Taishang Dongxuan Lingbao Zhongjianwen — Compiled by Lu Xiujing

This is a ritual manual of the Lingbao ("Numinous Treasure") tradition of medieval Daoism, attributed to Lu Xiujing (406–477), the great fifth-century codifier of Lingbao scripture and liturgy, who is named at its head by his honorific title, "the Master of Simplicity and Stillness" (Jianji xiansheng). It is preserved in the Daoist Canon and is sometimes catalogued in modern reference works as DZ 410, though a reader should hold that number loosely.

The text collects the formulas — tablet-texts, invocations, and spells — for a family of Lingbao rites known as "casting the tablet" (投簡) or "casting the dragon" (投龍): a practitioner who has received the Lingbao covenant writes his petition on a wooden tablet, wraps it in colored silk, binds it with gold rings, and commits it, borne by a small cast gold dragon, to a river's abyss, a sacred mountain, or the earth beneath his own dwelling — an offering to the Water Officials, the Peaks, and the Earth Sovereigns, asking that one's name be struck from the register of sins and entered instead among those bound for immortality. The text also gives the "Red Writs" of the five directions and the calendar of natal and seasonal days on which each rite is performed.

Its form is technical prose interspersed with formulaic tablet-texts (with blanks for the practitioner's own name, age, and date, kept here as "so-and-so") and several four-character verse spells (呪) recited over the incense before each casting. This translation keeps the verse as verse and the technical vocabulary — Three Officials, Nine Bureaus, the Eight Nodes, jiazi — largely as the text gives it, since these are the coordinates by which the rite locates the practitioner in a cosmos of time, direction, and administering spirits.

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

Compiled by the Master of Simplicity and Stillness, Lu Xiujing

Now, in receiving the Lingbao covenant-oaths, there are already gradations of rank; in transmitting the tablets and cultivating the petition-slips, one must proceed by their proper sequence. For both the Middle Covenant and the Great Covenant, dragon-tablets are cast; and afterward, on the days of the Eight Nodes and the jiazi cycle, the Three Primes' jade tablets are cast separately. Only in this way does one attain, through the four seasons, the ascent of the mountain — the practice of the Perfected Script. The Jade Instructions on Illumining the Perfected already set all this out in detail; yet latter-day students, dim and idle, shallow in resolve and nature, meet with a single section and, without careful inquiry, carry it out on impulse, so that errors and corruptions arise, the beginning is lost and the end missed, and they never awaken to their fault. For people such as these my heart constantly aches; seeing them sink and drown, I fear to wound the compassionate teaching. I have therefore respectfully followed the old canons and composed this sequence of the tablet-casting texts, again arranging them in order, annotating their rules and measures, so as to open the minds of the benighted and to establish a fixed course for my disciples. How could this be handed carelessly to the indifferent?

The Instructions of the Scripture of the True One and Spontaneity say: after the disciple has received the scriptures, he casts ten gold rings, declaring to the ten directions an oath of non-disclosure, and presents ten more to his master; then, releasing a gold dragon, he casts them together into the Clear and Cold Abyss, seeking thereby the token of ascent to immortality.

This section pertains to the rite of first receiving the Lingbao Scripture of Salvation and Spontaneity of the Sealed Palace: when its collation is complete, one must, after five passes, perform renewed prostrations, and present the scripture with a memorial of yellow silk — this is called the Middle Covenant. One should cast a single dragon of this kind, forged together with the ten rings; the tablet is wrapped in blue silk thread and cast into the clear abyss. The tablet text follows the Jade Instructions and declares itself to the Water Official; the ritual text is as follows.

The Code of Illumining the Perfected

Code: on receiving from the Three Heavens the ten wondrous scriptures of the Lingbao Perfected Script, one casts three gold dragons into three places — the Water Bureau, the Numinous Mountain, and one's own dwelling — as a token of the study of immortality. If this is not cast, the Three Officials will detain one's register of life and destiny, and one's petitions will not reach their goal.

This section pertains to the Great Covenant of ascending the altar, wearing the Red Writs of the Perfected Script — on the day of the two rings and the staff, one should cast three gold dragons and twenty-seven gold rings into the three places of mountain, water, and dwelling, declaring the covenant to the Three Officials. The tablet text follows the Jade Instructions, as below.

The Jade Instructions say: on the days of the Eight Nodes and the jiazi cycle, one casts the Three Primes' jade tablets, to strike out the register of past offenses and to declare one's name to Heaven above. In every matter three passes are made; the Three Officials of the Heavens then enjoin and record one another; Heaven above sets the name specially apart, the ten thousand spirits guard it with reverence, and a thousand demons cannot interfere with it.

This section pertains to what follows the Great Covenant: one casts, at the three places of mountain, water, and dwelling, three times at each. At the first casting one uses one dragon and nine rings; at the latter two castings one uses only the dragon, without rings — in all, nine tablets, nine dragons, and twenty-seven pairs of rings. The scripture says: "the Eight Nodes and the jiazi cycle" names only the general rule. This tablet must be cast on an auspicious hour, and no other day may be used; if the Eight Nodes do not fall due, the jiazi cycle is used instead.

The Texts of the Three Primes' Jade Tablets, as Follows

For the Middle Covenant's casting of the dragon, this Water Tablet text is used. For the Great Covenant's casting of the three dragons, in covenant with the Three Officials, all three of these tablet texts are used in full.

The Method of Primordial Beginning's Lingbao Rite for Declaring to the Water Emperor and Striking Out the Tablet of Sins

Lingbao [tablet of] the Emperor so-and-so — the disciple, whether a male master or a woman, that is the Daoist so-and-so, of such-and-such years, born in such-and-such month — desiring to become spirit, desiring to become immortal, seeking long life without death, coexisting eternally with the Three Primes: to the Water Emperors of the Nine Bureaus, the Twelve River Sources, the Rivers, Seas, Huai, and Ji, and the Numinous Spirit of the Dark, I beg the striking-out of my name from the register of sins, to be reported above to the Nine Heavens; I request to present myself at the Water Bureau; may the gold dragon serve as courier.

In such-and-such year, month, and day, at such-and-such place, this declaration is made.

The above is written in vermilion on a tablet of silver-bound wood; the tablet is wrapped in blue paper and bound with blue silk thread; a gold dragon bears the tablet, to be cast into the abyss of the Three Rivers. At the first casting nine gold rings are used, joined to the tablet; once it has sunk, this is not needed for the later castings — three passes complete the whole.

The tablet should be cast into the Clear and Cold Abyss. First, facing east, one clacks the teeth three times, then takes a pinch of incense and lights the censer.

Supreme Three Heavens, Mysterious Origin, Primordial Pneuma, Most High Lord Lao: I summon forth from within my body the Officers of the Three and the Five, the Left and Right Officer-Messengers, the Left and Right Incense-Bearers, the Dragon-Courier Cavalry Clerks, the Jade Lads who Attend the Incense, the Jade Maidens who Transmit Words, and the Direct-Duty Talismans of the Five Emperors — thirty-six of each — to come forth and open communication with the True Officials of the Earth on every side of this place. I, your subject, now burn incense and open communication, desiring that the true and correct pneumas of the ten directions descend into my body, so that what I declare may be heard above, and proceed directly before the throne-table of the Supreme, the Utterly Perfected Great Sage, the Honored Spirit, the Jade Emperor.

Next, turning to face north, again clack the teeth three times; when the reading of the Water Tablet text is complete, recite the spell, saying:

The Five Elders of Primordial Beginning,
the High and Honored Emperor above;
the Utterly Perfected of the ten directions,
the numinous immortals of Grand Flowery Mount.

The Red Writs proclaim the mandate;
no darkness lies beyond their reach.
Above they command the Nine Heavens;
I ask that the jade text descend.

The sun, the moon, the five planets,
the seven stars of the Northern Dipper;
in the center I declare to the Five Peaks,
to the numinous mountains of the four directions.

Below I declare to the rivers and seas,
the twelve sources of the waters;
the Water Emperors of the Nine Bureaus,
the Numinous Spirit of the Dark.

Today I make this declaration above,
laying open ten thousand wishes.
I ask to cast the jade tablet,
begging the striking-out of my name of sin.

A thousand ancestors, ten thousand forebears,
the nine kindred of my seed and clan —
their sins have stained and spread,
reaching even to my own body.

May all be granted the striking-out,
utterly cutting off the root of the seed.
Let my name be recorded at the Water Bureau,
spoken before the High Emperor.

My seven generations of father and mother,
may they depart and leave the eight difficulties;
may they ascend above to the Nine Heavens,
where clothing and food come of themselves.

May all sins be released and dispersed,
may the ten thousand spirits hear it all.
I ask, with these gold rings,
to seal the covenant with the Water Officials.

I ask that, as I have declared,
the gold dragon serve as courier.

Next, take incense three times, and restore the censer.

Incense Officer-Messengers, Lords of the Left and Right, Dragon and Tiger, Incense-Bearing Messengers: let there now, in this hall of purification, spontaneously arise the golden liquor, the cinnabar essence, the numinous mushroom-blossoms, and the hundred spirits, converging together before this incense-fire censer, causing me, your subject, to attain the Way and to win divine transcendence; may my whole household receive blessing, may all under Heaven receive grace. Let the Jade Lads and Jade Maidens of the ten directions guard and attend the incense-smoke, transmitting what I, your subject, have spoken, directly to the throne-table of the Most High, before the Golden Gate, the Jade Emperor.

The Lingbao Method of Primordial Beginning for Declaring to the Five Peaks and Numinous Mountains, to Strike Out Sin and Seek Immortality

Lingbao [tablet of] the disciple of the Emperor so-and-so — I, your subject, so-and-so, of such-and-such years, born in such-and-such month; supposing I belong to the Red Emperor, my name is entered at Mount Huo — desiring to become spirit, desiring to become immortal, seeking long life and transcendence of the world, to fly and travel to the Highest Clarity: to the Perfected of the Five Peaks, utterly spirit and utterly numinous, I beg the striking-out of my name from the register of sins, that it be reported above to the Nine Heavens; I request to present myself at the Numinous Mountain; may the gold dragon serve as courier.

In the year so-and-so of the jiazi cycle, month, day, and hour so-and-so, at the Peak so-and-so, this declaration is made. If not at a Peak, then say: "at the mountain of such-and-such prefecture and county."

The above is written in vermilion on a tablet of silver-bound wood, wrapped in blue paper and bound with blue silk thread; nine gold rings and one gold dragon are buried at the peak of one's own natal destiny, entirely according to the method above.

Next, at the peak of one's natal destiny, facing east, clack the teeth and open the censer, according to the method.

Next, clack the teeth nine times; when the reading of the tablet is complete, recite the spell, saying:

The Mysterious Above opens in brightness,
Primordial Beginning oversees the Perfected;
the High Emperor and the Five Elders
hold the Red Writs, the cinnabar script.

Heaven and Earth's original beginning
governs and directs the Three Primes;
gathering the pneumas, summoning the assembly,
hastening the raising of immortals.

The High and Supreme talisman-mandate
proclaims itself to the ten heavens;
the sun, the moon, and the constellations,
the Five Peaks and the numinous mountains.

Above Heaven and upon Earth,
the Numinous Spirit of the Dark
oversees birth and governs the registers
at the three portals of the Southern Gate.

Take charge and receive the jade tablet,
inscribe the name in the cinnabar roll;
strike out and erase the register of sin,
report it above to supplement the Emperor's ministers.

A thousand ancestors, ten thousand forebears,
the nine kindred of my seed and clan —
may all receive release and freedom
from the five paths and the eight difficulties.

May they depart and leave the three evil paths,
their souls ascending to the Nine Heavens;
may birth and death be opened and crossed over,
enduring for ten thousand kalpas.

Today I declare this above,
may the ten thousand spirits hear it all.
I ask, with these gold rings,
to seal the covenant with the True Officials.

I ask that, as I have declared,
the gold dragon serve as courier.

Next, take incense three times, and restore the censer, according to the method above.

The Lingbao Method of Primordial Beginning for Declaring to the Earth-Sovereigns of the Nine Earths, to Extinguish Sin and Seek Immortality

Lingbao [tablet of] the disciple of the Red Emperor — I, your subject, so-and-so, of such-and-such years, born on such-and-such month and day; now bound to the Nine Heavens, my register held by the Southern Dipper.

(Where this text says "the Red Emperor," this applies to those whose natal sign is Si or Wu; where it says "the register bound to the Nine," this applies to those born in the first or second month; "the Southern Dipper holds the register" likewise follows the direction of one's own natal sign — for other births, follow this pattern accordingly.)

Desiring to become spirit, desiring to become immortal, seeking long life and transcendence of the world, to fly and travel to the Highest Clarity: to the Central Sovereign of the Nine Earths, the Yellow Spirits of Wu and Ji, the Five Emperors of the Earth Bureau, I beg the striking-out of my name from the register of sins, to be inscribed above in the Great Mystery; I request to present myself at the Central Palace, casting the tablet to record my name; the gold rings serve as my own token, and the gold dragon serves as courier.

In the year so-and-so, month, and day, at such-and-such prefecture, county, township, and village, this declaration is made.

The above is written in vermilion on a tablet of silver-bound wood, wrapped in blue paper and bound with blue silk thread; nine gold rings and one gold dragon are buried at the central place of one's own dwelling, entirely according to the method above.

Next, in the central courtyard, clack the teeth and open the censer, according to the method above.

Next, facing the seasonally dominant direction, clack the teeth twelve times; when the reading of the tablet is complete, recite the spell, saying:

Heaven opens and Earth spreads wide,
the nine pneumas divide their numen;
the Three Primes share a single tally,
the ten directions are mysterious and clear.

The Five Elders, the High Emperor,
open the Perfected and govern life;
the cinnabar writ, the red script,
the finest essence of Primordial Beginning.

Universally declared, none below excepted,
to the sovereign spirits of the Nine Earths.
Today I declare this above,
that ten thousand immortals may fix my life.

I wish to attain immortality,
I ask to cast this jade tablet for my name.
Great Sovereign of the Earth Bureau,
inscribe and strike out my sentence of sin.

Present the tablet to the palace above,
enter it in the roll of flowering blue-green.
May I swiftly attain to soaring flight,
one numen with Heaven and Earth.

My nine generations of ancestors and kin,
their decayed bones made glorious again;
their souls ascend to the Southern Palace,
to receive transformation in the court of immortals.

Today I proclaim this mandate,
may the ten thousand spirits hear it all.
I ask, with these gold rings,
to declare the utmost sincerity of this covenant.

I ask that, as I have declared,
the gold dragon serve as courier.

Next, take incense, and restore the censer, according to the method above.

In receiving the Lingbao rites of salvation for the two covenants, and in the subsequent cultivation of the jade tablets, altogether seventy-four gold rings and thirteen gold dragons are used in total. Only when this is complete may one, according to the Eight Nodes, cultivate the tablets of the Red Writs of the Perfected Script.

The Great Characters of the Red Writs of the Perfected Script of the Five Directions

East. The nine pneumas of the East, the Sovereign of Beginning in the Blue Heaven; kingfisher clouds and dense forests, wherein dwells an Old Man, who governs and collates the charts and registers, gathers the pneumas, and raises up immortals.

(The Perfected Script of the East has twenty-four characters. It is customarily written in blue-green ink on a white slip on the jiazi day of one's natal cycle, at the Beginning of Spring.)

Disciple of the Most High Cavern-Mystery, the master of such-and-such Peak, so-and-so, on the day of the Beginning of Spring in such-and-such year, month, and day, at such-and-such prefecture, county, township, and village, presents this slip.

(For one's own natal jiazi day, and for the Eight Nodes, the same formula is used.)

South. The Cinnabar Heaven of the South, the Jade Hall of the Red Emperor; therein dwells a Great Spirit called the Red Sovereign. Flames rise and smoke streams above; the three pneumas blaze with light; the divine immortals receive their mandate, responding to the turning of the Great Yang.

(The Perfected Script of the South has thirty-two characters. It is customarily written in vermilion on a white slip on the jiazi day of one's natal cycle, at the Beginning of Summer.)

Center. The Center gathers all numinous power, the Yellow Celestial Origin above; the Five Elders of Original Birth, the High and Honored Central Sovereign; gathering the pneumas, overseeing the Perfected, governing the whole host of immortals; keeper of the registers and the mysterious charts, of the ancient tablets and the jade script; hastening the turning of the higher pneumas, proclaiming itself to the ten thousand spirits.

(The Perfected Script of the Center has forty characters. On the jiazi day of one's natal cycle at the Spring Equinox, the Summer Solstice, the Autumn Equinox, or the Winter Solstice, it is written in yellow on a white slip.)

West. The Plain Heaven of the West, the Seven Gates of the White Emperor; golden numen shines in radiant white, mists stream over Grand Flowery Mount; white stones rise towering high, the seven pneumas swirl in mist. Above dwells the Sovereign Elder Great Spirit of Original Birth, who governs the lung-pneumas overall, presides over the collation of the Nine Heavens, examines and fixes the charts and registers, and commands and summons the immortals above.

(The Perfected Script of the West has forty-eight characters. It is customarily written in white on a white slip on the jiazi day of one's natal cycle, at the Beginning of Autumn.)

North. The Dark Heaven of the North, where the five pneumas wheel and hover; therein dwells the Black Emperor, twin sovereigns of the Great Subtlety. He governs the talismans and mandates, tempers the immortals' eight majesties; in blue-green skirts and feathered robes, in dragon-patterned and phoenix-figured garments — raised up by the High Emperor, ordained to ascend the jade stair.

(The Perfected Script of the North has forty characters. It is customarily written in black on a white slip on the jiazi day of one's natal cycle, at the Beginning of Winter.)

The Method for Casting the Tablets of the Perfected Script of the Five Directions

On each of these respective days, write the tablet in its five colors, according to the method above.

Next, ascend the mountain; first, facing east, clack the teeth, incant over the incense, and open the censer, entirely according to the method above.

Next, clack the teeth twelve times, and recite the spell, saying:

The High Numen above the Mystery,
the Honored Spirit of Primordial Beginning;
the Great Sage lingers near,
ten thousand Perfected draw close to the rail.

The Three Luminaries spread their radiance,
auspicious clouds array on every side;
above I declare, collating the charts,
reckoning and calculating the Nine Heavens.

Today I set forth my wish,
casting this slip upon the numinous mountain;
the cinnabar writ, the red characters,
the spontaneous and Perfected Script.

Above I declare to the Five Emperors,
recording my name in the jade roll;
the ten thousand spirits watch and reflect it,
the sun and moon speak it clearly.

I wish for salvation, I wish for life,
I wish to become spirit, I wish to become immortal;
Heaven and Earth, the sun, the moon, and the stars,
shine their mystery upon my body.

The Three Officials, the Nine Bureaus,
the Great Spirits of the Five Peaks;
universally declared without limit,
excising the root of sin.

Primordial Beginning opens wide,
there is nothing it does not receive and heed;
the shadowed souls of my seven generations of ancestors
receive blessing of themselves.

May they leave forever the three paths and five sufferings,
depart eternally from the eight difficulties;
may they attain to be with the Three Luminaries,
sharing their radiance in the purple dawn;
turning the wheel without extinction,
may this body attain to soaring immortality.

When finished, and when the reading of the slip is complete, cast it into a sheer cliff-cleft, and then scatter incense upon the numinous mountain.

Next, clack the teeth three times, and, facing the direction of one's own natal sign, recite the spell, saying:

Primordial Beginning oversees and reflects it;
my immortal name has already been inscribed.
The Three Officials, the Nine Bureaus —
there is no sin they do not remove.

Scattering incense to the Five Emperors,
I declare and make it known to the Great Void.
I ask that, as I have set forth,
it endure for ten thousand kalpas.

Then, looking upward, swallow the nine pneumas.

Next, incant over the incense and restore the censer, according to the method above.

For the Eight Nodes, the jiazi days, and one's own natal day, in performing the rites of the Five Directions, this same single method is used.

Colophon

This Good Works Translation was prepared for the Daoist shelf of the Good Works Library. The English was translated independently from the classical Chinese text printed below. The manual's alternation of formulaic tablet-texts, prose ritual directions, and four-character verse spells is kept visible throughout: the tablet-texts and directions are rendered as prose, the spells as verse with their line breaks, and the two short glosses that clarify calendrical terms are set off as italic asides, matching how they function in the source.

Before the claim below was written, a genuine translation-status check was performed: the local bibliographies of Daoist texts in Western translation (Komjathy's Daoist Texts in Translation and the 2023 update of the Purple Cloud survey of Daoist texts in Western languages) were both searched by Chinese title, pinyin, and DZ number; both record other works of Lu Xiujing and other Lingbao ritual texts but no entry for this one. Two web searches were then run under the Chinese title and under the romanized title; they turned up only a bare listing of the text at the Chinese Text Project (no translation) and scholarly discussion of Lu Xiujing's related transmission-ritual text, the Taishang dongxuan lingbao shoudu yi, with no mention of an English translation of this manual. To our knowledge, this is the first complete published English translation of the Taishang Dongxuan Lingbao Zhongjianwen. We state this as the limit of our knowledge, not as a certainty.

A note on hard passages. The opening line "既有梯首" ("there are already gradations of rank/head") is compressed and its exact sense uncertain; it is rendered by its most likely meaning, "gradations of rank," among practitioners advancing through the covenant stages. "二鐶策杖之日" ("the day of the two rings and the staff") likely names a specific moment in the ordination regalia bestowed at the Great Covenant, but the ritual referent could not be independently confirmed and is kept literal. In the description of the northern Red Writ, a garbled or damaged character sits inside "青裙羽屬" in the Wikisource transcription; it is rendered by its most probable sense ("feathered robes") without certainty. Throughout, the numerals attached to gold rings and dragons (十口, 二十七隻, 七十四隻, etc.) are counting devices in a ritual accounting system and are kept as plain numbers.

Prepared for the Good Work Library by the Tianmu Anglican Church with AI-assisted translation and editorial work.

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Source Text: 太上洞玄靈寶眾簡文

Classical Chinese text of the Daoist Canon, in the Chinese Wikisource transcription. Presented complete for reference, study, and verification alongside the English translation above.

簡寂 先生陸脩靜撰

　　夫受靈寶券盟，既有梯首，授簡修刺，必由次第，中盟大盟，皆投龍簡，其後八節甲子，別投三元玉簡，如此方得四時登山，修真文之事。明真玉訣並有其詳，而晚學闇惰，志性淺略，遇見一科，不加精尋，率意施用，遂致矯錯，亡首失尾，永不悟非。若斯之徒，常為痛心，視其淪溺，懼傷慈教，謹依舊典，撰投簡文次第，復為甲乙，註解法度，以啟昧者之懷，自為門人成軌，豈苟施悠悠者哉。

　　真一自然經訣曰：弟子受書後，投金環十口，告於十方，為不泄之誓，並十口奉師，放金龍，並於清泠之淵，求登仙之信矣。

　　此科是初受靈寶度自然券宮經，竟校當五過定重拜，黃繒章付經，名曰中盟，應投此一龍，以十口鍛合龍，青絲纏簡，投之清淵，簡文依玉訣，告水官，法文如左。

　　明真科：三天受靈寶真文十部妙經，以金龍三枚，投水府靈山所住宅合三處，為學仙之信，不投此，三官拘人命籍，求乞不達。

　　此科是登壇大盟，佩真文赤書，二鐶策杖之日，當以金龍三枚，金環二十七隻，投山水宅三處，告盟三官，簡文依玉訣如左。

　　玉訣曰：當以八節甲子之日，投三元玉簡，除宿罪簿，言名上天，事事三過，諸天三官，更相囑記，上天右別，萬神敬護，千魔不干。

　　此科是大盟後，投山水所住宅三處，處三過止，初一過處用一龍九隻鈕，後二過但用龍不須鈕，合九簡九龍二十七雙鈕。經云：以八節甲子者，總舉大意耳，投此簡要當以吉辰，不得用他日，若不值八節，別用甲子。

三元玉簡文如左
中盟投龍則用此水簡文，大盟投三龍盟三官，則盡用此三簡文。

元始靈寶告水帝削除罪簡上法

　　靈寶某帝先生女人，云道士某甲，年如干歲，某月生，願神願仙，長生不死，三元同存，九府水帝，十二河源，江海淮濟，冥靈大神，乞削罪名，上聞九天，請詣水府，金龍驛傳。

　　某歲日月於某處告文。

　　右朱書銀木簡上，以青紙裹簡，青絲纏之，金龍負簡，以投三河之淵，初用金鈕九隻連簡，沉之後投，不須三過都止。

　　投簡當於清泠之淵，先東向叩齒三通，捻香發鑪。

　　無上三天玄元始氣太上老君，召出臣身中三五功曹，左右官使者，左右捧香，驛龍騎吏，侍香玉童，傳言玉女，五帝直符，各三十六人出，關啟此間土地四面真官，臣今正爾燒香關啟，願得十方正真之氣降入臣身中，令臣所啟上聞，逕御無上至真大聖尊神玉帝几前。

　　次迴北向，又叩齒三通，讀水簡文竟，呪曰：

　　元始五老，上帝高尊。十方至真，太華靈仙。赤文告命，無幽不關。上御九天，請下玉文。日月五星，北斗七元。中告五嶽，四方靈山。下告河海，十二水源。九府水帝，冥靈大神。今日上告，萬願開陳。請投玉簡，乞削罪名。千曾萬祖，九族種親。罪相連染，及得臣身。普蒙削除，絕滅種根。記名水府，言上帝前。七祖父母，去離八難。上登九天，衣食自然。罪皆釋散，萬神咸聞。請以金鈕，關盟水官。請如所陳，金龍驛傳。

　　次三捻香，復罏。

　　香官使者，左右 龍虎 君，捧香使者，當今齋堂自然生金液丹精芝英百靈，交會在此香火鑪前，使臣得道，尅獲神仙，舉家蒙福，天下受恩，十方玉童玉女侍衛香煙，傳臣所言，逕御太上金闕玉皇几前。

　　元始靈寶告五嶽靈山除罪求仙法靈寶某帝先生，臣某年如干歲某月生，假令屬赤帝名除霍山，願神願仙，長生度世，飛行上清，五嶽真人，至神至靈，乞削罪籍，上名九天，請詣靈山，金龍驛傳。

　　太歲某甲子日月某時，於某嶽告文。非嶽則云某郡縣某山。

　　右朱書銀木簡，青紙裹之，青絲纏之，金鈕九隻，金龍一枚，埋本命之嶽，悉如上法。

　　次於本命之嶽，東向叩齒，發鑪如法。

　　次叩齒九通，讀簡竟，呪曰：

　　玄上開明，元始監真。上帝五老，赤書丹文。天地本始，總領三元。攝氣召會，催促舉仙。高上符命，普告十天。日月星宿，五嶽靈山。天下地上，冥靈大神。監生主錄，南上三門。關領玉簡，勒名丹編。削落罪書，上補帝臣。千曾萬祖，九族種親。皆蒙解脫，五道八難。去離三惡，魂升九天。生死開度，萬劫長存。今日上告，萬神咸聞。請以金鈕，關盟真官。請如所告，金龍驛傳。

　　次三捻香，復罏如上法。

　　元始靈寶告九地土皇滅罪求仙法靈寶赤帝先生，臣某年若干歲某月日生，今係九天，南斗領籍。

　　此文云赤帝者，是本命巳午，命係九者，是正二月生，南斗領籍者，猶取本命之方，餘生則效此。

　　願神願仙，長生度世，飛行上清，中皇九地，戊己黃神，土府五帝，乞削罪錄，勒上太玄，請詣中宮，投簡記名，金鈕自信，金龍驛傳。

　　太歲某月日於某郡縣鄉里告文

　　右朱書銀木簡，青紙裹之，青絲纏之，金鈕九隻，金龍一枚，埋所住中官，悉如上法。

　　次於中庭叩齒發鑪，如上法。

　　次向王叩齒十二通，讀簡竟，呪曰：

　　天開地張，九氣分靈。三元同符，十方玄清。五老上帝，開真領生。丹書赤文，元始上精。普告無下，九土皇靈。今日上告，萬仙定生。願我得仙，請投玉名。土府大皇，勒除罪刑。奏簡上宮，列簿華青。早得飛騰，天地同靈。九祖種親，腐骸更榮。魂升南宮，受化仙庭。今日告命，萬神咸聽。請以金鈕，表盟至情。請如所告，金龍驛傳。

　　次捻香，復罏如上法。

　　凡受靈寶度二盟，及後修玉簡，都合用金環七十四隻，金龍十三枚，如此事畢，方得依八節修真文赤書之簡也。

　　五方真文赤書大字

東方九炁，始皇青天，碧霞鬱壘，中有老人，總校圖錄，攝炁舉仙。

　　東方真文二十四字，常以本命甲子立春之日，青書於白刺上。

太上洞玄弟子某嶽先生甲乙，以某歲某月某日立春，於某郡某縣某鄉某里投刺。

　　本命甲子八節同用此。

南方丹天，赤帝玉堂，中有大神，號曰赤皇，上炎流煙，三炁勃光，神仙受命，應運太陽。

　　南方真文三十二字，常以本命甲子立夏之日二朱書於白刺上。

中央總靈，黃上天元，始生五老，中皇高尊，攝氣監真，總領群仙，典錄玄圖，宿簡玉文，催運上氣，普告萬神。

　　中央真文四十字，以本命甲子春分夏至秋分冬至之日，黃書白刺上。

西方素天，白帝七門，金靈皓映，太華流氛，白石峨峨，七炁烟煴，上有始生，皇老大神，總領肺炁，主校九天，檢定圖錄，制召上仙。

　　西方真文四十八字，常以本命甲子立秋日，白書於白刺上。

北方玄天，五炁徘徊，中有黑帝，雙皇太微，總領符命，仙鍊八威，青裙羽 屬 ，龍文鳳衣，上帝所舉，制至玉階。

　　北方真文四十字，常以本命甲子立冬之日，黑書於白刺上。

投五方真文簡法
各以其日，五色書簡，如上法。

　　次登山，先東向叩齒，呪香發爐，悉如上法。

　　次叩齒十二通，呪曰：

　　玄上高靈，元始尊神。大聖徘徊，萬真臨軒。三景敷暉，慶雲四陳。上告校圖，推筭九天。今日啟願，投刺靈山。丹書赤字，自然真文。上告五帝，記名玉篇。萬神監映，日月明言。願度願生，願神願仙。天地星宿，玄照我身。三官九府，五嶽大神。普告無窮，削除罪根。元始大開，莫不納言。七祖幽魂，受福自然。三塗五苦，永離八難。得與三景，同暉紫晨，轉輪不滅，身得飛仙。

　　畢，讀刺竟，投於絕巖之中，便散香靈山之上。

　　次叩齒三通，向本命呪曰：

　　元始監映，仙名已書。三官九府，罪莫不除。散香五帝，告明太虛。請如所陳，萬劫長存。

　　仰咽九氣。

　　次呪香復爐如上法。

　　八節、甲子、本命，五方用事，同此一法。

Source Colophon

The Chinese text follows the Chinese Wikisource transcription of the Daoist Canon edition of this text (article 太上洞玄靈寶眾簡文, revision of 22 August 2018), 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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