The Laojun’s 180 Precepts 老君说一百八十戒

The Laojun’s 180 Precepts 老君说一百八十戒

Paul Peng

The Lord Lao's One Hundred and Eighty Precepts

The author is unknown, and the text is likely compiled during the Southern and Northern Dynasties.

It is included in Volume 39 of Cloudy Satchel of Seven Lots (Yunji Qiqian). In addition, there are two fragmentary manuscripts from Dunhuang (P4731, P4562).

The full text consists of a preface and 180 precepts expounded by Lord Lao.

The preface claims that during the reign of King Nan of Zhou, Lord Lao first revealed the Way of Great Peace and transmitted the 170-volume Scripture of Great Peace (Taiping Jing) to Gan Jun (Gan Ji) of Langya, who then passed it down to Bo Jun (Bo He).

By the time of King You, Lord Lao instructed the non-Han tribes and returned to the Han territories. He met Gan Jun again in Langya and admonished Taoist male and female libationers to lead the Taoist believers in observing the precepts, doing good deeds and accumulating merits, so that they could ascend to immortality after death. Following this, Lord Lao expounded the 180 precepts.

These precepts include injunctions such as: not keeping excessive servants and concubines; not committing adultery with others' wives; not stealing others' property; not killing or harming all living beings; not wrongfully seizing others' money and goods, and so on.

This text is one of the important precepts of early Celestial Master Taoism.
Paul Peng — Zhengyi Taoist Priest, Longhu Mountain

About the Author

Paul Peng

Paul Peng is a Zhengyi Taoist priest from Longhu Mountain, Jiangxi — the ancestral home of the Celestial Masters' tradition. Ordained at 25 after a dream from the Celestial Master, he has practiced for 25 years under Master Zeng Guangliang. He is one of the curators of this store, which is officially authorized by Tianshi Fu. All items are consecrated at the temple by the resident priest team.

Read his full story →
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