Saturday, September 19, 2026 · 天火 · tianmu.org
Ritual, Repentance, and Liturgy
Daoist liturgies, repentance rites, stellar scriptures, Lingbao rules, hymns, and ritual praise texts.
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Texts
Dongxuan Lingbao Daoxue KeyiThe Lingbao Standards for Daoist Study — a Tang-dynasty monastic rule attributed to the Perfected One of the Great Ultimate and Great Void, governing all aspects of ordained Daoist life from speech and study to death rites and the disposition of property. Thirty-five articles across two fascicles. DZ 1126, Taiping Division of the Zhengtong Daozang. First English translation.Five Stars PraiseDaoist astrological praise hymn to the Five Celestial Planets — Jupiter, Mars, Saturn, Venus, and Mercury — attributed to Han astronomer Zhang Heng. Each planet governs political affairs, natural omens, and fate according to its position in the lunar mansions, with moral counsel and ritual remedies for malefic configurations.Morning ConfessionMorning Aspiration and Confession — nine-movement Daoist morning liturgy comprising three purification mantras for speech, body, and mind; incense and merit-officer invocations; a grand summoning of the celestial assembly; dedication of merit; a long confessional prose section with twenty-one vows; and a closing thanksgiving. DZ 1453, KR5h0022. First English translation.Precious Litany of the Fire Official — Huoguan BaogaoA short Daoist liturgical invocation (baogao) praising the Fire Official, a stellar and administrative deity of the fire phase linked to the planet Mars, the Flame Emperor, and Wenchang — with its complete Daozang source text.Songs and Praises of the PerfectedSongs and Praises of the Perfected (諸真歌頌, Zhuzhen Gesong), DZ 0980 — a collection of celestial hymns, scripture-praises, and spirit-songs from the Shangqing (Supreme Clarity) tradition of Daoism. Approximately seventy poems attributed to celestial lords, perfected beings, immortals, and divine consorts — praising the Shangqing scriptures, singing of the celestial palaces, and exhorting mortals toward transcendence. Drawn from the Maoshan revelations received by Yang Xi (330–386 CE). First English translation. Translated from Classical Chinese.The Evening Liturgy of Correct Unity — Taishang Xuanmen Zhengyi Risong WankeThe daily evening service book of the Correct Unity (Zhengyi) branch of Daoism — hymns, salvation sutras, and dozens of litanies to the major deities, still recited in temples today — with its complete Chinese source text.The Fifty-eight Vows of Great Clarity — Taiqing Wushiba YuanwenA Lingbao vow-litany of the Daoist Canon, in which fifty-eight everyday sights each call up a vow for the good of all beings, followed by ten exhortations and sayings of the Grand Ultimate Perfected — with its complete Daozang source text.The Golden Cabinet Jade Mirror RepentanceA Daoist repentance liturgy from the Zhengtong Daozang — cosmological preface, three rounds of confession, stellar invocations to the Five Planets, Rāhu, and Ketu, elaborate seven-stage bathing ritual with verse incantations, and ethical teaching on cherishing life. First English translation.The Great Exemplar of Clear Tenuity — Qingwei Hongfan Daomen GongkeA compiled morning-and-noon devotional liturgy of the Clear Tenuity ritual tradition, gathering purification spells, canonical scriptures, and litanies of homage for daily recitation — with its complete Daozang source text.The Hundred-Character Sacred Title of the Dark Heaven Supreme Emperor — Xuantian Shangdi Baizi ShenghaoA hundred-character litany of honorific titles for Zhenwu, the Perfected Warrior venerated as Xuantian Shangdi, together with a short imperial eulogy in his praise — with its complete Chinese source text.The Jade Instructions on the Five Emperors' Offering Rite for Summoning the Perfected — Taishang Dongxuan Lingbao Wudi Jiaoji Zhaozhen YujueA Lingbao ritual manual for the triennial offering rite to the Five Emperors of the five directions, giving the altar, offerings, invocations, and seasonal incantations that summon their perfected officers — with its complete Daozang source text.The Precious Repentance of the Azure Mystery for Salvation from SufferingA Daoist funerary repentance liturgy from the Zhengtong Daozang, addressed to Taiyi Jiuku Tianzun, confessing nine categories of transgression on behalf of a departed soul and praying for their release from hell and ascension to heaven.The Precious Repentance of the Merciful LordA Daoist funerary repentance liturgy from the Zhengtong Daozang (DZ 0540), dedicated to the Great Unity, Celestial Worthy Who Saves from Suffering. Three rounds of confession for body, mind, and speech karma, seeking the salvation and ascent of the departed soul.The Precious Repentance of the Purple Subtle StarFirst English translation of this Daoist stellar repentance liturgy from the Continued Canon (DZ 1450), invoking the complete Chinese astrological pantheon — the Purple Subtle Star Emperor, Five Planets, Nine Stars of the Northern Dipper, Twenty-Eight Lunar Mansions, Twelve Zodiac Palaces, and over ninety stellar deities — in a ceremony of confession and purification.The Repentance for Uprooting Sin — Taiyi Jiuku Bazui FachanA Daoist funerary repentance liturgy addressed to the Celestial Worthy of Great Unity Who Rescues from Suffering, invoking him through litanies of hells and titles to deliver the dead — with its complete Daozang source text.The Scripture of the Northern DipperOne of the most widely recited scriptures in living Daoism — the Lord reveals the names and powers of the seven Star Lords of the Northern Dipper, who govern human destiny according to one's year of birth. First freely available English translation from Classical Chinese. Good Works Translation.The Superior Method of Confession and Atonement Under the Precepts of the Three Primes — Taishang Dadao Sanyuan Pinjie Xiezui ShangfaA Daoist repentance liturgy for the Three Primes days, in which a Celestial Worthy teaches purification and confession before the powers of the eight directions, sun, moon, stars, Five Peaks, and Water Officials — with its complete Daozang source text.Three Caverns Praise, Numinous ChaptersShangqing liturgical anthology of praise songs, chapters, and hymns organized by celestial direction, cosmic eon, and the Five Emperors — translated from Classical Chinese.