《玉清元始玄黄九光真经》

In the Daluo Heaven—the highest celestial realm spoken of in Daoism—jade texts of the dark and the yellow lie spread forth. Myriad kinds of primordial Qi (vital energy) coil and intertwine, their radiance like gold and jade. Golden youths who tend the incense and jade maidens who convey messages stand in attendance on either side.

Cloud-vapors fly together and gather into a canopy; fragrance disperses and turns into towers and pavilions. Within the towers there is a divine lord who keeps company with me. The Celestial Worthy of Primordial Beginning protects life, and the Most High Lord Lao governs the throat.

The azure-robed maiden—a symbolic name commonly used in Daoist internal cultivation—and the pure-yang jade youth together refine and nurture the orthodox Qi, returning it to the source of the Dao (the Way). The lofty, tiered palaces are the halls of the Jade Capital.

The deep and vast realm of the Brahma Heavens surpasses the many celestial realms. It can be called neither non-being nor being; the true substance is spontaneously self-so. Divine spirits descend into the world and become the essence-soul, Jing (essence), of human beings.

The yang soul (hun) upholds Jing and Qi, and the yin soul (po) nourishes the blood. When essence and blood are abundant and pure, the body is then endowed with the Qi of supreme yang. A person cultivates while relying on the ordinary body and, in the end, returns once more to the formless.

The vast and boundless true substance unites completely with the Great Void. Within emptiness and non-being there are still forms and images; the true substance is profound, mysterious, and freely interpenetrating. If one embraces and guards the one Qi and holds fast to original authenticity, the true substance does not change.

When it comes, one does not move along with it; when it suddenly departs, there is no clinging at all. Within the formless there is of itself a substance, and that substance takes true emptiness as its governing principle. The wondrous principle within true non-being accords completely with the Great Dao.

The cultivation of the sages is perfectly complete, and their merit has matured. They come and go and transform at their own command; they can transform and guide the worldly and return them to the true. When the conditions for teaching humankind come to an end, they return to the pure and lofty celestial realm.

In the pure and lofty celestial realm there is no higher world of form and appearance. Shen (spirit) is the substance, and emptiness is the abode. Spirit and the self fill all of emptiness, like waves of water reflecting the moon.

United with the Great Dao, sagely conduct is perfectly complete and merit has matured. One comes and goes and transforms at one’s own command, transforming and guiding the worldly and returning them to the true; when the conditions of teaching come to an end, one returns to the pure and lofty celestial realm.

In the pure and lofty celestial realm there is no higher world of form and appearance. Spirit is the substance, and emptiness is the abode. Spirit and the self fill all of emptiness, like waves of water reflecting the moon.

United with the Great Dao, one accords with Wuwei (non-action), seeking the true Dao and inquiring into the final refuge. Even the great demons of the Three Realms look up in worship and bow their heads in reverence. This realm is not one that demons can fathom; those who cultivate the Dao should understand it thoroughly and doubt no more.

The true sages of the Nine Heavens recite this scripture (Jing). Reciting the scripture brings blessings and helps practitioners accord with the true Dao and transcend the ordinary. When spirit reaches its utmost, there is no self; when the Dao reaches its utmost, it is without name.

The majestic Great Dao is the true source of the myriad dharmas. The celestial true ones of the nine yang and the hidden ghosts of the six yin do not share the same blessings or karmic conditions; upon hearing this subtle incantation of mine, each likewise gains something of their own.

With both ears able to hear the sound of the Great Dao (the Way), I now bow in reverent homage: to the ancestral founders of the Dao through myriad kalpas—the Celestial Worthy of Primordial Beginning, the Supreme Lord of the Dao, and the Most High Lord Lao; to the Yellow Elders of the Five Palaces, the Elders of the Three Mysteries, the Divine Kings Who Soar through Heaven, the Perfected of Wondrous Practice, the Perfected of the Left and the Right, and the True Lord of Great Unity; and to the Celestial Worthies of the Ten Directions and the High Gods of all the heavens.

May they protect all who suffer and also help people attain what they seek, so that they may keep the body whole, nurture life, and come to understand the principles of the hidden and the manifest. If this scripture (Jing) is recited only once, the host of deities will together uphold and protect the reciter; the Jade Lad and the Jade Maiden will record the reciter’s faults and name, causing that name to be entered in the registers of the immortals, and whatever is sought will likewise be accomplished.

The Perfected of the Primordial Terrace reported directly to the celestial palace, saying: “This scripture is the essential core of the Jade Scriptures. The perfected who hold office in heaven, when all are reckoned, are associated with more than two hundred and sixty scrolls of great scriptures, which are difficult to recite regularly. The essentials were therefore selected from them and set down in a little more than three hundred characters, so that people might recite them often.

“Because your heart turns toward the Great Dao and you revere the sacred scriptures, I open what is stored within the heart and broaden your aspiration, so that you may recite this scripture. In recitation, Jing (essence) and Qi (vital energy) coalesce within the body, bodily form and Shen (spirit) harmonize with each other, and deviant demons keep away. The two Qi of Yin-Yang blend in clarity and harmony and naturally commune with the Jade Writ. Spirit-consciousness rejoices and grows attached to the bodily form; after a long time, Shen and Qi unite, condensing spirit and Qi as the root of the body and gathering essence and Qi as the endowment of life.

“The Shen spoken of here is not a spirit that can be seen; the Jing spoken of is likewise not essence that has visible form. This alone is truly ‘the spirit within spirit, the essence within essence.’ Whatever clings to concrete images is not what I mean. One must cultivate diligently and practice with care and reverence. Keep the scripture stored at home for one ji, or for two ji (one ji usually means twelve years), await the season appointed by Heaven, and then choose a person who possesses the Dao and transmit it.”

The True Lord, Celestial Lord of Primordial Beginning Who Preserves Life, Divine Marquis of the Supreme Left Terrace (a title of a Daoist deity), descended and declared: “There remains a secret spell that may be submitted directly to the celestial realm, yet I dare not include it in the Jade Scripture (Yujing) on my own authority. In former times the Celestial Worthy of Primordial Beginning (Yuanshi Tianzun) dwelt in the Azure Heaven of the Beginning (Shiqing Tian) and proclaimed the Great Brahma True Sound (the vast true words of the celestial realm), universally delivering the myriad spirits. The divine spell is as follows:

‘Om! Primordial Beginning gives birth to Heaven; Om! Primordial Beginning gives birth to Earth; Om! Primordial Beginning gives birth to humanity. The Three Powers of Heaven, Earth, and humanity each occupy their proper station, and the myriad things flourish in teeming abundance. If a person cannot preserve life, after death they become a yin spirit; if Shen (spirit) and Qi (vital energy)—the qi of life and of numinous beings—are incomplete, they fall among the lower orders of ghosts.

Om! When lower ghosts hear my jade voice (the sacred sound), their ghostly forms are at once extinguished; casting off the bodily form of the ghostly kind, they are reborn in my celestial dwelling. Om! When the Dao (the Way) of the human realm hears my jade voice, it at once sets aside the karmic burdens of the dusty world, attains long life and immortality, sharing the lifespan of Heaven and Earth and shining together with the sun and moon. One’s own person receives blessing, and seven generations of ancestors are likewise honored; the seven generations of ancestors are delivered, so that their embodied kalpas ascend into Jade Clarity (Yuqing, the pure and subtle celestial realm spoken of in Daoism).

Om! When the Dao of the celestial realm hears my jade voice, the blessings bestowed by Heaven at once increase, past karmic obstructions are forever exhausted, and one no longer falls into the lower heavens; setting aside the karmic burdens of the human world, one attains long life and immortality, sharing the lifespan of Heaven and Earth and shining together with the sun and moon. One’s own person is blessed, and seven generations of ancestors receive honor; the seven generations of ancestors are delivered, so that their embodied kalpas ascend into Jade Clarity. Om! When the Dao of the celestial realm hears my jade voice, the blessings bestowed by Heaven at once increase, past karmic obstructions are forever exhausted, one no longer falls into the lower heavens, and one abides forever in Jade Clarity.

Respectfully obey the stern command of the God-Emperor of Primordial Beginning; swiftly, swiftly, carry it out! The two teachings are united as one. Om! Respectfully obey the command of the Great Holy Lord Vairocana of the Pure Dharma-body (in Buddhism, the Dharma-body Buddha who illuminates all things); swiftly, swiftly, carry it out.’

This spell is named the Divine Spell of Primordial Chaos, the Single Kalpa, Universally Delivering the Myriad Spirits. It is called the ancestral source of the myriad gods and the root of the One Qi (the primordial Qi of the cosmos). The syllable ‘Om’ is the true original Qi from which the world is generated. Reciting the spell can protect life, drive off every evil influence, and bring every wholesome vow to fulfillment; it can give birth to Heaven and Earth and transform and nurture the myriad things, and it is the foundation of blessed virtue and grace. It can relieve calamity, prolong life, and dissolve past karmic obstructions, so that those living in the world receive the shelter of blessing; it makes both form and spirit tend toward the wondrous and renders the One Qi pure and clear. Practitioners thereby gradually enter the realm of Wuwei (non-action); mind and nature are free of entanglement, virtuous conduct accords with the Dao, the host of gods regards them with reverence, and the throng of demons is brought under restraint. Those who diligently recite and uphold this scripture—there are none who cannot be delivered.”