Origin

Southern Continent, Longevity Mountain, Wuzhuang Temple.

White clouds gather in the clear ravine; peaks line the distant sky.

Jagged stone gates form the shape; misty incense burner smoke.

Palaces remain vermilion and deep blue; stepped pavilions are steep and suspended.

Fine scholars also reside here; a good body severs worldly ties.

If the dao's mysteries are truly obtained, one acts impartially in the world.

The heart should align with aspirations; how can actions avoid worldly entanglements?

"The Dao emerges from the formless—nameless, soundless, colorless, tasteless. Serene, it takes emptiness as its principle, nature as its life, and the clear, subtle mystic primordial qi as its foundation. It possesses the power of the Limitless, without exterior or interior, without above or below, without before or after...

"Stillness makes it one body; it was born before Heaven and Earth. Its essential mystery is vast and boundless, beyond naming, so it is called the Dao. When gathered, it is primordial qi; when dispersed, it is Heaven and Earth. Once every three hundred sixty billion years, they converge; the numbers find their end in three, five, seven, and nine, and so does the lifespan of Heaven and Earth..."

Within the temple, Dao Law World was proclaimed on high, drawing flowers falling from the sky and golden lotuses springing from the earth.

Above, the Dao Lord slowly waved his whisk, spraying pearls and jade; his voice shook like thunder and stirred the Nine Heavens.

Below, the cultivators exquisitely expounded the Three Vehicles, reining in the willful horse; the subtleties of myriad laws subdued the heart ape.

Some beamed with delight, some scratched their ears and cheeks, some were beside themselves with joy, while others were crushed by grief.

As if entranced, as if drunk; as if drunk, as if entranced.

Just then, the lecturing voice