Preface 序

序

道者路也 人類進化之大路 宇宙演變之正軌 宇宙之成 此道成之 宇宙之滅 亦此道滅之 循此道而行 則天地位 萬物育 四時序 百政興 違此道而行 則天地閉 萬物泯 三光滅 四柱絕 故大至日月星辰 小至胎卵濕化 高之如聖賢仙佛 下之如庸 人孺子 莫不以此道而定其生滅成毀也

然而蠢蠢眾生 昧於其理 縱情肆慾 往往違道 始則鬥角鉤心 終則攘利爭權 殺人遍野 惡燄薰天 有聖人者出 挾其悲天憫人之宏願 本其不怨不倦之精神 因其 時間之需要 適其空間之所宜 創為規條 闡其奧義 歸百家於正道 納萬民於軌物 挽 狂瀾於既倒 化浩劫於無形 是名曰教

孔老之起於春秋擾攘 釋迦之起於外道爭嗚 耶穌之起於羅馬紛亂 穆罕之起 於中古侵凌 莫不皆乘世亂日亟之秋 以普渡眾生為懷而立言也 誠以大道即理 唯一 無二 雖地分乎中外 時異乎古今 人辨乎黃白 文別乎縱橫 而此道此理 則無有乎大 小之差也

今日者世亂極矣 道廢久矣 人慾橫流 邪說蜂起 頹波浩浩 靡有涯際 正聖賢 仙佛布教之秋 我宗教家努力救世之時 乃各教之徒 狃於門戶之見 拘於師說之形 不察其本 不務其實 徒相攻訐 而忘其救世救人之職責 傷心之事 孰有甚於是者乎 余目擊心傷 乃發宏願 集各教之至理 匯群言之精蘊揭

二十字為信條 與我善男信女 相期身體力行 願我見之爭 化為相親相愛 以詰 辨之力 專事救世救人 庶幾百川競流 同歸大海 眾生苦惱 早登極樂 娑婆世界 盡 成清淨之土 魚鹿凡夫 咸造僊佛之鄉 則余之願畢矣

中華民國二十一年孟冬月四川蕭昌明序於湖南宗教哲學研究社

PREFACE

Tao is the path, indeed the boulevard, by which mankind has marched to civilization, and the right track along which the Universe is traversing and evolving. It was this Tao that formed the Universe, and if the Universe is ever going to be destroyed, it is also this Tao that will destroy it. By following this Tao or Way, Heaven and Earth will be in their right positions; all matters and creatures will live and grow; the four seasons will be in their proper orders and all departments of government will function successfully. If, however, this Tao is disregarded, the result will be just the opposite. Therefore, the destinies of all things, from the biggest heavenly bodies to the smallest particles, and from the wisest sage to the most ignorant dupe, are all governed by this Tao.

However, most mortals have often been too foolish and ignorant to understand the truth of this Tao, and in giving vent to their lusts and selfish desires they head against this Tao. They began with plotting and conspiring and ended with killing and massacre, all just for worldly power. In the midst of this medley of sins and crimes, there occasionally came a sage who, with untiring efforts and truthful to his high ideals, established tenets that would provide for the most urgent needs of the time, and by propagating them, succeeded in bringing back the world to order. This he called his Religion. These sages made their appearance whenever confusion and war prevailed. For instance, Confucius, who wrote his famous chronicle “Spring and Autumn”, and Lao-tse, who founded the Taoist Religion, made their appearances in troubled times; Buddha emerged at the time when religious contentions prevailed in India; Jesus appeared when the Roman Empire was in turmoil; and Mohammed rose to prominence when his country was invaded by her enemies. What they all said and did in their respective time, they said and did with one and only one aim, namely, that of saving and reforming their people. That this was so, is because the Tao is but the truth, and the truth, irrespective of time, place, race or language, is the same all over the world.

Now that the world is again in chaos, that men and women give vent to their lusts and selfish desires, and that there seems no end of this sinful torrent, it is once again a time when sages propagate their religions and theologians strive to save our times. But, alas, bigotry gets the better of open-mindedness and apostles of the various creeds and religions forget that their fundamental mission is to save and reform the world with the result that they attack one another in a desperate struggle to gain supremacy for their own creeds and religions. Could there be anything more lamentable than that?

Prompted by my resolution to remedy this deplorable situation, I set to work to assemble the best tenets from the various religions and crystallized them into a creed – a rule of conduct which I called “Doctrine of Twenty Characters” which are as follows:

ZHONG (Loyalty) SHU (Forgiveness) LIAN (Integrity) MING (Brightness) DE (Ethic)
ZHENG (Uprightness) YI (Righteousness) XIN (Trust) YEN (Forbearance) GONG (Impartiality)
BO (Broadness) XIAO (Filial Piety) REN (Benevolence) CI (Mercifulness) JUE (Consciousness)
JIE (Temperance) JIAN (Frugality) ZHEN (Genuineness) LI (Propriety) HO (Harmony).

I have decided to put this Doctrine of ours into execution with my followers, hoping to convert bigotry into cooperation and to turn contentions and attacks against one another into saving others. Then, there will be no sufferings and no sins in this world, and a paradise on earth and universal happiness will be in store for every one of us. What can I wish more?

Written by Hsiao Chang Ming in the Religion and Philosophy Research Society of Hunan Province in 1932 Winter Translated by Dr. Vermier Y. Chiu in the Religion and Philosophy Research Society of Hong Kong.