《元始天尊济度血湖真经》

At that time, the Celestial Worthy of Primordial Beginning (Yuanshi Tianzun, foremost of the Three Pure Ones, or Sanqing, of Daoism) ascended the Seat of Seven Treasures beneath the Qian-wood grove, upon the Terrace of Kalpa Command in the Palace of the Three Primes, within the Wondrous Realm of the Nine Pure Ones (a celestial paradise). The Dao Lord of Supreme Height, the Supreme Venerable Lord (Taishang Laojun), the various Lords and Elders, the Heavenly Emperors of all the heavens, the Flying Divine Kings of the Limitless in the ten directions, the Five Emperors and Great Demon Kings of the Three Realms, and all the immortals of the Three Realms arrived at the same moment. They rode in eight-radiance phoenix carriages (immortal chariots adorned with eight-radiance patterns) and five-colored jade palanquins, accompanied by qilin, feathered cavalry, phoenix banners, and dragon retinues. Traversing the sky, they chanted the Cavern Verses (scriptural passages of the immortals), paid homage to the Celestial Worthy with praises, collated the registers and charts, and delivered the souls of the dead from the cycle of birth and death. The Heavenly Emperors of all the heavens, along with royal consorts, Jade Maidens, and Celestial Maidens of Wondrous Incense, adjusted their robes and caps, walked with calm and measured steps, burned incense, scattered flowers, and performed obeisance. They stood in reverent attendance and sang the immortal verses.

Then the Celestial Worthy of Primordial Beginning and the Jade Emperor (Yuhuang) emitted immeasurable auspicious light of nine colors, illuminating all places near and far. Within the light, thousands upon millions upon billions of bodies were further manifested. The Supreme Lords of the Three Pure Ones and the Jade Emperor, Heavenly Sovereign, all sat upon auspicious lotus thrones of nine dragons, a hundred treasures, and a thousand petals. Within the light, countless Perfected Ones of Wondrous Conduct again appeared, standing in ranks to attend the Most Venerable. The auspicious light then shone downward across the limitless worlds of the ten directions. From Yuanluo (the highest point of heaven) above to the Wind Springs below, and both inside and outside Iron Ring Mountain (where the hells are located), all became bright and clear, as transparent as nine-colored lapis lazuli and crystal. The myriad phenomena of the Three Realms lay fully revealed, all spread before the eyes.

At this time, the Great Perfected who compassionately save beings from suffering—exalted deities in Daoism who have attained realization through cultivation—arrived at the celestial palace, borne on auspicious radiance. They burned incense, scattered flowers, held their court tablets, and knelt upright in formal reverence, reporting to the Heavenly Worthy:

“We, your humble servants, are fortunate to be ranked among the immortals and Perfected. Our duty is to relieve and deliver all living beings. Suddenly we saw a dense, dark, and poisonous black Qi (vital energy) rising in the northeast, surging straight toward the celestial palace, coiling and condensing, and lingering long without dispersing. This vapor was rank, foul, and defiled, and all were astonished. We earnestly beg the Heavenly Worthy to instruct us in principles we have never heard, so that we may understand the roots and causal conditions of sinful karma; to bestow the great Dharma-medicine to heal beings sunk in suffering; to send forth the great sound of the Dharma to awaken the ignorant; to send down the great Dharma-rain to wash and moisten body and mind; to spread the great Dharma-clouds to shelter all beings; to kindle the great Dharma-torch to illumine the darkness; and to open the great gate of the Dharma, leading beings of every kind to ascend and be liberated. If we may receive the Heavenly Worthy’s compassionate mercy, we shall look up and receive this profound grace.”

At this, the Heavenly Worthy laid his hand upon the desk. His expression was solemn. He quieted his mind and concentrated his Shen (spirit), casting his thoughts into the distance and pitying all beings, and thus widely opened the Dharma-gate of compassionate salvation. He commanded the Compassionate Worthy of the World of Everlasting Joy at the Eastern Extremity—the pure land of ultimate bliss in the east—the Heavenly Worthy of the Great One Who Seeks Out Cries and Saves from Suffering, the exalted deity who hears the cries of beings for help and comes to their rescue, to open the Cinnabar-Slip Jade Tower of the secret repository of the Three Primes, the celestial tower that treasures the scriptures of the Three Primes, and to take out from the Golden Scripture of the Three Primes of the Great Practice of Brahma-Qi the true writs of salvation and the rules for transferring and delivering the dead. He further commanded the numinous officers and talisman clerks of the Azure Mystery who save the living and deliver the dead—spirit-officials charged with saving the living and rescuing the dead—numbering in the hundreds of millions, to descend into the dark underworld, follow the sounds of cries for help, rescue the souls of the dead, and enable the souls who receive deliverance to be born upward into the heavens.

At this time the Celestial Worthy spoke again: The scriptures of the Three Caverns (Sandong; the collective name for the Daoist classics, Jing) and the precious Sanskrit writings of the various heavens are all formed by condensing the Qi (vital energy) of the void into talismanic seal-script and by gathering primordial Qi into written characters. They spread throughout the hollow void and stand arrayed in the realms of mystery and emptiness; they constitute canons in their own right and run through past and present.

The myriad things are brought forth through my transformation, and the myriad spirits are nurtured through my transformation. Beings of the lower world are often dull and ignorant and suffer hardship and calamity. I must come to their aid and once more explain to living beings the causes and conditions involved. Living beings pass through kalpa after kalpa, relinquishing one body only to receive another. After taking birth, some are neither loyal nor filial, neither humane nor righteous, neither kind nor respectful, and know nothing of humility and yielding. They arrogantly slight the orthodox Dao (the Way), neglect the Great Dao, slander the scriptures, defame the good, harm living beings, and give themselves to boundless greed. The seven emotions and six desires, together with the three karmas and ten entanglements—all manner of bodily and mental desires and the bonds of affliction—lead them to plant the roots of sin and accumulate evil karma. In the end they receive the consequences of their own deeds, just as an echo answers a sound. Even if one spoke until the kalpas were exhausted, it would be hard to tell it all. Here only the essentials will be set out briefly.

When human beings are born, they are equally endowed with the one Qi. Once they have come into the world, their destiny is bound to the Three Origins (Sanyuan; what Daoism calls the Three Officials of Heaven, Earth, and Water). Length of life, good and ill fortune, blessing and disaster, wealth and honor or poverty and low station, together with every kind of sin and merit, good and evil, birth and death—all have their roots in destined fate, and all meet with corresponding retribution, determined according to each person’s karmic force, without the slightest confusion.

While the men and women of the lower world live in this world, some are punished under the king’s law or suffer violence without cause; some are cut down by weapons, subjected to penal punishment, and endure the misery of prison, cangues, and chains; some contract carbuncles and poisonous sores, with pus and blood streaming, so that others shun them. They can neither live nor die, and can only grieve and suffer, unable to find release. Their sinful karma thereby grows still heavier, and after death they fall into the Blood Lake Hell, from which it is forever hard to escape. All these fruits of retribution arise because living beings cling to deluded thoughts and fail to recognize the orthodox Way. They fixate on right and wrong, accumulate sinful karma, and follow whatever their minds desire, so that what they do is often at fault. They do not see the light of compassion, and so they have no way to awaken.

Human beings are originally endowed with the essential brilliance of the Five Phases (Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, Water) and are the most spiritual of the myriad things. To obtain birth as a man is truly precious and hard to come by. Yet some, through greed and sensual desire, lose their original nature; with a single deviant thought they are reborn as women. Women are born in bodies of the five turbidities. They join with husbands as wives; Yin and Yang unite, and they conceive. Between mother and child there may also be mutual repayment of grievances, hatreds, and karmic debts.

Thus, at the time of childbirth, all manner of calamity is encountered. Menstruation comes, and soiled garments must be washed. In giving birth to sons and daughters, blood defiles the spirits of the earth. Filthy water is poured into streams, ponds, or wells, yet people of the world do not know this and still draw that water to drink, to cook, or to offer to the gods, thereby offending the Three Luminaries—the sun, the moon, and the stars. Some mistakenly take poison, injuring the fetus and causing miscarriage; others, because they have too many children, deliberately drown them, and thereby invite the retaliation of grievances and the harassment of demons. There are also cases in which the fetus dies in the womb, the mother dies after childbirth, or mother and child both perish, bringing injury to life and destiny. Some suffer execution under the law and cannot escape the disaster of warfare; others contract malignant illness, are assailed by ghostly afflictions, and die violent, untimely deaths. After death they enter the Blood Lake Hell of Fengdu (what Daoism calls the underworld) and undergo every kind of suffering. What is called the Blood Lake is formed of accumulated blood; what is called hell exists because living beings cling to illusory causes and conditions and take them as real.

You have made a vast vow, wishing to save and deliver these suffering beings. I now proclaim for you the Dharma gate of the True One, which admits of no second, in order to relieve them of their calamities.

Contemplating and discerning the profound and secluded realms, the Qi (vital energy) of Great Radiance and Purple Numinosity manifests. Nine deities rescue and deliver the hun and po souls, opening the realm of Jade Truth. Radiance blazes in splendor, and a melodious sound comes from the flying heavens.

The sun and moon proceed in their courses, and the imperial Dao (the Way) remains constant. The host of spirits gathers, and blessings increase. A vast realm suddenly appears; auspicious clouds open the gate of numinous clarity. The Seven Luminaries—the sun, the moon, and the five planets of metal, wood, water, fire, and earth—shine forth. Demonic obstructions are shone upon by the light, and harmonious Qi flourishes and spreads.

The realm of emptiness dwells at the supreme height; the guiding principles of the Heavenly Dao are vast and profound. The four directions respond in concert, nurturing the myriad phenomena; radiance refines and purifies, and Jing (essence) and Qi rise. Light bursts forth in the realm of Dongyang, and the immortal mansions of the Jade Hall emerge.

The Seven Numina chant and intone, and their song carries to the Purple Hall of the World’s Origin. Arrayed blossoms scatter; auspicious clouds open the gate of numinous clarity. The Seven Luminaries shine; demonic obstructions recede, and harmonious Qi flourishes and spreads.

The realm of emptiness dwells at the supreme height; the guiding principles of the Heavenly Dao are vast and profound. The four directions respond in concert, nurturing the myriad phenomena; radiance refines and purifies, and Jing and Qi rise. Light bursts forth in the realm of Dongyang, and the immortal mansions of the Jade Hall emerge.

The Seven Numina chant and intone, and their song carries to the Purple Hall of the World’s Origin. Arrayed blossoms scatter their radiance, illuminating the Jade Chamber. The Eight Effulgences collectively govern the divine beasts, and the Qi of harmonious music gathers in the flowering essence.

The Nine Capitals are lofty, remote, and profound; ascending spirits reach the celestial realms. The constellations are arrayed, and the realm is tranquil; fragrant Qi nourishes the solar disc within the void. The Qi of the Yellow Blossom irrigates and moistens, and mysterious bright light circulates.

The deities become open and unobstructed, extending themselves as they ascend into the palace gates. The radiance of the Great Dao appears; the True Dao is settled, transforming and nurturing the primal origin. A subtle, pure, and wondrous realm unfolds, and between the jade beams the mist clears.

Mountain peaks stand linked together, forming corners and recesses; scenes are arrayed, encircling layer upon layer. Elegant Qi gathers in the Jade Bureau, and radiance spreads through the Nine Heavens. The realm is silent and profound; scattered floral light brushes the ornate carriages.

At dawn the registers of names are recorded; the Great Void is vast and unbroken. Aqiu passes through nine tiers; six dragons dance as they draw the carriage. Cloud Qi is dense and pervasive, and purple Jing and Qi circulate fragrantly in the depths.

The undivided Qi of primordial chaos gestates the myriad things; nine pivotal mechanisms transform and generate the Heavenly Dao. Profound De (Virtue/Power) covers the myriad forms; the Primal River deposits essential brilliance. It nurtures flowering excellence, bright as a rounded hill, and morning light shines upon the subtle cloud Qi.

Great Ren oversees and inspects; the celestial realm of Elegant Joy has established forbidden bounds. The realm of the Purple Void stands established on high, and the measures of time that have passed through kalpas appear interwoven. Azure auroras disperse Fanqi—the pure and quiescent primordial Qi spoken of in Daoism—and remote spirits wander at ease in the realm of the Primordial Beginning.

Six transformations advance the cycles of time, severing evil deeds and transgressions. With grandeur and solemnity they govern the mysterious and remote realm, so that all beings, having undergone deliverance and transformation, may attain immortality.

At this time, the great sages of the various heavens, the perfected persons who cultivate the subtle mysteries, and the deities of the Three Realms and the Ten Directions all wander at ease within the subtle and profound realm of the Primordial Beginning.

Six transformations advance the cycles of time, severing evil deeds and transgressions. With grandeur and solemnity they govern the mysterious and remote realm, so that all beings, having undergone deliverance and transformation, may attain immortality.

At this time, the great sages of the heavens, the Perfected of lofty and wondrous cultivation, and the countless spirits of the Three Realms and the Ten Directions all gathered beneath the seat of the Celestial Worthy of Primordial Beginning (Yuanshi Tianzun). They listened to the teaching of the Great Dao (the Way), awakened to their original nature, and each paid homage, sincerely receiving the teaching and putting it into practice.

End of the Upper Scroll of the Scripture of the Celestial Worthy of Primordial Beginning for Deliverance from the Blood Lake

Middle Scroll of the Scripture of the Celestial Worthy of Primordial Beginning for Deliverance from the Blood Lake

At this time, the Celestial Worthy of Primordial Beginning sat upright upon a five-colored lion throne suspended in the air. Jade lads and jade maidens, together with countless immortals and Perfected of the celestial realm, stood in ordered ranks in attendance. The Celestial Worthy addressed the immortal Perfected of wondrous practice, saying:

In the northeast, in the region of the stems Ren and Gui, there lies a vast and desolate sea. Its waters are rank, foul, and filthy, deep and without limit. In the sea stands a great mountain that above meets the blue heavens and below opens into the wind-springs. It is called Luoshan of Fengdu of the Northern Yin. This mountain measures ten thousand li in circumference. It is the place where Yin Qi (vital energy) gathers, and it is also the pivot of the Nine Earths. Throughout the mountain are distributed hells of every kind, which examine and punish the sins of the people of the world. Birds and beasts, and all living beings born from the womb, from eggs, from moisture, or by transformation—whether scaled, shelled, or feathered, whether stirring or growing, flying or lying hidden—all fall under its jurisdiction.

Among them is a hell located beneath the great sea of the Northern Yin, called the Blood Lake. There, stone clamps and iron enclosures, large and small, make it secluded, deep, and bitterly cold. It is further divided into four subsidiary hells—the Blood Pool, the Blood Basin, the Blood Mountain, and the Blood Sea—which communicate with one another and are governed by a single spirit known as the Great Spirit of the Blood Lake. The Blood Lake lies at the bottom of the waters of the Limitless; currents cover it from above, and its stench rises to heaven.

Women of the world who die in childbirth, their bodies stained with blood, are all said to have formed enmity in former lives with mothers and children and to have been entangled and injured by vengeful adversaries; in this life they repay these debts one by one. They wail in the darkness, their whole bodies fouled with blood, filthy and rank in smell, and they suffer countless beatings with golden hammers and iron staves. When hungry they swallow fierce fire; when thirsty they drink the water of the Blood Pool. They suffer through death and life without pause, day and night. Year after year they remain trapped in darkness and never see the light. Even if they encounter ritual objects such as Fulu (talismans and registers) and scriptures, or the merit of good deeds, their offenses may be slightly reduced, yet they still cannot break free. Even if they do break free, they are reborn as beings of another kind. Without divine power, there is no way to deliver them.

In the World of Lasting Joy in the East there is the Celestial Worthy of Great Unity Who Saves from Suffering (Taiyi Jiuku Tianzun), great in compassion and mercy. At the beginning of the kalpa he made a vast vow. His transformation bodies are as numerous as the sands of the Ganges, and as soon as living beings call out, he appears in response to their voices. In the heavens he is called the Fortune Spirit of Great Unity; in the human world he is called the Great Compassionate and Benevolent One; in the hells he is called the Imperial Lord of Solar Radiance; when subduing the evil influences of heterodox paths he is called the Lion Bright King; and in the Water Bureau he is called the Imperial Lord of the Cavern Abyss.

You are my Qi, and I am your root; what you know, I know as well. This Celestial Worthy is the Jing (essence) of the Nine Yang, numinous and wondrous beyond compare. At times he dwells in the celestial palaces, at times he descends into the human world, at times he abides in the hells, and at times he subdues evil spirits. He can also transform into immortal lads and jade maidens, imperial lords and sages, celestial worthies and Daoist priests, the August One and Lord Lao, and celestial physicians and officers of merit. His numinous powers are measureless and his meritorious practice without bound. He can hear the cries of living beings and bestow salvation according to circumstances.

You may call upon the name of Great Unity in unison and have the immortal officials recite it together. He will then naturally transform in sympathetic response and manifest his form.

Thereupon the immortal Perfected called out together the name of the Celestial Worthy of Great Unity Who Saves from Suffering. They visualized the Celestial Worthy riding five-colored auspicious clouds upon a nine-headed lion, sending forth auspicious radiance like a hundred treasures, and floating through the air to the ritual assembly of the Celestial Worthy of Primordial Beginning. The assembled immortal Perfected paid homage to him and reverently received his teachings and precepts.

At this time the Primordial Heavenly Worthy said, “I see that the beings of the Realm of Desire, and women above all, having committed every kind of sinful karma, have fallen in body into the Blood Lake Hell, where they suffer and sink, passing through millions of kalpas with never a chance of release. Now I open the treasure store of langhan caskets in which the scriptures are kept and take out the writ of pardon of the Golden Register. You may carry it down to the lower world and proclaim the decree of amnesty to the Three Realms and the Ten Directions, the Three Officials and the Nine Bureaus, the Twelve River Sources, and the Blood Lake Hell of the Ninefold Darkness, rescuing the guilty souls of the dead so that they may leave the long darkness and come to see the light.”

At this time the Heavenly Worthy of Great Unity Who Saves from Suffering (Taiyi Jiuku Tianzun, the venerable deity who delivers the souls of the dead), vast in compassion, universally relieved and liberated all beings. The Perfected Who Compassionately Saves from Suffering, the Perfected of Great Mercy and Great Kindness, the Eighty-One Spirits of Great Unity, the celestial stalwart warriors, the merit officers of the Azure Mystery, the Yellow-Thread lads, the divine kings of the jade maidens, and others thronged about him and followed in his train.

The Heavenly Worthy sent forth a hundred billion rays of auspicious light. In his left hand he upheld a precious vase of lapis lazuli, and in his right he held a feathered sprig of azurite. Seated on a jeweled throne of golden lotuses and kingfisher-green leaves borne by a nine-headed lion, he rose into the air and departed. He commanded the Great Spirit of the Nine Phoenixes Who Dispels Defilement, the Great Spirit of Washing and Cleansing, the Great Spirit of Unrighteousness and Severed Kindness, the Great Spirit of Upright Essence and Fiery Eyes, the Great Spirit of Thundering Drums and Staring Eyes, the Great Spirit Who Restores Form and Body, the Great Spirit Who Resolves Grievances and Releases Adversaries, and others to sweep the Blood Lake and purge its filth, and to transmit the Primordial Talismanic Mandate (the decree issued by the Primordial Heavenly Worthy), pardoning and delivering the guilty souls who had died in childbirth, so that they might promptly leave the realm of suffering, be raised up, and attain salvation.

At this time the Northern Emperor of Fengdu, together with the ghost officials, the ox-headed jailers, the divine kings of awe and seizure, the great demons of the Three Realms, the nine hundred million ghost kings, and the great spirits of the Blood Lake, all obeyed the Heavenly Worthy’s command and pardoned and rescued the guilty souls. The black registers of sin in the Ninefold Darkness were burned away in an instant; the Blood Lake was scoured clean and transformed into a precious pool; golden mallets and iron staves became lotuses; and the blood-water that had been drunk and the filth that had been swallowed all turned to sweet dew. Every guilty soul, upon awakening to its original truth, could ride the light, pass beyond suffering, and ascend to heaven. The underworld officials in the hells likewise gave rise to wholesome thoughts and, by the power of mercy and kindness, together cultivated and realized the Great Dao (the Way) and attained the realm of the perfected.

Thereupon the assembly offered a hymn of praise:

I prostrate myself before the unsurpassed Dao (the Way) of the Void, and I prostrate myself before the Great Compassionate Worthy who, in mercy, saves beings from suffering.

Myriad rays of divine light illuminate the dark places and reach throughout the realm of original truth. Living beings ride upon this divine light and are delivered, all able to ascend to heaven. The underworld officials in the hells likewise give rise to good thoughts and, together availing themselves of the power of compassion, realize the great Dao and cultivate the true body. A hymn of praise is then offered:

I prostrate myself before the unsurpassed Dao of the Void, and I prostrate myself before the Great Compassionate Worthy who, in mercy, saves beings from suffering.

Myriad rays of divine light illuminate the dark places; clouds of compassion spread over all, and the rain of the Dharma falls everywhere.

In the hells of Xiashi, Mingling, and Wujian, and in realms of suffering such as the Blood Lake, the Blood Sea, and the Blood Pool Basin,

a great pardon is granted, by means of the Yulu (the writ of absolution conferred in the Daoist tradition), to guilty souls of every kind,

so that they may escape sinking into perdition and be spared the torment of ten thousand kalpas.

Their forms are further refined and their lives delivered, releasing them from the Lingfu (the offices of the netherworld),

so that they may awaken to the great Dao, ascend to the realm of the true, and enter the gate of all wonders.

Merit so exalted lies beyond conception,

and he remains forever the loving father of all living beings.

At this time, the great Perfected Ones who compassionately save beings from suffering, following the sage’s instruction, proclaim the decree, illuminate the long night, and rescue the beings of the netherworld. All who receive this compassionate grace are able to ascend together to the realm of ultimate bliss.

End of the Middle Scroll of the True Scripture of the Primordial Heavenly Worthy (Yuanshi Tianzun) for the Salvation of the Blood Lake

Lower Scroll of the True Scripture of the Primordial Heavenly Worthy (Yuanshi Tianzun) for the Salvation of the Blood Lake

At this time, the Primordial Heavenly Worthy told the great sages and the Perfected Ones of wondrous practice: Beings of the lower world are born into physical bodies amid the Five Turbidities (in Buddhist and Daoist teaching, the various impurities of the world). They do not understand causes and conditions, nor sin and blessing, and they cling to lustful desire. Some are born as women and bear children, only to meet with unexpected calamity; some contract strange illnesses and die before their allotted span of life. They turn and pass again and again through the cycle of transmigration, yet they do not know it.

The Heavenly Worthy admonishes living beings: If one can give rise to a good heart, revere the Three Treasures—the Dao, the Jing (scripture/classic), and the Master—refrain from killing and harming life, from jealousy, from sexual misconduct and theft, from greed and indulgence, and from hatred and from … (at this point the original has the characters “女自,” which appear to be corrupt, and the meaning is unclear), sincerely uphold the precepts, cultivate with a quiet mind, and recite this scripture, then the good spirits of the Ten Heavens, the spirit-kings who protect the teaching, the Holy Mother of the Nine Heavens Who Guards the Birth Chamber, the great spirits who oversee birth, and countless celestial Perfected and great sages will all come together to protect and bless that person.

The Celestial Worthy (Tianzun) said: “The Dao (the Way) gives rise to the One; the One gives rise to the Two; the Two gives rise to the Three; and the Three in turn generates the myriad things. The myriad things turn their backs to Yin and face Yang (Yin-Yang). Amid what is vague, elusive, and subtly hidden, there is nonetheless true existence. It truly exists, and its name does not disappear; the myriad things ultimately return to it, yet it never regards itself as great. Look for it and it cannot be seen; listen for it and it cannot be heard; yet put it to use and it is never exhausted. After you have heard this scripture, you should each grasp the principle within it, contemplate the mind within, settle the spirit, and awaken to it in silence.

“At this time, the Taiyi Jiuku Tianzun (the Celestial Worthy Who Saves Beings from Suffering), the high gods of the various heavens, and the great Perfected Ones (Zhenren) who compassionately relieve suffering, receiving the majestic radiance of the Yuanshi Tianzun (the Celestial Worthy of Primordial Beginning), issued and proclaimed the talismanic mandates of the Three Primordials (Sanyuan—that is, the sacred commands under the jurisdiction of the Three Officials of Heaven, Earth, and Water). They made these known universally to the beings in the hells of the world of Northern Yin, the Eternal Night of the Ninefold Darkness, the Uninterrupted Cold Abyss, and the Stone-Gorge Blood Lake, rescuing them so that they might be received and all attain deliverance and liberation.”

The Celestial Worthy further told the Perfected Ones: “What I now expound is the Lingbao Shengxuan Jidu Xuehu Zhenjing, the Numinous Treasure True Scripture of Ascending to the Mystery and Delivering Beings from the Blood Lake. In the past this scripture was secretly kept in the profound repository of the Three Heavens within the Upper Palace of Purple Tenuity. Its transmission was bound by covenantal oaths and prohibitions, and it was transmitted only once every forty thousand kalpas. Now the destined course of the kalpa is drawing to an end, and the great Dharma ought to be revealed; it may therefore pass into the human world, to be widely circulated and recited. If men and women cultivate in accordance with the methods of the scripture, they will benefit both the human world and the heavenly realms and obtain blessings without measure.” Thereupon the Celestial Worthy once more proclaimed the Secret Brahma Celestial Treasure Numinous Writ of the Three Primordials:

“The One Qi (vital energy)—the primordial breath at the beginning of the cosmos—transforms into the true Dao; the two qi of Yin and Yang move through the void. The five forms…”

A current of primordial Qi (vital energy) is transformed into the true Dao (the Way), and the two Qi of Yin-Yang move through the void. Five kinds of numinous Qi allow lives that have been cut off to continue, while the sun, the moon, and the five planets support what has grown weak. Practitioners set the heavenly Dao in motion, tread the void, and by flying steps arrive at palaces amid the clouds. The embryo of life has its beginning, yet after hundreds of millions of kalpas it still has no end. Within the golden city the bodily form is brought forth, and within the jade cavern the spirit is condensed; nourished inside by true Qi, one at last becomes a Perfected Person (Zhenren). Upward one enters the Great Void; downward one reaches the springs of the dark underworld. In the precious chambers of the cloud palaces the true souls are kept; they pass in and out of blessed lands and come and go at the gate of living vitality. Practitioners chew the numinous mushroom and rinse the mouth with the golden spring; sweet dew flows and pours into the Dantian (energy center), the place which Daoism describes as where the body’s Jing (essence) and Qi gather. Purple cloud-Qi shines upon the dawn, and the three primordial Qi condense into mist. An abode like precious jade becomes an immortal realm, and the practitioner sits at peace upon a golden lotus. The countenance of the true body veils the light of the sun, and within it the kalpas of the mundane world are transformed into long ages.

At this time the Celestial Worthy (Tianzun) again admonished the immortals and the Perfected, saying: “How long can a human life last? It is easy to be born and easy to perish, like a spark flung from stone, which cannot endure, or like foam upon the water—how could it be firm and undecaying? Birth, old age, sickness, and death assail the body day and night; change is never constant, and in a moment one declines and scatters. You should forget what lies before your eyes, so that the inner light fills all without bound, and shut out the sounds beside your ears, so that mind-consciousness—the awareness of Shen (spirit)—ever abides in deep stillness. When the two senses of eye and ear no longer stir Shen, one can preserve simple wholeness, join in accord with the vast Dao, and enter a profound, chaotic realm beyond all comparison. My fundamental Dao will then endure together with heaven and earth.”

Hearing the Celestial Worthy expound the method of delivering people from suffering, the assembled immortals knew its merit to be inconceivable. One by one they bowed their heads in thanks, received it in faith, and put it into practice.

Here ends the lower scroll of the True Scripture of the Primordial Celestial Worthy for Deliverance from the Blood Lake (Yuanshi Tianzun Jidu Xuehu Zhenjing).