《元始天尊说甘露升天神咒妙经》

At that time, the Celestial Worthy of Primordial Beginning (Yuanshi Tianzun) was in the Fragrant Grove Garden of the Western Na Jade Kingdom, seated upon a lotus throne of the seven treasures. He expounded the supreme true Dao (the Way) to the deities and immortals of the celestial realm, so that they might enter the path of the Great Vehicle, comprehend the gate of liberation, and free themselves from the one-sided view that clings to emptiness.

The Celestial Worthy then expounded to the deities and immortals between heaven and earth the operations and transformations of the Five Phases (Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, and Water) and the merit of their sympathetic responses, and he also taught the wondrous Dao of the Lesser Vehicle, so that beings of the empty realms throughout the ten directions might all enter the domain of the Dao.

The Celestial Worthy further spoke of immortals among ghosts: some people, while alive, accumulated three thousand deeds of merit performed in secret; after death they pass through the Great Yin (Taiyin) and do not fall into the evil paths. They possess the power to transform and to exercise spiritual abilities; when their merit has accumulated to a certain degree, they become ghost-immortals. The Celestial Worthy now intends to teach the Chapter on the Nine Transformations that Refine Yin and Generate the Corpse, so that they may bring forth the radiance of yang Qi (vital energy) and ascend to the Nine Heavens. The scripture also says that beneath the ten directions and the nine earths lie the hells of the three paths (referring to the places of suffering within the hells), and that the retribution of good and evil, together with karmic conditions and the fruits of blessing, are all contained therein.

At this moment there was in the assembly a youth named Jingming Yueguang (Pure Bright Moonlight). He rose from his seat, bowed his head to the ground, and looked up at the Celestial Worthy, praising him: “The Celestial Worthy’s compassion is vast; the teaching he expounds is majestic and rare. He can broadly set forth the various principles of the Dharma for celestial beings and humans, so that all beings each attain liberation. Today your servant is fortunate to behold the sacred countenance in person, yet doubt remains in my heart. I make bold to report it to the Celestial Worthy, and earnestly beg him to open his golden mouth and widely bestow the clouds of compassion. Just now I heard the Celestial Worthy speak of the hells of the three paths and five sufferings, and of the torment of grievance-karma and sinful suffering. At present, beings in the world give rise to ten kinds of evil thoughts and are lost in the conduct of the five poisons (greed, anger, delusion, and other afflictions); their number is boundless, and their sinful karma has no end. The evil paths are filled with suffering beings, and the fire of karma burns fiercely. I have heard that after death beings enter a dark and protracted realm, drawn along by the force of karma, and fully endure the sufferings of hunger and thirst, distress, and loss of consciousness; even when they meet with cooling ice, it turns into raging flame. Such anguish is truly hard to imagine. To escape the three paths, one must rely upon merit; if one can receive the Celestial Worthy’s teaching and transformation, one may forever receive his vast grace. I earnestly beg the Celestial Worthy to tell us how they may be saved.”

Thereupon the Celestial Worthy gave rise to the intention of saving beings by expedient means, opened the Dharma-gate that benefits living beings, proclaimed the Jade Casket Code (Daoist Keyi, that is, liturgy, together with the norms of precepts and discipline), and transmitted the sacred decree of Lingbao (the Numinous Treasure). The scripture then turns to his response to the youth Yueguang.

The Celestial Worthy said: If sentient beings throughout the boundless worlds of the Three Realms and the ten directions fall after death into the evil paths and suffer the painful retribution brought by the karma of their former lives, one should seize the present moment to perform a ritual for the deceased. Take a cup of earth, place it in a clean vessel, and scatter fragrant flowers and food and drink upon the earth. When the ritual is concluded, the assembly recites the Spell for Opening the Karmic Path, Sweet Dew, and Communion with the True:

The golden light of merit brightly illuminates and opens the darkness. True fragrance flows forth from the flower pool, and precious canopies of lotus drift upon the clouds of Qi (vital energy). The hosts of spirits together bathe in the Qi of primordial harmony and ever dwell in the Twelve Towers. Swiftly proclaim the decree of the Numinous Treasure, so that the deceased may roam freely through the heavenly realms.

The Celestial Worthy said: When the deceased in the hells hear this divine spell, they naturally feel joy, receive the food and drink of sweet dew, give rise to the thought of turning the heart toward goodness, and sever afflictions and karmic obstacles. The assembly of the ritual is then to recite the Divine Spell for Purifying Fengdu, Breaking the Hells, and Ascending to Heaven:

Within the vast expanse of Fengdu rise tier upon tier of adamantine mountains. The Numinous Treasure sends forth measureless light, illuminating the scorching pools of hell. Ancestors of seven generations and all the departed souls of the dark underworld surge upward with the fragrant clouds. Relying on pure wisdom, they rest securely upon blue lotus blossoms, ascend into the sacred realm, and attain lasting peace.

At this time the Celestial Worthy finished expounding this method. The immortals, dragons, ghosts, and others between heaven and earth, together with the Youth of Still and Bright Moonlight and the sentient beings of the human and heavenly realms, all at once gave rise to measureless wisdom, aroused the mind of Wuwei (non-action), entered the gate of the Great Vehicle, and accomplished the unsurpassed Great Dao (the Way). They came forward, bowed, and said: “Excellent, excellent! The reason I now inquire into this method is that deceased beings may receive the guidance of the holy Dao, each attaining liberation, so that the Three Paths—the three evil destinies of hell, hungry ghosts, and animals—may be closed, and the Ninefold Darkness, the depths of the underworld, may no longer hold suffering or the pursuit of reckoning.”

The assembly present rejoiced and offered praise, holding this principle to be without compare. They then paid their respects, withdrew, and took refuge in the true Dao.

The foregoing is as recorded in the scripture: in the ritual assembly one offers earth, fragrant flowers, and food and drink in a clean vessel and recites the divine spells of ascent to heaven, thereby entrusting the wish to remove the suffering of the deceased and guide them out of the dark underworld.

Here ends the Wondrous Scripture of the Divine Spell of Sweet Dew for Ascending to Heaven, Spoken by the Celestial Worthy of Primordial Beginning (Yuanshi Tianzun). The character he (何) is suspected to be an error for fu (付), and the phrase ran nian (然念) is suspected to be an error for zhong nian (众念).