The Book of Balance and Harmony

[Vajradhara]

Namaste all,

this is an exerpt from the above mentioned text, the Book of Balance and Harmony. this text is a Taoist Complete Reality School text and, as such, may be somewhat unfamiliar to those adherents which practice other schools.

this excerpt is from the section called "Songs".

"The Sword of Wisdom"

Ever since adepts handed on
the secret of the sword,
The true imperative has been upheld
Completely, truly adamant.

If someone asks me about
Looking for its orgin,
I say it is not ordinary iron.
This lump of iron
Comes from receptive stillness;
When you obtain it, it rises up.

Forging it in a glowing fire,
Through repeated efforts
It is refined
and forged into steel.

When students of the Tao
Know this secret,
The spirit of light is intensely powerful,
And devils of darkness vanish.

The subtle function of spiritual work
Is truly hard to measure;
I now give an explanation for you.
In telling you about it,
I divulge the celestial mechanism.

Setting to work when one yang comes back,
First have the six yangs pump the furnace bellows;
Then the six yins work the tongs and hammer.
When the work of firing is complete,
it produces the sword;
When it is first done,
It flashes like lightening.

Brandish it horizontally
and a cold clear breeze arises;
Hold it upright,
and the shining bright moon appears.
When the bright moon appears,
Auspicious light illumines heaven and earth;
Sprites and ghosts are distressed.

It stops turbidity, brings out clarity,
Sweeps away weird defilements;
It slays volitility,
cuts down aggressiveness,
Destroys monsters:
Influences draining away
Vitality, energy and spirit
All vanish in the light of the sword.

Entanglements cut off, rumination dies down,
And the web of feelings is rent asunder.
Where the spiritual edge is aimed, mountains crumble;
The demon kings of mundane planes are all routed.

This precious sword fudamentally has no form;
The name is set up because it has spiritual effect.
Learning the Tao and practicing reality
Depend on this sword;
Without this sword,
the Tao cannot be achieved.

Opening up the vast darkness,
distinguishing heaven and earth,
Dissolving obstructions, transmuting objects -
All is included.
If you ask me to show it to you,
I bring it out before you-

Do you understand or not?

(commentary available upon request)

metta,

~v

[jiii]

Setting to work when one yang comes back,
First have the six yangs pump the furnace bellows;
Then the six yins work the tongs and hammer.
When the work of firing is complete,
it produces the sword;
When it is first done,
It flashes like lightening.

The last two lines here make me wonder if this was influenced by Chan Buddhism ("a flash of lightening in the dark"), or if perhaps this text was read in Chan Buddhism as it was developing alongside Taoism and Confucianism in China.

[seattlegal]

Originally Posted by jiii

The last two lines here make me wonder if this was influenced by Chan Buddhism ("a flash of lightening in the dark"), or if perhaps this text was read in Chan Buddhism as it was developing alongside Taoism and Confucianism in China.

Compare to The Song of Enlightenment.

[Vajradhara]

Namaste Jiii,

thank you for the post.

Complete Reality Taoism is a sycrenstic blend of Ch'an Buddhism, Confucianism and Taoism.

the text, itself, is a compliation of writings from various masters of the Northern School of Complete Reality Taoism and was finalized, in the form we have it today, in the 1200's C.E.

there are several phrases which clearly indicate the Buddhist influence upon the work, namely, the phrase "special transmission outside of doctrine" which is a common Ch'an expression.

in terms of symbolism, this is the sword which Manjurishi is depicted weilding in later Buddhist icongraphy.

metta,

~v