The Treatise of the Illustrious Sage On Response and Retribution
Canto I: The Words of Laozi
The Divinely Illustrious Sage
Prays for every soul to heed:
That neither woe nor weal
Heaven has foreordained,
But wrought by men alone,
The fruits of virtue and vice
Pursue the begetter like
A shadow following the form!
Canto II: The Celestial Justiciars
Between Heaven and Earth
Dwell the Demigods of Justice,
They weigh the deeds of men
And shorten their lifespans,
Inflicting upon the wicked
The cruel fruits of iniquity:
Distress, decay, disgrace
Poverty and proscription.
Fortuna holds her head aloof
As they drown in misfortune
Until death claims their souls.
The Triumvirs of the North
Glide atop every man—recording
Each of their wicked misdeeds—
Shaving away their allotted years!
The Three Spirits of the Flesh,
Aboding in men’s bodies,
Mount up to Heavenly Tribunal
In seasons of sixty days each
To report their wayward deeds,
And so too the Hearth Deity
Upon the end of each lunar month.
Those guilty of high crimes
Lose a dozen years of life
And every misdemeanor
Warrants a fine of one season,
There are hundreds of vices that
All who yearn for long life must
Know and discern between!
Canto III: The Way of Virtue
Seek virtue and eschew vice,
Be righteous without hypocrisy,
Delight in charity and mercy,
In loyalty and filial piety,
Cultivate good character then
Convert others to goodness,
Succor the orphaned and pity
The widowed, esteem the elderly
And cherish the young, fail not
To protect the flora and fauna.
Be a well of kindly sympathy,
A harbor of vicarious joy,
Neither deny the needy nor
Ignore those mired in peril,
Abstain from schadenfreude
And exalt not your own glory,
Never prate the scandals of others
But skillfully discourage vice
And encourage virtuous deeds!
Take little but grant much,
Be patient in humiliation,
Modest in acclamation,
And generous without desire
For recognition and recompense,
Refrain from revoking what
Has been bestowed upon others.
All who abide by such virtues
Are revered by men, blessed by
Heaven and graced with fortune,
Impervious to evil and guarded
By a host of celestial gods,
Their every move is successful
And Immortality is their right—
With 300 good deeds, they become
Demigods ; with 1300 good deeds,
They attain Heavenly Immortality!
For Cantos IV, V and VI, please see the full, free and public domain version:
https://archive.org/details/treatiseoftheillustrioussage
All rights released into Public Domain
Copyright © Brian Chung | Year Posted 2017
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