Kan Ying P'ien

[Luakagon]

My wish for this post is to introduce people to the venerable Taoist text the Kan Ying P'ien or book of recompenses. I can't fathom whether or not it will be useful nevertheless its virtue is such that I feel compelled to mention it here with the hope that it serve someone.

The text is available in many forms on the Taoism section of sacred-texts.com .

The text is available at http://sacred-texts.com/tao/ttx/ttx11.htm

[Charles David]

Thank You

Luakagon,

Thank you for introducing this to us.

For those who are interested in discussing this text, perhaps we could begin with the first lines:

Happiness and evil do not come spontaneously; it is men who bring them upon themselves. The consequences of virtue and vice follow each just as the shadow follows the form.

What comes to mind after reading this? Any other thoughts?


With All,

Chas.

[Luakagon]

i have come to understand karma this way
what you put out is what you get back
and also that you can modify your karma through spiritual cultivation even make it disappear
another way is to work to mend the ill you have done and also to do the opposite of the wrong things you have done for example if you kill someone, work to save lives
also the kan ying pien states that if someone after doing some bad act repents and reforms and dedicates themselves to doing only what is right that the evil that would have come upon this person would be transformed into a blessing.
this book is a real blessing however if it were so that the world were ready to take up its admonitions then everyone would receive a copy.
dhammapada states all we are is the result of what we have thought. so thinking positive is a real good thing to do

[Luakagon]

I have compiled a collection of wisdom from the Kan Ying P'ien with no religious or threatening material along with my method to destroy negative karma (doing all that is good, never doing bad, in response to bad acts committed in the past practicing the opposite) which i will then give to others.

The text is as follows:


A compilation of wisdom from The Book of Recompenses

Happiness and evil do not come spontaneously; it is men who bring them upon themselves. The consequences of virtue and vice follow each just as the shadow follows the form. Advance in all that is in harmony with the right; retreat from everything opposed to it. Accumulate virtue, and store up merit; treat all with gentleness and love; be loyal, be dutiful; be respectful to your elder brothers and kind to your juniors; be upright yourselves, in order that you may reform others; compassionate the fatherless and widow; reverence the aged and cherish the young; do not injure even little insects, or grass, or trees. Pity the wickedness of others, and be glad of their virtues; succour them in their distress, and rescue them when in danger; when a man gains his desire, let it be as though his good fortune were your own; when one suffers loss, as though you suffered it yourself. Never publish the failings of another, or make a parade of your own merits; put a stop to evil, and afford every encouragement to virtue; be not grasping, but learn to content yourself with little. When you are reviled, cherish not feelings of resentment; if you receive favours, do so as deprecating your deserts; be kind and generous without seeking for any return, and never repent of anything that you may give to others. This is to be a good man; whom all will respect, whom blessings and honours will accompany, whom evil will not touch, and whom all good spirits will protect. All the desires of such a man will be realised.

A technique to dissolve bad luck and remediate bad actions

Strive to do all that which is virtuous, and let no bad conduct or habits have their way with you. If you have done some bad acts, say "I will no longer do ill" and then take up the practice of doing opposite to the bad you have done.

[Ghostly]

Quote:
"Happiness and evil do not come spontaneously; it is men who bring them upon themselves. The consequences of virtue and vice follow each just as the shadow follows the form.
What comes to mind after reading this? Any other thoughts?"


Great wisdom speaks for itself...I don't think I comment further without detracting from it ...thanks for sharing.

Tony.

[AlexBaranosky]

Hello Luakagon,

I found that book/link difficult to read. The language was awkward.

Could you give your own summary of the main, core points? That would be much appreciated.

All the Best,
Alex

[Ray]

Thank you for sharing this great text.

Best,

Ray

[Luakagon]

well, i would summarize ethics as follows...

avoid all evil, do all good, cultivate mind, in whatsoever ill past done practice opposite

[Luakagon]

There are other translations of the Kan Ying Pien on sacred-texts.com; I think this is all of them along with the one I posted earlier. It might help to reference these in understanding the text more fully.

http://sacred-texts.com/tao/sbe40/sbe4018.htm

http://sacred-texts.com/tao/ts/index.htm

Also I include to a link on a text called Causality which is relevant as it talks much about the same thing.

http://sacred-texts.com/tao/tt/tt10.htm

I would like to find a text labeled Buddhist by my source called Salvation from Suffering; internet searches reveal no such text to me.

[Ghostly]

My earlier comment was about the first lines as presented by Sifu Charles (from the text provided by Lukagon), having now read (or tried to read) the full text that the link points to I have to agree with my Wahnam brother Alex that it is difficult to read...

There is much written there that is "obviously good" but there is also (to me, with my admittedly limited understanding) much that is confusing or "unsubstantiated". I'm also unsure about the requisite of "unquestioning faith" while reading the text as described in the "how to read the foregoing essay"...to me faith is earned rather than demanded.

As a very young child my mother would say things like "don't do that or you'll hurt yourself"...I would do them anyway and invariably end up getting hurt. Apparently after one such incident I looked up at my mother and asked "why are you always right ?". I think that must have been the point I gained faith that my Mum would always have my best interests at heart and since then I have always *listened* to what she has to say.

Before attending my first Chi Kung course with Sifu I read just about all of his excellent Q&A series that was available at the time and his wisdom was unmistakable...I also read things there which initially did not make a lot of sense or were "unsubstantiated" (to me) but later became substantiated by my own experience. These things gave me faith that the time/money I would spend attending Sifu's course would not be wasted and it wasn't (far from it ! ).

I find it difficult to read a text like this if it requires "blind faith" as a prerequisite...perhaps you need to be a practicing Taoist to appreciate the text or at a much higher level of spiritual attainment than I possess but either way, I decided it wasn't for me...of course if Sifu suggests I read it and give it more time/attention than I have done, I would do so

Best regards,
Tony.

[Luakagon]

Since it is natural for us to do good, all we have to do is act naturally!

[omtaijiquan]

The Kan Ying P'ien does more harm than good.

Qigong practice, or communion with Tathagata, is the best thing to do. By increasing energy level one becomes helpful to all around.

I always think positive and create good ideas.

My errors are going to be corrected and taken care of and I will only do what is right.

My negative Karma is shattered!