《太上说通真高皇解冤经》

At that time the Supreme Dao Lord (Taishang Daojun, a revered deity of Daoism), together with a great company of holy beings, was beneath the Eight Soaring Forests and upon the Terrace of the Seven Treasures. Their ceremonial retinue was drawn up in orderly ranks as they expounded the essentials of the Great Dao (the Way). They sat in tranquil stillness, their bearing as solemn as Jade Capital Mountain, and they sent forth light of nine colors, illuminating the halls of blessing and the hells.

The assembly saw that in the halls of blessing good men and women lived in peace and joy, free and at ease. They also saw many hungry ghosts and lonely souls in the various hells, enduring every kind of suffering day and night. These beings no longer had a human appearance; their bodies were rotting. When hungry they swallowed blazing fire, and when thirsty they drank molten copper. Their feet trod mountains of knives, and their bodies were beaten with iron staves. Blood covered them entirely, and their cries of anguish rose straight to the heavens.

At that moment a Zhenren (Perfected One, an honorific for a Daoist practitioner) named Guangxin, who was present in the assembly, rose and stepped forward. He bowed and asked, “I do not know what offenses these suffering departed souls committed in life, that they should undergo such torment.”

Lord Lao (Laojun) replied, “They suffer these hardships because, while alive, they did not revere the Three Treasures—the Dao, the Jing (scriptures), and the teachers honored in Daoism. They slighted the gods and the principles of Heaven, committed the ten evils and the five rebellious crimes, lacked loyalty, righteousness, and humaneness, were neither compassionate nor filial, harmed life, and killed living beings. When their store of blessings was exhausted and their lifespan came to an end, they had to bear this bitter retribution.”

The Zhenren Guangxin felt compassion and wished to rescue these departed souls. He therefore implored the Dao Lord to manifest divine power and to permit the disclosure of a method of deliverance. The Dao Lord then bestowed his teaching, broadly expounding the means of salvation, and proclaimed to the assembly this Jing, entitled Jieyuan Bazui (Resolving Grievances and Removing Sins), so that it might circulate in the world and benefit both the living and the dead.

If good men and faithful women concentrate their minds and hold firm their resolve, enter a quiet chamber, observe the fast and burn incense, practice the Dao six times a day—performing at the appointed times such rites as worship and the recitation of scriptures—and recite this Jing, then I shall protect and bless them according to their wishes. The enemies and grudges of their former lives will, by the power of this blessing, attain deliverance, and the departed souls in the hidden realm of darkness will each obtain ascent and liberation.

The Zhenren Guangxin rejoiced, bowed once more, and offered this hymn of praise:

How great is the Dao Lord!

Your merit is ever vast, measureless and without bound.

You are like a boat, carrying beings across the sea of birth and death,

Rescuing departed souls and enabling them to transcend Luofeng (the underworld of Daoist tradition).

The adversaries brought on by sinful karma will from this point never meet again, and the blessings one receives will also be in communion with the heavenly Dao (the Way) in the unseen realm.

The realm in which the Lord of the Dao wields his numinous power—how could human beings ever fathom it? And in praising his merits, how could one ever come to an end?

At this time, the Great Lord of the Dao Guangxin often performs vast and boundless meritorious deeds. Like a boat and its oars, he helps all beings cross the bitter sea of birth and death and frees them from Luofeng (the place of the dark underworld in Daoist legend).

The adversaries brought on by sinful karma will from this point never meet again, and the blessings one receives will also be in communion with the heavenly Dao in the unseen realm.

The realm in which the Lord of the Dao wields his numinous power—how could human beings ever fathom it? And in praising his merits, how could one ever come to an end?

At this time, after the Perfected Guangxin and the assembly present had finished hearing the Jing (scripture/classic), each performed the rite of prostration, took refuge in the methods of the Dao, and with sincere faith accepted them and practiced them according to the teaching.

Here ends the Taishang Shuo Tongzhen Gaohuang Jieyuan Jing (Scripture Spoken by the Most High on Penetrating the Perfected and the High Sovereign’s Resolution of Grievances).

Note: On the evidence of the Taishang Daojun Shuo Jieyuan Badu Miaojing (Wondrous Scripture Spoken by the Most High Lord of the Dao on Resolving Grievances and Delivering the Dead), the character zhen (真) in the title may be an erroneous writing of qi (其).