Master Zongxuan's Treatise on the Profound Outline: Chapter 19 - Benevolence, Clarity, Chastity, and Tranquility

 Those who are benevolent, clear, chaste, and tranquil, broad-minded, and outstanding are all beings who have received the qi of heaven and humanity, descended into birth to aid the times and benefit all things. When merits accumulated over lifetimes are complete, their names are recorded on the Cinnabar Terrace. The primal chastility operates secretly in the upper mysteries, and the righteous qi gathers densely in the gatehouses and stores. Naturally, the soul is refined and the corpse perishes; when the spirit condenses and the body becomes pure, and all yin dross is completely dissolved, the form unites and light ascension occurs. Thus, the immortals of ancient times were none other than heavenly beings. To make the walking corpse share their desires, is this not difficult? Why are there those who accumulate cultivation and good deeds yet fail to achieve ascension? It is because their previous merits have not yet manifested. Why are there those who attain immortality without cultivation? It is because their past actions have been sufficiently fulfilled. Merits are never fabricated, and goodness is never bestowed in vain. If one cannot see the results and thus fails to attain them, laziness arises within oneself. Witnessing natural transformation into feathers and ascension, one might claim that merits do not depend on human effort; both views are far from the truth.

 Annotation: Benevolence, clarity, chastity, and tranquility, broad-mindedness and excellence, are all the qi distributed by heavenly beings that transforms and descends into the human realm to benefit the times and things. As long as the accumulation of merit and practice is sufficient, one's name will be recorded on the Cinnabar Terrace. In this way, the primal chastility will operate secretly in the upper mysteries, and the righteous qi will gather densely in the gatehouses. Naturally, the yin soul will be refined to completion, the corpse's qi will be eliminated, the soul and spirit will condense, and the body will become pure. All yin dross will be dissolved, and naturally, upon the union of form, ascension will occur. Therefore, the immortals of ancient times were none other than heavenly beings. To make the walking corpse (human body) identical to them is a very difficult matter. Those who accumulate merit but cannot ascend, why is this? It is because their previous merit and practice have not been resolved. There are also those who become immortals without cultivation; this is because their past merit and practice have already been fulfilled. Merit and practice are not fictional, and doing good is not in vain. One should not assume that because something is not visible, it does not exist, thereby giving rise to a spirit of laziness. Seeing natural transformation into feathers and ascension, and claiming that merit and practice do not depend on human effort, is to stray far from the right path.

 Analysis: The Daoist concept of reincarnation differs from the Buddhist concept of samsara. Modern Buddhist samsara is viewed based on the basis of dependent origination and the harmony of conditions, hence the concepts of previous and future lives. At the same time, in reality, there are cases of multiple previous lives and multiple future lives, which the linear Buddhist concept of samsara struggles to explain. In Daoism, samsara is not emphasized, but it is not denied either, because samsara is merely a relatively narrow cognition, a manifestation within the gathering and scattering of qi.

 All things arise from qi; they gather and scatter. When living beings die, their souls and spirits disperse. All of this is the manifestation and function of qi. Therefore, qi gathers and scatters, combines, becomes contaminated, and undergoes transformation. After undergoing certain changes, it transforms back into living beings. In modern Buddhist consciousness, this concept is only applicable when, after death, the qi scatters without major transformations or excessive combinations and contaminations. This is why, when tracing previous lives, people often only get a vague concept, and sometimes even perceive multiple previous lives existing simultaneously.

 Why emphasize modern Buddhism? Because modern Buddhism is different from ancient Buddhism. Ancient Buddhism's concept of dependent origination and harmony of conditions was actually a description of the gathering and scattering of qi. From this perspective, it was correct. However, later Buddhism, to exaggerate and render the core influence of reincarnation, transmigration, and the law of cause and effect, distorted this concept. The explanation given to people is that when a person dies, karma follows the consciousness, and they become another person, bringing karma with them. Ultimately, karma produces results, becoming the source of cause and effect. Those with the same karma are considered the reincarnation of the same person.

 Here, it is ignored that when conditions harmonize, it is not merely a simple harmony; there are also phenomena of intertwining and blending among them. This leads to fallacies in the law of cause and effect. Consequently, when Buddhist practitioners seek proof of cause and effect in the present, they usually find only forced interpretations or cases with clear traces of fabrication. From the perspective of Consciousness-Only (Yogacara), the error here is treating each individual as an isolated island, without considering that the gathering and scattering after death can undergo different changes. Therefore, Buddhism is theoretically imperfect.

 It needs to be strictly clarified that the "heavenly beings" mentioned in this text do not refer to the "Heavenly Path" in the Buddhist Six Realms concept, but rather refer to the earliest lineage of immortals. The Buddhist Heavenly Path corresponds only to the Divine Path in Daoism; these must be distinguished.

 The point of all this is to understand a concept here: the good and virtuous qi, when forming living beings, becomes heavenly beings, i.e., the immortals mentioned earliest. The qi of these heavenly beings will further differentiate; the differentiated parts will reincarnate into the human realm. The qi of these heavenly beings reincarnated into the human realm will then transform into humans. After accumulating merit and practice, they will transform again into new immortals.

 Therefore, the immortals of ancient times were mostly from heavenly beings. Humans are a mixture of yin and yang; because they possess corpse qi, they can be called "walking corpses." To make the walking corpse become an immortal simply by accumulating merit and practice, as immortals do, is impossible. Thus, humans must still cultivate. Only through cultivation can they be like heavenly beings, and by simultaneously accumulating merit and practice, they can ultimately attain the Dao of Immortality.

 Do not mistakenly think that seeing someone accumulate merit and practice for a lifetime and finally undergo natural transformation into feathers and ascension means that merit and practice are not controllable by humans. Doing so strays far from the right path.