"Heaven and earth are heartless, treating all creatures indifferently."
This sentence has clearly revealed the nature of the Heavenly Dao. In its eyes, all things are equal, as insignificant as straw or ants.
The Heavenly Dao is ruthless. It does not distinguish between right and wrong, good and evil. Whether you do good or evil, in its eyes, it's all the same, there's no difference.
It was when the Daoist ancestor merged with the Tao, that good and evil, right and wrong, became a part of the Heavenly Dao. Therefore it is as it is today.
If someone does evil, heavenly punishment is sure to follow. If someone does good, then they are rewarded with merit.
However, before the merging of the Daoist ancestor with the Tao, those who were kindhearted did not earn merit, and those who did evil did not accumulate karma.
Only those who benefited heaven and earth could gain merit. Conversely, only those who harmed heaven and earth, would accumulate karma.
