevolence, and courage — while dwelling in rectitude and breadth, until the grasp of Dao runs deep and wide enough to embrace the multitude and reach those far away.
Two vivid images carry the teaching toward its summit: raw desire is a spirited horse that must be brought to the rein, and molten metal leaping in the crucible that must finally settle into its mold — transformation through discipline and intensity, with the Dao itself as the mold into which a life is cast. The aim of all this is the Lotus Sutra’s promise that every being will ultimately awaken: the one who wakes, realizing it, returns to the Origin — the same Primal embodied at the outset, the circle now complete. The teaching then returns to earth: drink water and remember its source, honor the elders, revere the worthy — for the virtue bequeathed by those before is a living inheritance, and the deepest task of those who follow is to carry that spirit forward. It closes with the Doctrine of the Mean: without supreme virtue the supreme Dao cannot crystallize into a human life; through earnest reverence all under heaven finds peace, a virtue vast as the sky and deep as a bottomless spring. The final vision is of cosmic harmony — all things flourishing together without harm, the many ways of the Dao running together without conflict — and to those who come after, one closing instruction: bring your whole, sincere heart.