《元始天尊说酆都灭罪经》

At that time, the Celestial Worthy of Primordial Beginning (Yuanshi Tianzun) expounded this Scripture of Extinguishing Sins (Miezui Zhenjing) and told the deities of heaven and the earth gods (the deities of the earth) that establishing purification rites and accumulating merit brings merit without measure. The Celestial Worthy summoned the dragon gods of the various heavens, the earth deities, the chief officials of Fengdu, the subordinate officers of the Six Palaces, the Four Luminous Lords, the underworld officials of the Ten Courts, the Lords of the Five Sacred Peaks, the City Gods of the Nine Provinces, the Director of Destiny and the Recorder of Life, the Great Gods of the Five Paths, and others to assemble and pay homage before him. The gods bowed their heads to the Celestial Worthy and received the precepts and covenants in a solemn rite.

The Celestial Worthy said: “All living beings will in time receive the karmic retribution that corresponds to their deeds. All beings who have committed the Ten Evils and the Five Rebellions (grave offenses) fall under the jurisdiction of the Great Demon King; they are confined in prisons, suffer day and night, and can hardly escape. If one can hold ten purification assemblies, the merit will be entered in the Mirror of Karma (the underworld instrument that examines good and evil karmic acts) and duly recorded. The Great Emperor of Fengdu will therefore rejoice and pardon the sinners. If one continues in this way to perform purification rites over seven successive periods of seven days, and presents and offers up the prepared petitions (documents submitted to the deities), the boy attendants of good and evil in the Six Boards (the various departments of the underworld) will copy the merits and faults onto the Jade Register (the roll that records good and evil merits and faults), so that in the next life the person will be born into a place of peace and joy. Holding ten purification assemblies yields merit as vast as the sea; widely establishing ritual arenas can also repay the profound kindness of one’s parents and enable the deceased to ascend to a pure realm.”

Thereupon the Celestial Worthy pronounced the titles of the Ten Kings corresponding to the ten purification assemblies and transmitted them in the world, in order to guide those who had not yet understood. On the first seventh (the first seven days after death) is King Qinguang, Perfected Lord of Great Simplicity and Wondrous Vastness (Taisu Miaoguang Zhenjun); on the second seventh, King Chujiang, Perfected Lord of Yin Virtue Who Settles Repose (Yinde Dingxiu Zhenjun); on the third seventh, King Songdi, Perfected Lord of Cavern Illumination and Universal Stillness (Dongming Pujing Zhenjun); on the fourth seventh, King Wuguan, Perfected Lord of Mysterious Virtue and the Five Numina (Xuande Wuling Zhenjun); on the fifth seventh, King Yanluo, Perfected Lord of Supreme Victory and Radiant Numen (Zuisheng Yaoling Zhenjun); on the sixth seventh, King Biancheng, Perfected Lord of Precious Solemnity Who Manifests Perfection (Baosu Zhaocheng Zhenjun); on the seventh seventh, the Great King of Mount Tai, Perfected Lord of Equal Contemplation and Clear Principle (Dengguan Mingli Zhenjun); on the hundredth day, the King of Equality, Perfected Lord of Unsurpassed Orthodox Deliverance (Wushang Zhengdu Zhenjun); and on the lesser anniversary (the memorial day one year after death), the King of the Metropolis, Perfected Lord Who Puts Demons to Flight and Spreads Felicity (Feimo Yanqing Zhenjun).

The original text has no further passage after “King of the Metropolis”; the titles actually listed here are also incomplete relative to the Ten Kings mentioned at the beginning.

Daxiang and the Great King of the Turning Wheel, True Lord of the Majestic Virtue of the Five Transformations, are deities of the underworld in Daoism.

The Celestial Worthy said: The parents and relatives of all living beings should, after the deceased have died, establish merit and hold assemblies of goodness on their behalf. In this way, the souls of the dead can be reborn in the heavenly realms and will not fall into the evil paths. If people can widely proclaim the teaching throughout the realm and cultivate in accordance with it, they can deliver the souls of the departed and spare them the sufferings of hell.

The blessings gained by cultivating Daoism and accumulating merit are immeasurable. Even so, the deceased will still each receive the corresponding retribution according to the weight of their sinful karma. If someone has done a great deal of evil and has cultivated not a single good deed, after death that person will be seized and confined in the Twenty-Four Hells and will undergo judgment and punishment according to the law. The first is the Hell of Supervising Heaven; the second is the Hell of Leveling Heaven; the third is the Hell of the Nine Heavens; the fourth is the Hell of Statutes and Ordinances; the fifth is the Hell of Clear Cold; the sixth is the Hell of the Immeasurable; the seventh is the Hell of Supreme Truth; the eighth is the Hell of Three and Six; the ninth is the Hell of Tianyi; the tenth is the Hell of the Black Kalpa; the eleventh is the Hell of Nüqing; the twelfth is the Hell of Torture; the thirteenth is the Hell of Knife Mountains; the fourteenth is the Hell of Sword Trees; the fifteenth is the Hell of the Bronze Pillar; the sixteenth is the Hell of the Binding Forest; the seventeenth is the Hell of the Fire Mountain; the eighteenth is the Hell of Furnace Coals; the nineteenth is the Hell of Molten Copper; the twentieth is the Hell of Saws; the twenty-first is the Hell of Stone Gorges; the twenty-second is the Hell of Cold Ice; the twenty-third is the Hell of the River Earl; and the twenty-fourth is the Hell of Scorching Fire.

In the scripture (Jing), the phrase “establishing and cultivating merit and assemblies of goodness” refers to holding religious activities for the deceased, such as prayers for blessing and the recitation of scriptures, so as to accumulate merit and pray for their deliverance. The original reading “锯t地狱” is a textual corruption; here, following the common form, it has been regularized as “锯锯地狱,” the Hell of Saws.

The Celestial Worthy said: After people of the world die, if in life they cultivated and accumulated merit, and Daoist priests are respectfully invited to welcome the divine perfected, with incense and flowers, banners and canopies, and sacred images widely offered, scriptures (Jing) recited to deliver them from suffering, the ritual of practicing the Dao performed, and a purification feast established as an offering, then the soul and spirit (Shen) of the deceased may be spared the “ten sufferings and eight hardships” and the torments of hell, transcend the sea of suffering, no longer linger lost on the path of delusion, naturally attain awakening, and in due order ascend and gain liberation, exempt from passing through the various realms of hardship. One should turn toward this with an undivided mind, believe and accept it, and put it into practice.