《大惠静慈妙乐天尊说福德五圣经》

Respectful invitation (burning incense to reverently welcome the deities):

We reverently petition Grand Marshal Lingguan and Huaguang, King of the Five Manifestations, of Blessings and Virtue (deities revered in Daoism who protect the nation and safeguard the people).

You wear a brocade robe and an embroidered cap, majestic and courageous; you hold a fire sword and a golden spear, your divine power immense. Among the orthodox gods of the world, your merit ranks first; among the sages of Buddhism, you are likewise peerless in supreme goodness. May you ascend the pearl-curtained jeweled throne beside the Hall of Yuchen and, before the golden dais, raise a solemn precious banner (a pennant symbolizing majestic virtue and protection).

Break open the mountain caves and seal the ridges, so that mountain demons and ghostly specters vanish without a trace; raise the wind and drive the lightning, so that evil ghosts and wicked gods perish.

Teach and transform the common people, so that all under Heaven receive blessing and protection; pacify the Nine Provinces and remove calamity.

Burn incense and reverently invite the Celestial Worthy; perform the rites with devout sincerity, praying that the Celestial Worthy bestow the radiance of grace and descend upon the ritual ground.

At this time the Celestial Worthy was within the Hall of Purple Radiance in the Palace of the Eight Effulgences, seated upright upon a precious throne of nine-colored lotus, with the Crane Canopy of the Ten Peerless Wonders hanging down before him (the ceremonial canopy before the Celestial Worthy’s seat). Together with the holy hosts of the various heavens, the great gods of Celestial Perfection, celestial immortals and divine immortals, the many great immortals, golden lads and jade maidens, the dragon gods who protect the teaching, and the attendant guards, he gathered in assembly. Music sounded in the heavens, and all listened in stillness as the Celestial Worthy proclaimed the unsurpassed, true, and wondrous teaching.

At that time there was in the assembly a Perfected One named Dinghui. He stepped out from the ranks, holding a memorial tablet, knelt long upon the ground, and addressed the Celestial Worthy: “Your servant has heard of the principle of the ‘Five Transformations.’ Might we ask the Celestial Worthy to expound it for us?”

The Celestial Worthy said: “In the early age of the Three Sovereigns, the common people received teaching by following the Dao (the Way). After the age of the Five Emperors, the civilizing work of De (Virtue/Power) still remained. When the age of the contending feudal lords arrived, there was warfare every day. By then Dao and De had already fallen into neglect, and benevolence and righteousness were no longer practiced. What people pursued was nothing more than wealth and food. How, then, could my Dao teach and transform them?

“How much more so in the final age, when living beings take greed and attachment as their nature, and cunning and flattery as their rule of conduct. Single-mindedly they rush after profit, firmly heap up evil karma, and commit offenses, yet they do not honor the teaching of the good Dao. Therefore grievances and enmities remain tangled without resolution, and resentful reproaches follow without end: above, they disturb the harmony of the two Qi (vital energy) of Yin-Yang; below, they bring disaster upon the Nine Provinces. Sometimes arms clash and people slay one another; sometimes drought and flood come one after another. Famine descends again and again; pestilence and ghostly specters run rampant. Innocent commoners die before their time, and demons and monstrous spirits scatter in every direction. When matters reach this point, one must turn back to the teaching of the gods.”

Thereupon the Perfected Dinghui again addressed the Celestial Worthy (Tianzun): “Of late we still do not understand how the spirits of the world transform and appear in order to preside over affairs. How can living beings be made secure and free from care, wealthy, honored, and long-lived, and kept from meeting with all kinds of calamity?”

The Celestial Worthy replied: “You are most compassionate and wish to benefit the living beings of this latter age, and so you raise this question by expedient means. If good men or good women meet with lawsuits and disaster, illness, litigation in the underworld, harassment by essence-sprites (jingguai), or any other urgent trouble in which they have nowhere to turn, they need only give rise to faith and sincerely pray for blessing and protection, and matters will of themselves proceed smoothly and in peace. The awe-inspiring divine power of the supreme sages cannot be measured.”

The scripture then says that one should take refuge in and pay reverence to the True Form of Lingguan—the sacred image of the Great Sage Lingguan—and recite the following incantation:

“O Spirit of Supreme Numinosity, bestow abundant blessings. Your grace extends over the whole body from head to foot; how could it ever be exhausted? Your clear discernment shines forth in brightness, and the sincerity of the heart is thereby revealed. I now take refuge in you, believing in and revering you with a single mind.”

The scripture describes the Great Sage Lingguan appearing in the Thunder-Sound Hall within the Palace of Stars and Moon in the Thirty-Three Heavens, taking on a form of sovereign ease: a crown of the white serpent, a blue-green body, and three heads and six arms. A circular radiance shines from the whole body. Styled the “Great Immortal of the Fire Rhinoceros,” the sage responds in manifestation as a Numinous Officer (lingguan), able swiftly to seize the evil spirits of the Three Realms, and is likewise the orthodox deity who seals mountains and breaks open caverns, presides over ritual services, and subdues evil spirits. The titles of the Five Sovereign Great Marshals of the Great Sage Lingguan are then given. The first is the Great Marshal of Awesome Might Who Commands All Heaven: the King of Manifest Acuity, Illumined Sagehood, Faithful Benevolence, Broad Deliverance, and Blessed Goodness. The second is the Great Marshal Who Commands the Hosts Across Heaven: the King of Manifest Brilliance, Illumined Sagehood, Faithful Righteousness, Broad Protection, and Favorable Blessing. The third is the Great Marshal of the Golden Eyes Who Penetrates Heaven: the King of Manifest Rectitude, Illumined Sagehood, Faithful Wisdom, Broad Kindness, and Responsive Blessing. The fourth is the Great Marshal of Wind and Fire Who Flies Through Heaven: the King of Manifest Uprightness, Illumined Sagehood, Faithful Trustworthiness, Broad Grace, and Protective Blessing. The fifth is the Great Marshal of the Cinnabar Heaven Who Descends to Subdue Demons.

The honorific title of this deity is “Xiande Zhaosheng Fu’ai Guangcheng Fuhui Wang” (King of Manifest Virtue, Illumined Holiness, Sincere Love, Vast Accomplishment, Blessing, and Beneficence). This honorific title, together with his true form (zhenxing), may be universally venerated and upheld. Devotees, both men and women, should recite it regularly; the merit is great, and the benefits obtained are inexhaustible.

All who dwell beneath the shelter of Heaven and Earth come under the governance and protection of the deities. The Venerable and Holy Lingguan is thus one of the Five Marshals in the celestial realm and one of the Five Kings in the human world—brave and fiercely resolute, numinously manifest and resplendent, his majesty and authority exceedingly great. He can bestow blessings and dispel calamity, and he can reward the good and punish the wicked.

People differ in poverty and wealth, and the turns of a life may be favorable or adverse, yet all lie within the sphere of scrutiny over which the deities preside, and are in the end adjudicated by the Supreme Sage (Shangsheng). Good and evil, merit and fault, stand perfectly clear, without the slightest error. One should understand that doing good brings auspicious fortune; faults must be cut off so that they do not accumulate into evil. If the grime and obscuration of the heart can be removed, wisdom will shine clear, disasters will disperse, and blessings and joy will all arrive.

Those who cultivate the Dao (the Way) and, on the major days of purification (zhairi)—the Three Yuan (Sanyuan), the Eight Nodes (Bajie), and the Five La (Wula)—as well as on their own birthdays, recite and uphold this scripture, can outwardly ward off calamity and illness and inwardly advance their cultivation and their affairs. The deities will secretly protect the household, while deviant demons and specters will keep far from the dwelling. When the merit of practice is brought to completion, great auspiciousness is obtained.

At this, the Celestial Worthy (Tianzun) proclaimed the Lingguan Incantation:

O Marshal Lingguan, illustrious and fiercely resolute, martial and majestic! Above you reach the celestial realm; below you extend to the earth. You hurl forth flame and drive wind and thunder. Above, the Cinnabar Sparrow soars; below, the Vermilion Dragon races. Golden light blazes, and black mist spreads. Evil demons hear of you and lose heart; ghosts and specters hide themselves in silence. You pacify the people and guard the state; you punish wicked deeds and sweep away baleful misfortune. You extinguish disaster and cause blessing and virtue to flourish. May the true Qi (vital energy) of the Five Numina descend upon my person, so that all I seek is fulfilled and all I wish is accomplished. The Northern Emperor (Beidi) issues his command: divine merit must be established. Quickly, quickly, in accordance with the statutes and ordinances!

Note: In the original, the wording that follows “if grime and obscuration are removed,” namely “the power of wisdom,” appears semantically incomplete; in the incantation, the passage “all that is sought is fulfilled, and wishes are…” is likewise suspected of corruption. The reading above smooths the sense according to context.

The Celestial Worthy said: If living beings in the world meet with natural disasters, grave illness, or the spread of pestilence, so that contagious disease finds no cure; or if they lie long abed and have no way to seek a physician or obtain medicine; or if they encounter monkey and dog sprites, or foxes working mischief—beings that change their forms to delude the living, impersonate exalted deities, and call themselves great sages, occupy people’s houses, seize their souls, set fires, hurl bricks, and steal property, and even produce all manner of strange events, such as doors opening of themselves when there is no wind, or pots growing hot of themselves when there is no fire—thereby disturbing the common people, then one ought, in a pure and quiet courtyard, to invite a Zhengyi (Orthodox Unity) Daoist priest to set up an altar according to the Keyi (liturgy), copy out and submit memorials and petitions, perform a jiao offering, and sacrifice to the Five Great Marshals of the Heavens (divine generals in Daoism who command troops, expel evil, and protect the people), burn incense, light lamps, and recite my divine spells. If this is done for one day or for five days, divine generals such as the Great God of the Iron Wheel, Great General White Snake, the Faceless General, and the troops and horses of the Fire Division will descend together, sweep away demonic and evil Qi (vital energy), settle the household, bring peace to the people, and drive off all that is inauspicious.

There are also those who suffer the calamity of prison, held in custody and bound in cangue and shackles with no way to escape; or whose family fortunes are blocked and whose plans are hard to bring to success, who face endless gossip and dispute, frequent unexpected quarrels, the wasting of money and property, the decline of destiny and official emolument, obstruction in every direction, the three calamities arriving one after another, and years upon years of hardship and prolonged misfortune. They too ought to proceed as described above and invite a Daoist priest to perform the Keyi. In this way, Marshal Lingguan, the Immortal Official of Fortune and Virtue, and the Lad of Auspicious Blessing will descend in good time, protect all living beings, cause disasters and misfortunes to be dispelled, and make every affair turn out as one wishes.

If someone passes through empty mountains and wilds or remote woods and lodges alone, growing fearful at heart, that person need only burn incense and recite the Jing (scripture/classic); baleful evils will then disperse of themselves, and the person will be safe and free of trouble.

If someone is stubborn and unruly by nature, does not believe in the true Dao (the Way), slanders the true Jing, and treats incense offerings with contempt, the Patrolling General and the Envoy Who Travels the Earth (divine generals charged with inspecting and recording offenses) will investigate and record that person’s crimes and judge whether they are grave or light. Those whose crimes are grave will be cast into water and fire and die a violent, untimely death; those whose crimes are lighter will still have their span of life cut short and their blessings and emoluments taken away, and will suffer calamity, illness, and bodily pain.

One should know that Marshal Lingguan is mighty, fierce, and unyielding, and that retribution under him is especially swift. He holds authority over fortune and misfortune, over life and death, and thereby displays divine majesty. If good men and good women are fortunate enough to encounter this Jing, they ought to receive, uphold, read, and recite it with sincere reverence. They may also copy it and give it to others, teach others to uphold and recite it, or print this Jing and widely exhort and convert people. Marshal Lingguan will rejoice at this and swiftly bestow blessing and protection, causing the family estate to flourish and wealth and goods to abound, so that one receives the aid of noble persons and the safeguarding of divine power, and every wish that is prayed for can be fulfilled.

At this time, the Perfected Dinghui (Dinghui Zhenren) and the immortals assembled there, having heard all that the Celestial Worthy (Tianzun) had said, rejoiced and leaped with delight. They bowed their heads toward the Lingguan—the numinous abbey, or sacred dwelling—and offered these prayers.

They bowed to the Five Holy Worthies of the Lingguan, praying that the realm be peaceful and secure. They bowed to the Five Holy Worthies of the Lingguan, praying for seasonable winds and timely rains, with rainfall in accord with the seasons. They bowed to the Five Holy Worthies of the Lingguan, praying that the various grains ripen of themselves in abundant harvest. They bowed to the Five Holy Worthies of the Lingguan, praying that households be safe and at peace. They bowed to the Five Holy Worthies of the Lingguan, praying that parents enjoy long life. They bowed to the Five Holy Worthies of the Lingguan, praying that plans and undertakings proceed smoothly and as one wishes. They bowed to the Five Holy Worthies of the Lingguan, praying that wealth and goods be ample and abundant. They bowed to the Five Holy Worthies of the Lingguan, praying that fire and thieves not come to trouble them. They bowed to the Five Holy Worthies of the Lingguan, praying that going forth on affairs and coming and going in trade proceed smoothly. They bowed to the Five Holy Worthies of the Lingguan, praying for freedom from illness and calamity, and for lasting health and ease. They bowed to the Five Holy Worthies of the Lingguan, praying that every kind of blessing descend together. They bowed to the Five Holy Worthies of the Lingguan, praying that the sacred teaching of the Celestial Perfected—Daoism—flourish.

When the immortals had finished their praises and prayers, the Celestial Worthy came to receive them, riding a dragon chariot amid ceremonial insignia and banners, and then returned to the Zhenjing, the sacred realm in which the perfected dwell. At that time the Celestial Worthy spoke again to the Perfected Dinghui: “You have received this scripture (Jing) that I have expounded; you ought to descend into the human world and propagate it. Those who revere this scripture and practice according to its text will be able to pray and receive its blessings.”

Thereupon the Perfected Dinghui and the assembled immortals, obeying the Celestial Worthy’s command, paid their respects and withdrew.