《太上三生解冤妙经》

At that time, the Celestial Worthy Who Seeks Out Cries and Saves from Suffering—the honored deity who hears cries of suffering and delivers all living beings—was touring the worlds of the ten directions with his attendants, teaching and transforming beings so that they might escape hardship, turn toward the correct Dao (the Way), and no longer stray into deviant paths. The Celestial Worthy saw that in the west there was a kingdom whose king was named Jingfan. Most of the people of this kingdom were sunk in lust and the killing of living beings and did no good deeds; as a result, many fell into hell, and some lost their human form.

The Celestial Worthy pitied these beings and therefore manifested a transformation body and came into the human world. One night, King Jingfan dreamed of a deity who told him, “Tomorrow a celestial perfected one will come from the east. Why do you not go to welcome him?” The king therefore did not sleep all night, sitting and waiting for dawn. He summoned his ministers, consorts, and kinsfolk, together with the people of the city; they left their former residences and went together to receive the Celestial Worthy. When they reached the west of the city, they saw a great garden there, its towers and pavilions neatly arrayed and its flowers in full bloom.

At that moment the Celestial Worthy sat upright on a golden dragon throne in the Hall of the Seven Treasures, with celestial youths beside him to serve and guard him. King Jingfan, the ministers, the consorts and kinsfolk, and the people all sat gathered below the Celestial Worthy’s seat, listening as he expounded the methods of the Zhengyi (Orthodox Unity) Dao. Suddenly auspicious Qi (vital energy) filled the garden, and heavenly flowers drifted down in profusion. Everyone was at once astonished and overjoyed, beyond what words could express.

The queen and the noble consorts burned incense and paid their respects, then knelt and reported, “We dwell in a remote and minor kingdom, and our understanding is shallow. We have never heard Daoist teachings so lofty, profound, and mysterious. To meet the Celestial Worthy today is truly a rare blessing. We have a concern in our hearts that we wish to report in person, and we earnestly beg the Celestial Worthy, in his compassion, to allow us to speak of it.”

The Celestial Worthy said, “Whatever you have to say, speak freely.”

The queen then reported, “The king is now advanced in years, yet still no heir has been designated to succeed to the throne. Previously I conceived, but miscarried within a few months. Even when a child was carried to full term and born, whether boy or girl, it often lived only one year, two years, three years, or five years before dying young. We do not know what offense we committed in a former life or in this life to meet with such a fate. If we may receive the Celestial Worthy’s pity, we beg him to bestow his guidance.”

The Celestial Worthy (Tianzun) said, “This is because, when you were pregnant in a previous life, you were careless: you harmed the child and caused the fetus to be lost. That child harbored resentment, and so in this life you suffer this retribution. Lest you not believe me, I will now summon this wronged soul, and you may question him yourself.”

The Celestial Worthy pointed to a certain place. The empress looked and saw a yaksha (a ghost or spirit of fierce countenance), his face a greenish blue, his eyes like strange stars. The yaksha pointed at the empress and said, “In a former life, by arrangement of the offices of the underworld, I was reborn as your child. You were still young then and had no understanding at all of how to cherish me; you acted as you pleased, and through a moment of carelessness you caused me to lose my life. I had meant to take revenge on you. Yet in your previous life you were born in China. You revered Heaven and Earth, the sun, the moon, and the stars; you served your parents-in-law with diligence and were filial to your parents; you honored the Three Jewels of Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha (the objects of Buddhist faith) and respected good people. When fashioning sacred images and copying scriptures (jing) you were never stingy; you also built halls and ritual altars and did your utmost in good works. You pitied those in hardship and relieved the poor. Because of the merit you accumulated, you have in this life been able to become empress of a small kingdom. Were it not for this store of blessing, I would long ago have killed you—how many times, I cannot say.”

When the empress heard this, her mind was seized with terror and her whole body trembled. She knelt before the Celestial Worthy and said, “In a previous life I did indeed do such a thing. Now that I understand, regret comes too late. I beg the Celestial Worthy to offer a brief instruction and grant me an expedient means of liberation. I am willing to bring forth all that I possess and give it entirely in alms, seeking only to resolve this enmity.”

The Celestial Worthy (Tianzun) said: “Very good! Although in your previous life you accumulated great merit and widely practiced good deeds, you have not yet repented of the grievance-knots that you yourself have formed. In the past I received from the Celestial Worthy of Zhengyi (Orthodox Unity) the San Sheng Jie Yuan Miao Jing (the scripture explaining the elimination of the grievance-karma of the previous life, the present life, and the life to come). You should follow me and recite it with undivided attention, and the grievance-karma will naturally be dispelled.

“Human beings are born by receiving the Qi (vital energy) of Heaven and Earth, and are formed through the joining of Yin and Yang. Only after three months of pregnancy does the fetus begin to be distinguished as male or female. The fetus should be protected and nurtured and must not be harmed; its life is no different from that of an adult. If one carelessly injures the fetus, one incurs a debt of grievance. The grievance-karma planted in a single day may take three lifetimes to repay. Is this not something to be feared?

“Foolish beings, relying on their youth and strength, take no care during pregnancy and act as they please: climbing high and jumping down, carrying heavy loads and hurrying along, or riding until the body is exhausted. Some are careless in sexual relations; some strike, press, or knead the abdomen; some take medicines or apply needles and thereby injure the fetus; some eat poisonous fish and unclean meat, or eat hard food and drink cold beverages. All such things may harm the pregnancy. Some do this themselves; others incite someone else to harm the fetus. The causes are too many to recount in full. Karma created in a previous life meets its retribution in this life.

“For this reason a pregnant woman may be burdened with many illnesses, her pain unceasing, her appetite diminished, and movement difficult. Her skin swells and breaks; her waist feels as if bored through by an awl. She longs for daybreak and endures the night, and one day seems like a year. She suffers every pain until the months are complete and birth is at hand, yet she may still meet all kinds of hardship: labor lasting many days without delivery, the fetus lying crosswise or in an unfavorable position. Relatives and friends are afraid; the family is anxious. At that moment the aggrieved one comes to work its mischief, and the suffering is extreme. The mother may live while the child dies, or the child may live while the mother dies, or mother and child may both perish. All these become the souls of those who have died an unnatural and untimely death. If they are able to enter a womb and be reborn, they may suffer similar misery once again; if they have not yet been able to enter a womb, they will entangle and harm relatives and friends. If one can encounter this scripture and recite it with a sincere heart, all grievance-karma can be eliminated.”

Thereupon the Celestial Worthy proclaimed the incantation:

Morning and evening alternate, and the seasons run their course; light shines upon past and present. The myriad things receive the Qi (vital energy) bestowed by Heaven and Earth, which condenses and transforms to take on bodily form. Karmic grievances and faults stain body and mind, so that beings entangle one another across the three lifetimes of past, present, and future. By means of the Qi of Zhengyi (Orthodox Unity)—the orthodox primordial Qi revered in Daoism, the tradition of the Dao (the Way)—one may be released from the entanglement of wronged souls. When wronged souls hear the Jing (scripture/classic), they disperse; when they hear the sound of the scripture, they separate. The celestial troops and armored soldiers (guardian warriors of the heavens) support and protect, so that people remain secure and free from harm. May all living beings swiftly attain liberation and each find peace. The talismanic mandate of the Primordial Sovereign (a decree of the celestial realm) is carried out at every moment. Quickly, quickly, in accordance with the statutes and ordinances.

At this time, the assembly recited the scripture seven times. A yaksha (one among the ghosts and spirits) bowed in thanks before the Celestial Worthy and said, “Having now received this merit, I shall go to the Central Land and be reborn into a family of wealth and nobility.” When he had finished speaking, he bowed in thanks and departed. Hearing this, everyone was filled with joy.

The Celestial Worthy said, “This scripture is not limited to releasing the grievance-knots of a single person. If each of you brings forth a sincere heart and recites the scripture one hundred times, then all within a kingdom who are bound by grievance-knots will obtain liberation.” In the ritual assembly, the people at once recited the scripture together. When the hundred recitations were complete, they suddenly saw dark clouds spreading on every side, and from within the black mist an auspicious Qi descended from the sky. Many ghosts and spirits came forward to pay homage and said, “We have received the compassion of the Celestial Worthy, who has bestowed this scriptural teaching. Throughout the kingdom, grievance-knots—whether already formed or not yet formed, and whether the offenses be heavy or light—have all been released.” In the blink of an eye the clouds and mist dispersed, the sky grew clear, and the common people rejoiced and celebrated, praising and giving thanks for Heaven’s grace.

The assembly spoke again: “All of this depends on the power of the methods of the Dao, so that everyone has universally received salvation. Although at present no grievances or enmities cling to us, we fear that in the future we may commit faults. What merit should we cultivate in advance, so that we may forever remain far from such suffering?”

The Celestial Worthy said: “I now proclaim this Marvelous Scripture (Jing) for Resolving Grievances Across Three Lives (Sansheng Jieyuan Miaojing). If good men and faithful women burn incense and recite the scripture three times each day, the knots of grievance upon their own persons can be dissolved. If one can copy out a scripture with wholehearted attention and give it to another, every member of the household and all its dependents will likewise receive blessings.

If someone’s pregnancy Qi (vital energy) is weak, or if there have been repeated miscarriages and an unsettled pregnancy, one need only turn to worshiping this scripture, and the condition will grow stable, with the hope of giving birth to an intelligent child. If one often sees already deceased sons and daughters in dreams, this is caused by the karma of grievance, as though they were yet to come again. One ought, morning and evening each day, to burn incense and worship this scripture with a sincere heart, so that the aggrieved souls withdraw and one is no longer startled or disturbed.

If someone meets with many hardships in childbirth, then before the month of delivery one may invite a Zhengyi (Orthodox Unity) Daoist ritual master—a Daoist priest of the Zhengyi order—to burn incense and recite the scripture before the sacred images of the Three Pure Ones (Sanqing), the images enshrining the three honored deities Jade Clarity (Yuqing), Highest Clarity (Shangqing), and Great Clarity (Taiqing). In this way one can call forth the protection of benevolent spirits (Shen), so that the birth proceeds smoothly and one does not suffer the calamity of unjust grievance; mother and child will both be safe, each enjoying the full span of years allotted by Heaven.

Whether walking, pausing, sitting, or lying down, so long as one sincerely upholds, recites, and chants this scripture, in a future life as a human being one will be wealthy and noble, intelligent, and of comely features, with descendants flourishing, and will obtain boundless blessed reward.”

The Celestial Worthy, sighing over these causes and conditions, composed a verse and said:

Living beings constantly form enmities and grievances; when the knots of grievance grow deep, they are hard to undo.

A grievance bound in a single day brings retribution that does not cease across three lifetimes.

I now transmit this marvelous scripture, to release every kind of grievance-karma.

If, after hearing this scripture, one can recite and listen with wholehearted attention, the aggrieved adversaries will disperse of themselves.

After the Celestial Worthy had finished expounding the scripture, the host of immortals and the great sages came forward to receive the Celestial Worthy. The Celestial Worthy then traveled on to other regions to rescue living beings, and further said to the king and the royal consorts: “From now on, so long as you follow the orthodox Dao (the Way), you will be able to give birth to filial and intelligent boys.” I now entrust these words to you. May you listen and receive them with wholehearted attention, and the aggrieved adversaries will disperse of themselves.

At this time, after the Celestial Worthy (Tianzun) had finished expounding the scripture (Jing), the immortals and great sages came forward to welcome him. The Celestial Worthy then toured the various regions, saving and delivering all living beings, and said to the king and his consorts, “From now on, so long as you follow the correct Dao (the Way), you will give birth to filial and intelligent sons. I now give you three numinous talismans (Fulu). Write them in cinnabar and swallow them. The first talisman is for preserving the body, the second for warding off vengeful spirits, and the third for hastening childbirth. You may teach the people of the world to revere them and put them into practice.”