弘明集 8.18

8.18

Those whose sincere minds tread in accordance [with nature] have their qi transformed away from demonic adversity. For this reason, the utmost sages and eminent worthies harbor no affection for the myriad transformations; hence they can roam freely through metal and stone, and sleep amidst mist and rosy clouds. This is a resonant response of pure sincerity—how could it be caused by wearing talismans? The phrasing of their scriptures is irreverent, crude, and demonic, saying: 'On the left wear the Taiji seal; on the right wear Kunwu iron. Point at the sun and its radiance halts; aim at demons and blood spills for a thousand miles.' They say that if one receives the Yellow Book and Red Seals, one is an efficacious immortal, clattering in wooden clogs into the chamber of silence without paying court to the Supreme Lord. They go so far as to make the gods of the Six Jia prostrate themselves at privy-latrines (as Guo Jingchun also said that immortals ascend to clarity and cross over perils, yet ultimately cannot avoid disaster). In their foolish confusion, how could they know proper decorum? As for their wearing of talismans, we hear that in the past, armies raised standards: Zhang Jiao used yellow talismans, Zi Lu wore crimson, Lu Song raised purple standards, and Sun En used the Guxu [symbols]. All of them deceitfully misled the royal army, and in the end perished as demons among men.