Taixiao Langshu Qiongwen Dizhang Jue — from the Jade Tablets of the Great Empyrean
This is a set of ritual instructions from the Shangqing, or Highest Clarity, tradition of Daoism, governing how its scriptures were to be copied, cared for, and formally transmitted from master to disciple. The Daoist Canon's own bibliographic note to the text records its compiler as unknown and dates it approximately to the Northern and Southern Dynasties (420–589 CE); it says the text is substantially the same as the fifth fascicle of Dongzhen Taishang Taixiao Langshu, the larger Shangqing compilation from which it is drawn.
It is prose throughout, a working manual rather than a scripture meant for chanting: instructions for copying and physically caring for a scripture, the wording of the petition read aloud when a disciple formally receives one, instructions for recording the chain of masters through whom it descends, an itemized list of the material pledges — gold, silk, incense, jade and gold images, brushes, vestments — a disciple owes a master on reception, and, to close, the Nine Statutes of the Grand Perfected: nine articles on the ethics owed between master and disciple in transmitting a scripture at all.
One word recurs in every section title and in the text's own title: jue (訣), "instructions" in the sense of a practical formula handed from one person to the next rather than read from a shelf. This translation renders it so throughout.
Translated for the Good Works Library directly from the classical Chinese of the Daoist Canon, which is printed in full below the translation. To our knowledge, this is the text's first complete published English translation.
Translation
The Conduct of Master and Disciple
Instructions on Copying the Scriptures
Whenever a scripture has already been obtained, it should always be copied anew: let the earlier copy become the settling copy, kept only for veneration. The one now copied should be carefully collated and corrected. Where wealth and effort allow, one should make three copies in all: one to be the permanent settling copy, one for the retreat rites, and one for study. The study copy should always stay with the practitioner in the room where they dwell, kept apart on its own stand; they alone should take it out and put it away, and must not have another do this for them. If a household member or disciple is of like spirit and utmost sincerity, they may be allowed to handle it, but full charge of it should still not be entrusted to them entirely — not because they would be deliberately careless, but because their learning is still shallow and their understanding not yet refined, and they might unknowingly offend a prohibition, to the harm of both. Be clear, thorough, and careful in this: it draws in good fortune and wards off ill.
At the time of copying a scripture, one must keep a pure retreat throughout, and by the rule should copy it in one's own hand, checking the copy against the master's exemplar. If a disciple newly at the gate, occupied with menial duties, has no leisure to copy it in person, or has not yet mastered brush and ink, or is too slow and clumsy to produce a fine copy — the wealthy may hire a scribe with gold and silk, and the poor may pool their means to hire a hand — but the work borrowed must still be of a skilled hand; it must never be managed carelessly. Where the characters are wrong or garbled, or the diagrams lose their proper form, there is in every case an examination and a penalty for it — how, then, could blessing ever follow? Where a scripture contains diagrams, even if kept in a separate fascicle, each has its own attendant officials — Perfected clerks who preside over the diagrams, jade lads and jade maidens — much as the text itself does. One must not, chasing what is easy and avoiding what is hard, take up the scripture and abandon its diagrams.
Where an error must be corrected, washing out and correcting it is allowed, but no more than three places on a single sheet, and no more than three on a single plain sheet either; past three, the whole must be renewed, and the spoiled sheet burned clean. In mounting, trimming, and dyeing; in fitting the roller at the head of the scroll with its cord; in the wrapping bag and its cloth cover; in making the chest that holds it sturdy — let it simply be whole and clean, never carried past this into ornament. In the world's own teaching, transforming the world means relinquishing ornament; but since ornament cannot yet be wholly relinquished, a provisional rule permits its use, so that people of the world may gradually reduce their taste for worldly splendor. Splendor offered up in the rites lets them come, by degrees, to recognize the plain and proper way; and once plainness is attained, true ornament follows of itself — unspoiled, unsought yet found, unforced yet accomplished, spontaneous, and nothing can make it otherwise. This is what plainness yields: do not linger in worldly ornament.
In furnishing the altar hall and the equipage for travel, let abundance or frugality match one's means, rich or poor alike, and let none force themselves beyond it. If the rich force themselves into meanness, or the poor force themselves into splendor, either extravagance or forced frugality alike violates the statutes of the Way; the statutes of the Way prize the mean between them, inner and outer answering each other. If a scripture is lost through no fault of intent, first confess the fault, then keep a pure retreat and repent, each according to the Statutes of the Grand Perfected. When a scripture is worn out with age and must be replaced, proceed entirely as in the Rites of the Grand Perfected. In incense, lamp, and worship, honor and cultivate with utter dedication alone — such dedication will surely reach sagehood, and unite with the Way in perfection.
Instructions on the Petition and Announcement
When a disciple, through due cause, relies on a master to request the teaching, and it is fitting that transmission be made, first have the scripture copied; once its diagrams and registers are complete, choose a day and open the retreat, and at the retreat announce the petition. Its general form is as follows.
Though the rites of retreat are many, all take the Three Primes as their standard, and the statutes for the retreats of the Three Primes encompass every rite. In transmitting and receiving the higher scriptures, the Upper Prime is likewise used; what is announced within it follows the occasion, adjusted as circumstance requires — let it be simple and to the point, not elaborate.
In every retreat's petition, first prepare the document, and let it never be careless, nor treat the myriad Perfected lightly. In composing it, state first: the reign-title of [the state], the year [so many] in the cycle of the Grand Year-star, the month, the day after the new moon of [such a month], on [such] a day, at [such] an hour; of [such] a prefecture, county, township, and village; the rank of the officiant, male or female — Libationer, Daoist priest, preceptor, Perfected, Sovereign Lady, or Lady — and their surname and name; that now, at [such] a prefecture, county, township, and village, in a mountain retreat or a family dwelling, approaching [such] a prefecture, county, township, and village, naming the Daoist priest or ritual master, male or female, and their surname and name, the petitioner receives the Scripture of the Great Cavern (Dadong zhenjing); its catalogue as follows. The fascicles of the Cavern of Perfection division are then listed in order: one who receives the whole should follow the sequence to its end; one who receives it in part should not yet receive it all at once, but have it issued as is fitting, without need to number the fascicles — simply state the titles of the sections received, one or two, exactly as received. The above, [so many] fascicles, are now, before the retreat, announced and petitioned for transmission. Respectfully submitted.
[Such] a prefecture, county, township, and village; [such] a rank, surname, and name states: fortunate to be registered among good conditions, I have year upon year served the Mysterious Ultimate; now humbly receiving these Precious Texts, I am truly in awe and truly consoled. Presuming on this brief life, I aspire to long life; greedy to advance and forgetful of retreat, I have met with this fine occasion. I beg to receive the aforesaid [so many] fascicles, and in accordance with the Statutes present [such] and [so many] kinds of ritual pledge as offering. Reporting this petition for your hearing, I bow low hoping that my Master and Lord will graciously grant it. I vow with my whole heart to cultivate and practice, and never to fail my master's Way; should a day come when I transgress, I accept for myself the wind and blade, and dare hold no resentment, following wholly the Bright Statutes. Respectfully stated.
In the year [so named], month, day, and hour, at [such] a mountain retreat, respectfully offered.
Instructions on Transmitting the Sacred Names
Whenever the Precious Scriptures are transmitted, what matters most is to hold the masters in mind: one's own master, the master's master, and that master's master in turn. For these three, record the village where each dwelled, their rank and title as male or female clergy, their surname, given name, style, and age, and the place where the scripture was transmitted; this record is conferred on the receiving disciple, written on plain yellow silk, and worn on the body at all times — it must never be lost. If lost, the penalty falls in every case as the Statutes of the Grand Perfected provide. If it cannot be worn at all times, it should be kept within the scripture itself, wrapped separately and tied in its own cloth. Let it fix firmly in record the master, the master's master, and the Mysterious Master, whose own master is the Great Lord, the Azure Lad; there is also a Lesser Lord. Hold both these lords in mind, and perform the rites and vows according to the proper form.
Instructions on the Ritual Pledge
The ritual pledge issues from the Statutes, and in this the Statutes differ from the scriptures themselves. From master to master the oral instruction on it has each its own cause, and as times, statutes, and circumstance change, so this instruction is not everywhere the same — take care not to fall into doubt over it. Follow one's own master in carrying it out; if one has no master, there is a rite for petitioning the Mystery directly, and the pledge is issued by the proper measure — this must not be transgressed. Fascicle by fascicle the pledge is received separately; statute by statute it is passed down gradually; scripture and statute answer each other, and master and disciple weigh it accordingly between them. Though one might think to substitute the light for the heavy or the easy for the difficult, the substance and form of the pledge must be weighed with care, never departing from its proper measure — only through the right cause can it be rightly obtained. What is used by those who receive the transmission all at once is as follows:
- Fine gold, nine liang (ounces).
- Purple brocade, one hundred twenty chi (Chinese feet).
- Patterned silk of the five colors, forty chi of each.
- Plain white silk, twelve hundred chi.
- Purple-patterned silk, twenty-four zhang (lengths of ten chi).
- Silk of one's fate-color, matched to the stem and branch of one's birth year; patterned silk apportioned by age, in bolts, zhang, and chi.
- Thread of the five colors, three jin (catties) of each.
- Five kinds of incense, nine jin of each.
- Jade dragons and jade fish, three figures of each.
- Gold dragons and gold fish, five figures of each.
- A jade goose and a jade sheep, one figure of each.
- A gold goose and a gold sheep, one figure of each.
- Three jade tablets.
- Gold rings and silver rings, nine pairs of each.
- Pearls the size of parasol-tree seeds, three hundred sixty in number.
- Thread of the five colors, each in the proper weight of catties.
- Large sheets of paper, three hundred sixty.
- Brushes, five pairs.
- Dragon-headed scribe's knives, five.
- A purple canopy-cover with red lining, one — with two sets of vermilion-dyed finials, fitted in gold and silver.
- Blue-green canopy-covers with jade-green lining, five — with three sets of black-dyed finials, fitted in ivory and bronze.
- A bright mirror, one — a chi across; it must not be nine cun (inches) or less.
- A complete set of ritual vestments, cap, shoes, and audience tablet — fine or plain, taking the mean between them; new, clean, fragrant, and pure.
- A pure jar and a basin, one each, in gold, silver, bronze, or earthenware, as befits the occasion.
The above twenty-four items are the ritual pledge of the disciple for receiving the scripture.
These twenty-four things each answer to something of their own; gather and prepare them all, and let none be missing. In a poor and remote place, other things may be used in their stead, matched by kind to make up the number, but let the substitution be weighed with care and not go against its intent. If even this cannot be supplied, note which item is presently lacking, and after the rite seek it out to make up what is owed.
At the start of convening the retreat, before the petition is presented, the pledges should already be prepared in full; consult and report them to one's master, and set down in writing what is present and what is not. Place this record after the scripture's catalogue and just before the petition text, and read it together with the announcement at its start; and again, when the time comes to confer the scripture, state it once more in full in the memorial sent forth to the officials. Take care never to be careless of this.
When the master receives this pledge, he must act strictly by the Bright Statutes, so that its use reaches its proper end, and master and disciple together secure the attainment of the real. If a Mysterious Covenant is called for, this same rule applies. Once the pledge has been gathered as the gold record requires, the rite of its distribution follows; where the scriptures in question are not complete, this instruction should not be used. Let those of great character and high resolve follow it with precision and care.
The Nine Statutes of the Grand Perfected
The Most High King of Great Perfection established these Statutes and completed the several rules from them; they lie scattered through the many scriptures, now earlier, now later, so that a reader cannot easily tell them apart — one ought to seek out the source text itself. That text, in three fascicles, is kept secret among masters; one who obtains it and studies it in secret becomes a Teacher of Gods and Men. What is given here as its great essentials is marked out in outline as nine articles, which the Perfected of the Nine Heavens together revere and follow; without this teaching, motion and stillness alike fall into fault. If there is a worthy and wise person who seeks to receive the Precious Scriptures, show them these essential rules; the propriety of transmission follows these nine articles, and extended by analogy to like cases, nothing is left unprovided for. Unless one truly embodies the real, do not rashly add to them or take from them; the many scriptures of the Three Caverns all take their standard from this. The Perfected of the Grand Ultimate, Lord Wang of the Western Citadel, the immortal lords and ministers, and men of the highest talent all treasure and keep it secret — take care that it never leaks out.
The First Statute says: when the retreat concludes, the precepts are conferred, and after the precepts, the scripture is transmitted according to rite; the year in which it is transmitted itself becomes the fixed term. The term serves to govern the mind; its end serves to make the Way manifest — the Way is the master of the myriad mysteries, and to contemplate the mystery one must behold its source. To eliminate desire is the highest attainment; to lessen it comes next; depth or shallowness of practice follows one's capacity, its worth according to one's virtue. The measure of virtue has no fixed limit, but broadly divides into six: the first, forty thousand kalpas; the second, forty thousand years; the third, four thousand years; the fourth, four hundred years; the fifth, forty years; the sixth, four years exactly. When the term is complete, one may transmit to a single person, up to as many as nine — this marks the honor of one who illuminates the Way, and the worth of virtue. But when fortune presses and the times are urgent, in great compassion for wide salvation, transmit as soon as a worthy person is met, without holding to any fixed number. Only note that at the first reception the disciple's capacity must still be slight, and true proof must be sought within the term that follows. If in this early ground one meets danger, pressed by misfortune, and neither wisdom nor strength can turn it aside, yield and comply to avoid disaster; what has truly been attained lies within the heart — do not become fixed upon the scrolls themselves, and so bring harm to the mystery and the real. If constrained by force, so that one's own master is threatened and coerced, and one judges that afterward one can deal with the offender and so keep one's first resolve whole, it may then be permitted to ask the master to yield to the other's demand for a time; but if this cannot be done, choose death before yielding — take care never to demean or dishonor one's own master, nor destroy and abandon the true Way. If wisdom and strength cannot manage it, do not force the claim that one will deal with it regardless: not to gauge one's own virtue, not to measure one's own strength, only destroys one's life to no purpose, and adds nothing but transgression. Consider this well, three times over. If a scripture is lost unexpectedly, without one's own knowledge, or plundered by bandits, its fate unknown, in every such case one should prolong the retreat and repent, give up body, life, and possession, rely on one's master across the years, and exhaust one's utmost sincerity without resentment or slackness — then it may be received again. If it is lost a third time after being received again, one should not lightly receive it once more; one should add repentance to repentance, until the numinous powers themselves are moved, and only then receive it again — this will surely bring one to the Perfected of the Way. To receive it without such a response is a vain reception, one that comes to nothing in the end; yet even so it becomes a cause for the future, and receiving remains better than not receiving at all. To receive it again and again without ceasing gradually transforms the heart and spirit; though there is no accomplishment at first, in the end the Way is still attained.
The Second Statute says: after receiving a scripture, seek out one's master's instruction with care; hold one's light within, luminous inwardly, and never flaunt it. Once the term of years is complete, one may transmit it to a worthy person — but the worthy are not easily found, and one must never transmit rashly to one who is not the right person, for then both master and disciple suffer the wind and blade, reaching upward to afflict their ancestors and downward to their descendants; the wrong runs deep enough to sever a line, and consigns one forever among the ranks of ghosts. If within the term there is calamity — a death in the family, a dispute public or private, bloodshed, imprisonment, flood, fire, robbery, grave illness, or misfortune — then even once the term of years has passed, one must not yet transmit it to another. One should properly confess the fault, diligently build up good works, and only once signs of relief are reported as due may the transmission then be granted. But if the Three Venerable Ones themselves reach the fullness of years and their fate ascends and passes on, or if one is caught, through no fault, innocent, in unjust bonds — none of this is an obstacle, and the transmission may proceed on schedule.
The Third Statute says: the pledge attests the sincerity of the heart, and makes its wondrous meaning shine forth; it must be made with true excellence, and obtained through right principle. What is properly one's own to prepare should be gathered and kept privately — never boasted of, nor begrudged. Take care never to seek it by crooked means, by exchange, by begging, or by force; to filch what one obtains and claim it as one's own merit only adds to one's transgressions, and leaves no blessing to hope for. When the master receives it, let it be put to good use, divided into three parts: one part for the disciple's own retreat provisions, to help supply incense, oil, and scriptural texts; one part to aid the hermits dwelling in hardship and seclusion in the mountains; one part to provide the master's own vestments, fine or plain, and offerings to the Three Venerable Ones — none of it to be spent privately. Its disbursement must follow the rule, with no stinginess allowed to arise; one must not covet or hoard it, for that invites calamity and burdens the body, harms the Way and disgraces the rite, and draws reproach from both people and spirits. In urgent need requiring partial relief, when it is proper to draw on it together with other funds, first present the matter to the Three Treasures, and only afterward reckon how to make up what was taken; any violation of this invites investigation under the statute against theft. Those who share an altar in the Lingbao rites follow the twelve statutes of that tradition instead.
The Fourth Statute says: after receiving a scripture, keep its rites without fail; if sudden illness, or unforeseen public or private affairs, cause a lapse, then afterward confess it at once, expressing repentance in awe and dread, and cleanse one's inmost sincerity thoroughly. But to drift idly, to indulge to excess, to chase pleasure with arrogance and neglect — the fault of such abandonment sinks one forever into Fengdu.
The Fifth Statute says: by rule one should keep the Long Retreat; if one cannot, choose auspicious occasions instead and extend one's sincerity there. In a year there are six such months; in a month, ten set days; and if even these cannot be kept in full, observe at least the new moon, the half-moon, and the month's last day, the four seasons and eight nodes, and one's own birthday — cultivating as far as one is able, but never abandoning it altogether, for to abandon it is to have no merit at all. To forget the Way and cast off the rite invites calamity; if the retreat is broken unintentionally, repent and confess at once, but to offend again and again without repentance will in the end cause one to fall among the ranks of demons. Sustained without slackening, unbroken and unretreating, holding the Way in mind and upholding the rite, understanding both the outer world and oneself completely — becoming a sage will then have its appointed time, and one will receive the title of Mysterious Virtue. The months of the Long Retreat are the first, third, fifth, seventh, ninth, and eleventh — six months in the year, each one odd-numbered, for it is by the fullness of yang that the merit of yin is established. Each such merit has its own days: in a month, ten days are set apart — the first, eighth, fourteenth, fifteenth, eighteenth, twenty-third, twenty-fourth, twenty-eighth, twenty-ninth, and thirtieth.
The Sixth Statute says: during retreat, read the scriptures and precepts, master them thoroughly through recitation and practice, expound and proclaim them clearly, and seek their wondrous meaning daily; once understood, put it into practice at once, and never transgress what has been understood — if one does, repent and confess immediately, and let it never happen twice. Whether walking or sitting, hold the text in mind, and never grow careless or forgetful of it. To conceal one's own ignorance while knowing it oneself, deceiving others; to take no warning from others' success or failure; to be too idle to answer questions put to one; to resent being questioned and envy those who surpass oneself; to speak carelessly and evasively; to claim an understanding one does not truly have, garbling the teaching and misleading the assembly; to corrupt the text and its phrasing, adding to or cutting from its chapters; to fabricate heterodox opinions and give rise carelessly to divergent teachings — all of this departs from the true and oversteps the correct, and brings deep calamity every time.
The Seventh Statute says: in proclaiming the scriptures and precepts, in establishing virtue and building merit, in saving others while perfecting oneself, exhortation stands foremost; hold to what is correct and open the way through, never giving rise to pretense. Skillful means for the good of others require wisdom and ability; if one's ability is not yet deep enough, do not act rashly, for to depart from the true substance of skillful means is at once to fall into empty speech. Simply follow the true meaning of the teaching, and guide others to a like-minded heart, so that all return together to the master's gate; examine the scriptures, read the precepts, verify and clarify their wondrous principle, and arouse the good heart in others — let them take part in the retreat and see its working for themselves, let them hear of its blessings and see them, and comply with it gladly, so that harmony brings accomplishment. Never scold or reproach them, for anger only adds to one's own fault. Draw them forward gently, by parable and analogy — never by force; keep a proper measure of care, taking the mean between firmness and gentleness, now giving, now withholding, nourishing them by every means; even one who is obstinate in delusion and will not turn should be shown compassion, never begrudged it. Let compassion be without end, and never give rise to a heart that gives up on another; when a good friend is found, vow together to ascend to the Mystery — honor one's master, cherish one's disciples, and the fruit of the Perfected Above will be won.
The Eighth Statute says: when a master shows compassion to disciples, let it be with a single, impartial heart, with no favor and no bias; reward and punishment must be made clear — punishment to halt evil, reward to encourage good — down to the finest hair let nothing be overlooked, and not the smallest fault mistaken; error and partiality bring down calamity, examined severely both in the hidden world and the visible one.
The Ninth Statute says: let the disciple be reverent and careful, serving the master with an undivided heart, moving little, speaking little, deep, admirable, still, and sincere; attending on the master's countenance, seeking the wondrous instruction, always intent on establishing some achievement of their own, assisting and glorifying the Three Treasures; with focused mind and utmost effort, obey commands and act at once, shrinking from neither fire nor water, refusing no task for its distance — and when in doubt, inquire and have it examined at once; if permitted to change it, amend it, and if not permitted, comply still — even at the risk of one's life, never turn away. The master tests the disciple so as to make their resolve firm, to raise them to the Way and bring them into the real; the trials differ in degree, so as to bring the disciple to understanding, apportioning what is asked of them day by day, supervising and encouraging them ever more closely, so as to accomplish and extend the utmost Way. Where a master's own numinous authority is thin, he must never test another rashly; a sage and enlightened master tests without causing harm — good fortune or ill, compliance or its opposite, all follow from the quality of an enlightened master. If one falls to an unworthy master, the rule holds no hatred for evil: [the evil] is brought on by oneself, and even in death one must not resent it, but should blame oneself instead, and mend the past to cultivate what comes after. If one hesitates and doubts one's master, it is not proper to go on serving him; but while serving, one should comply, never act against him — for opposition means the loss of the Way, and lasting ruin. Let each be careful at the start, and strive earnestly to bring it to a good end.
The above are the Nine Statutes. The Perfected of the Nine Palaces set forth and made clear these essentials; the measureless great host of sages of the Ten Directions who have already attained the Way all alike revere and follow them, in the saving and deliverance of all beings.
Colophon
This Good Works Translation was prepared for the Shangqing Scriptures shelf of the Good Works Library. The English was translated independently from the classical Chinese text printed below. The instructional prose is rendered as prose throughout; the embedded ritual petition, whose original repeats the placeholder 某 ("so-and-so") for every name, date, and place, is rendered here with italic bracketed placeholders in its stead; the itemized list of ritual pledges is set out as a numbered list; and the Nine Statutes at the close are marked off with a bold lead-in for each article, following the text's own enumeration (第一科曰, 第二科曰, and so on) rather than as separate headings.
Before the claim below was written, a translation-status check was performed: Komjathy's Daoist Texts in Translation and the 2023 Purple Cloud update to it were searched for this title, its pinyin, and the related title Taixiao Langshu, with no result; two web searches were then run, on the Chinese title and on the pinyin title, and neither surfaced a translation of this text. One further lead did appear in those searches — an academic monograph title concerning a differently-named Shangqing scripture — but it could not be confirmed as related to this text, since the page could not be retrieved (a 403 error), and no second attempt was made, per the working limit on retries. This text is a technical, procedural set of instructions rather than one of the canon's well-known scriptures, and no evidence of any existing English translation of it was found. To our knowledge, this is the first complete published English translation of the Taixiao Langshu Qiongwen Dizhang Jue. We state this as the limit of our knowledge, not as a certainty.
A note on terms and on two hard passages. Jue (訣) is rendered "instructions" throughout, including in the section titles the text gives itself. Faxin (法信), the material pledge a disciple presents to a master on receiving a scripture, is rendered "ritual pledge." Cun (存), the Shangqing meditative practice of holding a figure in visualized attention, appears once, in the instruction to hold two named lords in mind while performing the rite of naming the master-lineage; it is rendered "hold in mind." Two clauses resist full certainty and are rendered as literally as the Chinese allows: the exact count implied by 三入 in the instructions on transmitting the sacred names (rendered here as "these three," referring to a master, the master's master, and that master's master in turn), and the identity of the "Lesser Lord" paired there with the Great Lord, the Azure Lad. One small-type interlinear note in the source, 〔惡〕 ("the evil"), clarifies a clause following the Ninth Statute and is set off in italic brackets in the English at that point.
Prepared for the Good Work Library by the Tianmu Anglican Church with AI-assisted translation and editorial work.
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Source Text: 太霄琅書瓊文帝章訣
Classical Chinese text of the Daoist Canon, in the Chinese Wikisource transcription. Presented complete for reference, study, and verification alongside the English translation above. 〔 〕 marks a small-type interlinear note as formatted in the transcription.
經名：太霄琅書瓊文帝章訣。撰人不詳，約出於南北朝。與《洞真太上太霄琅書》第五卷略同。
師資行事
書經訣
凡得經有已，皆應更書，先者為鎮，供養而已。今所寫治，精加校定，豐財足力，各立三通，一為長鎮，一為供齋，一為研習。研習者常自隨所住室中，別置格上，躬自出入，不得使他。若家人、弟子，同氣至心，可得使之，亦勿全委。非其故為息慢，學淺識解未精，或致忤禁，彼此受殃。明詳謹慎，納吉防凶。寫經之時，皆修清齋，法當手書，與師易本。或在門伏膺雜役，不暇自書，或未閑筆墨，或遲拙不精，富者可以金帛顧人，貧者聽得傭夫聚直，必借妙迹，不可苟營。文字訛謬，圖象失形，並有考罰，福豈爰臻，經中有圖，圖或別卷，各有侍官，典圖真吏，玉童玉女，與經略同。不可逐易避難，起經棄圖象。誤許洗治，一紙不過三處，簡素一紙亦不過三，過三皆易，火淨所誤。連染剪齊，首軸帶祑，囊蘊巾帊，廚箱令堅，完淨而已，不得過華。世問教化，化世捨華，華未能捨，權制用華。使世間人，損俗華麗，華麗供法，漸識素方，得素後華，自然不壞，不求自得，不為自成，自然而然，莫能使之不然，緣素果此，勿滯俗華。臺堂行裝，各有豐儉，富貧相稱，不得彊為。富者彊陋，貧者彊華，華奢陋儉，皆乖道制，道制貴中，內外相應。非意去失，首謝愆尤，清齋懺悔，各依太真之科。久壞改易，具如太真之法。香燈禮拜，尊修唯精，精必成聖，與道合真也。
啟告訣
弟子因綠，憑師請法，宜傳付者，先使寫經，圖錄已竟，擇日結齋，齋時啟告，大略如左。
齋法雖多，皆准三元，三元齋科，包羅諸法。授受上經，同用上元，其間所啟，事源隨時，消息改易，簡要勿繁也。
凡齋啟告，先治辭牒，不可闇慢，率略千真。為牒之宜，先稱 某 國號、 某 年太歲 某、某 月朔 某 日 某 時、 某 州郡縣鄉里， 某 位男女官、祭酒道士先生真人元君夫人姓名，今於 某 州郡縣鄉里，山舍治綰、宮府第宅，就 某 州郡縣鄉里，男女道士、法師姓名，受大洞真經，目錄如左。洞真部卷第如干，以次書之，緣都得者謹依第至後，緣偏得者未宜并受，隨宜出之，不須卷第；直舉篇名多少，依實一二條之。右如干卷，今對齋啟告傳度，謹牒。
某州郡縣鄉里，某位姓名辭，幸籍善綠，歲奉玄極，叅受寶文，誠懼誠慰，妄以短命，志願長生，貪進忘退，遭逢佳辰，乞請受前件如干卷，依科交齎 某 等如干種法信，奉辭以聞，伏願師君垂許，誓心修行，不負師道，有違之日，自分風刀，不敢有怨，一依明科，謹辭。
太歲某某月日時，於 某 山舍奉。
傳諱訣
凡傳經寶，要在存師，師之所師，所師之師，三入鄉居，男女位號，姓名字年，傳經處所，付授弟子，黃素書之，佩帶自隨，不可去失，去失謫罰，皆如太真之科。不恒帶者，附著經中，別以巾蘊裹結。令堅師、所師、玄師，師青童大君，又有小君，存此二君，禮願如法。
法信訣
法信出科，科與經異，師師口訣，各有因綠，時科事革，所以不同，慎勿疑惑。從師施行，若無師者，啟玄有儀，依格出信，不得有違。卷卷別受，科科稍傳，經科相參，師資量准，雖以輕易重，以易除難，要當思想物儀，不乖其方，因綠能得。頓受者所用如左：
一、上金九兩；二、紫錦百二十尺；三、五色紋繒各四十尺；四、白素一千二百尺；五、紫紋二十四丈；六、命綵支干相入，紋繒隨年疋丈尺；七、五色絲各三斤；八、五種香各九斤；九、玉龍、玉魚各三軀；十、金龍、金魚各五軀；十一、玉鴈、玉羊各一軀；十二、金鴈、金羊各一軀；十三、玉札三枚；十四、金環、銀環各九雙；十五、真珠如梧子大，三百六十枚；十六、五色線各依方斤數；十七、大度紙三百六十幅：十八、筆五雙；十九、龍頭書刀五枚；二十、紫蓋紅裹一張； 二副朱染頭子，金銀交具。 二十一、青蓋碧裹五張； 三副烏染頭子，牙銅交具。 二十二、明鏡一面； 徑尺者，不得或九寸。 二十三、法服冠履手板一具； 精粗取中，新淨香潔。 二十四、淨罌與盤各一枚，金銀銅瓦夾紛隨時。
右二十四種，某受經法信。
此二十四物，各有所應，積聚營之，不可闕一。窮地之鄉，許用他物，准類充補，擬議勿乖。又無即充，可注今闕某物，須受法之後，營覓補備。
結齋之始，投辭之初，便應備辦，諮啟師尊，有無注奠，都定書之，續置經目之後，連在辭文之前，啟告之初并讀，至後臨度經時，出官奏表，又具言之，慎勿忽略也。
師受此信，依按明科，施用必得其所，彼此共保成真。若應玄盟，亦按此法。准採金書之後，散施之儀，經書不具，勿用此訣。大人上志，精詳遵承也。
太真九科
太上太真王，制科成諸法，布在眾經，或前或後，覽者不別，宜尋本文。本文三卷，師之所秘，得之密習，為天人師。今此大要，標略有九，九天真人，共所遵用，教化無之，動靜陷咎。若有賢明智慧之士，求受寶經，當示以要律，授受之宜，依用九條，觸類求之，無所不具。自非體真，勿妄增損，三洞眾經，共准依按。太極真人、西城王君、仙公卿士、高才大人，皆寶秘之，慎無泄矣。
第一科曰：齋竟授戒，授戒之後，按儀傳經，傳經之年，即為期限。限以制心，期以見道，道為眾妙之主，觀妙必覩其宗。除欲為上，少欲次之，深淺隨才，優劣依德。德量無崖，大分有六：第一四萬劫，第二四萬年，第三四千歲，第四四百齡，第五四十載，第六正四周。周劫限竟，得傳一人，至乎九人，明道之尊，德之貴也。運促時急，大慈廣救，遇賢便傳，不拘定數。但初受須微，限中求驗。若基內逢險，為凶所逼，智力不能化，遜順以避灾，所得之旨，在乎心中，無滯卷軸，致傷玄真。若威勢所制，使迫脅本師，自度後能治彼，以全初志者，乃可請師蹔順彼意，不能如此，以死絕之，慎勿慢辱本師，毀棄正道。若智力不能辦，勿彊云欲治之，不度德，不量力，滅身命，無成功，徒增罪耳。善宜三思。若意外去失，不自覺知，或劫賊所掠，弗測存亡，皆長齋懺悔，捨身命財，憑師積年，竭盡單款，無生怨怠，乃更受之。受之三失，勿復苟受，宜加懺悔，至到感靈，然後更受，必登道真。無感徒受，受終無所成，為後作因，受勝不受。受之不已，心神轉易，初雖無成，終亦得道。
第二科曰：受經之後，諦尋師訓，含光內皎，不得炫耀。年限既竟，乃得傳賢，賢不易有，不可妄傳非其人，彼此風刀，上延先祖，下逮子孫，惡深絕種，長充鬼徒。若限內有灾，或家門喪死，公私鬥爭，血傷牢獄，水火盜賊，重病轗軻，年限雖過，不得傳人。正當謝罪，懃立善功，告樂如期，乃可有授。若三尊壽考，運數昇度，或非罪無辜，橫罹縲紲，此皆無妨，依期得傳。
第三科曰：信素證心，炳發妙義，必令精好，以理得之。正分所辦，撰蓄密營，不可誇談，勿生恡惜。慎莫邪求，換乞彊索，竊略所得，自以為功，更增咎謫，無福可期。師受善用，三分之，一分為弟子營齋，助贍香油經籍；一分救諸山栖幽苦；一分供師法服精麤，奉給三尊，不得私散。散之依法，無起慳心，不可貪聚，招禍累身，損道辱法，取誚人神。權急偏濟，時宜并用，先啟三寶，後計補充，有違招考，竊盜律論。 靈寶同壇者，依十二科法。
第四科曰：受經之後，存禮無虧，若遭病急非意，公私事礙致闕，迴後即謝，啟悔慙悚，竭洗丹衷。若浮游淫泆，逐樂驕慢，違替之舋，長陷酆都。
第五科曰：法應長齋，未能者擇其吉會，申其誠心，年有六月，月有十直，又不能全者，朔半及晦、四時八節、本命生日，隨所堪修，不可都廢，廢則無功。忘道棄法，招延凶灾，非意破齋，即應懺謝，重犯不悔，後墮魔群。興之無懈，不破不退，存道揚法，物我兼通，成聖有期，受號玄德。 長齋月：正月、三月、五月、七月、九月、十一月。一年六月，月皆用奇，因陽之盛，建陰之功。功屬各有日，一月直十辰，一、八、十四、十五、十八、二十三、二十四、二十八、二十九、三十。
第六科曰：齋讀經戒，諳練誦習，講說宣明，日求妙解，解必行之，勿犯所解，犯即懺謝，不可重為，行坐存文，不得怠忘。若隱閉自知，欺罔人物，不戒成敗，嬾答諮疑，厭問嫉勝，漫瀾詭辭，或虛解詐知，嗊嗃嘀誤眾，破壞文句，增臧篇章，妄造邪議，苟生異端，違真越正，皆致深殃。
第七科日：宣揚經戒，建德立功，濟人成己，勸化為上，執正開通，無生嬌假，方便利益，須智慧才。才未深達，不可輕行，乖方便體，便入妄言。但依實旨，引導同心，俱歸師門，看經讀戒，證明妙理，起發善心，使預齋觀化，令聞見福綠，歡喜相順，和而成功，不得呵責，忿激增愆。譬喻誘進，弗可彊牽，將護節量，剛柔取中，一與一奪，種種潤之，確迷不轉，哀矜勿恡。慈悲無已，不生棄心，得善知識，誓俱登玄，貴師愛資，克果上真。
第八科曰：師愍弟子，平等一心，無所偏頗，賞罰必明，罰以止惡，賞以勸善，纖毫無遺，涓芥勿謬，謬偏被灾，幽顯重考。
第九科曰：弟子恭慎，事師無二，寡動少言，沉懿靜篤，伺候師顏，諮稟妙訣，思樹效績，輔讚三寶，專心竭力，奉命便行，水火不避，遠近弗辭，疑即啟審，許革則悛，不許仍從，有隕無避。師試弟子，令其心堅，登道入真，階級優劣，使其識悟，日分所之，督勵彌精，克弘至道。凡師威神薄，不可妄試人，聖明之師，試無損敗，吉凶逆順，一隨明師。若遭惡師，法無惡惡，〔惡〕由己招，死不得怨，正應自責，改往修來。若猶豫疑師，不宜奉事，事則順從，不得違逆，逆則失道，永嬰塗炭。明各慎始，勉勗令終。
右九科，九宮真人申明此要，十方已得道無量大聖眾，咸共遵行，拯度一切。
Source Colophon
The Chinese text follows the Chinese Wikisource transcription of the Daoist Canon edition of this text (article 太霄琅書瓊文帝章訣, revision of 13 July 2009), 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 ancient and in the public domain. The wiki header and license templates have been removed; the text is otherwise complete and unaltered.
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