Yin Fu Jing (陰符經)

黃帝隂符經神仙抱一演道童上觀天之道執天之行盡矣天有五賊見之者昌五賊在心施行於天宇宙在乎手萬化生乎身天性人也人心機也立天之道以定人也天發殺機移星易宿地發殺機龍蛇起陸人發殺機天地反覆天人合發萬變定基性有巧拙可以伏藏九竅之邪在乎三要可以動靜火生於木禍發必尅姦生於國時動必潰知之修鍊謂之聖人天生天殺道之理也

The Yellow Emperor's Yinfu Jing (Scripture of the Hidden Talisman), Part One: "The Spirit Immortal Embraces the One and Expounds the Dao" (the base text reads "演道童" here; "童" is a mistake for "章" (chapter); the whole text has no punctuation, and it is here divided according to sense). Observe the course of Heaven's Dao and follow it in action; all the principle lies in this. Heaven has five thieves, and whoever can see them will flourish. The five thieves are not outside the body but in the human heart; when the heart recognizes them it can carry them out in Heaven's name, so that the universe is held in the hand and all transformations arise from oneself. The nature bestowed by Heaven is, in its concrete form, the human being; the human heart is the trigger of action; to establish Heaven's Dao is precisely to settle human affairs. When Heaven unleashes its lethal trigger, the stars shift and the constellations change places; when Earth unleashes its lethal trigger, dragons and snakes rush out onto dry land; when humans unleash their lethal trigger, Heaven and Earth are overturned. When the triggers of Heaven and humans move together, the myriad changes are thereby laid on their foundation. Natures may be clever or clumsy, yet all can be gathered in and hidden away. The falsehood born of the nine orifices has its crux in three: the ears, the eyes and the mouth; hold to these and one can move or be still. Fire is born of wood, and when the fire rises it turns back and burns its wood; treachery is born in the state, and when the time stirs it surely brings collapse. One who understands this and cultivates accordingly is called a sage. Heaven both gives birth to the myriad things and kills them; this is precisely the principle of the Dao (the origin of all things and the way they run, itself beyond naming).

富國安民演法章中天地萬物之盜萬物人之盜人萬物之盜三盜既宜三才旣安故曰食其時百骸理動其機萬化安人知其神而神不知不神而所以神也日月有數大小有定聖功生焉神明岀焉其盜機也天下莫能見莫能知君子得之固躬小人得之輕命強兵戰勝演術章下瞽者善聽聾者善視絶利一源用師十倍三反畫夜用師萬倍心生於物死於物機在目

Part Two: "Enriching the State and Pacifying the People, Expounding the Method." Heaven and Earth are the thieves of the myriad things, the myriad things are the thieves of humans, and humans are in turn the thieves of the myriad things; when these three mutual thefts each find their proper measure, the three powers of Heaven, Earth and humanity each settle in their places. Hence it is said: eat in accord with the seasons, and the hundred bones are regulated and smooth; move in accord with the right moment, and the myriad changes are settled. People only know that what displays its wonder counts as wondrous, yet do not know that the very place where wonder is not displayed is why it is wondrous. The sun and moon move by fixed numbers, large and small have fixed measures, and the sage's achievements arise from this, the divine illumination appears from this. This crux of stealing Heaven's workings, no one under Heaven can see or know; the noble person, getting it, uses it to secure himself, while the petty person, getting it, readily gambles his life with it. Part Three: "Strengthening the Troops and Winning Battles, Expounding the Technique." The blind hear with special keenness, and the deaf see with special sharpness; cut off the desire for gain at one gateway, and the use of troops yields ten times the effect; examine and reflect again and again, day and night, and the use of troops yields ten thousand times the effect (the base text here reads "三反画夜"; "画" is a mistake for "昼" (day), and it should read "三反昼夜"). The mind is born from outer things and also dies from outer things; its trigger lies wholly in the eyes.

天之無恩而大恩生迅雷烈風莫不蠢然至樂性餘至靜性亷天之至私用之至公禽之制在炁生者死之根死者生之根恩生於害害生於恩愚人以天地文理聖我以時物文理哲人以虞愚我以不愚聖人以期其聖我以不期其聖故以沉水入火自取滅亡自然之道靜故天地萬物生天地之道寖故隂陽勝隂陽相推而變化順矣是故聖人知自然之道不可違因而制之至靜之道律暦所不能契愛有竒器是生萬象八卦甲子神機鬼

Heaven seems to bestow no kindness, yet great kindness is born from this: when sudden thunder and fierce wind break out, none of the myriad things fails to stir. At the extreme of joy, the nature has room to spare; at the extreme of stillness, the nature turns clear and incorruptible. Heaven seems utterly selfish, yet in use it is utterly impartial. The key to how birds are brought under control lies in qi (the old form of the character for qi, the flowing stuff that makes up and runs through all things). Life is the root of death, and death is the root of life; kindness is born from harm, and harm is born from kindness. The foolish take the patterns and order of Heaven and Earth to seek sagehood, whereas I take the patterns and order of the seasons and things to seek discernment; others use deceit against the ignorant, while I meet them without deceit; others hope to become sages, while I do not hope to become a sage. So that sort of reckless act, like leaping into water or fire, only brings one's own destruction. The Dao of ziran ("of itself so, as it has always been," not "nature" in the sense of the great outdoors) favors stillness, and so Heaven, Earth and the myriad things are able to come to be; the way of Heaven and Earth lies in gradual, seeping advance, so yin and yang alternately overcome one another, shifting each other along so that change runs smoothly. Therefore the sage, knowing that the Dao of ziran cannot be defied, follows it and regulates accordingly. The Dao of utmost stillness lies beyond what the calculations of pitch-pipes and calendars can reach. Thus there are marvelous instruments, from which arise the myriad phenomena, the eight trigrams and the sexagenary cycle, and the divine workings and the ghost (the base text reads "爱有奇器"; "爱" is a mistake for "爰" (thereupon); the final words of this section, "the divine workings and the ghost," and the first word of the next, "hidden," were originally one phrase, "the divine workings and the ghost hidden"; the base text splits it across the section break, and each is reproduced here as it stands in its own section).

藏隂陽相勝之術昭昭乎進乎象矣黃帝隂符經

(Continuing from the previous section, "the divine workings and the ghost") hidden. The art of yin and yang alternately overcoming one another is plainly displayed in the hexagram images. Here ends the whole text of the Yellow Emperor's Yinfu Jing.