Fine jade denotes superior jade; flawless means free of blemishes and flaws. The Heavenly Terrace is the abode of immortals. The passage teaches: if men and women in the world refrain from licentious conduct, they are like unblemished fine jade. When their merits and virtues are fully accomplished, immortals and Buddhas shall receive and guide them to ascend to the Realm of Ultimate Bliss.
If you keep yourself pure and upright, you shall be greeted by the kings of the netherworld upon your passing.
To be pure and upright is to be untainted like clear water. It means inwardly cherishing goodness and rejecting evil. This verse conveys that when such people die and arrive in the netherworld, the Yama kings of every hall will rise from their seats to greet them.
Their entire household shall be spared from calamities of flood, fire, warfare and weapons. Scourges of insects, locusts and pestilence shall all be dispelled unseen.
To vanish unseen means to be eliminated secretly. Those who observe and practice this scripture shall be spared all calamities of flood, fire and warfare; scourges of insects, locusts and pestilence will likewise be dispelled completely.
Look back upon those lecherous libertines, now blind and deaf; surely they bore heavy karmic sins in their past lives.
To look back is to turn one’s gaze and behold others. Libertines refer to reckless folk given to lustful indulgence. Sins mean karmic transgressions. Past lives denote former incarnations. One who cannot see is blind, and one who cannot hear is deaf. This saying states that such people suffer blindness and deafness in this present life as retribution for grave misdeeds committed in their past lives.
Lame feet and severed hands — these stem from deep‑seated karmic grievances of former lifetimes.
This means deep‑rooted karmic debts from past incarnations cause one to be disabled in the present life.
Dwelling in dismal cold temples, they lack clothing and food; living in dilapidated kilns, they endure hunger and bitter cold.