太上金櫃玉鏡延生洞玄燭幽懺

A liturgy of repentance from the Zhengtong Daozang (正統道藏), classified in the Cavern of Spirit Division under Rites and Ceremonies. The Supreme Lord Laojun, seated upon the Terrace of Seven Treasures on Mount Xuandu, teaches the True Person Puji how beings drowning in the sea of karma may confess their sins, bathe in the Five Fragrances, and ascend. Three names: the True Scripture of the Golden Cabinet and Jade Mirror; the Repentance of Cavern Mystery, Illuminating the Hidden; the Secret Chapter of the Divine Treasure. DZ 0811.

Preface by the Perfected One of Emptiness and Unity

When clarity and turbidity were not yet divided, and there was no distinction between dusk and dawn — when the Supreme Ultimate first differentiated and the Two Principles were divided — all things originated from the One Qi of the Dao and were transformed thereby.

In the time before the Dragon-Han and Extending-Comfort eras, the Qi of the Dao was vast and formless, its substance not yet established. There were no shapes or vessels — only the seething and churning of the primordial chaos.

At the beginning of the Red-Brightness era, the Yang essence first shone forth, revolving in ways beyond reckoning. This is what is called: not transforming yet transforming, naturally being as it naturally is.

From the beginning of the Dragon-Han era — three trillion nine hundred and fifty-one myriad years — the Jade Clarity took its turn, rectifying the measure of the Grand Beginning, flowing transformation of the myriad phenomena, interweaving the Qi of the Dao.

The Supreme Clarity transformed through seven trillion nine hundred and thirty-nine myriad years. The Great Elixir took form, and for the first time there were sun, moon, and the five planets. The mechanism of the Dao lay deep in reserve, faintly revealing the beginnings of transformation.

The Grand Clarity was refined through five trillion and twelve myriad years. The ten thousand heavens were spread like pieces on a board. Divine transformation was luminously clear; creation was revealed. Forms and images were arrayed and distinguished. The heights of mystery became bright and open, and the Great Dao moved forth.

The Celestial Venerable of Primordial Beginning, in the Realm of Clear Subtlety, the Divine Empyrean, the Wondrous Territory of Jade Clarity, transmitted the teaching to the Lord of the Dao: the True Scripture of Mystery and Unity, the Golden Decree of the Numinous Treasure, and countless wondrous formulas.

From the time of first creation until the present age, the Lord of the Dao has descended into the world eleven thousand five hundred and twenty times.

Now, at the end of the Yang-Nine cycle, heaven and earth undergo mutual transformation; people and things suffer and perish untimely. The Lord of the Dao, in compassionate pity, has promulgated this scripture in three scrolls, dispatching the True Person of Left Mystery to carry it to the Palace of Penglai, where the True Persons of the Palace inscribed it on jade tablets and practiced its recitation daily.

Now, seeing that multitudes suffer every kind of affliction and drift and sink into the paths of rebirth, scarcely able to regain a human body, by the decree of Jade Dawn it is commanded to descend into the world and be transmitted to persons of pure faith, for the protection of the body and preservation of life.

To those of heavy karma who lack faith: do not reveal this, lest they peek and laugh. If one carelessly divulges it, calamity will reach nine generations of ancestors, and one will be bound in eternal service to the Ghost Officials. Strive to practice it, and keep it secret with care.

This scripture has three names in all: the first is the True Scripture of the Golden Cabinet and Jade Mirror; the second is the Repentance of Cavern Mystery, Illuminating the Hidden; the third is the Secret Chapter of the Divine Treasure.

It reveals the wondrous record and opens enlightenment for those with karmic affinity. Cultivate and advance in it, and one may summon numinous qi through the Three Passes and cause precious blossoms to flourish in the Nine Gates. When merit is complete and virtue is accomplished, one's name is inscribed in the Jade Court.

For those of supreme filial piety who repay their ancestors and transform the root of their lineage — if they honor and chant this in accordance with the rites, even if the distance is a hundred million leagues and the ancestors number ten thousand, those souls bound in dark suffering will receive this merit, and all will immediately be saved and ascend to Crimson Hill.

For those in the present world troubled by yearly calamities, monthly afflictions, and entangling misfortunes — if they chant and cultivate this with reverence, then above, heavenly disasters are dissolved; below, poisonous harm is warded off. The household and state are kept safe and peaceful, bound to good karmic causes.

For practitioners of the True who investigate and awaken to this: calamities and sins are loosed from the dark paths; the numinous truth is perfected in pure virtue; one penetrates and merges with the wondrous Dao, and the body attains divine immortality. Further, by establishing deeds and merit, by aiding people and all things, one's merit surpasses a hundred million ancestors, and blessings extend to descendants. Generation after generation prospers, producing sages and saints.

This Dao is exalted and wondrous, its merit and virtue without limit. If one respectfully upholds and practices it, there is nothing it cannot reach.

Ritual Instructions

To recite this scripture with proper rites, first bathe in fragrant water and observe a fast for seven days. In a purified room, sit upright facing east. Clack the teeth thirty-six times. Close the eyes and meditate in stillness.

Visualize the body seated within clouds of qi in three colors: green, yellow, and purple. Visualize the Northern Dipper covering the head, its handle star pointing before you at a distance of seven feet.

Next, visualize the Azure Dragon, White Tiger, Vermilion Bird, and Dark Warrior, each emerging from its proper organ and arrayed to left, right, front, and rear.

Next, visualize within the two small cavities behind the eyebrows: the sun emerging from the left with nine purple-red rays, the moon emerging from the right with ten yellow-white rays, each at a distance of nine feet, their radiance filling the room.

Next, visualize the radiance of the sun and moon before you pouring into the nose, entering the Gold Blossom Palace four inches behind the brain, causing a circular form to emerge from behind the nape — as large as a carriage wheel, blazing with brilliant light.

When this is vivid and clear, silently recite the Incantation for Opening the Scripture's Mysterious Treasury. When finished, burn incense, open the scripture, kneel, bow, and recite with reverence.

The sacred names of the Celestial Venerables have their own dharma-protecting divine soldiers who guard the practitioner. If one chants with sincere devotion, the merit of this cannot be fully known.

Incantation for Opening the Scripture's Mysterious Treasury

In the Palace of Cinnabar Blossom of Heavenly Truth,
within the Jade Chamber of Pure Spirit,
the Azure Mystery Metropolis of the Six-in-One,
the Primordial Terrace, the Imperial Gate.

Pure contemplation gives birth to essential qi;
from the high void, the flying carriages attend.
The scripture of the heart is concealed in the Three Lodgings;
fragrance fills the Chamber of Long Life.

The Purple Hall connects to the Crimson Palace;
Red City, the Wondrous Field, the Storehouse.
At the Divine Gate, the Observatory of Right Principle —
pure and bright, the fragrance of the Dao's wisdom.

Nature and life guard emptiness and the void;
embracing the pearl, holding the jade of Yang.
Returning the spirit to the homeland of wealth,
in brightness one ascends to the Purple Precincts of Long Life.

The Repentance

The Supreme Lord Laojun, on the Celestial Mount Xuandu above the Heaven of Grand Clarity, seated upon the Terrace of Seven Treasures, gathering the hosts of heavenly immortals, burning natural sandalwood true incense, addressed all the immortals:

"All beings of the lower world are born into life through their parents, entrusted to the womb, brought forth and raised. They receive their destiny from Heaven and take form upon Earth. The sun serves as their hún-soul and the moon as their pò-soul. Though spirit pervades all things, only humankind is so honored.

"At the time of their first birth, all receive the clear and tranquil qi of Heaven and Earth. Originally pure and still, they should endure as long as Heaven. But after the Uncarved Block is scattered, they are stained by attachment and desire. They turn from the True and lose their nature, chasing things and following passions — falsehood, deception, greed, lust, cruelty, killing, theft, evil speech, double-tongued words, wrath, delusion, jealousy, and envy. Disloyalty, unfilial conduct, abandoning righteousness, forgetting kindness, slandering the Dao, reviling the True — they create every manner of sin. They drift through the three evil paths of rebirth with no prospect of escape.

"Some offend against the stars and transgress against Heaven and Earth, thereby bringing about wars, floods, drought, and spreading plagues — venomous creatures, evil spirits, and bewitching demons, illness, lawsuits, punishment — all calamities arise at once, destroying entire households, setting them adrift on the sea of suffering."

At that time, from the assembly arose a True Person named Puji — Universal Salvation — who rose from his seat, bowed his head to the ground, gazed up at the Honored Countenance, knelt, and said:

"These beings who suffer such evil retributions — what causes and conditions might free them from their afflictions? May you extend your mysterious beneficence to broadly rescue those who have sunk and drowned."

The Most High said: "Be seated again; still your thoughts. I shall expound for you.

"When faithful men and women are entangled in disasters, afflictions, and misfortunes beyond remedy, they should fast and bathe according to the rite, and before images of the Three Purities, cleanse body and mind. Using rare flowers, precious fruits, pure water, fine incense, lamps, candles, and sweet wine as offerings, with reverent hearts gazing in devotion, they should speak words of repentance:

Your disciple, So-and-So, from the distant kalpas until the present day, has not believed in the scripture-teachings and has cultivated only sin. Raising the mind of the Ten Evils, lost in the conduct of the Five Poisons, the sins created by the Three Karmas are without limit. Evil drawing evil in its train has brought down many calamities. Today, having been fortunate to hear the True Teaching, reflecting on and repenting past wrongs, I pray with utmost sincerity, with single-minded heart repenting. May the Sacred Mercy completely remove all past sins.

First Litany of Sacred Names

With devoted heart I pay reverence to the Celestial Venerable of Primordial Beginning, of Emptiness and Naturalness.
With devoted heart I pay reverence to the Lord of the Dao, the Supreme Great Dao, Jade Dawn.
With devoted heart I pay reverence to the Supreme Mysterious Primal Holy Ancestor, Lord Lao.
With devoted heart I pay reverence to the Celestial Venerable of Long Life, Protecting Life, Guarding the Body.
With devoted heart I pay reverence to the Supreme Celestial Venerable of Long Life, Protecting Life.
With devoted heart I pay reverence to the Supreme Celestial Venerable of Dispelling Disaster, Removing Illness.
With devoted heart I pay reverence to the Celestial Venerable of Overseeing Birth, Recording Fortune, Extending Longevity.
With devoted heart I pay reverence to the Celestial Venerable of the Numinous Treasure, Who Determines Fate and Examines the Registers.
With devoted heart I pay reverence to the True Person Who Transmits the Dharma by Imperial Decree of the Azure Heaven.
With devoted heart I pay reverence to the True Person of Great Compassion Who Descends to the World to Rescue from Suffering.
With devoted heart I pay reverence to the True Person of Compassion Who Saves from Calamity.
With devoted heart I pay reverence to the True Person Who Seeks Out Cries to Rescue from Suffering.
With devoted heart I pay reverence to the True Person Who Aids the Living and Ferries the Dead.
With devoted heart I pay reverence to the True Person of Ten Thousand Blessings Who Guards the Body.
With devoted heart I pay reverence to the Dharma Master of Penglai Who Upholds the Teaching.
With devoted heart I pay reverence to the Dharma Master of Penglai Who Connects to Heaven.

These sacred names should receive additional reverence. Practice and recite them daily — forty-nine times, or up to one hundred. Then dharma-protecting divine soldiers and True Persons Who Rescue from Suffering will constantly attend and guard you. Calamities and dangers will be overcome; ten thousand misfortunes will silently dissolve. Fortune and longevity will be increased and extended.

If any being hears these sacred names and bows in reverence, the merit will be no different from all that has been described.

Second Confession — Sins Against Family and Society

When the rite of the litany is finished, with sincere devotion one should again repent:

Your servant-disciple, So-and-So, from the beginningless past until the present day: I have not been loyal to my sovereign. I have not honored my parents. I have not respected my teachers. I have not been brotherly to my siblings. I have flattered those above and oppressed those below, turned from kin and sided with strangers. I have listened to the words of wife and concubine and disobeyed my parents' instruction.

Or, as a woman: one's nature and conduct have been false. One has defied one's parents, been unfilial to parents-in-law. One has disrupted the six kinship relations and treated one's husband with contempt. One has wasted the five grains, cut and trimmed without reason. One has been idle, slanderous, quarrelsome with neighbors. One has constantly practiced jealousy and harbored wandering thoughts.

Such transgressions inevitably bring bitter retribution. In life one meets people's hatred; in death one falls into the hells. Before the Holy True Ones, I confess and repent all of this.

Third Confession — Sins of Violence and Cruelty

Your servant-disciple, So-and-So, from the beginningless past until the present day: I have acted without righteousness and walked against principle. In wealth I have indulged power and arrogance. In poverty I have given free rein to violence. I have taken evil as accomplishment. Seeing killing, I have added to the fury. I have killed to take wealth, overthrown others to seize position. I have executed those who surrendered, slain the submissive, oppressed the orphaned, and pressed the widowed. I have disrupted the state's governance and scorned Heaven's people.

I have envied the worthy and been jealous of the able, concealed the good and proclaimed the evil. I have taught others to do evil, drawing them into my own sin. I have shot the flying and chased the running, disturbed the hibernating and startled the nesting. I have filled burrows and destroyed nests, harmed the unborn and cracked eggs.

I have committed theft and illicit desire, made false and flowery speech. I have drunk wine and eaten flesh, cursed vilely and spoken with two tongues. I have been miserly, greedy, wrathful, cruel, stupid, and deluded — artfully false, deceitful, secretly thieving and cruelly harmful. Knowing my wrongs, I have not corrected them; knowing the good, I have not done it. Every evil and sinful cause, I have committed in full.

Now I expose all of this openly and dare not conceal anything. Before the Holy True Ones, I beg pardon and forgiveness for all.

Fourth Confession — Sins Against Heaven and the Sacred

Your servant-disciple, So-and-So, from the beginningless past until the present day: I have not recognized the True Dao and have committed many offenses. I have resented Heaven and blamed Earth. I have rebuked the wind and cursed the rain. I have detested heat and cold. I have loathed the Three Lights. I have slandered the sages and worthies. I have transgressed against the Dao and its Virtue. I have lightly slandered the sacred scriptures. I have obstructed good karmic connections. I have resisted and blocked the Higher True Ones. I have defiled and damaged temple images. I have stared too long at the sun and moon. I have casually pointed at the Three Lights. I have pointed at rainbows and spat at stars. I have polluted wells and hearths. I have uttered curses and invocations to spirits. I have broken my vows and violated the precepts. I have misinterpreted the sacred discourses. I have carelessly leaked the secrets of Heaven.

Now I confess all of this openly and dare not repeat it. Before the Holy True Ones, I beg pardon and forgiveness.

Second Litany — The Stellar Deities

After the confession is complete, with sincere devotion one should bow in worship:

With devoted heart I pay reverence to the Celestial Venerable of Primordial Beginning, of Emptiness and Naturalness.
With devoted heart I pay reverence to the Lord of the Dao, the Supreme Great Dao, Jade Dawn.
With devoted heart I pay reverence to the Supreme Mysterious Primal Holy Ancestor, Lord Lao.
With devoted heart I pay reverence to the Jade Emperor, Sovereign of the Azure Heaven.
With devoted heart I pay reverence to the Great Emperor of Purple Tenuity, Heavenly Sovereign.
With devoted heart I pay reverence to the Great Emperor of Purple Tenuity, the North Pole.
With devoted heart I pay reverence to the Great Emperor of the South Pole, Registrar of Birth.
With devoted heart I pay reverence to the Imperial Lord of the Sun, Great Yang, of the Solar Palace.
With devoted heart I pay reverence to the Sovereign Lord of the Moon, Great Yin, of the Lunar Palace.
With devoted heart I pay reverence to the Star Lord of Wood Virtue — Jupiter.
With devoted heart I pay reverence to the Star Lord of Fire Virtue — Mars the Glimmering Deluder.
With devoted heart I pay reverence to the Star Lord of Metal Virtue — Venus the Grand White.
With devoted heart I pay reverence to the Star Lord of Water Virtue — Mercury the Dawn Star.
With devoted heart I pay reverence to the Star Lord of Earth Virtue — Saturn the Garrison Star.
With devoted heart I pay reverence to the Star Lord of the Divine Head — Rāhu.
With devoted heart I pay reverence to the Star Lord of the Divine Tail — Ketu.
With devoted heart I pay reverence to the Star Lord of Heavenly Unity, the Purple Qi Star.
With devoted heart I pay reverence to the Star Lord of Grand Unity, the Lunar Comet Star.

The Great Prayer of Confession

When the rite of the litany is finished, with sincere devotion one should again repent:

Your servant-disciple, So-and-So, from the beginningless past until the present day: I have been deeply lost to the True Dao and have widely planted the roots of sin. Walking upon Heaven and Earth, how could I know their sheltering and sustaining? Gazing at the sun and moon, how have I ever been moved by their illumination? The Five Constants have always been obscure to my inner cultivation. The Six Defilements are hard to escape; their consequences follow.

Whether from this life or past lives — accumulated residual calamity, the particular crimes of deliberate and accidental killing, the sins of harming creatures and injuring people — or of breaking the fast, violating the precepts, betraying vows, and deceiving the heart; when the will harbors love and hatred, when the heart breeds flattery and fawning; making oaths before the stars, speaking vile words toward the divine True Ones; owing debts and betraying kindness; insatiably greedy; scheming in a thousand ways; concerned only with making a living — how would I discern the principles of good and evil? I have not comprehended the measure of life and death.

Now I withdraw into reflection and repair my transgressions. I declare and confess them all. With reverent sincerity I offer this forth. May compassion be extended and pardon granted. I dare to pour out the fullness of my foolish and heartfelt plea, praying from afar to the Honored One of the vast emptiness.

May a small measure of numinous blessing be turned this way, looking down upon this humble heart. May all sins from the black registers be removed, and virtue be inscribed in the Cinnabar Terrace. May spirits dissolve calamity, fortune dispel stagnation. May misfortune sink into past kalpas, and blessings descend upon this present hour. In all things, may I be forever bathed in the Dao's shade.

Your servant is filled with fearful awe and reverent prayer. I bow my head to the Supreme Correct True Three Treasures.

The Bathing Ritual

The Lord Lao said: "Whenever one performs the rites of this scripture, one should bathe in fragrant water and observe the fast. One will surely obtain spiritual resonance, and the merit will be without measure."

Puji said: "As for the method of fasting and bathing, I dare to ask for guidance."

The Lord Lao said: "The fragrant water is the Decoction of Five Fragrances. The method requires green-wood incense, white sandalwood, thatch incense, aloeswood, and frankincense — in whatever quantities are suitable. Take one shí of pure water. First boil it several times with peach bark and bamboo leaves. Strain out the dregs, then add the five fragrances in suitable quantities. If one dwells in mountain forests in modest seclusion and lacks resources, then peach and bamboo alone will suffice."

Washing the Hair

Take a wooden ladle and point the handle toward the direction of the monthly lunar mansion. Visualize five-colored clouds of qi filling the room. Visualize the Three Luminaries shining upon the basin. With the ladle, stir the fragrant water leftward thirty-six times. Gaze upon the fragrant water and chant:

True liquid of the Grand Mystery,
refining qi, giving birth to clouds —
bathing and nourishing the Azure Blossom,
chanting the scriptures of the Cavern.
Seven generations of ancestors become flying immortals;
I ascend to Supreme Clarity.

Recite seven times.

Removing the Robes

The Five Dippers accompany the robes;
Dragon and Tiger attend the True One.
Open the Three Luminaries,
ascend to Jade Dawn.
Untie the sash: become an immortal.
Let me live forever.

Loosening the Hair

The Spirit Palace shakes the heavens;
dark clouds scatter and part.
Flowing gold, fire bells —
blazing, cast forth without limit.
Let me penetrate to the True and journey through all the heavens.
Without measure I save the people, summoning numinous immortals.

Binding the Hair and Donning the Crown

Clouds layer upon the azure mystery;
towering peaks, the Jade Capital.
Crown and topknot summon the immortals;
the Five Qi gather the True.
Divine blossoms emit their radiance,
ascending to the Imperial Court.

Entering the Bath

The practitioner stirs the bath water with the ladle thirty-six times, then faces the direction of the prevailing vital force and chants:

Vast pool, jade spring —
pour through my body and form.
Inwardly refine the five organs;
outwardly open the nine gates.
Let the qi flow freely;
sweep away the corpse-defilement.
Ten thousand times preserve and uphold me,
entering and ascending to the Imperial Court.

Then visualize the Three Luminaries entering the water. After a long while, bathe. When finished, take a separate cup of the Five-Fragrance Decoction to drink. Then concentrate the spirit in silence, visualizing inner and outer purity, and chant:

Purification of the Seven Souls

The Yellow Spirit guards the Pass;
the Azure Emperor protects the hún-soul.
The heavenly cavalry roars;
ten thousand demons lose their sight.
All corpse-blood is cleansed away;
the blue worms are destroyed in form.
The seven pò-souls are refined and transformed;
purple clouds arise of themselves.
I wander and feast in the Grand Void;
the High True Ones draw me to their breast.

Putting On the Robes

Spirit-children attend the robes;
jade maidens burn incense.
Ascending, I bow to the scripture's treasure;
jade voices, crystalline music.
Ferry my seven generations of ancestors;
dispel and destroy all calamity.
Extend my years, grant long life —
precious elixir, cloud provisions.

On Fasting, Precepts, and the Two Great Virtues

Fasting means: inwardly fast the heart; outwardly fast the body.

Precepts mean: inwardly hold fast to the will; outwardly hold fast to conduct.

Establishing offerings and submitting memorials should also follow this form. No disaster will not be eliminated; no wish will remain unfulfilled. Practitioners of the True should respectfully follow this with care.

The Dao declares:

"No virtue is greater than cherishing life. No merit is greater than cultivating accomplishment.

"All who dwell within the dust-realm — wriggling creatures, all who bear life — though their endowments differ, their nature and life is one. When you see people suffering illness, legal punishment, hunger, poverty, or distress, or creatures of water, land, or sky fallen into danger, if you can find expedient means to rescue them with compassion, this is the virtue of cherishing life.

"There are also men and women who joyfully give their wealth: constructing temples, painting and sculpting the true forms, printing and copying scriptures, reading and teaching them to others, making banners and flowers, offering lamps and candles, making all manner of generous offerings — even leveling roads and repairing bridges, planting trees, mending levees and irrigation channels. This is the merit of cultivating accomplishment.

"If any beings indulge recklessly in ignorance, lightly slander the scriptures, damage life, and destroy accomplishment, know that such a person's roots of sin are hard to destroy. Their lives will sink into the six destinies, forever losing human form — kalpa after kalpa, life after life, with no way to escape.

"Faithful men and good women: observe the precepts and be careful!"

The Lord Lao's Closing Charge

The Lord Lao said:

"This scripture was proclaimed from the golden mouth of the Lord of the Dao. Today I transmit it to you, to be taught to the world. When it is chanted, its sound joins with the Purple Pole and is heard throughout all the heavens. The Most High joyfully proclaims it; the hosts of True Ones pay reverence.

"Therefore it can rescue the dead from suffering in the three evil paths and elevate body and spirit to Supreme Clarity. A hundred million ancestors — all immediately receive salvation. For the living, benefits increase; fortune and emolument are extended.

"Broaden further the virtue of cherishing life and the merit of cultivating accomplishment. Honor and nourish your parents; respectfully serve teachers and friends. Aid and relieve the poor and afflicted; wash away injustice and oppression. Such merit and virtue surpass even what has been described.

"Follow this scripture, and both life and accomplishment will be complete. I dispatch the Officials of Destiny to record your conduct and report it to Jade Clarity, inscribing your name on the golden tablet. According to the depth of your practice, you shall become a True Person.

"If you have encountered this scripture, you should redouble your efforts."

Puji's Gāthā

Thereupon the True Person Puji received the True Scripture and, leaping with extraordinary joy, spoke this gāthā:

How mysterious is the Primal Lord Lao —
compassionate father and mother of all beings!
He teaches what surpasses thought;
universal salvation from boundless suffering.
If one can uphold it with devoted heart,
both the living and the dead are all ferried across.
Merit and virtue prize the cultivation of life and accomplishment;
by following its practice, one ascends the path of the immortals.

When Puji had finished speaking this gāthā, the hosts of heavenly immortals declared in unison: "It is good!" They bowed their heads, made obeisance twice, paid reverence to the Most Honored, and withdrew.

Colophon

Good Works Translation from Classical Chinese (文言文). First English translation.

Translated by the New Tianmu Anglican Church, April 2026, with AI assistance (Claude, Anthropic), for the Good Work Library. Translated directly from the Classical Chinese source text as preserved in the Kanripo digital edition of the Zhengtong Daozang (KR5c0208, DZ 0811). No existing English translation was consulted because none exists. This is the first English rendering of this text.

The source text belongs to the Cavern of Spirit Division (洞神部), Rites and Ceremonies category (威儀類) of the Daoist Canon. The Mandoku metadata gives the Daozang number as DZ 0811, with the Kanripo ID KR5c0208. The base edition is HFL (三家本, 1988).

The translation preserves the liturgical structure: preface, ritual visualization, opening incantation, Laojun's discourse with Puji, four rounds of confession interspersed with two invocatory litanies, the elaborate bathing ritual with its seven verse incantations, ethical teaching, and closing gāthā. The five-character verse in the incantations preserves the couplet structure of the original.

Key translation choices:

• 真人 (zhēnrén) rendered as "True Person" throughout (standard in Daoist studies).
• 天尊 (tiānzūn) rendered as "Celestial Venerable" (standard).
• 志心敬禮 (zhìxīn jìnglǐ) rendered as "With devoted heart I pay reverence to" — preserving the liturgical repetition.
• 懺悔 (chànhuǐ) rendered as "repent/repentance" — the term derives from Sanskrit kṣamā and entered Chinese through Buddhist usage before being adopted into Daoist liturgy.
• Buddhist ethical terms (三業, 五毒, 十惡, 六根) left untranslated on first mention but rendered naturally in context, reflecting their full absorption into Daoist liturgy by the time of this text's composition.
• 羅睺 (Luóhóu) and 計都 (Jìdū) identified as Rāhu and Ketu — the Indian lunar nodes, transmitted into Chinese astrological usage.
• 五行 planet names given both their Chinese virtue-element names and their Western astronomical equivalents.
• 朴 (pǔ) in 朴散之後 rendered as "the Uncarved Block" — the key Daoist image from the Dao De Jing.

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Source Text: 太上金櫃玉鏡延生洞玄燭幽懴

Classical Chinese source text from the Kanripo digital edition of the Zhengtong Daozang (KR5c0208 / DZ 0811). Mandoku page markers and empty paragraph marks stripped; original pagination noted for reference. Presented for reference and verification.

虚一眞人序

夫清濁未分無間昏曉太極肇判二儀迺分皆本道之一炁而化者也當龍漢延康之先道炁莽莽質象未定無復形器但氤氲勃勃而巳至赤明之初陽精始輝迴運莫測所謂非化而化自然而然龍漢之初三千億萬九百五十一年

玉清交運正度太初流化萬象纏結道炁

上清變化七十九億萬三十九年大丹成形始有日月五星道機沉蓄微露化端

太清纏錬五十億萬一十二年萬天棊布神化洞明造化發泄景象列分髙玄明豁大道行焉

元始天尊於清微天神霄玉清妙境傳教道君玄一眞經靈寳金誥無量妙訣自開化巳來迄于兹世

道君凡萬有一千五百二十度降世今當陽九運終天地交變民物夭傷道君慈憫敷宣此經三卷遣左玄眞人齎付蓬萊宫宫中眞人刻書玉簡日習誦詠今見兆民受諸苦難漂沉塗趣難復人身玉晨道㫖令降于世傳付清信之人護身保命孽重不信之人勿示窺笑輕泄漏幔殃及九祖長役鬼官勉而行之祕而愼焉此經凡有三名一曰金櫃玉鏡眞經二曰洞玄燭幽懴三曰神寳祕章敷明妙紀開悟有縁修而進之可以召靈炁於三關藹寳華於九户功滿德就名書玉庭至孝之士報先化根宗遵奉禮誦雖億魯之遠萬祖之衆䰟繫幽苦者承是功德皆即受度上登朱陵在世之人年災月厄非横纏綿禮誦修崇則上消天災下禳毒害保寧家國與善因縁修眞之士究而悟之則殃罪解於冥塗靈眞備於純德洞合妙道身得神仙更能立行立功濟人及物上超億祖慶延子孫世世昌榮生賢出聖此道尊妙功德無邊敬奉修持無所不至矣

凡禮誦此經先香湯沐浴齋戒七日於淨室中面東正坐叩齒三十六通閉目靜思身坐青黄紫三色雲炁之中存北斗覆頭罡星指前離已七尺次存青龍白虎朱雀玄武各從本藏出羅列左右前後次存自已眉後兩小穴中日從左出紫赤九芒月從右出黄白十芒各離已九尺光霞滿室次存前日月光芒灌于鼻中入腦後四寸金華宫令項後生出圎象大如車輪光明炳然如此分明密念開經玄藴呪畢然後焚香開經跪拜禮念

天尊聖號自有護法神兵營護其人志誠禮念其功不可具悉

開經玄藴呪

天眞丹華宫清靈玉室中翠玄都六一
元臺闕帝公素念生精炁髙虚飛駕從
心經隱三舍薰鬱長生房紫堂通絳闕
赤城妙田倉神門正理觀潔然道慧香
性命守虚無懷珠抱玉陽迴神本國冨
明登紫壽方

太上金櫃玉鏡延生洞玄燭幽懴

太上老君於太清天上玄都山中坐七寳臺㑹諸天仙衆燒自然栴檀眞香告諸仙曰下方衆生皆父母寄胎誕育而得生身受命於天成形於地以日爲䰟以月爲魄靈備萬物唯人是稱初生之時皆受天地清寧之炁本來清靜與天長久朴散之後染着愛欲背眞失性逐物隨情妄僞欺貪婬狠殺盜惡口兩舌嗔癡嫉妬不忠不孝背義忘恩毀道謗眞造諸罪業流輪三塗無期出離或凌犯星辰干冐天地遂致兵災水旱疫毒流行蟲蛇虎狼精邪蠱魅疾病官刑諸禍並起絶滅家門漂流苦海時與㑹中有一眞人名曰普救即從座起稽首禮拜瞻仰尊顔長跪告曰如是衆生受諸惡報作何因縁得免苦難願垂玄造廣度沉淪

太上曰復坐靜念爲汝敷宣清信男女有諸災厄横事縈牽無處解謝者如法齋沐謹於三清像前清靜身心用異花珍果淨水名香燈燭醴獻䖍心瞻敬作懴悔言弟子某甲於曠劫以來至于今日不信經教唯罪是修興十惡心迷五毒行三業所造無邊之罪惡惡相牽多招災難今日辛聞眞教省悔前非懇禱至誠一心懴悔伏願聖慈盡除徃罪志心敬禮

志心敬禮虚無自然元始天尊
志心敬禮太上大道玉晨道君
志心敬禮太上玄元聖祖老君
志心敬禮長生保命護身天尊
志心敬禮長生保命無上天尊
志心敬禮消災除病無上天尊
志心敬禮監生注禄延壽天尊
志心敬禮定命檢簿靈寳天尊
志心敬禮昊天勑下演法眞人
志心敬禮降世大慈救苦眞人
志心敬禮慈悲度厄眞人
志心敬禮尋聲救苦眞人
志心敬禮濟生度死眞人
志心敬禮萬福護身眞人
志心敬禮蓬萊扶教法師
志心敬禮蓬萊通天法師

於是聖號冝加敬禮每日持念七七遍乃至百遍即有護法神兵救苦眞人常隨護衞克免災危萬禍潜消増延禄壽若有衆生聞是聖號恭敬頂禮與前功德無異禮竟䖍誠復當懴悔弟子臣某甲自從無始以來至于今日不忠君主不奉尊親不敬師徒不友兄弟諂上虐下背親向踈聽妻妾語違父母訓或爲婦人性行不眞違背父母不孝翁婆撓亂六親輕賤夫婿抛擲五榖非理裁剪盗竊慵讒闘舌隣里常行妬忌懷挾外心如此罪愆必招苦報生遭人憎死墮地獄恭對聖眞咸悉懴悔弟子臣某甲自從無始巳來至于今日非義而動背理而行冨騁勢豪貧恣兇暴以惡爲能見殺加怒殺人取財傾人取位誅降戮服凌孤逼寡撓亂國政輕蔑天民妬賢嫉能掩善揚惡教人爲惡自罪引他射飛逐走發蟄驚棲塡穴毀巢傷胎破卵偷盗邪婬妄言綺語飲酒食肉惡罵兩舌慳貪瞋恚狠戾愚癡巧僞欺謾隂賊殘害知過不攺知善不爲諸惡罪縁無不備作今兹發露不敢覆藏恭對聖眞咸乞原赦弟子臣某甲自從無始巳來至于今日不識正道多犯罪愆恨天怨地呵風罵雨憎嫌寒暑厭惡三光訕謗聖賢侵夌道德輕誹聖典魔障善縁拒遏上眞汚毀廟像久視日月輙指三光指虹唾星混穢井竈呪誓呼神違願犯戒妄解聖論輕泄天機今兹首露不敢復爲恭對聖眞咸乞原赦懴巳䖍誠志心朝禮

志心敬禮虚無自然元始天尊
志心敬禮太上大道玉晨道君
志心敬禮太上玄元聖祖老君
志心敬禮昊天玉皇上帝
志心敬禮紫微天皇大帝
志心敬禮紫微北極大帝
志心敬禮南極注生大帝
志心敬禮日宫太陽帝君
志心敬禮月宫太隂皇君
志心敬禮木德歳星君
志心敬禮火德熒惑星君
志心敬禮金德太白星君
志心敬禮水德辰星君
志心敬禮土德鎭星君
志心敬禮神首羅㬋星君
志心敬禮神尾計都星君
志心敬禮天一紫炁星君
志心敬禮太一月孛星君

禮竟䖍誠復當懴悔弟子臣某甲自從無始巳來至于今日多迷眞道廣造罪根履乾坤而寧知覆載瞻日月而曽感照臨五常素昧於内修六染難逃於後患或有今生宿世積疊餘殃故殺悮傷之尤害物傷人之罪或則破齋犯戒違願欺心意有愛憎心生蛆佞對星辰而設誓向神眞而惡言負債辜恩貪婪不悉千頭營運一向謀生豈分善惡之䂓莫曉存亡之度今則退思𥙷過具述首陳謹發䖍誠願垂慈宥敢盡愚𠂻之懇遥祈寥廓之尊伏願少迴靈貺俯鑒卑𠂻咸除黒簿之愆延注丹臺之善神解災罹運消迍滯禍沉徃劫福降今辰一切之中常沐道䕃臣無任惶懼䖍祝之至稽首無上正眞三寳

老君曰凡禮是經皆當香湯沐浴齋戒必獲感通功德無量普救曰齋沐之法敢告指導老君曰香湯者五香湯也法取青木香白檀香茅香沉香薰陸香多少隨冝取淨水一石先以桃白皮竹葉下煎數沸濾去滓次下五香多少隨冝若在山林幽棲貧薄無力止以桃竹爲善先以沐髮取木杓以柄指月建思五色雲炁滿室三辰光照盆上以杓左行攪香水三十六度視香湯呪曰

太玄眞液錬炁生雲沐澤蒼華誦詠洞經七祖飛仙我騰上清（凡七遍次就榻解衣而呪曰）

五斗配衣龍虎侍眞開明三景上登玉晨解帶成仙使我長生（次解髻就沐呪曰）

神宫振天黒雲散開流金火鈴燠擲無邊使我通眞遊行諸天無量度人招靈命仙（次沐髮竟撮髻戴冠呪曰）

雲層碧玄竦嶽瑶京冠髻召仙五炁攝眞神華發光上昇帝庭（次入浴執杓取五方炁色入湯中攪三十六遍畢執杓向旺方呪曰）

霐池玉泉灌我身形内錬五藏外通九門使炁開通尸穢蕩清萬遍保舉入登帝庭（次存三辰入湯中良久就浴訖别取淨者五香湯飲之一杯即凝神黙想内外貞白而乃呪曰）

黄神守關青帝護䰟天騶咆哮萬魔喪睛尸血盡滌青蟲滅形七魄錬化紫雲自生遊宴太無髙眞併襟（次還着衣呪曰）

神童侍衣玉女燒香登拜經寳玉音琳琅度我七祖除滅禍殃延年長壽寳漿雲粮

齋者内齋其心外齋其形戒者内持其志外持其行設醮奏章亦依是式無災不滅無願不成修眞之人謹冝遵愼

道言德莫大於好生功莫大於修成凡處塵域之内蠢動含生禀受雖殊性命惟一見人疾病官刑飢貧困厄或水陸或飛走䧟於難地若能方便愍救是謂好生之德復有男女喜捨財物修建宫殿繪塑眞儀印寫經典讀誦教人製作旛花施設燈燭作諸布施供養乃至平治道路修疊橋彴栽種樹木𥙷理隄渠是謂修成之功若有衆生恣縱愚昧輕誹經典損生毀成當知是人罪根難滅命沉六趣永失人身劫劫生生無由出離信男善女戒而愼之

老君曰此經是道君金口所宣吾今授汝傳教世間誦之聲叅紫極嚮聞諸天太上欣唱衆眞敬禮故能拯死苦於三塗超形神於上清億曽萬祖皆即受度見存利益福禄増延更廣好生之德修成之功孝養尊親敬奉師友濟恤貧困洗雪𡨚沉如此功德愈於兹矣遵依是經生成兼備吾遣察命録子之行奏上玉清名摽金格隨行深淺得爲眞人值遇是經冝加勉力於是普救受得眞經歡躍非常而說偈曰

玄哉元老君衆生慈父毋演教不思議
普救無邊苦若能志心持存亡皆濟度
功德貴生成隨行登仙路

爾時普救說是偈巳諸天仙衆同聲稱善稽首再拜至尊敬禮而退

太上金櫃玉鏡延生洞玄燭幽懴

Source Colophon

Classical Chinese source text from the Kanripo (漢籍リポジトリ) digital edition of the Zhengtong Daozang (正統道藏). Kanripo ID: KR5c0208. Daozang number: DZ 0811. Base edition: HFL (三家本, 1988). Volume 18, page 341. One scroll. Cavern of Spirit Division (洞神部), Rites and Ceremonies category (威儀類).

The Mandoku page break markers (<pb:KR5c0208_HFL_000-NNNx>) and paragraph marks (¶) have been stripped from the source text above. Variant characters preserved as they appear in the edition: 寳/寶, 懴/懺, 㣲/微, 𨼆/隱.

Digital text accessed via the Mandoku project, April 2026.

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