《太上说西斗记名护身妙经》

At that time, the Most High Lord Lao descended upon the capital of Shu. On the seventh day of the first month in the second year of Yongshou, he finished expounding the Dongdou Changsheng Jing (Scripture of Longevity of the Eastern Dipper) for the Zhengyi (Orthodox Unity) Celestial Master (Tianshi). At midnight on the fifteenth day of the same month, Lord Lao descended once more upon the capital of Shu. A numinous radiance illuminated several thousand li, and the ground shone as bright as water. In the sky there appeared a lofty terrace of white jade. Lord Lao leaned upon an armrest and sat down, summoned the Zhengyi Celestial Master, and said to him:

“I possess the Xuanyuan Dasheng Xidou Zhenjing (True Scripture of the Western Dipper of the Great Sage of the Mysterious Prime). It is a scripture treasured in the heavens above, able to deliver living beings on a wide scale. The lords of the Numinous Dippers who assemble in the offices of the Five Heavens hold the registers of heavenly and human destiny, and not one of them may be lacking. I have further seen that the good and evil of living beings, their merits and faults, and the lengthening or shortening of their spans of life and death must all be examined by the Office of the Great Reckoning of the Western Dipper. The name-registers of those in the world who receive deliverance, and the allotted destinies to which they belong, are likewise recorded there, without the slightest error. I have descended many times to transmit these numinous scriptures to you precisely because the Imperial Lord of the Great Reckoning of the Western Dipper is charged with tallying people’s good and evil and recording their merits and faults. Now I expound this scripture for you and cause it to circulate in the world, so that you may thoroughly understand the Dao (the Way) of the Five Heavens, the scriptures of the celestial realms, and the numinous power of the Five Primordials, and thereby ascend naturally in flight and universally save measureless multitudes of living beings.”

Lord Lao spoke again to the Zhengyi Celestial Master: “The Imperial Lord of the Great Reckoning tallies people’s good and evil and records their merits and faults. Now I expound this scripture for you and cause it to circulate in the world, so that you may thoroughly understand the Dao of the Five Heavens, the scriptures of the celestial realms, and the numinous power of the Five Primordials, and thereby ascend naturally in flight and universally save measureless multitudes of living beings.”

Laojun, the Most High Lord Lao, told the Celestial Master (Tianshi) of Zhengyi (Orthodox Unity)—the Celestial Master of the Zhengyi school of Daoism—that Xuanyuan, the origin of the Dao (the Way), has neither form nor appearance and is profound and subtle to the utmost extreme. The great Dao is vast, yet it follows what is natural and contrives nothing. The Five Dipper Star Lords, the stellar deities of the five directions venerated in Daoism, are sacred and exalted. Among them, the Great Emperor of the West holds authority over the celestial realm. He issues commands with solemn majesty, subdues deviant demons by divine power, presides over campaigns and executions both within and without, and also searches out the evil ghosts that have concealed themselves.

The Great Emperor of the West also registers the names of the people of the world: those who do good are surely recorded, and those who do evil are likewise surely noted. Each person’s name differs, and the allotted span of life and death is likewise fixed. The spirits of the Western Dipper constantly move about on inspection, illuminating the Three Paths and Five Sufferings—the sufferings of the hells—the Ten Lands and Nine Springs, the dark underworld, and similar places. All who depart this life, or who come and go between Yin and Yang (Yin-Yang), must be examined through the Registers of the Directional Assemblies, the ledgers that record the relevant name-registers. The Great Tubes and Lang-Texts, celestial documents recording the name-registers of spirits together with their merits and faults, verify the multitude of spirits. The names of those who receive deliverance must also be entered in the registers; without these records, the corresponding deliverance cannot be completed. The Grand Mystery, the profound and remote celestial realm, issues its command, and the Imperial Lord of the Western Dipper administers these affairs in accordance with Heaven’s mandate.

I once heard, in the Palace of Grand Numinosity, a divine palace of the celestial realm, songs and cavern-texts—sacred writings secretly transmitted in Daoism—concerning the Western Dipper. These are treasures stored in the heavens, kept secret and not transmitted, so that ordinary people have no way to hear them. Now, because you are able to follow and uphold the great Dao, I shall once more expound for you the Jing (scripture/classic) of the Great Design of the Western Dipper.

If one can revere this scripture with utmost sincerity, and transmit and recite it to others, one can leave one’s own name-register and the merit of one’s cultivation in the Mysterious Registers and Lang-Texts, so that they ascend to the various heavens. The departments of the celestial realm will inspect and transmit the relevant records, and then memorialize them to Xuanyuan. Thereafter, relying on the name-registers, the heavens enable a person to pass through the critical limits of life and death in the world. A person’s reputation may be good or evil, and conduct may entail merit or fault; all are clearly recorded in the Mysterious Registers and are not concealed. I now transmit to you the Numinous Sounds of the Western Dipper, so that they may circulate in the world and save the beings of the dark underworld. This is a true chapter of the Dao, able to deliver innumerable beings on a vast scale.

Laojun further said that the Way of Heaven clearly records a person’s merits and faults, omitting nothing. He now transmits the Numinous Sounds of the Western Dipper, letting them circulate in the world in order to save the beings of the dark underworld. This is a true chapter of the Dao, able to deliver innumerable beings on a vast scale.

Lord Lao (Taishang Laojun) says: The Dao (the Way) of Heaven follows constant laws of operation, and the Western Dipper (Xidou, the western asterism in the Daoist system of stellar deities) records people’s names. It is silent and soundless, mysterious and profound, and belongs to the Shangqing, the higher celestial realms of which Daoism speaks. The Perfect Emperor of Great Majesty (Taiwei Zhendi) commands countless divine troops and wields the golden battle-axe; no one dares obstruct them. The divine troops destroy demonic spirits and sprites. On my left is Yuanrong, on my right Xuanying, and there are also divine generals such as Zhaoyao and Fenghui, who together command all manner of demons and monsters.

A person’s allotted span involves life and death. Good and evil are the root of destiny, tangled like silk threads in ceaseless connection. The Divine Kings Who Fly through Heaven shine with light and record the relevant matters, without the slightest error, in the talisman registers (Fuji, documents in which Daoism records deities, titles, or ritual offices). I possess the Cavern Chapters (Dongzhang, profound chapters of Daoist scripture, jing), which contain the primal numen of ultimate sanctity. Those whose cultivation reaches the state of the Ultimate Person (zhiren) obtain them and, when the time is ripe, can ascend in flight; people of the world who reverently uphold them can pass the barriers that concern the celestial court. The principle of this hidden operation is without sound and without form, yet it appears like brilliant stars. Quickly, quickly, in accordance with the statutes and commands of the Most High!

The incantation says:

Empty and still, radiant and bright, transcending the dusty world and taking the Dao as its root, rising to the realm beyond which nothing is higher: such is the Purple Tenuity Emperor (Ziwei Dijun, an imperial lord of the heavens). Within the true Dao there is inherently a spiritual nature, and within the mysterious scriptures there are orthodox deities. Countless divine troops are densely arrayed and interwoven; their light is brilliant, their majestic commands are clear, and they govern the body and life of human beings. A vast radiance runs through from beginning to end, and the Great August High Perfected (Taihuang Gaozhen, exalted perfected beings of the celestial realm) preside in their midst. Quickly, quickly, in accordance with the statutes and commands!

The first of the Western Dipper is Perfected Lord Baibiao, the second is Perfected Lord Gaoyuan, the third is Perfected Lord Dianhuangling, and the fourth is Perfected Lord Jiangjuwei.

Lord Lao says: All who recite this scripture—Perfected Lord Baibiao, Perfected Lord Gaoyuan, Perfected Lord Dianhuangling, Perfected Lord Jiangjuwei…

Lord Lao said: Anyone who recites this scripture must first observe fasting and purification and bathe, grow quiet, set the body upright, stand facing west, click the teeth four times, and then worship with a sincere heart. First intone “Xidou Dasheng Dijun” (the Great Sage and Imperial Lord of the Western Dipper, deity of the western constellations) twenty-one times, and only then begin reciting the scripture.

If one wishes to present a petition, perform a Zhaijiao (purification ritual—the Daoist rite of fasting and offering used to pray for blessings and avert disaster), or dispel calamity, the rite should be held on one’s own natal day, or on the seventh, ninth, or fifteenth day of the month. The altar must be carefully arranged. It may stand as high as seven chi or as low as seven cun, and nine chi in both width and length. From an unbroken length of silk seven chi long, make a banner, write on it the name “Xidou Dasheng Dijun,” and hang the banner at the top of the pole. Precious objects may also be displayed on the altar, or fragrant flowers of every kind set out. The rite may be performed at home or in a Daoist temple. At midnight, establish a pure offering altar, invite the Imperial Lord, and pay him homage. If there is a petition to present, face west, bow the head to the ground, and recite this scripture silently. The scripture says that in this way a response will come: good conduct will increase and evil conduct will cease, and one’s name will be recorded among the various heavens. On hearing the numinous and wondrous sound of the Dao (the Way), calamity cannot encroach. Profound and subtle, this scripture can widely deliver all living beings.

When the Most High had finished expounding the scripture, he solemnly charged the Celestial Master (Tianshi; Celestial Master Zhang): You have fully grasped the mysterious principle of the Western Dipper. Transmit it to later generations, and do not treat this scripture lightly. Believe it, receive it, and practice it, and death will be cut off and life prolonged. After seventy thousand years of the radiant luminaries, I shall once again proclaim this supreme and profound principle.

When Lord Lao had finished his instruction, he fell utterly silent, seeming at once present and absent, and no one knew where he had gone. The Celestial Master received the scripture and transmitted it to the people of the world.