Qingwei Hongfan Daomen Gongke — Devotions of the Gate of the Dao, Compiled by Liu Shouyuan
This is a devotional manual — a "gongke" (功課), a book of daily liturgy — compiled under the title 清微宏範道門功課, "The Great Exemplar of Clear Tenuity: Devotions of the Gate of the Dao," by a Daoist who signs himself Liu Shouyuan, styled "the Perfected Who Spreads the Teaching Wide" (宏教真人). Clear Tenuity (Qingwei) names a ritual tradition of thunder rites and exorcism that rose to prominence in the Song and Yuan dynasties; nothing further is known to us about Liu Shouyuan or the date of this particular compilation beyond what the text itself states, and no catalogue number is given in our source.
The text gathers, into two liturgical sessions — a Morning Altar and a Noon Altar — a wide range of material: spells for purifying the mind, mouth, body, and ritual ground; verses for opening the scriptures; several complete canonical scriptures in their own right (the Scripture on Constant Clarity and Stillness spoken by the Most High Lord Lao, the Heart-Seal Scripture of the Jade Emperor, the long Precious Scripture of the Jade Pivot spoken by the Celestial Worthy of Thunder's Sound, and the Heart Scripture and Repentance Text associated with the immortal patriarchs Lü Dongbin and Qiu Chuji); a sequence of litanies of homage (寶誥) to the highest deities of the Three Purities and to the patriarchs of the Complete Perfection lineage; and closing prayers, including a template prayer for longevity to be read on the new and full moon. Verse is kept as verse; the two embedded narrative scriptures are kept as prose, following their own form.
Translated for the Good Works Library directly from the classical Chinese of the Daoist Canon tradition, printed in full below the translation. Several of the individual scriptures gathered inside this compilation have been translated into English before, in other publications, independently of this compilation — see the colophon below for what was found and what this claim does and does not cover. To our knowledge, no prior English translation exists of this compilation as a whole, under this title and in this complete form.
Translation
Preface to the Great Exemplar of Clear Tenuity: Devotions of the Gate of the Dao
I humbly consider that books of gold and cases of jade are the gate by which one enters the Way, and that precious litanies and cinnabar scriptures are the road by which one cultivates transcendence. Winning the gate, one may restore the nature of primordial reality; following the road, one may refine an indestructible body. For this reason the feathered gentlemen who dwell in the monastic groves tend the incense fire, practicing through three thousand days and reciting through the twelve double-hours. Morning and evening they pay court and homage, hoping above to reach the sages and the perfected; day and night they offer their sincerity, praying that the fortune of the state continue forever. Without diligent recitation, how could one nourish and preserve the primal harmony? Without established rites, there would be no way to spread abroad the mystery and the wondrous. For a scripture, as scripture, is the mind-lineage of the sages who came before; and a spell, as spell, is the wondrous method of the transcendents on high. Recited with sincerity, the scripture becomes clear; practiced with earnestness, the method proves itself. When the scripture is clear, the Way is joined within; when the method proves itself, spirit-penetration is manifest without. When scripture-clarity and method-proof are both complete, inner cultivation and outer practice are both fulfilled. This is the stairway by which virtue and nature are cast and forged, the precious raft by which one seeks to cross over and attain.
If one can fix the will in single-minded sincerity, advancing bravely and vigorously through all twelve double-hours without ever turning back, then while in the world one may already go beyond the world; dwelling in the dust, one may of oneself leave the dust — passing in and out of emptiness, wandering free through the universe, at ease and unconstrained, without ending and without birth, the inch-square heart unstained, and a single mote of its wondrous function passing straight beyond the Three Realms. One who is thus resolves the dust-root of a single thought of one's own mind, escapes the bitter distress of the world's Three Paths, treads the great Way of long life, and crosses the surging tide of the sea of suffering. Averting calamity, calamity dissolves; praying for blessing, blessing arrives. Nothing sought goes unanswered; whatever moves the heart finds its response. This is why one recites and upholds the various ranks of transcendent scriptures and the precious names of the assembled perfected: for purifying the mouth, purifying the mind, and purifying the body there are spells; for pacifying Heaven, pacifying Earth, and pacifying the spirits there are chapters. Though this is the ordinary devotion performed hall by hall, it is in truth cultivation beyond compare. Only when three thousand merits are fulfilled and eight hundred virtuous acts are complete does one become a superior gentleman of this gate of the Dharma, a true man of the mysterious cloister. And so I have gathered the assembly to carve the blocks and print this text, hoping it will circulate forever, that the companions of Complete Perfection may follow and rely upon its rites and teaching, receive it in faith, and carry it out. This is the preface.
Devotions of the Gate of the Dao
Compiled by Liu Shouyuan, the Perfected Who Spreads the Teaching Wide
Morning Altar Devotions
Hymn of Incense
Penglai and Yingzhou greet the crisp dawn;
we pay court and homage to the many heavens.
Over Jade Clarity the first sun is round as a mirror's light,
morning vapors wreathe an auspicious mist.
The secret canon is proclaimed from the heart,
entering the Way, we hope to become transcendents.
The Great Celestial Worthy of the Three Treasures of the Limitless, the Most High (spoken three times)
Verse for Opening the Scripture
Chimes of jade resound and ring;
the middle realm grows still and clear.
Rivers and seas fall silent;
mountains and peaks swallow the clouds.
The myriad spirits bow and submit;
the host of the perfected is summoned and invited.
Heaven holds no baleful filth;
earth is scant of demonic vapor.
Empty and bright, penetrating wisdom
reaches up to the Jade Capital.
Celestial Worthy of Constant Clarity and Constant Stillness (spoken three times)
The true mind's clarity and stillness take the Way as their source,
likened to the precious moon at the sky's very center.
Sweep clean the clouds of delusion, leave not a speck of shadow,
and a single wheel of light will fill the Great Void entire.
The finest medicine within the body is spirit, breath, and essence;
each person is fully endowed, neither lacking nor overflowing.
One who knows the way of blending and of the turning wind
finds the golden cauldron's yellow sprout growing day by day.
A single stick of true incense is itself spontaneous;
in the Yellow Court's censer an auspicious smoke arises.
In the empty air it gathers into drifting seal-script clouds,
offered above to wish the present age ten thousand years of life.
For ten thousand ages the Way alone is honored;
widely it opens the gate of salvation for the world.
Bright and resplendent, it proclaims the great Dharma;
the sacred canon endures to this very day.
Spell for Purifying the Mind
The Terrace Stars of the Most High
respond to change without ceasing,
driving off evil, binding down goblins,
preserving life, guarding the body.
Wisdom bright and pure,
the heart-spirit at peace.
The three hun souls forever enduring,
the po souls never lost nor overturned.
Quickly, quickly, as the statutes and ordinances command!
Spell for Purifying the Mouth
Cinnabar-Vermilion, spirit of the mouth,
spit out filth and dispel foul vapor.
Spirit of the tongue, right its order,
opening the mandate, nourishing spirit.
Luoqian, spirit of the thousand teeth,
repel evil, guard the true.
Spirit of the throat, tiger-brave;
spirit of the breath, draw forth the fluids.
Spirit of the heart, cinnabar prime —
let me penetrate to the true,
mind the spirits, refine the liquors,
that the breath of the Way endure forever.
Quickly, quickly, as the statutes and ordinances command!
Spell for Purifying the Body
Celestial Worthy of Numinous Treasure,
set at ease this bodily form.
This disciple's hun and po,
the five viscera dark and hidden —
Green Dragon and White Tiger
form their ranks in throngs,
Vermilion Bird and Dark Warrior
stand guard about this form.
Quickly, quickly, as the statutes and ordinances command!
Spell for Pacifying the Earth Spirits
Primordial Beginning stabilizes and settles;
proclaim it to the myriad spirits —
the true officials of peaks and streams,
the numinous deities of soil and earth,
the altar of the left, the millet-god of the right:
be not vainly startled.
Turn toward the true Way,
within and without made clear and pure,
each settled in its proper place,
standing guard about this altar hall.
The Most High has given command:
seek out and seize the evil spirits.
Spirit-kings who protect the Dharma,
guard and defend this recitation.
Taking refuge in the great Way —
origination, prevalence, advantage, constancy.
Quickly, quickly, as the statutes and ordinances command!
Spell for Purifying Heaven and Earth and Dispelling Filth
Heaven and Earth of themselves,
scatter and disperse this filthy vapor.
Within the cavern, dark and empty,
gleaming bright, the Great Prime.
The mighty spirits of the eight directions
make me spontaneous of myself.
The talisman-mandate of Numinous Treasure
is proclaimed abroad to the Nine Heavens.
Qianluo-Dana,
cavern-power of the Great Mystery,
beheads demons, binds evil,
slays ten thousand thousand ghosts.
The Zhongshan Spell, the jade text of Primordial Beginning —
uphold and recite it once,
and sickness is driven off, years prolonged.
Traveling the Five Peaks,
known throughout the Eight Seas,
the demon-kings bind their own heads,
standing guard about my hall.
Baleful filth is scattered and dispersed,
the breath of the Way ever preserved.
Quickly, quickly, as the statutes and ordinances command!
Spell for Consecrating the Incense
The Way is learned through the mind,
the mind conveyed through incense.
Incense burns in the jade censer,
the mind set before the Thearch.
True numina look down and favor us,
transcendent banners draw near the hall.
Let this subject's report and petition
reach directly to the Nine Heavens.
Quickly, quickly, as the statutes and ordinances command!
Spell of Golden Light
Heaven and Earth's mysterious ancestor,
root and origin of the myriad breaths.
Cultivated broadly through a hundred million kalpas,
it proves my spirit-penetration.
Within and beyond the Three Realms,
the Way alone is honored.
My body holds a golden light
that covers and reflects upon this form —
looked at, it is not seen;
listened for, it is not heard.
It wraps about Heaven and Earth,
nourishing and raising the host of beings.
Received and upheld ten thousand times,
the body holds this radiance;
the Three Realms stand guard about it,
the Five Thearchs receive and welcome it,
the myriad spirits pay it court,
commanding the thunder and its peals.
Ghosts and goblins lose their courage,
sprites and demons lose their form.
Within, there is thunderclap;
the thunder-spirits hide their names.
Cavern-wisdom interpenetrates,
the five breaths surge and rise.
Golden light, appear swiftly,
cover and guard this perfected one.
Quickly, quickly, as the statutes and ordinances command!
Spell of the Mysterious Meaning for Opening the Scripture
Cloud-seal script of the Great Void,
at the very start of the vast kalpa,
now distant, now near,
now sinking, now afloat,
lingering through the five directions,
a single zhang and more.
The Celestial Perfected August Man
took up the brush and wrote,
to set forth the cavern chapters.
Next he wrote the numinous talismans;
Primordial Beginning descended,
and the true text was born and spread abroad.
Bright and manifest is its being,
dark and hidden is its non-being.
Chanting the spell can heal sickness;
upholding the scripture can transcend the dust.
It benefits the hidden dead, freeing them from suffering;
fulfilling the vow, one attains the true.
The Wondrous Scripture on Ascending to the Mystery, Dispelling Calamity, and Preserving Life, Spoken by the Celestial Worthy of Primordial Beginning of Jade Clarity
I bow my head and take refuge in the wondrous Way of all,
with utmost mind I reverence the twin mysteries, true.
Now I move a single mind, the mind that pays this homage;
roughly I know this scripture, and the reason for this scripture.
Emptiness is form, form is emptiness — the original nature abides;
being is non-being, non-being is being — form and emptiness made equal.
The wind of wisdom issues from the Celestial Worthy's power,
sweeping the realm of mind and leaving not a speck of dust.
I wish only that the divine light forever surround and protect,
bearing witness this day to one who guards the mind.
What does guarding the mind attest to, this very day?
Not to lose the ordinary body, but to gain the body of the Way.
At that time, the Celestial Worthy of Primordial Beginning was within the Grove of Seven Treasures, inside the Palace of Five Lights. Together with the sagely host of the Limitless, he sent forth boundless light without limit, illumining boundless worlds, beholding boundless living beings who suffer boundless torment — turning and tossing in the world of men, revolving in the round of birth and death, drifting on the river of desire, borne on the sea of craving, sunk and mired in sound and form, confused between being and non-being, non-being in emptiness and being in emptiness, non-being in form and being in form, non-being in non-being and being in non-being, being in being and non-being in being — from beginning to end benighted and unable to make themselves clear, utterly confused.
The Celestial Worthy proclaimed, saying: You beings — out of what is not being comes being, out of what is not non-being comes non-being; out of what is not form comes form, out of what is not emptiness comes emptiness. What is not being is taken as being, what is not non-being is taken as non-being; what is not form is taken as form, what is not emptiness is taken as emptiness. Emptiness is precisely emptiness — emptiness has no fixed emptiness. Form is precisely form — form has no fixed form. Form itself is emptiness; emptiness itself is form. If one can know emptiness as not-empty and form as not-form, this is called illumination.
Only then does one arrive at the wondrous sound, know the dharma of neither emptiness, penetrate without obstruction, and enter the gate of all wonders — spontaneously understanding, freed from every net of doubt. Not clinging to the view of emptiness, the six roots made pure, all deviant hindrance cut off — I now, for your sake, speak this wondrous scripture, named "Protecting Life and Saving All Beings." Let it be taught throughout the world, circulated, read, and recited.
At once there appeared flying celestial spirit-kings, vajra-warriors who break evil, numinous lads who guard the Dharma, perfected who rescue from suffering, and fierce beasts of golden essence — each a hundred million in host — all guarding this scripture, protecting it wherever it goes, warding off calamity and sustaining the weak, delivering all beings from defilement and attachment.
At that time, the Celestial Worthy then spoke a verse, saying:
Looked at, I am not seen;
listened for, I am not heard.
Apart from every kind of boundary —
this is called the wondrous Way.
(Ended)
The Scripture on Constant Clarity and Stillness, Spoken by the Most High Lord Lao
Lord Lao said: The Great Way has no form, yet it gives birth to and nurtures Heaven and Earth. The Great Way has no feeling, yet it moves the sun and moon in their courses. The Great Way has no name, yet it raises and sustains the ten thousand things. I do not know its name; forced to name it, I call it the Way.
Now the Way has clarity and has turbidity, has motion and has stillness. Heaven is clear, Earth is turbid; Heaven moves, Earth is still. The male is clear, the female is turbid; the male moves, the female is still. Descending from the root and flowing to the branch, the ten thousand things are born. The clear is the source of the turbid; motion is the foundation of stillness. If a person can be constantly clear and still, Heaven and Earth both return to them.
Now the human spirit loves clarity, but the mind disturbs it; the human mind loves stillness, but desire pulls it away. If one can constantly banish one's desires, the mind of itself grows still; if one clarifies one's mind, the spirit of itself grows clear. Naturally the six desires do not arise, the three poisons are extinguished and destroyed. The reason one cannot do this is that the mind is not yet clarified and desire is not yet banished.
One who can banish it: looking within at one's mind, the mind has no mind; looking without at one's form, the form has no form; looking afar at things, things have no thing. Once these three are understood, one sees only emptiness. Contemplating emptiness, emptiness too is empty; the emptiness that is emptied, in turn, has nothing to empty. Where there is nothing to empty, non-being too is without being. Non-being having already become non-being, even this non-being is no more.
Utterly still and constantly quiescent, in this quiescence there is nothing that is quiescent. How, then, could desire arise? And once desire does not arise, this is true stillness.
True and constant, responding to things; true and constant, attaining one's nature. Ever responding, ever still — ever clear, ever pure. Being thus clear and still, one gradually enters the true Way. Having entered the true Way, this is called attaining the Way. Though it is called attaining the Way, in reality there is nothing attained. It is only for the sake of transforming living beings that it is called attaining the Way. One who can awaken to this may transmit the sacred Way.
Lord Lao said: The superior gentleman does not contend; the inferior gentleman loves to contend. Superior virtue does not hold to virtue; inferior virtue clings to virtue. Whoever clings and attaches does not deserve the name of the Way and its virtue. The reason living beings do not attain the true Way is that they have a deluded mind. Once there is a deluded mind, the spirit is startled; once the spirit is startled, one clings to the ten thousand things; once one clings to the ten thousand things, greed and craving are born; once greed and craving are born, this is vexation. Vexation and deluded thought bring worry and suffering to body and mind; one then meets with turbidity and disgrace, drifts through birth and death, is forever sunk in the sea of suffering, and forever loses the true Way.
The true and constant Way — one who awakens to it attains it of oneself. One who attains the awakening of the Way is constantly clear and still.
The transcendent Elder Ge said: I attained the true Way, having once recited this scripture ten thousand times. This scripture is what the celestial people practice; it is not transmitted to the inferior gentleman. I formerly received it from the Sovereign Lord of the Eastern Flower, the Sovereign Lord of the Eastern Flower received it from the Sovereign Lord of the Golden Tower, the Sovereign Lord of the Golden Tower received it from the Queen Mother of the West, and the Queen Mother of the West transmitted it always mouth to mouth, without ever committing it to writing. Now, in this age, I have written it down and recorded it. The superior gentleman who awakens to it rises to become a celestial official; the middling gentleman who cultivates it becomes one of the ranked transcendents of the Southern Palace; the inferior gentleman who attains it lives long in the world, roams through the Three Realms, and ascends and enters the Golden Gate.
The Perfected Zuoxuan said: The practitioner of the Way who recites and upholds this scripture at once gains the protection of the ten celestial good spirits about his body; thereafter the jade talisman preserves his spirit, the golden liquor refines his form, and form and spirit both become wondrous, united with the Way in truth.
The Perfected of Orthodox Unity said: If a household has this scripture and there is one who awakens to and understands it, calamity and hindrance will not intrude; the assembled sages will guard the gate, the spirit will ascend to the upper realms and pay court to the high perfected. When merit is fulfilled and virtue accomplished, the Sovereign Lord responds in kind; if one recites and upholds it without retreat, the body ascends on purple clouds.
The Scripture on Constant Clarity and Stillness, Spoken by the Most High Lord Lao
The Wondrous Supreme Heart-Seal Scripture of the Jade Emperor
The finest medicines, three in kind,
are spirit, and breath, and essence —
dim and indistinct,
obscure and deep.
Abide in non-being, hold to being,
and in a moment it is achieved.
Turning the breath, blending it together,
in a hundred days the merit takes on numinous power;
silently paying court to the Thearch on high,
in twelve years one flies up and ascends.
The one who knows finds it easy to awaken;
the one who is benighted finds it hard to practice.
Treading in the light of Heaven,
breath in, breath out, nurturing what is pure,
going out through the mysterious, entering the female,
as though gone, as though remaining,
unbroken, continuous,
the root made fast and driven deep.
Each person has an essence;
essence unites with its spirit,
spirit unites with its breath,
breath unites with the true body.
Whatever fails to reach the true
is nothing but a forced name.
Spirit can enter stone;
spirit can fly in form.
Entering water, it does not drown;
entering fire, it is not burned.
Spirit depends on form to live;
essence depends on breath to be full.
Never withering, never decaying,
like pine and cypress ever green.
The three medicines share one pattern,
wondrous, beyond what can be told.
When they gather, there is being;
when they scatter, there is nothing left.
The seven apertures interpenetrate,
each aperture bright with light.
The sacred sun and sacred moon
shine upon the Golden Court.
Once gained, gained forever —
of itself the body grows light.
The Great Harmony fills to overflowing,
the bones dissolve to cold jade.
Attain the elixir, and one is numinous;
fail to attain it, and one declines.
The elixir lies within the body,
neither white nor blue.
Recite and uphold it ten thousand times,
and its wondrous principle grows clear of itself.
The Wondrous Supreme Heart-Seal Scripture of the Jade Emperor
The Precious Scripture of the Jade Pivot, Spoken by the Celestial Worthy Who Spreads Transformation through the Sound of Thunder, Responding to the Prime from the Nine Heavens
At that time, the Celestial Worthy Who Spreads Transformation through the Sound of Thunder, Responding to the Prime from the Nine Heavens, was in the Heaven of Jade Clarity, together with the Thearchs of the Ten Directions and every heaven, assembled in the Hall of the Nine Lights of Jade Emptiness, the Lodge Encircled by Dense Mist, the Chamber of Purple Ultimate's Winding Secrecy. He opened the case bound in the Great Obscurity's Jasper Jade, and examined the writings of the Cavern-Subtlety's Bright Dawn. Heads together, ear to ear, they debated closely the doubled mystery. The many attendant ministers stood to left and right, reverent and uneasy.
The Celestial Worthy sat in feasting repose, chanting aloud the cavern chapters. The Thearchs of every heaven intoned long, pacing the void. Beautiful maidens, transcendent sisters, scattered flowers and circled round. Once more they led one another, roaming and sporting through the halls of kingfisher-green. The host of transcendents guided the way ahead, banner-staffs first, then metal bells; dragon-carriages and simurgh-yoked chariots streamed through the great emptiness, drifting with its music. All gathered together upon the sevenfold-treasure tiered terrace of jade Brahma.
At that time there was the Thunder Master, the Radiant Elder, who among the assembled transcendents stepped out beyond the ranks, came before the Celestial Worthy, bowed and trembled in obeisance, and rising abruptly knelt at full length, addressing the Celestial Worthy from below, saying: "Celestial Worthy, greatly compassionate; Celestial Worthy, greatly sagely — father to the host of beings, teacher to the myriad numina. Today, all the heavens have this good fortune of beholding you. We have just now seen the Celestial Worthy open the precious case and examine the carnelian writings; among its secret and profound contents, too many to count one by one, there is one alone — the Palace of Jade Firmament, which governs the thirty-six heavens within, the inner offices and central bureaus, the Terraces of East and West Flower, the mysterious bindings of the wondrous pavilions, the four offices and six courts, and all their several administrators — each divided into bureaus and departments, and thus in overall charge of the Five Thunders that oversee the Three Realms. The Celestial Worthy, most exalted, in his heart is intimate with the many administrations. These lowly ones — by what causal bond do we come to serve and submit? We wish to be told, and long to hear it."
The Celestial Worthy spoke, saying: "Thunder Master, Radiant Elder, and you, transcendent ministers — you have stored up merit through former ages, accumulated practice across past lives; and so you have attained promotion within the Jade Bureau, and your names are recorded in the registers of the Carnelian Palace. Now, as for this present merit and practice, it is seen to exceed that of former days. Exert your full strength in the offices of Thunder, devote your minds to the Department of Fire — day after day, year after year, your merit rises higher, your practice grows more manifest. When the nature is clear and the spirit fused, one may attest to the exalted and true, and thereby ascend the steps of the wondrous Way.
Only the spirits and demons of the Thunder Department labor by day and are pressed to service by night, always under threat of the rod. In the greater cases, they undergo trial and execution, shattered like scattered cloud and carved like snow, with never a moment's rest — dispatching dragons, commanding crows, this one resting while that one rises, each acting from its own cause. You should give ear to this, Thunder Master, Radiant Elder."
And so all the heavens and all the transcendents pricked up their ears and fell silent. The Celestial Worthy sat upon his throne-screen of nine phoenixes and crimson dawn-clouds, his hand raising the scepter of golden light, like the ruyi. The jasper wind was pure and clear, the embroidered clouds richly resplendent. The Celestial Worthy remained still and silent a long while.
The Celestial Worthy spoke, saying: "Long ago, through fifteen hundred kalpas, I first stitched together this Way with my mind, and so attained the rank of a high perfected one; my intent brewed this merit, and so I came to hold authority over great transformation. Once, before the Celestial Worthy of Primordial Beginning of Great Canopy Heaven, with a mind clear and pure I made a vast and great vow: I vowed that in the ages to come, all living beings — the celestial dragons, the ghosts and spirits — who once utter my name, should all be made to attain deliverance. If it should prove otherwise, I would answer for it with my own person. Cleanse your minds, all of you, and I will proclaim it for your sake."
The Celestial Worthy spoke, saying: "You, all the celestial beings, wish to hear the ultimate Way. The ultimate Way is deep and secluded, and lies nowhere else. Since you wish to hear it — that there is no hearing is itself the true not-hearing; that there is seeing is itself the true Way. Both hearing and seeing are extinguished; there is only you yourself. And even you yourself do not truly exist — how much less the Way! Hearing without hearing — what Way is there left to speak of?"
The Celestial Worthy spoke, saying: "The Way is entered through sincerity, held through silence, and used through softness. Used through sincerity, it seems foolish; used through silence, it seems inarticulate; used through softness, it seems clumsy. Being thus, one may forget the body with it, forget the self with it, forget even the forgetting with it.
One who enters the Way knows where to stop; one who preserves the Way knows how to be careful; one who employs the Way knows the subtle. Able to know the subtle, the light of wisdom is born. Able to know carefulness, sagely wisdom is made whole. Able to know where to stop, great stability is at peace. Great stability at peace, sagely wisdom is made whole; sagely wisdom made whole, the light of wisdom is born; the light of wisdom born, one becomes one with the Way. This is called true forgetting.
It is only in forgetting, and yet not forgetting; forgetting until there is nothing left to forget. That which has nothing left to forget — this is the ultimate Way. The Way is present in Heaven and Earth, though Heaven and Earth do not know it; in the sentient and the insentient alike, it is one and not two."
The Celestial Worthy spoke, saying: "Now, in this age, how shall I bring benefit to the living? For the sake of the beings of every heaven I set forth this wondrous treasure. Whoever attains awakening through it shall be raised up to the transcendent's throne. Students of the Way should trust that there truly are the workings of breath and fate. For the winds and soils of different lands differ, and so what each receives at birth differs — hence it is called breath. The wise and the foolish differ, and their clarity or turbidity of endowment differs — hence it is called fate. Fate is bound to destiny; breath is bound to Heaven. Confined by breath and fate, fettered by the mandate of Heaven — one who has not attained the true Way may still turn foolishness into wisdom, turbidity into clarity, if only destiny grants it. The foolish remain in their fog, the solitary in their obscurity — this too is shifted by the winds and soils of their endowment. Heaven and Earth make mysterious their workings, and let people not know it; and so it seems, day by day, spontaneous of itself. Let one come to know that one does not know, and this too, day by day, is spontaneous of itself. The wonder of the spontaneous, though its wonder lies in knowing, yet the very reason it is wondrous lies in not-knowing. But as for the Way's own aim, it was never meant to make one foolish or turbid."
When the beings of every heaven had heard this, the fourfold assembly all rejoiced. The Celestial Worthy spoke, saying: "What I have now spoken is none other than the Precious Scripture of the Jade Pivot.
If, in ages to come, any beings should come to hear my name, let them only compose their minds in silent recollection, forming this thought, speaking the name Celestial Worthy Who Spreads Transformation through the Sound of Thunder, Responding to the Prime from the Nine Heavens — whether once, or five or seven times, or a thousand or a hundred times — I will at once manifest my form throughout the ten directions, moving my mind through the Three Realms, so that whoever speaks my name shall have their wish fulfilled entire. Throughout the ten directions and Three Realms, every heaven and every earth, sun, moon, and stars, mountains, rivers, plants and trees, all that flies or crawls or stirs — whether sentient or insentient — the celestial dragons, ghosts, and spirits, on hearing that living beings have once spoken my name, if there be any who do not submit, their heads shall be severed and their hearts split open, reduced to fine dust."
The Celestial Worthy spoke, saying: "I am the Great Sage of Chaste Brightness of the Nine Heavens. On the sixth day of every month, and on each Xin day within its ten-day cycle, I oversee and behold the ten thousand heavens, roaming freely through the Three Realms. If there be one who wishes to study the Way, who longs for transcendence, who seeks to save the nine generations, or to be released from the Three Calamities, let him bid an Orthodox Unity priest, or gather together with kin and friends of like mind, in a tower-shrine, in the household, or in the village altar, to pour out libations and offer flowers, and to recite this scripture — whether once, or three or five times, or even scores or a hundred times — and at once the spirit grows clear and the breath fresh, the mind broadens and the body is at ease; whatever is hoped for shall each find its response."
The Celestial Worthy spoke, saying: "There are Nine Numina within the body — why not summon them? The first is called Heaven-Born; the second, Without Blossom; the third, Mysterious Pearl; the fourth, Central Rectitude; the fifth, Solitary Cinnabar; the sixth, Returning Thunder; the seventh, Cinnabar Prime; the eighth, Great Abyss; the ninth, Numinous Lad. To summon them is auspicious. There are Three Essences within the body — why not call upon them? The first is called Terrace Light; the second, Bright Numen; the third, Hidden Essence. To call upon them is a blessing.
When the five centers of the heart are vexed and oppressed, when the six pulses are in turmoil, when the four limbs cannot find rest, when the hundred joints cry out in distress — one should recite this scripture."
The Celestial Worthy spoke, saying: "If there be one whose Five Phases run unevenly, whose Nine Luminaries stand jagged and ill-matched, whose year meets punishment and clash, whose fortune encounters conquest and conflict — beset by Lone Asterism and Widowed Lodge, by Ram's Blade and Sword's Edge, by Robbery Star and Death Spirit, by the Ghost Gate's hook and noose, whose emolument meets ruin and defeat, whose Horse falls into Emptiness and Perishing — every act and use meeting danger and peril, every step and pause meeting misfortune — let him at once recite this scripture, petitioning above: may the Officer of Heaven resolve the calamities of Heaven, the Officer of Earth resolve the calamities of Earth, the Officer of Water resolve the calamities of Water; may the Five Thearchs resolve the calamities of the five directions, the Four Sages resolve the calamities of the four seasons, the Southern Asterism resolve the calamities of one's own destiny, and the Northern Dipper resolve every calamity whatsoever."
The Celestial Worthy spoke, saying: "When deep sickness lays one abed, when a grave affliction presses on the body, when time has passed without recovery and physicians have sought a cure in vain, when the five spirits have lost their master and the four constituents cannot be gathered — it may be that offense was given before the Five Thearchs, before the Three Officers, before the sun, moon, and stars, before mountain forests and plants and trees, before an ancient numinous altar or ruin, before a City God shrine or village temple, before a well or hearth of the lanes, before a monastery, temple, or tower — or it may be within the thirty-six prisons of the underworld bureaus, the seventy-two departments of the dark officials, where some injustice still clings and entangles one here. Or it may have been summoned by a sworn oath or curse once made; or brought about by a debt still owed and unpaid; enmity knotted across three lifetimes, hatred raised across separate kalpas — each fault must be measured, each account must be settled, and all must first be answered for with an apology. Let him at once recite this scripture."
The Celestial Worthy spoke, saying: "There is the Talisman of the Heavenly Officer, the Talisman of the Earthly Officer; for each year, month, day, and hour, there is its own officer-talisman; for each direction and quarter, facing and turned away, there is its own officer-talisman. In its greater form it is the officer-talisman itself; in its lesser form, it is mere gossip and dispute — for there are spirits of the Red Mouth and White Tongue who preside over these. In every act undertaken, in every going out and coming in, in daily life — if one does not know what to avoid, and meets with an officer-talisman's gossip and dispute, one is made to suffer clamor and noise, vexed and worn from dawn to dusk, and brings much upon one's own lips. Agreeing to one's face and opposing behind one's back stirs up quarrels of the mouth; swearing by spirits and cursing before the Buddha begins in slander and ends in vilification. From this, lawsuits and litigation are born, and the penalties of law take hold. If one wishes to be free of this, let him at once recite this scripture, and gossip and dispute will quietly dissolve, and the officer-talisman will be stilled forever."
The Celestial Worthy spoke, saying: "The Sovereign of Earth's Nine Bastions oversees twelve hundred spirits — the Marquis of Earth, the Elder of Earth, the Duke of Earth and the Dame of Earth, the Sons and Grandsons of Earth, and all the Earth Household's kin. Whether it be the Year Star, or the General, the Crane Spirit, or Venus, the Nine Excellent Ones, the Sword's Edge, the Male-and-Female, the Metal Spirit, the Fire-and-Blood, the Yellow Body, the Collision with Fate, the Three Killings, the Seven Killings, the Yellow Banner and Leopard's Tail, or the Flying Ribald's Blade and Block — spirits and killing-forces of the Earth Household such as these — should a person raise buildings or break ground and offend against them, sickness and misfortune follow, even unto death. But let him only recite this scripture, and the myriad spirits shall all arise: Heaven shall have no restriction, Earth shall have no restriction, yin and yang shall have no restriction — a hundred things, unrestricted, without prohibition."
The Celestial Worthy spoke, saying: "When men and women of this world join in marriage, some offend against Xianchi, some against the Heavenly Dog; the Three Punishments and Six Harms, the Clashing Horns strike together; lone yin and widowed yang, the Net of Heaven and the Snare of Earth — hence the difficulty of continuing the line, and many remain solitary and alone. If one wishes to seek a son, let him at once recite this scripture. There shall be the Great Spirit of the Nine Heavens Who Oversees Birth, summoning the spirits and gathering the winds, so that a worthy child is born. And at the hour of birth, when the Great One stands at the gate and the Arbiter of Fate is in the courtyard — should there be some hidden wrong, some ghost or goblin, some taboo transgressed, some baleful calamity, causing a difficult birth — let one recite this scripture, and at once the Nine Heavens shall guard the birthing chamber, and the Sacred Mother shall silently support and deliver the child, so that the moment of birth shall be blessed, and the labor pass without mishap. And whenever there is an infant still in swaddling clothes, under the throne of the Sandalwood Spirit-King there are fifteen kinds of ghosts who add every manner of vexation and harm, causing much fright and convulsion — one should recite this scripture."
The Celestial Worthy spoke, saying: "If, where a person dwells, crows and rats bring in strange portents, snakes and vermin breed their calamities, bricks are hurled and tiles flung, chickens startled and dogs set barking, demanding sacrifice and offering — going so far as to press in shadow and oppress in dream, even to theft and violation — and dare to occupy that dwelling as their den, so that the living are led astray, the courtyard and gate no longer pure, howling at night along the beams, peering by day into the rooms — cattle, horses, dogs, and swine also fall to pestilence, calamity reaching to one's own flesh and blood, disaster touching even what is bred and raised; where licentious shrines and heterodox altars shelter demonic treachery, mourners come one after another, and funeral carts follow in succession — if one recites this scripture, the ghost-essences shall be destroyed and scattered, and people and creatures alike shall be at peace."
The Celestial Worthy spoke, saying: "The Thunder Lord Generals of the Nine Heavens, the Thunder Lord Generals of the Five Directions, the Cloud-Thunder Generals of the Eight Directions, the Uncultivated Thunder Envoys of the Five Directions, the Commanding Envoys of the Thunder Department, and Judge Mo Zhuan — they issue orders and commands swift as wind and fire. Where there is a shrine to be struck down, an altar to be smashed, a demon to be destroyed, a haunting to be dispelled — in this age of decline and the Dharma's final days, sorcerers and mediums abound; heterodox methods spread, and hidden curses and hexes run rampant. And so in Highest Clarity there is the Court of Heaven's Prolongation that restrains ghosts and records traitors, and the Chamber of the Thearch's Cause that binds demons and examines the deviant. Whoever can recite this scripture — its response comes as swiftly as an echo."
The Celestial Worthy spoke, saying: "The pestilences of Heaven and Earth number twenty-five; the poisons of Heaven and Earth number twenty-four; the consumptions of Heaven and Earth number thirty-six. Whoever can recite this scripture shall find the Sovereign of Pestilence made pure, the poison dissolved and removed, and consumption restored to health. And there are causes behind these things as well — it may be that a deceased ancestor's affliction recurs and spreads; or the lingering vapor of a hidden corpse; or a lawsuit or curse attached to a grave; or a dead soul's stain still clinging; or the summoning power of a corpse's vapor. In every case, these ghosts and spirits — whether from sorrow and longing, or from resentment held and grievance pursued — attach themselves and seize their moment, watching for an opening to strike, and thus find their chance. Therefore this scripture reaches upward to the Three Heavens and downward to the Nine Springs; it can summon and deliver departed souls, and carry over into salvation one's own ancestors. The Most High dispatches the Great General of the Plain Chariot and White Horse to oversee this."
The Celestial Worthy spoke, saying: "If there be one who packs his baggage for a distant journey, and bandits and thieves work their violence, and the five weapons threaten harm — traveling by land, tigers, wolves, mountain-demons, and river-fiends sharpen their fangs; traveling by water, flood-dragons and crocodiles bare their jaws; or there are wronged and hidden souls that make the danger worse, or the wind and waves gather to a fated calamity, one dying before, another transformed after, seizing the living to stand in for the dead — one who can, before this scripture, submit his life and offer his sincerity, shall find safety on both water and land, and every step and pause shall meet with good fortune."
The Celestial Worthy spoke: "When excessive yang works its tyranny and the season of rain and dew is missed, bow the head to this scripture, and in season the sweet rain shall fall. When accumulated yin becomes a plague and rain and flood soak and spread, bow the head to this scripture, and in season the sky shall clear bright. When the Fire God fans disaster, flying flame consuming the people's homes, red rats roaming the city, alarming the common folk with heat — this scripture can avert it. When the Sea Lord loses his order and fish and turtles run wild, when the great flood rises to Heaven and the people sink and drown — this scripture can halt it."
The Celestial Worthy spoke, saying: "If people of this world wish to be spared the calamity of the Three Disasters and Nine Perils, let them, in the stillness of night, bow their heads to the Northern Asterism. Above the Northern Asterism there are the Three Terraces, their stars ranged together, shaped like a pair of eyes, layered into three tiers, covering the Dipper's Bowl — this is called the Stairway of Heaven. Whoever beholds it shall, in this life, be free from the fear of punishment and imprisonment, and after death, from the suffering of being sunk and lost. Within the Dipper there is also the Honored Thearch, two stars as large as cart-wheels — whoever beholds them shall retain their form and remain in the world, long-lived and transcendent. Submit one's life to this scripture, cast one's mind toward the North Pole, and there shall be a hidden response. The Dipper is Heaven's Pivot; within it is the Celestial Bailiff — inward it is Lianzhen, outward it is Poh-jun. The twelve gates of the Thunder City all follow wherever the Celestial Bailiff points. When the Bailiff Star points to Chou, its body is at Wei; what it points to is fortunate, where it resides is inauspicious; and so it is with every other position. Whoever beholds it may live a thousand years."
The Celestial Worthy spoke, saying: "When the age declines and the Way grows faint, and people are without virtuous conduct — disloyal to their sovereign, unfilial to their parents, disrespectful to teachers and elders, unbrotherly to siblings, false to spouse, unrighteous to friends, unafraid of Heaven and Earth, unfearing of the spirits and gods, irreverent to the Three Lights, careless of the five grains; committing the bodily and verbal transgressions, using the large steelyard and the small measure to cheat; taking life and doing harm — a hundred, even a thousand persons; committing licentious depravity, slander, and rebellion — from the slight to the manifest, the Three Officers beat their drums and take up their brushes, the Great One transmits the record, and the case is handed to the Bureau of the Five Thunders for beheading and judgment. First the spirit is beheaded, then the form is judged. To behead the spirit and slay the soul is to turn a person upside down, made despicable to others, resented and harmed by others, hated and loathed by others — even unto the judging of the form and the shaking of the corpse, causing it to be shattered and torn apart, driven to be rolled in water, forced to be dragged by cart, examined by the month and reckoned by the ten-day cycle, and subjected still to further torment and interrogation. But let one only hear this scripture, and one's offenses are at once dissolved. And if there be one struck by the wrath of Thunder, whose corpse cannot be raised, whom neither water nor fire will receive, let him invoke the name Celestial Worthy Who Spreads Transformation through the Sound of Thunder, Responding to the Prime from the Nine Heavens, and form this thought — and the myriad spirits shall bow their heads and all obey my command."
The Celestial Worthy spoke, saying: "The merit of this scripture is beyond conception. In kalpas long past it was once proclaimed by the True King of Divine Empyrean, Jade Clarity, the Great Thearch of Long Life. Whenever a man of high attainment received this scripture, he was always required to cut gold and set forth silk, swearing to Heaven that he would transmit it."
The Thunder Master, the Radiant Elder, knelt at full length, bowed, and rose again, once more addressing the Celestial Worthy, saying: "Wherever this scripture is kept, let the Earth God and the Arbiter of Fate be made to guard it accordingly, and let the Bureau of Thunder come down at set times to examine and inspect it."
If a household keeps this scripture and reveres it with utmost sincerity, they shall find auspicious mist filling the courtyard and blessed clouds shading the hall; calamity and disorder shall not sprout, and good fortune and blessing shall gather. When they pass away, they shall not enter the underworld. Why is this? Because at death they go at once to be reborn, and their rebirth returns them to a good path, sustained by the Celestial Worthy's power. Having this numinous power, in every going out and coming in, in daily life, whoever wears and carries this scripture is revered by all people and feared by ghosts and spirits. Should they meet any danger or difficulty, let them with single mind speak the name Celestial Worthy Who Spreads Transformation through the Sound of Thunder, Responding to the Prime from the Nine Heavens, and they shall all attain deliverance.
Then the Thunder Master, the Radiant Elder, before the Celestial Worthy, spoke a verse, saying:
Supreme Sovereign of Jade Clarity,
who rules the thirty-six heavens;
Lord of Universal Transformation of the Nine Heavens,
manifesting form through the worlds of the ten directions;
hair unbound, riding the unicorn,
bare feet treading layered ice,
hand grasping the breath of the Nine Heavens,
whistling the wind, whipping the thunder.
By the power of wisdom
he subdues every demon-spirit,
delivers the souls of the long night,
brings benefit to all the living.
Like the waters of the Silver River,
a thousand eyes, a thousand wheels of the moon —
I vow that in ages yet to come
his reverence shall be forever proclaimed.
When the Thunder Master, the Radiant Elder, had spoken this verse, the Celestial Worthy said: "This scripture shall be transmitted through the ages, though the people of the world do not yet know it. The office I now administer is the Court of the Nine Heavens Responding to the Prime; within it are the Envoys of the Nine Heavens' Thunder Gate, assisted by the Registrar of the Slanted Records and the Investigator of the Upright Access. There are also Four Departments: the first is the Department of Seized Surplus; the second, the Department of Accumulated Arrest; the third, the Department of Hidden Wrongs; the fourth, the Department of Retribution — each with its own Grand Officer to oversee its affairs. In all that I administer, my ministers, teachers, envoys, and assistants together aid the primal transformation."
When the Celestial Worthy had finished speaking this scripture, upon the sevenfold-treasure tiered terrace of jade Brahma, heavenly blossoms fell in profusion and carnelian incense curled about. The Thearchs of every heaven in the ten directions all proclaimed, "Excellent!" The celestial dragons, ghosts and spirits, the officials and host of the Thunder Bureau, and every numen of the Three Realms were all filled with great joy, received it in faith, and carried it out.
The Precious Scripture of the Jade Pivot, Spoken by the Celestial Worthy Who Spreads Transformation through the Sound of Thunder, Responding to the Prime from the Nine Heavens, ends here.
The Heart Scripture of Patriarch Lü
Patriarch Lü said: Heaven gives birth to the ten thousand things, and of these, humankind alone is numinous. Yet it is not the person who is numinous — it is truly the mind that is numinous. The mind is the master, the sovereign of the whole body; it commands the hundred bones and orders the host of feelings. Things have no thing of their own, forms have no form of their own; what is received from Heaven is the innate knowledge and innate ability. When qi confines it and desire obscures it, day by day one loses what is true; and once this mind is lost, this body too collapses. To make the body good, one must first govern the mind. How does one govern the mind? By using the mind itself to govern the mind.
With a mind that honors elders, govern the unfilial mind.
With a mind that respects seniors, govern the mind without brotherly love.
With a mind of devoted commitment, govern the disloyal mind.
With a mind of sincere reverence, govern the untrustworthy mind.
With a mind of respect and reverence, govern the unmannerly mind.
With a mind that follows reason, govern the thoughtless mind.
With a mind pure and upright, govern the mind without integrity.
With a mind that loves itself rightly, govern the mind without shame.
With a mind that accumulates virtue, govern the mind bent on evil.
With a mind that benefits and aids, govern the cruel and injurious mind.
With a mind that upholds and supports, govern the mind that undermines and entraps.
With a mind of humaneness and compassion, govern the violent and vicious mind.
With a mind of humility and yielding, govern the arrogant and disdainful mind.
With a mind of self-diminishment, govern the mind swollen with excess.
With a mind of frugality, govern the extravagant and proud mind.
With a mind diligent and careful, govern the idle and negligent mind.
With a mind level and at ease, govern the mind fond of danger.
With a mind loyal and generous, govern the harsh and mean mind.
With a mind of peace and harmony, govern the resentful and angry mind.
With a mind broad and generous, govern the narrow and partial mind.
With a mind that would harm the body, govern the mind sunk in indulgence.
With a mind mindful of one's wife and daughters, govern the licentious mind.
With a mind mindful of consequence, govern the scheming and grasping mind.
With a mind mindful of calamity, govern the mind fond of strife.
With a mind of right teaching, govern the mind of heresy.
With a mind of utmost trust, govern the mind of great doubt.
With a mind enduring long, govern the inconstant mind.
With a mind that holds to its end, govern the fickle mind.
With a mind of giving, govern the stingy mind.
With a mind at ease and natural, govern the forced and strained mind.
With a mind content in its place, govern the mind of vain ambition.
With a mind that accepts what comes, govern the mind of complaint and blame.
With a mind that extends sincerity, govern the mind of suspicion.
With a mind settled and calm, govern the wavering and confused mind.
With a mind centered and upright, govern the biased and partial mind.
With a mind mindful of the whole, govern the mind fussing over trifles.
Alas — the human mind, ungoverned, is not pure; like a tangle of silk threads, unsorted, it is not clear; like an ancient mirror, unpolished, it is not bright; like an unruly horse, unbridled, it is not tame. Therefore I speak this scripture, wishing to govern the human mind. When the human mind is governed, Heaven and Earth are clear and at peace.
A verse says:
All things are of the mind; the mind is most perilous of all —
it molds Heaven, encircles Earth, sending forth its radiance.
Heaven's mind is seen in the human mind;
when a person joins Heaven's mind, Heaven does not turn away.
The human mind is ever scattered and disordered;
in a single thought, it may become wholly true.
If you wish to seek the supreme Way,
let the assembly turn to the Celestial Worthy.
Celestial Worthy, the Jade Emperor Who Pardons Transgressions (spoken three times). Celestial Worthy of Universal Transformation through Thunder's Sound (spoken three times).
Throughout this recitation of the scripture, thought after thought has held its sincerity; the thousand perfected have bowed to listen, the ten thousand sages have opened their numinous hearing. Responding to the prime, uniting with the breath; spreading transformation, dividing forms. The Nine Heavens have given their mandate, the Three Realms follow and obey. Calamity is dispelled, sin repented; blessing sought, life extended. When merit is round and practice complete, the great Way bears witness.
The Text of Repentance of Patriarch Qiu
The vast power of this scripture's merit is beyond conception;
I turn it toward the sagely teachers of the ten directions.
I vow to cleanse the true mind and seek repentance,
that sins and hindrances numerous as Ganges sands be all dissolved and gone.
We confess and repent: from kalpas long past even unto this present life, we have borrowed fire, wind, earth, and water to form our bodies, and have clung to fragrance, flavor, and form, hearing sound without awakening to it; in greed, anger, and jealousy; in evil speech and false words; in killing, theft, and licentiousness; indulging our passions and giving free rein to desire; defying and disgracing our parents; betraying our sovereign and our teachers; failing to revere Heaven, Earth, and the spirits; cursing the wind and reviling the rain; disbelieving the causes and consequences of sin and blessing; obscuring reason and deceiving our own hearts — and so we have brought upon ourselves rising and sinking in requital, turning and turning through the wheel of birth and death, suffering every torment without cease. All of this comes from the error of a single thought, which obstructs and deludes our own nature, mistaking the illusions of the six kinds of dust for real, and sinking us in the river of desire.
Now that we have obtained this human body, and been so fortunate as to encounter the true teaching, is this not a fortune met but once in a thousand lives? Having met with it this once, we ought of ourselves to examine our minds and seek early to be delivered from the world. For if we should drift as before, we would in the end lose our original nature, fall once into the dark paths, and be transformed into another kind of being. We ought therefore to reflect on the suffering of such a fall, to raise a mind of purity, to take refuge in the sages and the perfected, and specially to seek repentance — begging pity for our foolishness and ignorance, praying that our transgressions be pardoned, our debts of enmity resolved, and our demonic hindrances swept away.
We hope that our fate may meet with a flourishing turn, our names be recorded on the Cinnabar Terrace, that we may encounter a true teacher, hear the ultimate Way in person, cultivate diligently in good practice, let the sprout of goodness grow, strive with resolve in the mysterious gate, and find our spirits at ease in the realm of the true — that in a later day, our merit accomplished, we may shed our mortal form and ascend, or our practice fulfilled, fly up entire, and widely witness the accomplishment of those who follow after us, all comprehending their former destinies, and thereby attest as well to the way of the highest vehicle, serving the Empty Sovereign in attendance.
We further pray: may the state be at peace and the people prosper, the seasons be temperate and the harvest full; may the true wind blow ever stronger, and the transformation of the Way spread and act; may the fierce and the wicked be transformed to worth, and demons and deviants return to the right; may weapons and punishments both be laid aside, and prisons stand empty; may those sunk and hindered be raised up, enmity and grievance reconciled and released; may those who study the mystery enter the Way and attain the true; may our kin across many kalpas all be delivered; may our teachers, friends, and companions across many lives together attest to the true and constant; may all our bonds of kinship increase in blessing and wisdom; may every life we have injured be soon born again among gods and men; may we forever abstain from meat and wine, and do no more harm to any life; may we keep our persons upright, and never walk the path of licentiousness; may we utterly break through stinginess and greed, and forever remove all peril and steepness; may our every word be free of deceit, and our every act be wholly sincere; may we humble ourselves and be generous to others, quietly bearing patience against anger; may we be compassionate and humble, showing reverence to all things; may we never walk the borderlands of heresy, nor fall into deviant views; may we befriend the transcendents, and dwell together in the true emptiness; may our wisdom open bright, and our spirit-penetration grow vast; may we broadly practice skillful means, and universally deliver all beings; may we forever cut off clinging delusion, and all return to the ultimate Way.
The kalpas of dust have their end; our vow has none. We look with reverence toward the Thearch and the Perfected, that they bend down in compassion to deliver and save us. We take refuge and bow in thanks before the Supreme Empty Sovereign, the true and utmost Three Treasures. (spoken three times)
Closing Hymn
Complete Perfection unfolds its teaching,
Orthodox Unity hands down its rites.
The lineages of celestial transcendence bring abundant fortune,
their place and nurture rest in central harmony.
Companions of the Way observe and learn from one another,
cultivating and refining, forever free of demonic harm.
Great Sage Who Turns His Light to Shine on All, Great Celestial Worthy (spoken three times)
The Threefold Refuge
Taking refuge in the Dao of my own accord, I vow that all beings
may forever serve the reckoning of Heaven, and be freed forever from the wheel of rebirth.
Taking refuge in the Scriptures of my own accord, I vow that all beings
may, life after life, come to hear the true Dharma.
Taking refuge in the Teachers of my own accord, I vow that all beings
may study the supreme vehicle, and never fall into deviant views.
The Morning Altar Devotions end here.
Noon Altar Devotions
Hymn of Incense
The clear sky like a canopy, the morning light directly overhead;
above, Jade Clarity's noonday sun rounds out the myriad quarters.
The cloud paths are pure, without a trace of smoke;
the precious litanies are reverently proclaimed —
awakening to the Way, one ascends of oneself to become a transcendent.
The Great Celestial Worthy of the Three Treasures of the Limitless, the Most High
Verse for Opening the Litanies
Secret writings in cinnabar seal-script, golden tablets with dragon-graphs;
the mysterious lineage from the Great Beginning, the Three Realms —
thence divided into the Nine Heavens and the Ten Ultimates,
covering and bearing without bound.
Every heaven, every sage, together establishes its singular merit;
transcendents arise generation after generation, the Way and its Power fragrant and rich.
Source and stream hand down their transmission, lineage after lineage, without confusion.
Bright and resplendent, the jade litanies bring blessing to the wind and clouds.
Litany of Jade Clarity
With utmost sincerity of heart, I take refuge and bow in submission:
Above the Three Realms, Brahma-breath spreads and encircles all, reaching the highest of the highest heavens, Heaven within Heaven. In the Tower of Misted Void, upon the Jade Mountain's high capital, vast and distant stand the Golden Towers, ranged in solemn array. Pure and deep, the mysterious prime, a single breath before the primal chaos — within the precious pearl, mystery upon mystery — opens forth the three luminaries and gives birth to every heaven, ten thousand million celestial perfected, a host beyond number, turning through the Dipper's calendar and the Winnowing-Basket's cycle, transmitting the five constants. Towering, the great model, ancestor of the ten thousand ways — of Great Canopy Heaven, Jade Clarity, empty non-being, spontaneous, utmost true, the wondrous Way —
the Celestial Worthy of Primordial Beginning
Litany of Upper Clarity
With utmost sincerity of heart, I take refuge and bow in submission:
Dwelling in the realm of Upper Clarity, styled the Lord of Numinous Treasure, born through transformation from the kalpa of origin, of ninety-nine thousand and more Brahma-breaths. The crimson writs shine forth, six hundred and sixty-eight true texts. Through the crimson text of chaos he opened the Nine Empyreans and set forth the first era; through the calendar of the Cavern Jade he divided the Five Kalpas. Warp of Heaven, weft of Earth — towering, the pivot and ancestor of creation and transformation; where yin reaches its extreme, yang stands eminent — foremost ancestor of thunder and lightning. Of great compassion, great vow, great sagehood, great mercy —
the Lord of the Dao, Jade Palace, the Celestial Worthy of Numinous Treasure
Litany of Great Clarity
With utmost sincerity of heart, I take refuge and bow in submission:
Setting forth teachings according to place, delivering beings across the kalpas — teacher to sovereigns, teacher to thearchs, teacher to kings, assuming borrowed names and changing titles, establishing the Way of Heaven, the Way of Earth, and the Way of Man. Hidden as sage, manifest as commoner, he governs in all twelve hundred offices, and encompasses ten thousand million-fold Brahma-breaths. His transformation acts through past and present; he composed the Way and Its Power in five thousand words. He holds sway over yin and yang, commands thunder and lightning, and employs the numbers nine and five. Of great compassion, great vow, great sagehood, great mercy —
the Most High Lord Lao, the Celestial Worthy of the Dao and Its Power
Litany of the All-Encompassing Firmament
With utmost sincerity of heart, I take refuge and bow in submission:
The Most High All-Encompassing Firmament, the Supreme Heaven, the realm of wondrous being and mysterious truth. Vast and distant, the Purple-Golden Tower, the Palace of Great Subtlety, Jade Clarity — limitless, supreme, and sacred, boundless, sending forth its bright radiance. Still and silent, vast beyond ancestry — his mysterious pattern governs the ten directions entire, tranquil and true, constant, the Way vast and boundless, of great spirit-penetration —
the Jade Emperor, Great Celestial Worthy, the August Lord on High of the Mysterious Firmament
Litany of the Celestial Sovereign
With utmost sincerity of heart, I take refuge and bow in submission:
At the Purple Tenuity's furthest reach, in the Celestial Palace of the Coiled Array, within the Nine-Lighted Precious Garden, above the Mysterious Capital of the Five Breaths — embodying the Primal August and assisting in the government of mysterious transformation, governing the two poles and together ordering the Three Powers, holding the balance and authority of arms and war, broadly extending great virtue, and governing the successive stations of the stars, never departing from the constant order. Above, his image towers, true and primal, vast and boundless. Of great compassion, great vow, great sagehood, great mercy —
the Great Emperor of the Celestial Sovereign, of the Upper Palace of the Coiled Array
Litany of the Lord of the Stars
With utmost sincerity of heart, I take refuge and bow in submission:
At the Tower of Great Canopy Heaven, in the Palace of the Purple Tenuity Star, honored in the high seat of the North Pole, directly above the center of Heaven. His Buddhist title is the Blazing Golden Wheel; as a Daoist he is called the Mysterious Sovereign of the Jade Dipper. By the pearl-and-jade armillary sphere he equalizes the Seven Governors; he governs the warp of Heaven and the weft of Earth, the sun, moon, and constellations, ordering the four seasons to move along the yellow ecliptic within the Purple Enclosure — teacher and ancestor of the myriad forms, ruler over every heaven. Of great compassion, great vow, great sagehood, great mercy —
Teacher of the Ten Thousand Stars, the Limitless Primal August, the Great Emperor of the Purple Tenuity and North Pole at Heaven's Center
Litany of Sovereign Earth
With utmost sincerity of heart, I take refuge and bow in submission:
In the Nine-Blossomed Jade Tower, the Sevenfold-Treasure Imperial Chamber, receiving the appointed mandate of Heaven, she governs yin and holds the handle of yang. Her Way is revered and all-embracing, her light great, her virtue spread and stored in gentle compliance, advantage and constancy — taking Vast Heaven as her model, rooted and founded in the beauty of the Kun Prime, giving form and bringing all species to completion, extending the humaneness of a mother's way. Peaks and rivers depend upon her; mountains and streams alike rely on her. Of great compassion, great vow, great sagehood, great mercy —
Sovereign Earth Who Receives Heaven and Follows Its Model, the August Earth Deity
Litany of Divine Empyrean
With utmost sincerity of heart, I take refuge and bow in submission:
At the Exalted Court of Divine Empyrean, the Palace of Concentrated Spirit and Shining Radiance, he gathers the ancestral breath of Primordial Beginning, dividing his truth in response to the wondrous Way, and unfolding transformation out of empty non-being. Positioned above the Nine Empyreans, he governs and orders every heaven; presiding at the center of the Ten Ultimates, he rules over the myriad transformations, proclaiming golden talismans and sending down his light to relieve suffering, spreading grace and blessing to shelter and nurture the myriad people, his kindness flowing wide, his humaneness like Heaven's own, spread through the vast kalpas. Of great compassion, great vow, great sagehood, great mercy —
the True King of Jade Clarity, the Great Thearch of Long Life of the Southern Culmen, the Sagely Celestial Worthy Who Rules Heaven's Prime
Litany of the Five Northern Patriarchs
With utmost sincerity of heart, I take refuge and bow in submission:
The Great Way opened first, the Mysterious Prime unfolded its transformation; its teaching hands down through past and present. Under his posthumous title, he served as a general of the House of Han, styled Donghua; retiring to Zhongnan, he entered a transcendent's pact. His transforming influence ever surpasses the turning of the kalpas; he manifests himself, ever present in this world of dust. He opened the way for the worthy talents of the Tang dynasty and awakened them to the secret art of transcendence. Flying his sword, dealing in medicine, his admonishing transformation knows no bounds. High was his standing as Chancellor of the Golden Court; forceful his refusal of the Precious Seal. On cloud-hem robes he ascended north and south, uniting the lineage — Heaven brings forth again a hero among men. His Way reaches through the four seas; he opened seven blossoms of the golden lotus, and spread the transcendent lineage through the ten directions. His principle of long life covers past and present; his mysterious wonder is bestowed upon the whole land. Vastly he broadens the ultimate Way, widely delivering the deluded, compassionate in relieving suffering —
Patriarchs of Complete Perfection:
The Sovereign Lord of the Great Way, Who Assists the Prime and Establishes the Ultimate, of the Purple Mansion of Eastern Flower
The Sovereign Lord Zhengyang, Who Opens Awakening, Transmits the Way, and Hands Down Teaching
The Sovereign Lord Chunyang, Who Unfolds the Right, Admonishes and Transforms, Trusted and Blessing
The Sovereign Lord Haichan, Who Illumines Awakening, Spreads the Way, Purely Blessing
The Sovereign Lord Chongyang of Complete Perfection, Who Opens Transformation and Assists the Ultimate
Celestial Worthy Who Manifests the Way, the Five Patriarchs
Litany of the Five Southern Patriarchs
With utmost sincerity of heart, I take refuge and bow in submission:
Clarifying the truth of the right Way, spreading transformation through the southern heavens, the Nine August Ones let down their traces at Tiantai; a single lineage flowed clear through Patriarch Liu, who gathered the carnelian blossom of transcendent wonder and composed the alchemical writings of Awakening to the True. His Way was passed to Xinglin, whose compilation on returning swiftly to the source; his method reached Jizu, whose book on the cinnabar marrow and the restoring of life brought forth a perfected man in his turn. In the region of Huizhou he awakened, surpassing in spirit and brilliance; the elixir passed his lips and his divine transformation knew no bounds, sending down thunder and rain from the palm of his hand, reviving the living beyond the ordinary world. His virtue shone in the South Seas, where he obtained the carnelian-and-jade excellence; his Way spread to distant wastes, feeding on the numinous wonder of the sacred word. His traces remain at Longhu and Luofu; his writings at Wuyi and Yulong. Passing through many regions in transformation, his true texts stand fully preserved, foremost among the transcendents, gathering the models of former ages, his vow vast and deep, compassionate, humane, and sagely —
Patriarchs:
The Perfected Ziyang, Author of Awakening to the True
The Perfected Cuixu of Xinglin
The Perfected Zixian, Daoguang
The Perfected Cuixu, Niwan
The Perfected Ziqing, Qiongguan
Celestial Worthy Who Completes the Way, the Five Patriarchs
Litany of the Seven Perfected
With utmost sincerity of heart, I take refuge and bow in submission:
The Way came first as a single breath; in this age it was made manifest through the Seven Perfected, who awakened to words beyond the reach of the five phases, and attained the secret of the ninefold-cycled returned elixir. Sweet springs moistened all things, turning decay to spring's renewal; golden bones and transcendent bearing joined the Way through four words. At Weizhou, through transformation, he sat ten years and became perfected; the ink-traces upon the wall were no ordinary thing, his bearing like snow-bamboo and moon-pine, extraordinary. At the Three Wells there is a record of many lives; in a single moment his manifest transforming merit shone forth. Six years at Panxi, seven years at Longmen, his practice and merit complete, his fame known to the ruler of the age; the cinnabar talisman was bestowed on him and the transcendents were placed in his hand. On the stone he discoursed on the mystery; in the sky a canopy flew. The sovereign repeatedly summoned him to ask of the Way; timely rain, on the appointed day, relieved the people. Early he exhausted the words of the Book of Changes; late he forged the secrets of transcendence, and the diagrams of the hexagrams were thus unfolded. The ultimate Way greatly accomplished — the Recluse of Clarity and Stillness explored the mystery and attained the Way, upon the transcendent road of Penglai, through a hundred million kalpas alone upholding compassion in relieving suffering —
Patriarchs of Complete Perfection:
The True Lord Danyang, Who Embraces the One, Non-Acting, and Spreads Transformation
The True Lord Changzhen, Who Concentrates Spirit in Mysterious Stillness and Stores Virtue
The True Lord Changsheng, Who Assists Transformation, Honors the Mystery, and Illumines Virtue
The True Lord Changchun, of Complete Virtue, Divine Transformation, and Bright Response, Lord of the Teaching
The True Lord Yuyang, Who Embodies the Mystery, Broadly Compassionate, and Universally Delivers
The True Lord Taigu Guangning, Who Penetrates the Mystery to Its Wondrous Ultimate
The Primordial Lady Qingjing, Deeply True, Mysteriously Empty, and Compliant in Transformation
Celestial Worthy Who Unfolds Transformation, the Seven Perfected
Litany of Universal Transformation
With utmost sincerity of heart, I take refuge and bow in submission:
The Supreme Sovereign of Jade Clarity, of the Court of the Nine Heavens Responding to the Prime, manifests his form filling the ten directions, discoursing on the Way while seated cross-legged upon nine phoenixes. Above the thirty-six heavens, he examines the precious case and studies the carnelian writings; before fifteen hundred kalpas, he attained the rank of true and upright, holding authority over great transformation. His hand raises the scepter of golden light; he proclaims the Precious Scripture of the Jade Pivot. Whoever does not submit is turned to fine dust; his commands issue swift as wind and fire. With a mind clear and pure he spreads his great vow; with the power of wisdom he subdues every demon. Chief of the Five Thunders, moving through the Three Realms, father to the host of beings, teacher to the myriad numina. Of great sagehood, great mercy, most exalted, of the utmost Way —
the Celestial Worthy Who Spreads Transformation through the Sound of Thunder, Responding to the Prime from the Nine Heavens
The human mind is much scattered and disordered;
in a single thought, all may become wholly true.
If you wish to seek the supreme Way,
let the assembly turn to the Celestial Worthy.
Celestial Worthy of Universal Transformation through Thunder's Sound
Throughout this recitation of the scripture, thought after thought has held its sincerity; the thousand perfected have bowed to listen, the ten thousand sages have opened their numinous hearing. Responding to the prime, uniting with the breath; spreading transformation, dividing forms. The Nine Heavens have given their mandate, the Three Realms follow and obey. Calamity is dispelled, sin repented; blessing besought, life extended. When merit is round and practice complete, the great Way bears witness.
The Text of Repentance of Patriarch Qiu
The vast power of this scripture's merit is beyond conception;
I turn it toward the sagely host of the ten directions.
I vow to see the true mind and seek repentance,
that sins and hindrances numerous as Ganges sands be all dissolved away.
We who repent, from kalpas long past even unto this present life, have borrowed fire, wind, earth, and water to form our bodies, and have clung to fragrance, flavor, form, and sound, touching upon their objects without release; in greed, anger, and jealousy; in evil speech and false words; in killing, theft, and licentiousness; indulging our passions and giving free rein to desire; defying and disgracing our parents; betraying our sovereign and our teachers; failing to revere Heaven, Earth, and the spirits; cursing the wind and reviling the rain; disbelieving the causes and consequences of sin and blessing; obscuring reason and deceiving our own hearts — and so we have brought upon ourselves rising and sinking in requital, turning and turning through the wheel of birth and death, suffering every torment without cease. All of this comes from the error of a single thought, which obstructs and deludes our own nature, mistaking the illusions of the six kinds of dust for real, and sinking us in the river of desire.
Now that we have obtained this human body, and been so fortunate as to encounter the true teaching, is this not a fortune met but once in a thousand lives? Having met with it this once, we ought of ourselves to examine our minds and seek early to be delivered from the world. For if we should drift as before, we would in the end lose our original nature, fall once into the dark paths, and be transformed into another kind of being. It is for this that we reflect on the suffering of such a fall, raise a mind of purity, take refuge in the sages and the perfected, and specially seek repentance — begging pity for our foolishness and ignorance, praying that our transgressions be pardoned, our debts of enmity resolved, and our demonic hindrances swept away.
We hope that our fate may meet with a flourishing turn, our names be recorded on the Cinnabar Terrace, that we may encounter a true teacher, hear the ultimate Way in person, cultivate diligently in wondrous practice, let the sprout of goodness grow, and to the end serve faithfully within the mysterious gate, our spirits at ease in the realm of the true — that in a later day, when our karmic destiny meets its cessation, our own nature not fall into confusion, but pass directly into a household of the ten good deeds, comprehending our former destinies, and thereby attest as well to the way of the highest vehicle, serving the Empty Sovereign in attendance. We further hope:
May the state be at peace and the people prosper, the seasons be temperate and the harvest full;
may the true wind blow ever grander, and the transformation of the Way spread and flourish;
may the fierce and the wicked be transformed to worth, and demons and deviants return to the right;
may weapons and punishments both be set aside, and prisons stand empty;
may those sunk and hindered be raised up, enmity and grievance reconciled and released;
may those who study the mystery awaken to the Way and attain the true;
may our kin across many kalpas all be delivered;
may our teachers and friends across many lives together attest to the true and constant;
may all our bonds of kinship increase in blessing and wisdom;
may every life we have injured be soon born again among gods and men;
may we forever abstain from wine and meat, and do no more harm to any life;
may we keep our persons upright, and never walk the path of licentiousness;
may we utterly break through stinginess and greed, and utterly remove all peril and steepness;
may our every word be free of wild deceit, and our every act hold true sincerity;
may we humble ourselves and be generous to others, quietly bearing patience against anger;
may we be compassionate and humble, showing reverence to all things;
may we never fall to the border wastes, nor follow deviant views;
may we befriend the transcendents, and dwell together in clear emptiness;
may our wisdom open bright, and our spirit-penetration grow vast;
may we broadly practice skillful means, and universally deliver all beings;
may we forever cut off clinging delusion, and all return to the right Way.
The kalpas of the Dharma have their end; our vow has none. (repeat)
We look with reverence toward the Thearch and the Perfected, that they bend down in compassion to deliver and save us. We take refuge and bow in thanks before the Supreme Empty Sovereign, the true and utmost Three Treasures.
Verses of Blessing
First, may the one sovereign have his blessing;
second, may the twin lights shine equally;
third, may the three kinds of farming prosper in their labor;
fourth, may the four seasons be harmonious and level;
fifth, may the five shrines stand firm;
sixth, may the six directions be clear and pure;
seventh, may the seven stars look down and shine;
eighth, may the eight terms of the year be tranquil;
ninth, may the Nine Springs open into peace;
tenth, may the ten kinds of beings come to completion;
eleventh, may blessing remain with the good and faithful;
twelfth, may the great Way flourish and spread.
May every divine light shine everywhere;
may every sage leave behind their grace;
may every sentient being rely upon the good;
may every seeker attest to the fruit and attain the true.
May the whole of Heaven share equally in joy;
may the four seas together share the spring.
Hearing the scripture and awakening to the Way,
sin is destroyed and blessing is born. (repeat)
The merit of reciting this scripture is beyond conception;
every heaven, every earth, turns upon its numinous mechanism.
May sovereign and thearch share long life with Heaven itself;
the great Way's compassion brings joy and harmony to every transformation. (repeat)
For all the merit of this recitation and homage,
we rely wholly on compassion as our sovereign pledge.
We gaze up in reverence at the transcendent retinue, hidden in the mysterious void;
may the true numina of the Dharma office forever surround and protect us.
(On each new moon and full moon, add the following Prayer for Longevity:)
Reverently I invoke the General of Divine Might, Sudden and Free,
Grand Efficacious Officer Who Investigates All Heaven —
the fifteen Great Thunder Lords of the Fire Chariot,
who received their mandate from the Three Purities to bring down ghosts and demons.
In hand he holds the golden whip, patrolling the world;
his body clad in golden armor, his might made manifest.
In an instant he pays court to the Thearch on high through the Three Heavens;
in a moment he saves living beings through the Nine Earths.
Three thousand generals with silver fangs and phoenix beaks,
a hundred million soldiers with tiger heads and bear-cat forms,
running through fire and wind, guarding before and behind,
piercing mountains and breaking stone to seize the evil spirits.
Praying for clear skies and beseeching rain, he relieves the world;
possessing mediums with his round radiance, he conveys their intent.
He heals sickness and drives off evil swift as lightning,
gathers pestilence and seizes poison, subduing every demon.
Flying through cloud and mist, filling the whole of empty space,
he commands the thunder and lightning, roaring in peals.
Every great demon of the Three Realms folds its hands in submission;
every heterodox way of the ten directions returns to true refuge.
This disciple invokes and prays that you draw near,
and greatly bestow your thunderous might in our protection —
Celestial Worthy of Great Unity Who Responds and Transforms through Thunder's Sound
The Earth God of this scripture altar, most numinous of all, ascends to Heaven and reaches to Earth, goes out into the shadowed and enters into the dark, to submit our report on our behalf without delay. On the day of accomplished merit, his name is written into Upper Clarity. For all the merit of this recitation, offered up above to the high perfected, and below to preserve peace and safety, bestowing blessing and dispelling calamity — relying together on this good merit, we attest to the supreme Way. Let all who believe pay homage, and with utmost sincerity of heart recite the name:
Celestial Worthy of Constant Clarity and Constant Stillness — inconceivable is his merit.
The Threefold Refuge
With utmost sincerity of heart, I take refuge and bow in submission:
[Scripture] Life after life, world after world, may all beings hear the true Dharma. Taking refuge in the treasure of the supreme Way, I vow that all beings may forever serve the Celestial Worthy, and be freed forever from the wheel of rebirth.
[Teacher] May they study the supreme vehicle and never fall into deviant views.
The Great Refuge
The Four Kindnesses and Three Pardons alike return to the Great Canon's numinous text; the Eight Difficulties and Nine Darknesses together enter the sea of Primordial Beginning's nature. May we, by this merit, adorn the limitless realm; above requiting the Four Great Kindnesses, below relieving the suffering of the Three Paths. Teachers and disciples, together with parents, are kin within the one Dharma-realm; may the living gain increase of blessing and long life, and the departed be swiftly delivered and ascend. Let the assembly here present, pure and clear, each take refuge and bow in homage.
With utmost sincerity of heart, I take refuge and bow in submission:
[Treasure of the Dao] the Treasure of the Dao, the Most High, throughout the ten directions and every heaven, ninety-nine hundred million, ninety thousand and nine thousand lands of the ten directions, delivering beings across the kalpas, pure and still, true and one, the gate of the non-dual Dharma, the root teacher and lord of the teaching.
[Treasure of the Scripture] the Lord of the Dao of the Jade Palace, Numinous Treasure; the Treasure of the Dao ever-abiding throughout the ten directions, the precious pearl that proclaims the Dharma — the Celestial Worthy of Primordial Beginning.
[Treasure of the Teacher] the August Sovereign of Chaos-Prime, the Dao and Its Power.
Prayer for Longevity
We prostrate ourselves and consider: those who wear the yellow cap and feathered robe dwell in a realm of clouds and streams; with precious talismans and transcendent scriptures, we sincerely answer the virtue of Heaven and Earth. With careful, reverent attention, with great virtue made manifest, we burn true incense in the censer and respectfully offer this petition, addressed above to:
the Patriarchs of the Three Purities, the high perfected of the Ten Ultimates, the myriad forms ranged in solemn array, the two forces and the ranked constellations, every heaven, every earth, every mountain, every water, the hundred million sages and the thousand perfected, the host of transcendents in their ranks and offices, the teachers who opened the mysterious gate's teaching and spread its lineages, the Five Patriarchs of the Southern and Northern schools, the Seven Perfected, every transcendent sage of past and present who has attained the Way at the famed mountains and grotto-heavens of the world; to the transcendent numina of this altar and lineage, prayed to without limit; to the true sovereigns who this day pay court to the Prime, to the officiating spirits, to the City God and village overseer who governs this district, to the true spirits who administer this realm, to the golden lads and jade maidens who attend this altar, the merit-officers and talisman-envoys who convey our sincerity and present our petition, and to the transcendents passing overhead in cloud who investigate and observe, to the bright spirits of the scripture and its methods who uphold and protect the Dharma with numinous power — all of these we rely upon true incense to reverently and equally serve.
We now present this petition on behalf of: [the People's Republic of China, __ Province, __ County,] the disciple __ who tends the incense and cultivates at this monastery, who at this time, respectfully meeting the turning of Heaven's mandate on this __ year, __ month, __ day, an auspicious and fortunate hour, reverently leads the pure company to ascend to the precious hall, to chant and recite the transcendent scriptures, to proclaim and extol the sacred names, to extend our reverence to the high perfected, and respectfully to pray for glorious blessing.
We humbly wish: may the state be peaceful and the people at ease, the wind and rain be timely and mild, the ten thousand people rejoice in their labors, the five grains ripen in abundance, and the world enjoy lasting peace. We further pray that the incense fire of this monastery (hermitage, temple) continue without end, its teaching and Dharma flourish, and its company of Daoists, in cultivating the truth, encounter no demonic hindrance in their advance upon the Way.
We humbly consider: this disciple and the assembly, from lives past even unto this present life, have been bound and entangled by the three karmic actions, or sunk and hindered by the six roots; the sea of right and wrong is broad, the mountain of self and other is high; our nature has been marred, losing the pure mind of tranquil ease, and obscuring the essence of central harmony. Through the five la-festivals and three primes we have not known the rites of repentance and expiation; through the four beginnings and ten direct days we have not understood the ceremony of confession and reform. Were it not for the down-shining of your gracious light, how could our demonic hindrances ever be made clear? May we have affinity with the Way, and deliver beings without measure; may the flowing source of the transcendent lineage roll on and never cease, and the true wind never fall.
We further pray: for teachers and fellow students, parents and kin, and all the common people of Heaven under Heaven, the donors and faithful believers — may their minds be empty and bright, their heavenly nature clear and radiant; may they escape the turning of misfortune and be spared from calamity and difficulty, dwelling at ease in this world of dust, and moving always toward auspicious meeting. We further hope that the Eight Difficulties of war and weapon, the wrongful slaughter of the innocent, famine, starvation, cold and hunger, death, and the perishing on the road of those exiled from their native land — that all such souls, once departed, may transcend the realm of emptiness, and those still living may enjoy the land of peace and ease. Relying in reverence upon the power of the Way as our excellent cause, with utmost sincerity of heart we invoke the name:
Celestial Worthy of Boundless Longevity of the Mysterious Capital — inconceivable is his merit.
Colophon
This Good Works Translation was prepared for the Ritual, Repentance, and Liturgy shelf of the Good Works Library. The English was translated independently from the classical Chinese text printed below. The compilation's own two-part structure (Morning Altar and Noon Altar) and its internal headings are kept as the translation's headings; the hymns, spells, and litanies, mostly written in four-character phrases, are kept as verse lines, while the two narrative scriptures embedded within it — the Scripture on Ascending to the Mystery and the long Precious Scripture of the Jade Pivot — are rendered as prose, following their own form in the source.
A genuine translation-status check was performed. The standard bibliography of Daoist texts in English translation (Komjathy, Daoist Texts in Translation) and its 2023 update (the Purple Cloud survey of Daoist texts in Western languages) were checked by Chinese title, pinyin, and DZ number; neither records this compilation, 清微宏範道門功課, or its compiler Liu Shouyuan, under any title. Two bounded web searches were then run for the compilation's own title. They turned up no evidence that this specific compilation has ever been published in English translation — but they did confirm, and the bibliographies independently record, that several of the individual scriptures gathered inside it have been translated before, on their own and apart from this compilation: the Scripture on Constant Clarity and Stillness (Qingjing jing, DZ 620) by James Legge, Frederic Balfour, and Eva Wong, among others; the Heart-Seal Scripture of the Jade Emperor (Xinyin jing, DZ 13) by Balfour and by Stuart Alve Olson; and the Precious Scripture of the Jade Pivot (Yushu jing, DZ 16) by James Legge. A search also surfaced a Chinese University of Hong Kong Press title, Daoist Liturgy of the Most High for Daily Recitation, which appears from its title to be a scholarly translation of the standard Complete Perfection morning-and-evening liturgy (早晚壇功課經) — a liturgy that shares much of its content with this one, though compiled under a different editor's hand; its translator and full scope could not be confirmed, since the sample chapter available to us could not be read cleanly, and no second attempt was made. Given all this, we make no claim of firstness. Substantial portions of this compilation's content — its embedded scriptures, and material it shares with the standard morning-evening liturgy — have almost certainly been rendered into English before, in other publications, under other titles; this Good Works Translation was made independently from the Chinese and did not consult any of the works named above. To our knowledge, no prior English translation exists of this specific compilation, under this title and in this complete form, including its preface, its purification spells, its litanies of homage, and its longevity prayer.
A note on hard passages. Two consecutive homage formulas late in the Noon Altar section — one addressed to the Threefold Refuge, one to the Three Treasures of the Dao, its Scripture, and its Teacher — are transmitted in a fragmentary, table-like layout in the source, with single characters (經, 師, 道) apparently serving as marginal labels rather than running text; the translation follows the source's word order as closely as sense allows and marks the apparent labels in brackets. The Prayer for Longevity near the end preserves blanks for province, county, monastery, and date exactly as given in the source; these are left as blanks in the translation as well, since they are placeholders built into the rite itself, not omissions in the translation.
Prepared for the Good Work Library by the Tianmu Anglican Church with AI-assisted translation and editorial work.
🌲
Source Text: 清微宏範道門功課
道門功課
——————————————
清微宏範道門功課序
竊以金書玉笈爲入道之門，寶誥丹經乃修仙之路。得其門可以復元眞之性，由是路可以煉不壞之身。是故羽士住叢林，奉香火，三千日裏行持，十二時中課誦。朝夕朝禮，期上接夫聖眞；夙夜輸誠，祝永綿夫國祚。不勤持誦何以保養元和，不立科儀無以宏揚玄妙。蓋經之爲經，是前聖之心宗；咒之爲咒，乃上仙之妙法。誦之誠則經明。行之篤則法驗。經明則道契於内，法驗則神通於外。經明法驗而兩全，内功外行而俱足。此陶鎔德性之階梯，希求超證之寶筏也。若能矢志專誠，二六時中猛勇精進，永無退轉，在世端能出世，居塵自可離塵，出入虛無，逍遙宇宙，自由自在，無滅無生，方寸不染，一塵妙用直超三界。若此者，了自心一念之塵根，脫世上三途之苦厄，履長生之大道，渡苦海之洪濤。禳災而災消，祈福而福至。無求不應，有感皆通。是惟誦持諸品仙經，及羣眞寶號，凡淨口淨心淨身而有咒，安天安地安神而有章。雖隨堂之功課，實無上之熏修。直候三千功滿，八百行圓，方是法門之上士，玄觀之丈夫也。爰爲鳩眾梓行，永期流布。庶使全眞道侣，遵依科教，信受奉行，是爲序。
道門功課
宏教真人柳守元撰
早壇功課
香讚
蓬瀛朝爽。參禮諸天。
玉清初日鏡光圓。
曉氣藹祥煙。秘典心宣。
入道冀成仙。
太上無極三寶大天尊(三稱)
開經偈
琳瑯振響。中界肅清。
河海靜默。山嶽吞雲。
萬靈拱伏。召請群真。
天無凶穢。地鮮妖氛。
空明洞慧。上達玉京。
常清常靜天尊(三稱)
真心清靜道為宗。譬彼中天寶月同。
淨掃迷雲無點翳。一輪光滿太虛空。
上藥身中神炁精。人人具足匪虧盈。
能知混合回風道。金鼎黃芽日日生。
一柱真香本自然。黃庭爐內起祥煙。
空中結就浮雲篆。上祝當今壽萬年。
萬古道為尊。宏開濟世門。
煌煌昭大法。聖典至今存。
淨心神咒
太上臺星 應變無停 驅邪縛魅
保命護身 智慧明淨 心神安寧
三魂永久 魄無喪傾 急急如律令
淨口神咒
丹朱口神 吐穢除氛 舌神正倫
通命養神 羅千齒神 卻邪衛真
喉神虎賁 氣神引津 心神丹元
令我通真 思神煉液 道炁常存
急急如律令
淨身神咒
靈寶天尊 安慰身形 弟子魂魄
五臟玄冥 青龍白虎 隊仗紛紜
朱雀玄武 侍衛身形 急急如律令
安土地神咒
元始安鎮 普告萬靈 嶽瀆真官
土地祇靈 左社右稷 不得妄驚
回向正道 內外澄清 各安方位
備守壇庭 太上有命 搜捕邪精
護法神王 保衛誦經 皈依大道
元亨利貞 急急如律令
淨天地解穢神咒
天地自然 穢氣分散 洞中玄虛
晃朗太元 八方威神 使我自然
靈寶符命 普告九天 乾羅答那
洞罡太玄 斬妖縛邪 殺鬼萬千
中山神咒 元始玉文 持誦一遍
卻病延年 按行五嶽 八海知聞
魔王束首 侍衛我軒 凶穢消散
道炁常存 急急如律令
祝香神咒
道由心學 心假香傳 香爇玉爐
心存帝前 真靈下盼 仙旆臨軒
令臣關告 徑達九天 急急如律令
金光神咒
天地玄宗 萬炁本根 廣修億劫
證吾神通 三界內外 惟道獨尊
體有金光 覆映吾身 視之不見
聽之不聞 包羅天地 養育群生
受持萬遍 身有光明 三界侍衛
五帝司迎 萬神朝禮 役使雷霆
鬼妖喪膽 精怪忘形 內有霹靂
雷神隱名 洞慧交徹 五炁騰騰
金光速現 覆護真人 急急如律令
開經玄蘊咒
雲篆太虛 浩劫之初 乍遐乍邇
或 沉 或浮 五方徘徊 一丈之餘
天真皇人 按筆 迺 書 以演洞章
次書靈符 元始下降 真文誕敷
昭昭其有 冥冥其無
誦咒能醫病 持經可出塵
利幽堪脫苦 了願得成眞
玉清元始天尊說昇玄消災護命妙經
稽首皈依眾妙道。至心恭敬二玄真。
今運一心心所禮。粗識此經經所因。
空色色空存本性。有無無有色空均。
慧風出自天尊力。掃除心界不遺塵。
唯願神光常擁護。証盟今日守心人。
今日守心何所證。不失凡身得道身。
爾時。元始天尊。
在七寶林中。五明宮內。
與無極聖眾。俱放無極光明。
照無極世界 觀無極眾生。受無極苦惱。
宛轉世間。輪迴生死。
漂浪愛河。流吹欲海 沉滯聲色。
迷惑有無。無空有空。
無色有色。無無有無。
有有無有。終始暗昧。
不能自明。畢竟迷惑。
天尊告曰。汝等眾生。
從不有中有。不無中無。
不色中色。不空中空。
非有為有。非無為無。
非色為色。非空為空。
空即是空。空無定空。
色即是色。色無定色。
即色是空。即空是色。
若能知空不空。知色不色。
名為照了。
始達妙音。識無空法。
洞觀無礙。入眾妙門。
自然解悟。離諸疑網。
不著空見。清淨六根。
斷諸邪障。我即為汝。
說是妙經。
名曰。護命濟度眾生。
傳教世間。流通讀誦。
即有飛天神王。破邪金剛。
護法靈童。救苦真人。
金精猛獸。各百億萬眾。
俱侍衛是經。隨所擁護。
捍厄扶衰。度一切眾生離染著。
爾時。天尊即說偈曰。
視不見我。聽不得聞。
離種種邊。名為妙道。
(終)
太上老君說常清靜經
老君曰大道無形生育天地大道無情
運行日月大道無名長養萬物吾不知
其名強名曰道夫道者有清有濁有動
有靜天清地濁天動地靜男清女濁男
動女靜降本流末而生萬物清者濁之
源動者靜之基人能常清靜天地悉皆
歸夫人神好清而心擾之人心好靜而
欲牽之常能遣其欲而心自靜澄其心
而神自清自然六欲不生三毒消滅所
以不能者爲心未澄欲未遣也能遣之
者內觀其心心無其心外觀其形形無
其形遠觀其物物無其物三者既悟唯
見於空觀空亦空空無所空所空既無
無無亦無無無既無湛然常寂寂無所
寂欲豈能生欲既不生既是真靜真常
應物真常得性常應常靜常清靜矣如
此清靜漸入真道既入真道名爲得道
雖名得道實無所得爲化衆生名爲得
道能悟之者可傳聖道
老君曰上士無爭下士好爭上德不德
下德執德執著之者不名道德衆生所
以不得真道者爲有妄心既有妄心即
驚其神既驚其神即著萬物即著萬物
即生貪求既生貪求即是煩惱煩惱妄
想憂苦身心便遭濁辱流浪生死常 沉
苦海永失真道真常之道悟者自得得
悟道者常清靜矣
仙人葛翁曰吾得真道曾誦此經萬遍
此經是天人所習不傳下士吾昔受之
於 東華帝 君 東華帝 君受之於金闕帝
君 金闕帝 君受之於西王母西王母皆
口口相傳不記文字吾今於世書而錄
之上士悟之昇爲天官中士修之南宮
列仙下士得之在世長年遊行三界昇
入金門
左玄真人曰學道之士持誦此經者即
得十天善神擁護其身然後玉符保神
金液煉形形神俱妙與道合真
正一真人曰人家有此經悟解之者災
障不 干 衆聖護門神昇上界朝拜高真
功滿德就 相感帝 君誦持不退身騰紫
雲
太上老君說常清靜經
無上玉皇心印妙經
上藥三品 神與氣精 恍恍惚惚
杳杳冥冥 存無守有 傾刻而成
迴風混合 百日功靈 默朝上帝
一紀飛昇 知者易悟 昧者難行
履踐天光 呼吸育清 出玄入牝
若亡若存 綿綿不絕 固蒂深根
人各有精 精合其神 神合其炁
炁合體真 不得其真 皆是強名
神能入石 神能飛形 入水不溺
入火不焚 神依形生 精依炁盈
不凋不殘 松柏青青 三品一理
妙不可聽 其聚則有 其散則零
七竅相通 竅竅光明 聖日聖月
照耀金庭 一得永得 自然身輕
太和充溢 骨散寒瓊 得丹則靈
不得則傾 丹在身中 非白非青
誦持萬遍 妙理自明
無上玉皇心印妙經
《九天應元雷聲普化天尊玉樞寶經》
爾時。九天應元雷聲普化天尊。
在玉清天中。與十 方諸天帝 君。
會於玉虛九光之殿。
鬱蕭彌羅之館。紫極曲密之房。
閱太幽碧瑤之笈。考洞微明晨之書。
交頭接耳。細議重玄。
諸多陪臣左右踧踖。
天尊宴坐。朗誦洞章。
諸天帝君。長吟步虛。
綵女仙妹。散花旋繞。
復相引領。遊戲翠宮。
羣仙導前。先節後鐵。
龍旅鸞轄。飄諷太空。
並集於玉梵七寶層臺。
時有雷師皓翁。
於仙衆中越班而出。
面天尊前。頫顫作禮。
勃變長跪。上白天尊言。
天尊大慈。天尊大聖。
為羣生父。為萬靈師。
今者諸天。鹹此良覿。
適見天尊閱寶笈。
考瓊書。於中祕頤。不可縷計。
唯有玉霄一府所統三十六天內院中司。
東西華臺。玄綰妙閣。
四府六院。及諸有司。
各分曹局。
所以總司五雷天臨三界者也。
天尊至皇。心親庶政。
此等小兆。
以何因綠得以趨服。
願告欲聞。
天尊言。
雷師皓翁。爾等仙卿。
儲勳夙世。累行昨生。
故得玉府登庸。瓊宮簡錄。
今玆勳行。視夙昨多。
爾其悉力雷司。委心火部。
日復日歲復歲。勳崇行著。
性霽神融。克證高真。
即階妙道。惟是雷部鬼神。
晝勞夕役。動有捶楚。
大則考戮。屑雲雕雪。
無有已時。檄龍命鴉。
此息彼作。彼所因故。
爾其耳焉。雷師皓翁。
及諸天諸仙。聳耳而默。
天尊所坐九鳳丹霞之扆。
手舉金光明之如意。
琅風清微。綺雲鬱麗。
天尊寂然良久。
天尊言。
吾昔於千五百劫。
以先心縫此道。
遂位上真。意釀此功。
遂權大化。嘗於大羅元始天尊前。
以清浄心。發廣大願。
願於未來世。一切衆生。
天龍鬼神。一稱吾名。
悉使超渙。如所否者。
吾當以身身之。
爾等洗心。為爾宣說。
天尊言。
爾諸天人。欲聞至道。
至道深窈。不在其他。
爾既欲聞。無聞者是無聞。
有見即是真道。聞見亦泯。
惟爾而已。爾尚非有。
何況於道。不聞而聞。
何道可談。
天尊言。
道者。以誠而入。以默而守。
以柔而用。用誠似愚。
用默似訥。用柔似拙。
夫如是則可與忘形。
可與忘我。可與忘忘。
入道者知止。守道者知謹。
用道者知微。
能知微。則慧光生。
能知謹。則聖智全。
能知止。則泰定安。
泰定安。則聖智全。
聖智全。則慧光生。
慧光生。則與道為一。
是名真忘。惟其忘。
而不忘。忘無可忘。
無可忘者。
即是至道。道在天地。
天地不知。有情無情。
惟一無二。
天尊言。
吾今於世。何以利生。
為諸天人。演此妙寶。
得悟之者。俾躋仙阼。
學道之士。信有氣數。
夫風土不同。則稟受自異。
故謂之氣。智愚不同。
財清濁自異。故謂之數。
數繫乎命。氣繫乎天。
氣數所囿。天命所梏。
不得真道。愚可以智。
濁可以清。惟命俾之。
愚昏昏。獨冥冥。
亦風土稟受之移之。
天地神其機。使人不知。
則日自然。使知其不知。
則亦日自然。自然之妙。
雖妙於知。而所以妙。
則自乎不知。然於道射未始。
有以愚之濁之。
諸天聞已。四衆鹹悅。
天尊言。
吾今所說。即是玉樞寶經。
若未來世。有諸衆生。
得聞吾名。但冥心默想。
作是念。
言九天應元雷聲普化天尊。
或一聲。或五七聲。或千百聲。
吾即化形十方。運心三界。
使稱名者。咸得如意。
十方三界。諸天諸地。
日月星辰。山河草木。
飛走蠢動。
若有知。若無知。
天龍鬼神。聞諸衆生。
一稱吾名。如有不順者。
馘首剖心。化為微塵。
天尊言。
吾是九天貞明大聖。
每月初六。及旬中辛日。
監觀萬天。浮遊三界。
若或有人欲學道。
欲希仙。欲這九玄。
欲釋三災。當命正一道士。
或自同親友於樓觀。
於家庭。於裡社。
釂水饋花。課誦此經。
或一過。三五過。
乃至數十百過。
即得神清氣爽。心廣體胖。
凡所希求。悉應其感。
天尊言。
身中九靈。何不召之。
一曰天生。二曰無英。
三曰玄珠。四曰正中。
五曰孓丹。六曰回雷。
七曰丹元。八曰太淵。
九曰靈童。召之則吉。
身中三精。何不呼之。
一曰台光。二曰爽靈。
三日幽精。呼之則慶。
五心煩懣。六脈搶攘。
四肢失寧。百節告急。
宜誦此經。
天尊言。
若或有人。五行奇蹇。
九曜嶔崎。年逢刑衝。
運值剋戰。孤辰寡宿。
羊刃劍鋒。劫煞亡神。
鬼門鉤絞。祿遭破敗。
馬落空亡。動用凶危。
行藏坎稟。即誦此經。
上請。天官解天厄。
地官解地厄。水官解水厄。
五帝解五方厄。四聖解四時厄。
南辰解本命厄。北斗解一切厄。
天尊言。
沉痾伏枕。癥疾壓身。
積時弗廖。求醫罔效。
五神無主。四大不收。
或是五帝。三官之前。
日月星辰之前。山林草木之前。
靈壇古跡之前。城隍社廟之前。
裡巷井竈之前。寺觀塔樓之前。
或地府三十六獄。冥官七十二司。
有諸冤枉。至此牽纏。
或盟詛咒誓之所招。
或債垛負償之所致。
三世結釁。異劫興仇。
埒其咎尤。庫其執對。
皆當首謝。即誦此經。
天尊言。
天官符。地官符。
年月日時。各有官符。
方隅向背。各有官符。
大則官符。小則口舌。
是有赤口白舌之神以主之。
凡諸動作興舉。
出入起居。不知避忌。
如遇官符口舌。則使人擊聒。
曉夜煎媰。多招唇吻。
面是背非。動致口牙。
盟神詛佛。始於讟議。
終於詬詆。由是獄訟生焉。
刑憲存焉。若欲脫之。
即誦此經。遂得口舌潛消。
官符永息。
天尊言。
土皇九壘。其司千二百神。
土侯土伯。土公土母。
土子土孫。土家眷屬。
若太歲。若將軍。
若鶴神。若太白。
若九良。若劍鋒。
若雌雄。若金神。
若火血。若身黃。
若撞命。若三煞。
若七煞。若黃旛豹尾。
若飛廉刀砧。如是等土家神煞。
若人興修蔔築。一或犯之。
即致病患。以迄喪亡。
纔誦此經。則萬神皆起。
天無忌。地無忌。
陰陽無忌。百無禁忌。
天尊言。
世人夫婦。其於婚合。
或犯咸池。或犯天狗。
三刑六害。隔角交加。
孤陰寡陽。天羅地網。
艱於嗣息。多是孤獨。
若欲求男。即誦此經。
當有九天監生大神。
招神攝風。遂生賢子。
於其生產之時。太一在門。
司命在庭。或有冤愆。
或有鬼魅。或有禁忌。
或有凶厄。致令難產。
請誦此經。即得九天衛房。
聖母默與抱送。故能臨盆有慶。
坐草無虞。凡有嬰孩。
在於繈褓。為栴檀神王。
座下一十五種鬼。加諸惱害。
因多驚癇。宜誦此經。
天尊言。
若人居止。烏鼠送妖。
蛇蟲嫁孽。拋磚擲瓦。
驚鷄弄狗。邀求祭杞。
以至影脅夢逼。及於姦盜。
而敢據其所居。以為巢穴。
遂使生人被惑。庭戶不清。
夜嘯於梁。晝瞰其室。
牛馬犬豕。亦遭瘟疫。
禍連骨肉。災及孳生。
淫祠祆社。黨庇神姦。
弔客頻仍。喪車疊出。
若誦此經。即使鬼精滅爽。
人物鹹寧。
天尊曰。
九天雷公將軍。五方雷公將軍。
八方雲雷將軍。五方蠻雷使者。
雷部總兵使者。莫賺判官。
發號施令。疾如風火。
有廟可伐。有壇可擊。
有妖可除。有祟可遣。
季世末法。多諸巫覡。
邪法流行。陰肆魘禱。
是故上清。
乃有天延禁鬼錄姦之庭。
帝由束妖考邪之房。
能誦此經。其應如響。
天尊言。
天瘟地瘟。二十五瘟。
天蠱地蠱。二十四蠱。
天瘵地瘵。三十六瘵。
能誦此經。即使瘟皇清浄。
蠱毒消除。勞瘵平復。
亦有其由。
或者先亡復連。或者伏屍故氣。
或者塚訟墓注。或者死魂染惹。
或者屍氣感招。
凡此鬼神。或悲思。
或志恨牽連執證。
並緣注射。並音塝射音石。
乘隙伺間。間音諫。
乃得其便。故此經者。
上通三天。下徹九泉。
可以追薦魂爽。超度祖玄。
太上遣素車白馬大將軍以監之。
天尊言。
若或有人。治裝遠行。
賊盜騁姦。五兵加害。
陸行則虎狼魈蜮磨其牙。
水行則蛟龍竈鼉張其頤。
或難賴有幽枉之魂。
或風濤有劫數之會。
前亡後化。捉生代死。
能於此經歸命投誠。
故得水陸平康。行藏協吉。
天尊言。亢陽為虐。
雨澤愆期。稽顙此經。
應時甘澍。積陰為厲。
雨水浸淫。稽顙此經。
應時朗霽。祝融扇禍。
飛火民居。赤鼠遊城。
驚熱黎庶。此經可以禳之。
海若失經。魚龞妄行。
洪水稽天。民生墊溺。
此經可以止之。
天尊言。
世人欲免。三災九橫之厄。
即於靜夜。稽首北辰。
北辰之上。上有三台。
其星並踱。形如雙目。
疊為三級。以覆鬥魁。
是名天階。
若人見之。生前無刑囚之憂。
身後不淪沒之苦。
鬥中復有尊帝。二星大如車輸。
若人見之。留形住世。
長生神仙。歸命此經。
投心北極。即有冥感。
鬥為天樞。中有天罡。
在內則為廉貞。在外則為破軍。
雷城十二門。並隨天罡之所指。
罡星指醜。其身在未。
所指者吉。所在者凶。
餘位皆然。若人見之。
壽可千歲。
天尊言。
世衰道微。人無德行。
不忠君王。不孝父母。
不敬師長。不友兄弟。
不誠夫婦。不義朋友。
不畏天地。不懼神明。
不禮三光。不重五穀。
身三口四。大秤小鬥。
殺生害命。人百已千。
姦私邪淫。妖誣叛逆。
從微至著。三官鼓筆。
太一移文。即付五雷斬勘之司。
先斬其神。後勘其形。
斬神誅魂。使之顛倒。
人所鄙賤。人所嫌害。
人所怨惡。以至勘形震屍。
使之崩裂。驅其捲水。
役其驅車。月竅旬校。
復有考掠。一聞此經。
其罪即滅。若或有人為雷所瞋。
其屍不舉。水火不受。
即稱九天應元雷聲普化天尊。
作是念言。
萬神稽首。鹹聽吾命。
天尊言。
此經功德。不可思議。
往昔劫中。
神霄玉清真王長生大帝所曾宣說。
至士授經。皆當剸金置幣。
盟天以傳。雷師皓翕。長跪拜興。
重白天尊言。是經在處。
當令土地司命。隨所守護。
雷部按臨。以時稽審。
若人家有此經。至誠安奉。
即得祥煙滿庭。慶雲蔭軒。
禍亂不萌。吉福來萃。
於其亡沒。不經地獄。
所以者何。死即往生。
生歸善道。承天尊力。
有此靈通。出入起居。
佩帶此經。衆人所欽。
鬼神所畏。遇諸險難。
一心稱名九天應元雷聲普化天尊。
悉得解脫。
於是雷師皓翁對天尊前。
而說偈曰。
無上玉清王。統天三十六。
九天普化君。化形十方界。
披髮騎麒麟。赤腳躡層冰。
手把九天炁。嘯風鞭雷霆。
能以智慧力。攝伏諸魔精。
濟度長夜魂。利益於衆生。
如彼銀河水。千眼千月輪。
誓於未來世。永揚天尊敬。
時雷師皓翁說是偈已。
天尊言。
此經傳世。世人未知。
吾今所治九天應元府。
府有九天雷門使者。
以斜錄典者。廉訪典者佐之。
復有四司。一曰掠剩司。
二曰積逮司。三曰幽枉司。
四曰報應司。各有大夫以掌其事。
吾之所理。卿師使相鹹贊元化。
天尊說是經畢。玉梵七寶層臺。
天花繽紛。瓊香繚繞。
十 方諸天帝 君。鹹稱善哉。
天龍鬼神。雷部官衆。
三界萬靈。皆大歡喜。
信受奉行。
九天應元雷聲普化天尊玉樞寶經終。
《呂祖心經》
呂祖曰。
天生萬物惟人最靈。匪人能靈實心是靈。
心為主宰一身之君。役使百骸區處群情。
物無其物形無其形。稟受於天良知良能。
氣拘欲蔽日失其真。此心即失此身亦傾。
欲善其身先治其心。治心如何即心治心。
以老老心治不孝心。以長長心治不悌心。
以委致心治不忠心。以誠恪心治不信心。
以恭敬心治無理心。以循理心治無意心。
以清介心治無廉心。以自愛心治無恥心。
以積德心治為惡心。以利濟心治殘賊心。
以匡扶心治傾陷心。以仁慈心治暴戾心。
以謙遜心治傲慢心。以損抑心治盈滿心。
以儉約心治驕奢心。以勤慎心治怠忽心。
以坦夷心治危險心。以忠厚心治刻薄心。
以和平心治忿恚心。以寬洪心治偏窄心。
以傷身心治沈湎心。以妻女心治姦淫心。
以果報心治謀奪心。以禍患心治鬥狠心。
以正教心治異端心。已至信心治大疑心。
以悠久心治無恒心。以始終心治反覆心。
以施與心治慳吝心。以自然心治勉強心。
以安分心治非望心。以順受心治怨尤心。
以推誠心治猜忌心。以鎮定心治搖惑心。
以中正心治偏袒心。以大體心治細務心。
嗟乎人心不治不純。如比亂絲不理不清。
如彼古鏡不磨不明。如彼劣馬不勒不馴。
我故說經欲治人心。人心得治天地清寧。
偈曰。
一切惟心心最危。範天圍地發光輝。
天心即在人心見。人合天心天弗違。
人心皆散亂。一念便純真。
欲求無上道。大眾轉天尊。
玉皇赦罪天尊。(三稱)
雷聲普化天尊。(三稱)
向來誦經。念念存誠。
千真拱聽。萬聖通靈。
應元合炁。普化分形。
九天有命。三界遵行。
消災懺罪。祈福延生。
功圓行滿。大道證盟。
《邱祖懺悔文》
經功浩力難思議。回向十方諸聖師。
願滌真心求懺悔。河沙罪障悉消離。
職悔我等。自從曩劫。
迺至今生。假火風地。
水以成形。戀香味色。
聲而不悟。貪瞋忌妒。
惡口妄言。殺盜邪淫。
恣情縱欲。逆辱父母。
悖負君師。不敬天地神祗。
呵風罵雨。不信罪福因果。
昧理欺心。遂致報對昇沉。
輪迴展轉。受諸苦惱。
無有休停。皆由一念之差。
障迷自性。妄認六塵之幻。
沉溺愛河。今而既獲人身。
叨親正教。豈非千生慶幸。
一旦遭逢。自合省心。
早求度世。若夫似前流蕩。
必竟迷失本來。一墮冥途。
化為異類。是當思沉淪苦。
發清淨心。皈奉聖真。
特求懺悔。乞憐愚昧。
原赦罪愆。解釋報冤。
蠲消魔障。所冀命逢昌運。
名注丹臺。際遇真師。
親聞至道。精修善行。
增長善芽。勵志玄門。
怡神真境。他日功成羽化。
或更行滿飛昇。廣看後學之成。
鹹通宿命。還證上乘之道。
承侍虛皇。更願國安民豐。
時和歲稔。願真風丕振。
道化與行。願凶惡化賢。
邪魔歸正。願兵刑悉錯。
囹圄空閑。願沉滯陞遷。
冤仇和釋。願參玄學者。
入道成真。願累劫宗親。
俱獲超度。願歷世師友。
同證真常。願所有眷緣。
增崇福慧。願所傷物命。
早生人天。願絕食葷酒。
不相殺害。願持身端正。
不履淫邪。願悉破慳貪。
永除險峻。願言無誑妄。
行皆真誠。願弱己饒人。
潛忍忿怒。願慈心下氣。
恭敬一切。願不履邊陲。
不墮邪見。願結交仙友。
棲集真虛。願智慧開明。
神通恢廓。願廣行方便。
普濟羣生。願永斷執迷。
鹹歸至道。塵劫有盡。
我願無窮。端望。帝真。
曲垂濟度。皈命禮謝。
無上虛皇至真三寶。(三稱)
收讚
全真演教。正一垂科。
天仙法派吉祥多。位育在中和。
道侶觀摩。修煉永無魔。
大聖回光普照大天尊(三稱)
三皈
自皈依道。當願眾生。
常侍天算。永脫輪迴。
自皈依經。當願眾生。
生生世世。得聞正法。
自皈依師。當願眾生。
學最上乘。不落邪見。
早壇功課經終。
午壇功課
香贊
晴空如蓋曦景當天上清午日萬方圓雲路淨無煙寶誥虔宣
悟道自昇仙
太上無極三寶大天尊
開誥偈
秘書丹篆金簡龍文玄宗太始三境
聿分九宸十極 覆載靡垠 諸天諸聖共建殊動 神仙代出道德馥芬淵源遞授傳派無紛
煌煌玉誥慶獎風雲
玉清寶誥 志心皈命禮
三界之上梵炁彌羅上極無上天中之
天郁羅蕭 臺 玉山上京渺渺金闕森羅
淨泓玄元一炁混沌之先寶珠之中玄
之又玄開明三景化生諸天億萬天真
無鞅數衆旋 斗歷 箕迴度五常巍巍大
範萬道之宗大羅玉清虛無自然至真
妙道元始天尊
上清寶誥 志心皈命禮
居上清境號靈寶君祖劫化生九萬九
千餘梵炁赤書煥發六百六十八真文
因混沌赤文而開九霄紀元洞玉歷而
分五劫天經地緯巍乎造化之宗樞陰
極陽卓爾雷霆之祖大悲大願大聖大
慈玉宸道君靈寶天尊
太清寶誥 志心皈命禮
隨方設教歷劫度人爲皇者師帝者師
王者師假名易號立天之道地之道人
之道隱聖顯凡總千二百之官君包萬
億重之梵炁化行今古著道德凡五千
言主握陰陽命雷霆用九五數大悲大
願大聖大慈太上老君道德天尊
彌羅寶誥 志心皈命禮
太上彌羅無上天妙有玄真境渺渺紫
金闕太微玉清宮無極無上聖廓落發
光明寂寂浩無宗玄範總十方湛寂真
常道恢漠大神通
玉皇大天尊玄穹高上帝
天皇寶誥 志心皈命禮
紫微宕極勾陳天宮九光寶苑之中五
炁玄都之上體元皇而佐司玄化總兩
極而共理三才主持兵革之權衡廣推
大德統禦星辰之纏次毋失常經上象
巍峨真元恢漠大悲大願大聖大慈勾
陳上宮天皇大帝
星主寶誥 志心皈命禮
大羅天闕紫微星宮尊居北極之高位
正中天之上佛號金輪熾盛道稱玉 斗
玄尊 璇 璣玉衡齊七政總天經地緯日
月星宿約四時行黃道紫垣萬象宗師
諸天統禦大悲大願大聖大慈萬星教
主無極元皇中天紫微北極大帝
后 土寶誥 志心皈命禮
九華玉闕七寶皇房承天稟命之期主
陰執陽之柄道推尊而含弘光大德敷
蓄於柔順利貞效法昊天根本育坤元
之美流形品物生成施母道之仁嶽瀆
是依山川 咸 仗大悲大願大聖大慈承
天效法 后 土皇地祇
神霄寶誥 志心皈命禮
高上神霄府凝神煥照宮會元始祖炁
以分真應妙道虛無而開化位乎九霄
之上統理諸天總乎十極之中宰製萬
化宣金符而垂光濟苦施惠澤而覆育
兆民恩溥乾元仁敷浩劫大悲大願大
聖大慈玉清真王南極長生大帝統天
元聖天尊
北五祖寶誥 志心皈命禮
大道開先玄元闡化教垂今古諡號東
華接漢室之將軍隱終南而仙契過化
每超於劫運示現長在於塵寰啓唐朝
之英賢悟神仙之秘訣飛劍貨藥警化
無方金庭丞相之高標寶印力辭之勇
訣霞裾上陟南北統宗天複挺於人豪
道遍通於四海發金蓮之七朵演仙派
於十方長生理被於古今玄妙天垂於
率土恢弘至道廣度愚迷慈悲濟苦
全真祖師
東華紫府輔元立極大道帝君
正陽開悟傳道垂教帝君
純陽演正警化孚佑帝君
海蟾明悟弘道純佑帝君
重陽全真開化輔極帝君
五祖闡道天尊
南五祖寶誥 志心皈命禮
明真正道行化南天九皇降 跡 於天臺
一脈浚通於劉祖采瓊花之仙異著悟
真之丹書道付杏林不日還元之編集
法通雞足丹髓複命之書成真人挺出
惠州信地悟超神俊刀圭入口神化無
方施雷雨於掌中甦生民於世外德彰
南海獲瓊玉之英標道遍遐荒飫法言
之靈妙龍虎羅浮之 跡 武夷玉隆之書
過化多方真文備著爲神仙之首冠集
前代之範模誓願宏深慈悲仁聖祖師
悟真紫陽真人
杏林翠虛真人
道光紫賢真人
泥丸翠虛真人
瓊琯紫清真人
五祖蕆道天尊
七真寶誥 志心皈命禮
道先一炁世顯七真悟五行不到之言
得九轉還丹之訣甘泉潤物變朽 回 春
金骨仙姿得四言而契道衛州變化坐
十載以成真壁間墨 跡 之非凡雪竹月
松之姿異三井有多生之記一時著顯
化之功磻溪六年龍門七載道功備而
名聞時主丹符錫而掌握神仙石上談
玄空中飛蓋元主屢宣而問道甘霖克
日以濟民早窮易道之言晚造神仙之
訣卦圖斯演至道大成清靜散人探玄
得道蓬萊仙路億劫獨持慈悲濟苦
全真祖師
丹陽抱一無爲普化真君
長真凝神玄靜蘊德真君
長生輔化宗玄 明德真 君
長春全德神化明應主教真君
玉陽體玄廣慈普度真君
太古廣寧通玄妙極真君
清淨淵真玄虛順化 元 君
七真演化天尊
普化寶誥 志心皈命禮
九天應元府無上玉清王化形而滿十
方談道而趺九鳳三十六天之上閱寶
笈考瓊書千五百劫之先位正真權大
化手舉金光如意宣說玉樞寶經不順
化作微塵發號疾如風火以清淨心而
弘大願以智慧力而伏諸魔總司五雷
運行三界群生父萬靈師大聖大慈至
皇至道九天應元雷聲普化天尊
人心多散亂 一念皆純真
欲求無上道 大衆轉天尊
雷聲普化天尊
向來誦經 念念存誠 千真拱聽
萬聖通靈 應元合炁 普化分形
九天有命 三界遵行 消災懺罪
請福延生 功圓行滿 大道證盟
丘祖懺悔文
經功浩力不思議 迴 向十方諸聖衆
願見真心求懺悔 河沙罪障悉消除
懺悔衆等自從曩劫 迺 至今生假火風
地水以成形戀香味色聲而觸法貪嗔
嫉妒惡口妄言殺盜邪淫恣情縱欲逆
辱父母悖負君師不敬天地神祇呵風
罵雨不信罪福因果昧理欺心遂致報
對昇 沉 輪 迴 展轉受諸苦惱無有休停
皆由一念之差障迷自性妄認六塵之
幻 沉 溺愛河今而既獲人身叨親正教
豈非千生慶倖一旦遭逢自合省心早
求度世若夫似前流蕩必竟迷失本來
一墮冥途化爲異類是 故思 沉 淪苦
發清靜心皈奉聖真特求懺悔概憐愚
昧原赦罪愆解釋報冤蠲消魔障所覬
命逢昌運名注丹 臺 際遇真師親聞至
道精修妙行增長善芽盡節玄門怡神
真境他日運應滅度自性不致昏迷徑
生十善之家能通宿命還證上乘之道
承侍虛皇尚
願國安民豐時和歲稔
願真風丕闡道化興行
願兇惡化賢邪魔歸正
願兵刑罔措囹圄空閑
願 沉 滯昇遷冤讎和釋
願參玄學者悟道成真
願曆劫宗親俱皆超度
願曆世師友同證真常
願所有眷緣增崇福慧
願所傷物命早生人天
願絕食酒葷不相殺害
願持身端正不履淫邪
願悉破慳貪悉除險峻
願言無狂妄行貴真誠
願弱己饒人潛忍忿怒
願慈心下氣恭敬一切
願不墮邊夷不隨邪見
願結交仙友棲集清虛
願智慧開明神通恢廓
願廣行方便普濟群生
願永斷執迷咸歸正道
法劫有盡 我願無窮（重）
端望
帝真曲垂濟度皈命禮謝
無上虛皇至真三寶
一者一人有慶 二者二景齊明
三者三農樂業 四者四序和平
五者五祠鞏固 六者六合澄清
七者七星臨照 八者八節安寧
九者九泉開泰 十者十類生成
十一者福留善信 十二者大道興行
一切神光普照 一切衆聖留恩
一切有情賴善 一切證果成真
普天均樂 四海同春
聞經悟道 罪滅福生（重）
誦經功德不可思議諸天諸地轉靈機
皇王壽天齊大道慈悲萬化樂雍熙（重）
向來禮念諸功德 全賴慈悲爲主盟
仰瞻仙仗隱空玄 法部真靈常擁護
每遇朔望加祝壽文
仰啓神威豁落將 都天糾察大靈官
火車三五大雷公 受命三清降鬼祟
手執金鞭巡世界 身披金甲顯威靈
頃刻三天朝上帝 須臾九地救生靈
銀牙鳳嘴將三千 虎首貔貅兵百萬
走火行風前後衛 穿山破石捉邪精
祈晴禱雨濟世界 附體圓光通事意
治病驅邪如電閃 收瘟攝毒伏群魔
飛騰雲霧遍虛空 號令雷霆轟霹靂
三界大魔齊拱手 十方外道悉皈依
弟子啓請望來臨 大賜雷威加擁護
太乙雷聲應化天尊
經壇土地神之最靈昇天達地出幽入
冥爲吾關奏不得留停有功之日名書
上清向來誦經功德 上奉
高真下保平安賜福消災同賴善功證
無上道一切信禮志心稱念
常清常靜天尊 不可思議功德
三皈依 志心皈命禮
經 生生世世 得聞正法
無上道寶當願衆生 常侍天尊 永脫輪 迴
師 學最上乘 不落邪見
大皈依
四恩三宥同歸大藏靈文八難九幽俱
入元始性海願以此功德莊嚴無極界
上報四重恩下濟三途苦師資與父母
法界同宗親見存增福壽過去早超昇
見前清靜衆各用皈命禮
志心皈命禮
經
太上道寶十方諸天九十九億九萬九
千十方國土曆劫度人清靜真一不二
法門本師教主
經 玉宸道君靈寶
十方常住道寶 寶珠說法元始 天尊
師 混元皇帝道德
祝壽文
伏以黃冠羽服神居雲水之鄉寶篆仙
經誠答乾坤之德小心翼翼大德昭昭
爐焚真香致恭上啓
三清道祖十極高真萬象森羅二儀列
宿諸天諸地諸山諸水億聖千真群仙
品職玄門啓教演派師尊南宗北派五
祖七真天下名山洞府古今得道仙賢
宗壇有禱無鞅仙靈是日朝元真宰當
令神員城隍社令管界正神捧香散花
金童玉女值壇功曹符使傳誠引奏仙
仙雲空過往採訪明神經方主執護法
威靈悉仗真香普同供養 以今奏爲
中華人民共和國 省 縣
觀焚修弟子 某 茲者
恭逢天運 年 月 日 吉旦良辰
謹率清流登臨 寶殿諷誦仙經稱
揚聖號延奉高真恭祈景貺伏願國泰
民安風調雨順萬民樂業五穀豐登世
界永久和平更祈本觀（庵宮）香火綿遠
教法興隆道衆修真有遇進道無魔伏
念弟子衆等爰從前世迨及今生或三
業以索纏或六根之 沉 滯是非海闊人
我山高性虧恬淡之純心昧沖和之粹
五臘三元莫識懺禳之禮四始十直罔
明悔過之儀匪賴恩光之下映曷令魔
障之永清與道有緣度人無量滔滔源
流於仙派綿綿不墜於真風再願衆等
師資同學父母宗親普天黎庶檀越信
民心地虛明性天昭朗動運可逃而厄
難可免安處塵寰而動與吉會再冀刀
兵八難無辜殺戮饑饉餓殍凍餒死亡
離鄉別土殞於道路既往超虛無之境
見存享安樂之鄉仰憑道力爲上良因
志心稱念
玄都萬壽天尊 不可思議功德
Source Colophon
The Chinese text follows the Chinese Wikisource transcription of the Daoist Canon edition of this text (article 清微宏範道門功課, revision of 22 May 2025), inspected from a witness copy captured on 8 August 2026. Chinese Wikisource transcriptions are published under CC BY-SA 4.0 and the GFDL; the text itself is a traditional Daoist ritual compilation and is in the public domain. The wiki header and license templates have been removed; the text is otherwise complete and unaltered.
🌲