《太上洞玄灵宝三十二天天尊应号经》

At that time, among those assembled there was an immortal named Fanming. He rose from his seat, straightened his robes and cap, stepped forward, and inquired of the Celestial Emperor Lord Qingming Hetong:

“In the past I attended upon the Celestial Worthies and paid them homage; I roamed the numinous realm of Lingwan and also took part in ritual assemblies, and the sights I beheld were all beyond words. Never before have I seen a magnificence such as today’s. The holy perfected immortals have all been advanced in rank; every one of them leaps with joy and is stirred beyond measure. The Celestial Worthies of the Ten Directions (venerable deities from the worlds of the ten directions) wear splendid morning crowns and robes woven of cloud-brocade. With a single voice they expound the teaching, delivering the beings of the various heavens and of the human world. On the left, supreme holy perfected immortals wait upon them; on the right, vajra warriors stand guard. Through the air swirl frosty vapors and purple numinous light; stamens like fine jade and numinous mushrooms cast forth their radiance. Numinous incense circles on the wind and mounts straight into the sky, its fragrance so rich it seems to veil the sunlight. Those who have come to the assembly rejoice beyond what words can express. All living beings who take part in the ritual assembly obtain peace and ease.

“I do not understand: the men and women of the lower realm have passed through countless lifetimes, accumulating every sort of habitual tendency and karmic cause, bound from generation to generation by causal ties. How can they escape trial and punishment? Toward what should they turn if their grave burden of guilt is to be removed?”

The Celestial Emperor Lord Qingming Hetong replied: “You harbor a compassionate heart and take pity on living beings. It is precisely because of this causal connection that you have accumulated immense merit. As for the causal entanglements that bind generation after generation, how one may escape trial and punishment, and toward what one ought to turn in order to remove a grave burden of guilt…”

The Imperial Lord of Qingming Hetong Heaven said: “You have widely practiced compassion and shown pity for all living beings. The merit you have thereby accumulated is deep and weighty, and so I explain this method for you. Listen carefully, receive it, and carry it out with devout sincerity.

The karmic causes, conditions, and retributions that living beings undergo are not all alike, and they cannot be dissolved by a single method. Only by broadly invoking the true numina can one gain liberation. I now open the silver slips and jade registers in the Palace of Golden Florescence and proclaim the titles of the Celestial Worthies (Tianzun), to be left for later generations. You must uphold them with care and must not disclose them at will. Men and women who set their hearts on cultivation should diligently and reverently bow in worship, praying that their grave offenses be removed, and, following the ritual procedure, burn incense, light lamps, visualize the deities, and pay homage to their teachers. In the rite one must also sound the celestial bell twelve times, swallow the salivary fluids three times, even the voice and steady the breath, and then chant the Limitless Cavern Stanzas (Wuliang Dongzhang), the scriptural chapters recited in Daoist purification rites.”

The Limitless Cavern Stanzas read:

The Qi (vital energy) of clear brightness nourishes the myriad things, and the winding road returns to Dragon Mountain. The jade forest of Axiu is thick with branches, its radiance streaming outward as it rises high toward the four quarters. Suddenly the numinous turning of the kalpa changes, and Hemo spreads through the hours. True Qi flows through the courts of the Three Realms; with chanted song and whistling, one diligently carries out the transformations.

Of the Qi of clear brightness, the Limitless Cavern Stanzas chant again:

The Qi of clear brightness nourishes the myriad things, and the winding road returns to Dragon Mountain. The jade forest of Axiu is thick with branches, its radiance streaming outward as it rises high toward the four quarters. Suddenly the numinous turning of the kalpa changes, and Hemo spreads through the hours. True Qi flows through the courts of the Three Realms; with chanted song and whistling, one diligently carries out the transformations.

The silver slips and jade registers in the Palace of Golden Florescence of Qingming Hetong Heaven record the titles of one hundred Celestial Worthies of the Limitless world within the Heaven of Nine Qi in the East, who in their compassion save and deliver living beings. Practitioners should burn incense, observe purification and quiet the mind, pay homage, and reverently recite these titles, praying to be released from the dark, endless night of the Jade Coffer of the Ninefold Darkness of Mingzhen, so that beings of the human world and the heavens alike may universally leave suffering and attain deliverance, their sins, as countless as dust and sand, wiped away, and gain measureless good karmic affinities.

With utmost sincerity and faith I pay homage to the Celestial Worthy of the Wondrous Light of the Ten Extremes.

With utmost sincerity and faith I pay homage to the Celestial Worthy of the Eight Majesties Perfectly Formed.

With utmost sincerity and faith I pay homage to the Celestial Worthy of Mysterious Penetration and the Assembly of the Dao.

With utmost sincerity and faith I pay homage to the Celestial Worthy of the Lofty Void and the Turning of the Dao.

With utmost sincerity and faith I pay homage to the Celestial Worthy of Lofty Radiance and Circulating Brightness.

With utmost sincerity and faith I pay homage to the Celestial Worthy of the Three Florescences and the Western Numina.

With utmost sincerity and faith I pay homage to the Celestial Worthy of Quiescent Stability and Everlasting Existence.

With utmost sincerity and faith I pay homage to the Celestial Worthy of Supreme Effulgence and Numinous Brilliance.

With utmost sincerity and faith I pay homage to the Celestial Worthy of the Mysterious Dao and the Four Brahma Heavens.

With utmost sincerity and faith I pay homage to the Celestial Worthy of the True Dao Who Illumines and Delivers.

With utmost sincerity and faith I pay homage to the Celestial Worthy of True Treasure in Perfect Stillness.

With utmost sincerity and faith I pay homage to the Celestial Worthy of Sagely Perfection and Eastern Florescence.

With utmost sincerity and faith I pay homage to the Celestial Worthy of Precepts That Give Rise to the Cavern Mystery (Dongxuan).

With the most devout and reverent heart, I believe in and pay homage to the Celestial Worthy (Tianzun) of Quiescent Concentration and Radiant Unity.

With the most devout and reverent heart, I believe in and pay homage to the Celestial Worthy, Exalted Lord of the Four Heavens.

With the most devout and reverent heart, I believe in and pay homage to the Celestial Worthy of Wisdom, Emptiness, and Turning Light.

With the most devout and reverent heart, I believe in and pay homage to the Celestial Worthy of Penetrating Brightness at the Southern Extremity.

With the most devout and reverent heart, I believe in and pay homage to the Celestial Worthy Who Preserves the Double Mystery.

With the most devout and reverent heart, I believe in and pay homage to the Celestial Worthy of Precepts That Give Rise to Cavern Mystery (Dongxuan).

With the most devout and reverent heart, I believe in and pay homage to the Celestial Worthy of Quiescent Concentration and Radiant Unity.

With the most devout and reverent heart, I believe in and pay homage to the Celestial Worthy, Exalted Lord of the Four Heavens.

With the most devout and reverent heart, I believe in and pay homage to the Celestial Worthy of Wisdom, Emptiness, and Turning Light.

With the most devout and reverent heart, I believe in and pay homage to the Celestial Worthy of Penetrating Brightness at the Southern Extremity.

With the most devout and reverent heart, I believe in and pay homage to the Celestial Worthy Who Preserves the Double Mystery.

With the most devout and reverent heart, I believe in and pay homage to the Celestial Worthy of the Three Florescent Holy Perfected.

With the most devout and reverent heart, I believe in and pay homage to the Celestial Worthy, Most High of the Three Heavens.

With the most devout and reverent heart, I believe in and pay homage to the Celestial Worthy of Wisdom and Merit Opening into Clarity.

With the most devout and reverent heart, I believe in and pay homage to the Celestial Worthy of Golden Radiance Condensed in Stillness.

With the most devout and reverent heart, I believe in and pay homage to the Celestial Worthy of Pure Penetration and Wondrous Joy.

With the most devout and reverent heart, I believe in and pay homage to the Celestial Worthy of Undifferentiated Completion and the Great Unity.

With the most devout and reverent heart, I believe in and pay homage to the Celestial Worthy of the Empty Cavern Without Obstruction.

With the most devout and reverent heart, I believe in and pay homage to the Celestial Worthy of the Immortal Dao (the Way) in Undifferentiated Completion.

With the most devout and reverent heart, I believe in and pay homage to the Celestial Worthy of the Myriad Wonders and Skillful Means.

With the most devout and reverent heart, I believe in and pay homage to the Celestial Worthy of Wondrous Operation and Luminous Transformation.

With the most devout and reverent heart, I believe in and pay homage to the Celestial Worthy of the Four Brightnesses in Carefree Wandering.

With the most devout and reverent heart, I believe in and pay homage to the Celestial Worthy of Skillful Means and Correct Wisdom.

With the most devout and reverent heart, I believe in and pay homage to the Celestial Worthy of the Wisdom and Brightness of the Ultimate Dao.

With the most devout and reverent heart, I believe in and pay homage to the Celestial Worthy of the Golden Scripture (Jing) Condensed in Stillness.

With the most devout and reverent heart, I believe in and pay homage to the Celestial Worthy of Wondrous Colors in the Vermilion Garden.

With the most devout and reverent heart, I believe in and pay homage to the Celestial Worthy of Mysterious Awakening in the Three Heavens.

With the most devout and reverent heart, I believe in and pay homage to the Celestial Worthy of Resonant Wonder That Opens Radiance.

With the most devout and reverent heart, I believe in and pay homage to the Celestial Worthy of Purple Perfection and Southern Brightness.

With the most devout and reverent heart, I believe in and pay homage to the Celestial Worthy, Dharma King and Sovereign of the Void.

With the most devout and reverent heart, I believe in and pay homage to the Celestial Worthy of the Precious Scripture of the Upper Prime.

With the most devout and reverent heart, I believe in and pay homage to the Venerable Celestial Worthy.

With the most devout and reverent heart, I believe in and pay homage to the Celestial Worthy of Resonant Wonder That Opens Radiance.

With the most devout and reverent heart, I believe in and pay homage to the Celestial Worthy of Purple Perfection and Southern Brightness.

With the most devout and reverent heart, I believe in and pay homage to the Celestial Worthy, Dharma King and Sovereign of the Void.

With the most devout and reverent heart, I believe in and pay homage to the Celestial Worthy of the Precious Scripture of the Upper Prime.

With the most devout and reverent heart, I believe in and pay homage to the Celestial Worthy of the Turning Brightness of the Upper Prime.

With the most devout and reverent heart, I believe in and pay homage to the Celestial Worthy of the Earthly Sovereign and the Eight Simplicities.

With the most devout and reverent heart, I believe in and pay homage to the Celestial Worthy of Karmic Causation, Blessing, and Felicity.

With utmost sincerity of heart, revere and pay homage to Beizhen Miaoguang Tianzun (the Celestial Worthy of the true realm of the North, in whom wondrous light appears).

With utmost sincerity of heart, revere and pay homage to Zhuying Xuanyuan Tianzun (the Celestial Worthy illumined by vermilion brightness, deep and wondrous in the Mysterious Origin).

With utmost sincerity of heart, revere and pay homage to Kongji Dongzhi Tianzun (the Celestial Worthy who realizes emptiness and stillness and whose wisdom fully penetrates).

With utmost sincerity of heart, revere and pay homage to Taixuan Taiji Tianzun (the Celestial Worthy of profound mystery who abides in the realm of Taiji (Supreme Ultimate)).

With utmost sincerity of heart, revere and pay homage to Gaozhen Jiusheng Tianzun (the Celestial Worthy who, among the lofty perfected, rescues and protects living beings).

With utmost sincerity of heart, revere and pay homage to Mingying Huangyun Tianzun (the Celestial Worthy who discerns clearly and responds, and who accords with the imperial destiny).

With utmost sincerity of heart, revere and pay homage to Fangbian Shanqiao Tianzun (the Celestial Worthy skilled in employing fitting methods).

With utmost sincerity of heart, revere and pay homage to Miaorong Huacheng Tianzun (the Celestial Worthy who brings transformation to fulfillment through wondrous forms).

With utmost sincerity of heart, revere and pay homage to Yunming Zhenguang Tianzun (the Celestial Worthy who circulates and manifests light, and whose truth is vast and boundless).

With utmost sincerity of heart, revere and pay homage to Zhongmiao Zhenkong Tianzun (the Celestial Worthy who comprehends the many wondrous principles and embodies true emptiness).

With utmost sincerity of heart, revere and pay homage to Gaoyun Guangming Tianzun (the Celestial Worthy whose transformations reach high and far, and whose light is vast).

With utmost sincerity of heart, revere and pay homage to Dongxing Kongji Tianzun (the Celestial Worthy who penetrates original nature and realizes emptiness and stillness).

With utmost sincerity of heart, revere and pay homage to Xuanyuan Changle Tianzun (the Celestial Worthy of the mysterious, wondrous origin and of lasting peace and joy).

With utmost sincerity of heart, revere and pay homage to Zhusheng Miaozun Tianzun (the Celestial Worthy of exalted wondrousness in the sacred realm of vermilion brightness).

With utmost sincerity of heart, revere and pay homage to Nanji Zhenkong Tianzun (the Celestial Worthy who embodies true emptiness in the true realm of the Southern Pole).

With utmost sincerity of heart, revere and pay homage to Shangsheng Yinyuan Tianzun (the Celestial Worthy who presides over causes and conditions in the lofty sacred realm).

With utmost sincerity of heart, revere and pay homage to Xuanyun Zhidao Tianzun (the Celestial Worthy whose transformations are mysterious and wondrous, and who embodies the ultimate Dao (the Way)).

With utmost sincerity of heart, revere and pay homage to Taokang Yuguang Tianzun (the Celestial Worthy in whom jade light appears in the realm of Taokang).

With utmost sincerity of heart, revere and pay homage to Baku Ci'en Tianzun (the Celestial Worthy who, through compassionate grace, uproots suffering).

With utmost sincerity of heart, revere and pay homage to Haoying Xuwu Tianzun (the Celestial Worthy who illumines the void with pure, bright light).

With utmost sincerity of heart, revere and pay homage to Miaoguo Dansu Tianzun (the Celestial Worthy who perfects wondrous fruits and manifests the light of cinnabar and white).

With utmost sincerity of heart, revere and pay homage to Zhulun Miaozun Tianzun (the Celestial Worthy who rides the vermilion Dharma wheel and is incomparably exalted and wondrous).

With utmost sincerity of heart, revere and pay homage to Baku Ci'en Tianzun (the Celestial Worthy who, through compassionate grace, uproots suffering).

With utmost sincerity of heart, revere and pay homage to Haoying Xuwu Tianzun (the Celestial Worthy who illumines the void with pure, bright light).

With utmost sincerity of heart, revere and pay homage to Miaoguo Dansu Tianzun (the Celestial Worthy who perfects wondrous fruits and manifests the light of cinnabar and white).

With utmost sincerity of heart, revere and pay homage to Zhulun Miaozun Tianzun (the Celestial Worthy who rides the vermilion Dharma wheel and is incomparably exalted and wondrous).With a heart of utmost sincerity, one believes in and reverently honors the Celestial Worthy (Tianzun) of Northern Truth and Wondrous Light, the Celestial Worthy of the true realm of the North in whom wondrous light appears. With a heart of utmost sincerity, one believes in and reverently honors the Celestial Worthy of Vermilion Radiance and Mysterious Origin, the Celestial Worthy illumined by vermilion brightness and profound in mysterious origin. With a heart of utmost sincerity, one believes in and reverently honors the Celestial Worthy of Emptiness, Stillness, and Penetrating Wisdom, the Celestial Worthy who realizes emptiness and stillness and whose wisdom fully penetrates. With a heart of utmost sincerity, one believes in and reverently honors the Celestial Worthy of Great Mystery and the Supreme Ultimate (Taiji), the Celestial Worthy who is deeply mysterious and abides in the realm of the Supreme Ultimate. With a heart of utmost sincerity, one believes in and reverently honors the Celestial Worthy of Exalted Truth Who Rescues Life, the Celestial Worthy among the exalted perfected who saves living beings.

With a heart of utmost sincerity, one believes in and reverently honors the Celestial Worthy of Clear Response and Imperial Destiny, the Celestial Worthy who clearly perceives sympathetic resonance and accords with the imperial destiny. With a heart of utmost sincerity, one believes in and reverently honors the Celestial Worthy of Expedient and Skillful Means, the Celestial Worthy skilled in employing fitting methods. With a heart of utmost sincerity, one believes in and reverently honors the Celestial Worthy of Wondrous Countenance and Transformative Accomplishment, the Celestial Worthy who brings transformation to completion through a wondrous form. With a heart of utmost sincerity, one believes in and reverently honors the Celestial Worthy of Circulating Brightness and True Vastness, the Celestial Worthy who circulates and transforms light, whose truth is vast and boundless. With a heart of utmost sincerity, one believes in and reverently honors the Celestial Worthy of the Myriad Wonders and True Emptiness, the Celestial Worthy who comprehends the many wondrous principles and embodies true emptiness. With a heart of utmost sincerity, one believes in and reverently honors the Celestial Worthy of Lofty Working and Vast Brightness, the Celestial Worthy whose transformative movement reaches high and far and whose light is broad and great.

With a heart of utmost sincerity, one believes in and reverently honors the Celestial Worthy of Penetrating Nature and Empty Stillness, the Celestial Worthy who discerns fundamental nature and realizes emptiness and stillness. With a heart of utmost sincerity, one believes in and reverently honors the Celestial Worthy of Mysterious Origin and Lasting Joy, the Celestial Worthy of the subtle mysterious source and of enduring peace and joy. With a heart of utmost sincerity, one believes in and reverently honors the Celestial Worthy of the Vermilion Sage and Wondrous Honor, the Celestial Worthy exalted and wondrous within the holy realm of vermilion brightness. With a heart of utmost sincerity, one believes in and reverently honors the Celestial Worthy of the Southern Extremity and True Emptiness, the Celestial Worthy who embodies true emptiness in the true realm of the Southern Extremity. With a heart of utmost sincerity, one believes in and reverently honors the Celestial Worthy of the Supreme Sages and of Causes and Conditions, the Celestial Worthy who, in the lofty holy realm, presides over causes and conditions. With a heart of utmost sincerity, one believes in and reverently honors the Celestial Worthy of Mysterious Working and the Ultimate Dao (the Way), the Celestial Worthy who transforms with subtle mystery and embodies the ultimate Dao.

With a heart of utmost sincerity, one believes in and reverently honors the Celestial Worthy of Taokang and Jade Light, the Celestial Worthy in whom jade light appears within the realm of Taokang. With a heart of utmost sincerity, one believes in and reverently honors the Celestial Worthy of the Removal of Suffering and of Compassionate Grace, the Celestial Worthy who uproots suffering through compassionate grace. With a heart of utmost sincerity, one believes in and reverently honors the Celestial Worthy of Pure Radiance Illumining the Void, the Celestial Worthy who, with pure and bright light, illumines the empty void. With a heart of utmost sincerity, one believes in and reverently honors the Celestial Worthy of Wondrous Fruit and Cinnabar-and-White, the Celestial Worthy who accomplishes the wondrous fruit and manifests the light of cinnabar and white. With a heart of utmost sincerity, one believes in and reverently honors the Celestial Worthy of the Vermilion Wheel and Wondrous Honor, the Celestial Worthy who rides the vermilion wheel of the teaching and is supremely exalted and wondrous.

With a heart of utmost sincerity, one believes in and reverently honors the Celestial Worthy of the Removal of Suffering and of Compassionate Grace, the Celestial Worthy who uproots suffering through compassionate grace. With a heart of utmost sincerity, one believes in and reverently honors the Celestial Worthy of Pure Radiance Illumining the Void, the Celestial Worthy who, with pure and bright light, illumines the empty void. With a heart of utmost sincerity, one believes in and reverently honors the Celestial Worthy of Wondrous Fruit and Cinnabar-and-White, the Celestial Worthy who accomplishes the wondrous fruit and manifests the light of cinnabar and white. With a heart of utmost sincerity, one believes in and reverently honors the Celestial Worthy of the Vermilion Wheel and Wondrous Honor, the Celestial Worthy who rides the vermilion wheel of the teaching and is supremely exalted and wondrous. With a heart of utmost sincerity, one believes in and reverently honors the Celestial Worthy of the Central Yellow Who Circulates the Dao, the Celestial Worthy who occupies the station of the Central Yellow and circulates and transforms the Great Dao. With a heart of utmost sincerity, one believes in and reverently honors the Celestial Worthy of Wondrous Light and Golden Splendor, the Celestial Worthy who manifests wondrous light and golden luster.

With a heart of utmost sincerity, one believes in and reverently honors the Celestial Worthy of Transformation through the Dao and of Wondrous Working, the Celestial Worthy who nurtures the myriad things by means of the Dao and whose wondrous working is inexhaustible. With a heart of utmost sincerity, one believes in and reverently honors the Celestial Worthy of the Numinous Officer and Western Brightness, the Celestial Worthy who is a numinous officer in the bright realm of the West. With a heart of utmost sincerity, one believes in and reverently honors the Celestial Worthy of the Earth August and Great Unity, the Celestial Worthy who is the supreme Great Unity within the realm of the Earth August. With a heart of utmost sincerity, one believes in and reverently honors the Celestial Worthy Who Stills and Settles the Three Karmas, the Celestial Worthy who brings the three karmas of body, speech, and mind to purity and calm. With a heart of utmost sincerity, one believes in and reverently honors the Celestial Worthy of the True Dao Manifesting Brightness, the Celestial Worthy who causes the true Dao to appear as light. With a heart of utmost sincerity, one believes in and reverently honors the Celestial Worthy of Expedient Protection, the Celestial Worthy who skillfully employs expedient methods to protect living beings.

With a heart of utmost sincerity, one believes in and reverently honors the Celestial Worthy of the Highest Grade and the Celestial August, the Celestial Worthy who is the Celestial August of the highest heavenly realm. With a heart of utmost sincerity, one believes in and reverently honors the Celestial Worthy of Immortal Virtue (De) and Penetrating Origin, the Celestial Worthy who is replete with immortal virtue and fully penetrates the fundamental origin. With a heart of utmost sincerity, one believes in and reverently honors the Celestial Worthy of Highest Clarity and True Origin, the Celestial Worthy who embodies the true origin within the realm of Highest Clarity. With a heart of utmost sincerity, one believes in and reverently honors the Celestial Worthy of Inner Radiance Reflecting the Three Luminaries, the Celestial Worthy whose inner light reflects the three luminaries of sun, moon, and stars. With a heart of utmost sincerity, one believes in and reverently honors the Celestial Worthy of Wondrous Light and the Cinnabar Grade, the Celestial Worthy who manifests wondrous light and possesses the cinnabar grade.

These sentences are liturgical praises honoring the Celestial Worthies one by one. “Zhixin xinli” means to believe in and worship with a heart of utmost sincerity; among the titles, the “three karmas” refer to the acts of body, speech, and mind. The honorific names of the Celestial Worthies contain many symbolic Daoist expressions, conveying powers such as radiance, emptiness and stillness, the relief of suffering, and nurturing transformation. In the original text, the Celestial Worthy of the Removal of Suffering and of Compassionate Grace, the Celestial Worthy of Pure Radiance Illumining the Void, and the Celestial Worthy of Wondrous Fruit and Cinnabar-and-White appear more than once; they have been retained above in accordance with the original.

With the most sincere faith, I respectfully salute the Celestial Worthy (Tianzun) of Radiant Deliverance through the Immortal Dao (the Way).

With the most sincere faith, I respectfully salute the Celestial Worthy of Concentration and Wisdom of the Highest Grade.

With the most sincere faith, I respectfully salute the Celestial Worthy of All-Illuminating Wisdom of the Dao.

With the most sincere faith, I respectfully salute the Celestial Worthy of True Unity, the Most Supreme.

With the most sincere faith, I respectfully salute the Celestial Worthy of Wondrous Light and the Cinnabar Register.

With the most sincere faith, I respectfully salute the Celestial Worthy of Radiant Deliverance through the Immortal Dao.

With the most sincere faith, I respectfully salute the Celestial Worthy of Concentration and Wisdom of the Highest Grade.

With the most sincere faith, I respectfully salute the Celestial Worthy of All-Illuminating Wisdom of the Dao.

With the most sincere faith, I respectfully salute the Celestial Worthy of True Unity, the Most Supreme.

With the most sincere faith, I respectfully salute the Celestial Worthy of Holy Perfection Without End.

With the most sincere faith, I respectfully salute the Celestial Worthy of Azure Efflorescence Who Relieves Suffering.

With the most sincere faith, I respectfully salute the Celestial Worthy of the King of the Law and the Precious Ocean.

With the most sincere faith, I respectfully salute the Celestial Worthy of Patterned Brilliance and Lofty Destiny.

With the most sincere faith, I respectfully salute the Celestial Worthy of the Dao of Wisdom Who Illumines Emptiness.

With the most sincere faith, I respectfully salute the Celestial Worthy of Empty Characteristics and Manifold Goodness.

With the most sincere faith, I respectfully salute the Celestial Worthy Who Brings Cause and Effect to Fulfillment.

With the most sincere faith, I respectfully salute the Celestial Worthy of True Response and Revolving Light.

With the most sincere faith, I respectfully salute the Celestial Worthy of Transforming Manifestation, the Most Supreme.

With the most sincere faith, I respectfully salute the Celestial Worthy of Condensed Stillness in the Golden Palace.

With the most sincere faith, I respectfully salute the Celestial Worthy of Empty Stillness and the Cavernous Origin.

With the most sincere faith, I respectfully salute the Celestial Worthy of the Azure Origin and Wondrous Power.

With the most sincere faith, I respectfully salute the Celestial Worthy Without Characteristics Who Universally Nourishes.

With the most sincere faith, I respectfully salute the Celestial Worthy of the Dharma Assembly of Azure Efflorescence.

With the most sincere faith, I respectfully salute the Celestial Worthy of Ninefold Radiance of Dongzhen (Cavern of Perfection).

With the most sincere faith, I respectfully salute the Celestial Worthy of Wondrous Colors and the Golden Register.

With the most sincere faith, I respectfully salute the Celestial Worthy of Jasper and Jade and the Ocean of the Law.

With the most sincere faith, I respectfully salute the Celestial Worthy of Mysterious Resonance and Revolving Light.

With the most sincere faith, I respectfully salute the Celestial Worthy of Unobstructed Higher Birth.

With the most sincere faith, I respectfully salute the Celestial Worthy of the Radiance of Shen (spirit) of Dongzhen.

With the most sincere faith, I respectfully salute the Celestial Worthy of Wondrous Colors and the Golden Register.

With the most sincere faith, I respectfully salute the Celestial Worthy of Jasper and Jade and the Ocean of the Law.

With the most sincere faith, I respectfully salute the Celestial Worthy of Mysterious Resonance and Revolving Light.

With the most sincere faith, I respectfully salute the Celestial Worthy of Unobstructed Higher Birth.

With the most sincere faith, I respectfully salute the Celestial Worthy of the Clarity of Shen of the Upper Cavern.

The Celestial Lord of Qingming Hetong Heaven (sovereign of Qingming Hetong Heaven) says: If male and female beings sincerely dedicate their lives and take refuge, bowing before the silver slips and jade registers in the Jinhua Palace (jade volumes that record the names and merits of the Celestial Worthies), intoning and praising the one hundred Celestial Worthies (Tianzun) of the boundless world of the East, chanting the Cavern Chapters (Dongzhang, Daoist scriptures), visualizing the deities and contemplating the Perfected, burning incense and lighting lamps, and keeping the fast and offering prayers in a pure and quiet chamber, they may petition for the removal of the offenses accumulated by the living and the dead through successive lives, from the beginningless past down to the present life, including such sins as failing to keep one’s word and practicing deceit and falsehood.

Offenses of this kind are entered in the registers of sin by the spirits of the Ten Uprights of the East, the envoys of the Celestial Emperor, and deities such as the Director of Destiny and the Director of Records, and are then memorialized to the Celestial Administration (Tiancao, the offices of the heavenly realm). Karmic guilt entangles beings life after life, so that release is hard to attain. The registers of sin are stored in the jade coffers (boxes made of jade) of the Bureau of Numinous Officials in the boundless world of the East of Qingming Hetong Heaven; afterward one must still undergo examination in the hells of Fengdu (the underworld of Daoist tradition), suffering through kalpas amid torments like raging winds and towering waves, with no way to be freed. The many pains of sin are endured one after another, and none knows when a turning may come. Therefore one prays that all these offenses may be eliminated, that the five sufferings may be forever lifted, that the bodily form and the hun and po souls may be at peace, that clothing and food may of themselves be sufficient, and that life may be carefree and at ease. Above, this receives the great compassion of the Celestial Worthies; below, it answers the sincere hearts of male and female beings who take refuge.

The silver slips and jade registers in the Jinhua Palace of Qingming Hetong Heaven record the names of the one hundred Celestial Worthies of the boundless world within the Heaven of the Three Qi (vital energy) of the South. When beings burn incense, keep the fast, worship, and pray, they may petition that the cases of the long night in the jade coffers of the Ninefold Darkness of the Luminous Perfected (the boxes and registers in the underworld that store the records of sin) be struck out, so that beings of the human world and the heavenly realm alike may leave suffering and gain liberation, eliminate karmic offenses as numerous as dust and sand, and obtain measureless good conditions.

With utmost sincerity I believe in and reverently pay homage to the Celestial Worthy of the Supreme Grade of the Inner Sounds.

With utmost sincerity I believe in and reverently pay homage to the Celestial Worthy of Wondrous Stillness of the Golden Hall.

With utmost sincerity I believe in and reverently pay homage to the Celestial Worthy of Liberation and Constant Radiance.

With utmost sincerity I believe in and reverently pay homage to the Three Measureless Good Conditions.

With utmost sincerity I believe in and reverently pay homage to the Celestial Worthy of the Supreme Grade of the Inner Sounds.

With utmost sincerity I believe in and reverently pay homage to the Celestial Worthy of Wondrous Stillness of the Golden Hall.

With utmost sincerity I believe in and reverently pay homage to the Celestial Worthy of Liberation and Constant Radiance.

With utmost sincerity I believe in and reverently pay homage to the Celestial Worthy, Dharma King of the Three Pure Ones (Sanqing).

With utmost sincerity I believe in and reverently pay homage to the Celestial Worthy Who Cherishes Life, the Jade Perfected.

With utmost sincerity I believe in and reverently pay homage to the Celestial Worthy, Lofty Sage of Western Radiance.

With sincere faith, believe in and reverently honor the Celestial Worthy (Tianzun) of Golden Mystery and Wondrous Splendor (Jinxuan Miaocai), the Celestial Worthy whose titles are Golden Mystery and Wondrous Splendor.

With sincere faith, believe in and reverently honor the Celestial Worthy of the Precious Capital and the Dharma Treasure (Baodu Fabao), the Celestial Worthy whose titles are Precious Capital and Dharma Treasure.

With sincere faith, believe in and reverently honor the Celestial Worthy of the Earth Sovereign and Azure Perfection (Dihuang Qingzhen), the Celestial Worthy whose titles are Earth Sovereign and Azure Perfection.

With sincere faith, believe in and reverently honor the Celestial Worthy of Wondrous Fruit and Elixir Fruit (Miaoguo Danguo), the Celestial Worthy whose titles are Wondrous Fruit and Elixir Fruit.

With sincere faith, believe in and reverently honor the Celestial Worthy of Precepts, Life-Nurture, and Orthodox Truth (Jiesheng Zhengzhen), the Celestial Worthy whose titles evoke precepts, the nurturing of life, and orthodox truth.

With sincere faith, believe in and reverently honor the Celestial Worthy of the Void Immortals and the Sea of the Dharma (Kongxian Fahai), the Celestial Worthy whose titles are Void Immortals and the Sea of the Dharma.

With sincere faith, believe in and reverently honor the Celestial Worthy of Purple Clarity and All-Pervading Light (Ziqing Guangbian), the Celestial Worthy whose titles are Purple Clarity and light that shines everywhere.

With sincere faith, believe in and reverently honor the Celestial Worthy of the Responding Sovereign and Lofty Supremacy (Yingdi Gaosheng), the Celestial Worthy whose titles are Responding Sovereign and Lofty Supremacy.

With sincere faith, believe in and reverently honor the Celestial Worthy of the Vermilion Carriage and Wondrous Splendor (Zhuyu Miaocai), the Celestial Worthy whose titles are Vermilion Carriage and Wondrous Splendor.

With sincere faith, believe in and reverently honor the Celestial Worthy of Majestic Radiance and Pure Brightness (Weiguang Jingming), the Celestial Worthy whose titles are majestic radiance and pure, clear light.

With sincere faith, believe in and reverently honor the Celestial Worthy of the Great Dao (the Way) and Transformative Light (Dadao Huaming), the Celestial Worthy whose titles are the Great Dao and the light of transformative nurture.

With sincere faith, believe in and reverently honor the Celestial Worthy of Transformative Stillness and Sympathetic Response (Huaji Yinggan), the Celestial Worthy whose titles are transformative stillness and sympathetic response.

With sincere faith, believe in and reverently honor the Celestial Worthy of True Emptiness and the Response of De (Virtue/Power) (Zhenkong Deying), the Celestial Worthy whose titles are True Emptiness and the response of De.

With sincere faith, believe in and reverently honor the Celestial Worthy of True Brightness and the Great Void (Zhenming Taixu), the Celestial Worthy whose titles are True Brightness and the Great Void.

With sincere faith, believe in and reverently honor the Celestial Worthy of True Rank and Universal Nourishment (Zhenpin Purun), the Celestial Worthy whose titles are True Rank and nourishment extended everywhere.

With sincere faith, believe in and reverently honor the Celestial Worthy of Cinnabar Purple and Wondrous Primacy (Danzi Miaoshou), the Celestial Worthy whose titles are Cinnabar Purple and Wondrous Primacy.

With sincere faith, believe in and reverently honor the Celestial Worthy of Jade Radiance and the Sea of the Dharma (Qiongying Fahai), the Celestial Worthy whose titles evoke the shining of fine jade and the vastness of the Sea of the Dharma.

With sincere faith, believe in the Celestial Worthy.

With sincere faith, believe in and reverently honor the Celestial Worthy of True Emptiness and the Response of De.

With sincere faith, believe in and reverently honor the Celestial Worthy of True Brightness and the Great Void.

With sincere faith, believe in and reverently honor the Celestial Worthy of True Rank and Universal Nourishment.

With sincere faith, believe in and reverently honor the Celestial Worthy of Cinnabar Purple and Wondrous Primacy.

With sincere faith, believe in and reverently honor the Celestial Worthy of Jade Radiance and the Sea of the Dharma.

With sincere faith, believe in and reverently honor the Celestial Worthy Who Illumines Immortal Spirits (Guangzhao Xianling), the Celestial Worthy whose title is the light that shines upon immortal spirits.

With sincere faith, believe in and reverently honor the Celestial Worthy of Mysterious Response and Salvific Light (Xuanying Duming), the Celestial Worthy whose titles are mysterious, subtle resonance and the light of salvation and deliverance.

With sincere faith, believe in and reverently honor the Celestial Worthy of Ascending Immortals and Higher Spirits (Feixian Shangling), the Celestial Worthy whose titles evoke ascent into the realm of the immortals and the spirits of the higher realm.

With sincere faith, believe in and reverently honor the Celestial Worthy of the Constant Deliverance of All (Yiqie Changdu), the Celestial Worthy whose title is the constant salvation and deliverance of all beings.

With sincere faith, believe in and reverently honor the Celestial Worthy of the Middle Rank and True Awakening (Zhongpin Zhenjue), the Celestial Worthy whose titles are the Middle Rank and true awakening.

With sincere faith, believe in and reverently honor the Celestial Worthy of Lasting Joy and Skillful Means (Changle Fangbian), the Celestial Worthy whose titles are lasting peace and joy and skillful, compassionate deliverance.

With sincere faith, believe in and reverently honor the Celestial Worthy of the Nine Lights and the Great Cavern (Jiuguang Dadong), the Celestial Worthy whose titles are the nine kinds of light and the realm of the Great Cavern.

With sincere faith, believe in and reverently honor the Celestial Worthy of Azure Florescence and the Dharma Boat (Qinghua Fazhou), the Celestial Worthy whose titles are Azure Florescence and the Dharma boat that carries beings across to deliverance.

With sincere faith, believe in and reverently honor the Celestial Worthy Who Saves the Dead, the Holy King (Dusi Shengwang), the Celestial Worthy whose titles are the salvation of the departed and the Holy King.

With sincere faith, believe in and reverently honor the Celestial Worthy of Bright Light and Jade Light (Mingguang Yuguang), the Celestial Worthy whose titles are Bright Light and Jade Light.

With sincere faith, believe in and reverently honor the Celestial Worthy of Wondrous Light and the Orthodox Dharma (Miaoguang Zhengfa), the Celestial Worthy whose titles are Wondrous Light and the Orthodox Dharma.

With sincere faith, believe in and reverently honor the Celestial Worthy of Precious Radiance and the Sea of the Dharma (Baohuan Fahai), the Celestial Worthy whose titles are Precious Radiance and the vast Sea of the Dharma.

With sincere faith, believe in and reverently honor the Celestial Worthy of the Silver Terrace and Wondrous Joy (Yintai Miaole), the Celestial Worthy whose titles are Silver Terrace and Wondrous Joy.

With sincere faith, believe in and reverently honor the Celestial Worthy of the Middle Prime and the Jade Capital (Zhongyuan Yujing), the Celestial Worthy whose titles are the Middle Prime and the Jade Capital.

With sincere faith, believe in and reverently honor the Celestial Worthy of Compassionate Grace and True Character (Ci’en Zhenpin), the Celestial Worthy whose titles are compassionate kindness and grace and true character.

With the most devout and reverent heart, I receive this in faith and pay homage to the True Lord, Celestial Sovereign of Heartfelt Faith and Ritual, the Celestial Worthy (Tianzun) of the Silver Terrace of Wondrous Joy—a Celestial Worthy’s title, meaning a venerable deity who dwells in the realm of the Silver Terrace of Wondrous Joy.

With the most devout and reverent heart, I receive this in faith and pay homage to the Celestial Worthy of the Middle Prime and the Jade Capital, a venerable deity associated with the Middle Prime and the Jade Capital.

With the most devout and reverent heart, I receive this in faith and pay homage to the Celestial Worthy of Compassionate Grace and True Rank, an honorific that conveys loving-kindness in bestowing grace, together with the sense of true quality.

With the most devout and reverent heart, I receive this in faith and pay homage to the True Lord, the Celestial Sovereign Celestial Worthy.

With the most devout and reverent heart, I receive this in faith and pay homage to the Celestial Worthy of Wondrous Sound Without Measure.

With the most devout and reverent heart, I receive this in faith and pay homage to the Celestial Worthy of Immeasurable Universal Deliverance, a venerable deity who, by immeasurable ritual power, universally saves all living beings.

With the most devout and reverent heart, I receive this in faith and pay homage to the Celestial Worthy of the Golden Capital of Condensed Stillness.

With the most devout and reverent heart, I receive this in faith and pay homage to the Celestial Worthy of Spiritual Powers and Myriad Transformations.

With the most devout and reverent heart, I receive this in faith and pay homage to the Celestial Worthy Who Preserves the Great Mystery.

With the most devout and reverent heart, I receive this in faith and pay homage to the Celestial Worthy of the Ever-Present Lamp of the Law, symbolizing the enduring brightness of the lamp of the methods of the Dao (the Way).

With the most devout and reverent heart, I receive this in faith and pay homage to the Celestial Worthy of the Great Cycle That Illumines the Mystery.

With the most devout and reverent heart, I receive this in faith and pay homage to the Celestial Worthy of the Sage King Who Roams the Void.

With the most devout and reverent heart, I receive this in faith and pay homage to the Celestial Worthy of Purple Clarity and the Upper Cavern.

With the most devout and reverent heart, I receive this in faith and pay homage to the Celestial Worthy of Empty Void and the Three Vehicles, a venerable deity associated with penetrating emptiness and the Three Vehicles.

With the most devout and reverent heart, I receive this in faith and pay homage to the Celestial Worthy of Divine Transformation and the Turning of the Dao.

With the most devout and reverent heart, I receive this in faith and pay homage to the Celestial Worthy of Empty Floating and the Highest Rank.

With the most devout and reverent heart, I receive this in faith and pay homage to the Celestial Worthy of Luminous Conduct and the Mysterious Origin.

With the most devout and reverent heart, I receive this in faith and pay homage to the Celestial Worthy of the Constant One and the Middle Thousand.

With the most devout and reverent heart, I receive this in faith and pay homage to the Celestial Worthy of the Two Contemplations of Cinnabar and Purple.

With the most devout and reverent heart, I receive this in faith and pay homage to the Celestial Worthy Who Prolongs the Allotted Span and Grants Original Wisdom.

With the most devout and reverent heart, I receive this in faith and pay homage to the Celestial Worthy of Vast and Broad Revolving Brightness.

With the most devout and reverent heart, I receive this in faith and pay homage to the Celestial Worthy of the Upper Revolution of Luminous Movement.

With the most devout and reverent heart, I receive this in faith and pay homage to the Celestial Worthy of Spiritual Powers and the Five Tones.

With the most devout and reverent heart, I receive this in faith and pay homage to the Celestial Worthy of the Empty Dao and Mysterious Revolution.

With the most devout and reverent heart, I receive this in faith and pay homage to the Celestial Worthy of Skillful Means and Lasting Joy.

With the most devout and reverent heart, I receive this in faith and pay homage to the Celestial Worthy of the Great Dao’s Vast Illumination.

With the most devout and reverent heart, I receive this in faith and pay homage to the Celestial Worthy of Highest Clarity and the Great Cavern.

With the most devout and reverent heart, I receive this in faith and pay homage to the Northern Perfected Seven, received in faith and honored, the Celestial Worthy of Spiritual Powers and the Five Tones.

With the most devout and reverent heart, I receive this in faith and pay homage to the Celestial Worthy of the Empty Dao and Mysterious Revolution.

With the most devout and reverent heart, I receive this in faith and pay homage to the Celestial Worthy of Skillful Means and Lasting Joy.

With the most devout and reverent heart, I receive this in faith and pay homage to the Celestial Worthy of the Great Dao’s Vast Illumination.

With the most devout and reverent heart, I receive this in faith and pay homage to the Celestial Worthy of Highest Clarity and the Great Cavern.

With the most devout and reverent heart, I receive this in faith and pay homage to the Celestial Worthy of the Northern Perfected Seven Radiances.

With the most devout and reverent heart, I receive this in faith and pay homage to the Celestial Worthy of Empty Contemplation and the Mysterious Assembly.

With the most devout and reverent heart, I receive this in faith and pay homage to the Celestial Worthy of Constant Revolution Illuminating the Dao.

With the most devout and reverent heart, I receive this in faith and pay homage to the Celestial Worthy of Azure Blossom and the Supreme.

With the most devout and reverent heart, I receive this in faith and pay homage to the Celestial Worthy of Spontaneous Transformation of the Numinous.

With a heart of utmost sincerity, I believe in, revere, and pay homage to the following Celestial Worthies (Tianzun): the Celestial Worthy of Sagely Perfection of the Southern Pole, the Celestial Worthy of the Upper Revolution of the Vast Dao (the Way), the Celestial Worthy of Eastern Florescence Who Protects Life, the Celestial Worthy of the Dharma Cloud That Saves the Living, the Celestial Worthy Loftily Surpassing All Methods, the Celestial Worthy of the Cinnabar Origin of the Mysterious Capital, the Celestial Worthy of Jade Treasure of the Golden Capital, the Celestial Worthy of Expedient Means According to Each Capacity, the Celestial Worthy Who Practices and Fulfills the True Dao, the Celestial Worthy of the Shen (spirit) and Jing (essence) of the Three Luminaries, the Celestial Worthy of Wondrous Bliss of the Empty Cavern, the Celestial Worthy of Ascent and Promotion According to Direction, the Celestial Worthy of the Golden Root, Sagely and Perfected, the Celestial Worthy Who Presides over the Registers of the Middle Immortals, the Celestial Worthy of Limpid Stillness and Mysterious Response, the Celestial Worthy Who Brightly Expands the Supreme Dao, the Celestial Worthy of Jade Treasure of the Golden Portal, the Celestial Worthy of Constant Emptiness and Revolving Brightness, the Celestial Worthy of the Northern Registers, the Celestial Worthy of Limpid Stillness and Mysterious Response, the Celestial Worthy Who Brightly Expands the Supreme Dao, the Celestial Worthy of Jade Treasure of the Golden Portal, the Celestial Worthy of Constant Emptiness and Revolving Brightness, the Celestial Worthy of the Northern Perfected of the Jade Dawn, the Celestial Worthy of Great Radiance of the Southern Pole, the Celestial Worthy Who Illumines the Deluded, of Immortal Numina, the Celestial Worthy Who Illumines the Revolutions of the Dao, the Celestial Worthy of Wisdom, Mystery, Revolution, and Brightness, the Celestial Worthy of Vast Illumination of the Revolutions of the Dao, the Celestial Worthy, Dharma King of Yuluo, the Celestial Worthy of Mysterious Penetration of True Unity, the Celestial Worthy of Dongzhen (Cavern of Perfection) of the Northern Origin, the Celestial Worthy of Western Radiance and the Eight Awes, the Celestial Worthy of Lofty Honor, the Vermilion Worthy, the Celestial Worthy of Universal Compassion and Wondrous Emptiness, the Celestial Worthy, the Sagely King Without Measure, the Celestial Worthy of the Revolutions of the Dao, Wisdom, and Patterned Writ, and the Celestial Worthy of Mysterious Revolution, Wisdom, and Brightness.

Here, “worship with an utmost heart of faith” means to believe in and pay homage with a heart of the greatest sincerity and reverence. The scripture lists the titles of the Celestial Worthies again and again as ritual language for invoking each one in turn during the recitation of scripture and the offering of worship, so as to express reverence; each title retains its original designation as given in the Daoist classics.

The Celestial Emperor-Lord of Qingming Hetong Heaven says: If men and women of the world sincerely dedicate their lives and take refuge, bowing before the silver slips and jade registers in the Jinhua Palace (Golden Floriate Palace), they should believe with wholehearted sincerity and pay ritual homage to the Celestial Worthy Daoyun Huiwen and the Celestial Worthy Xuanyun Huiming.

The Celestial Emperor-Lord of Qingming Hetong Heaven further says: If men and women of the world sincerely dedicate their lives and take refuge, bowing before the silver slips and jade registers in the Jinhua Palace, and if they praise the one hundred Celestial Worthies of the Boundless World of the South, laud and chant the Dongzhang (the stanzas of the Daoist scriptures), visualize the deities and contemplate the Zhenren (Perfected), burn incense and light lamps, and fast and pray in a pure and quiet chamber, they may seek the removal of sins from the beginningless past down to the present life, sins that concern both the living and the dead across two existences.

Among these is the sin of envying others whose abilities surpass one’s own. Such offenses are entered in the registers of guilt by the Ten Upright Spirits of the South, the envoys of the Eight Spirits of Taiyi, and deities such as Siming (Director of Destinies) and Silu (Director of Records), and are memorialized to the Celestial Administration (the offices of heaven). Karmic guilt entangles generation after generation and cannot be released; the case records are also stored in the jade caskets of the Numinous Official Bureau of the Boundless World of the South in Qingming Hetong Heaven, examined in the netherworld, and may even lead to a fall into the Tangwei Hell (the Hell of Hot Embers) of Fengdu, where one passes through kalpas of calamity and bitter suffering and can scarcely escape. After each suffering has been borne in turn, one still does not know when a return will be possible.

All such sins are prayed to be removed by the Celestial Worthies, so that the Five Sufferings may long be dispelled, body and soul-spirits may be at peace, clothing and food may naturally be abundant, and one may roam free in ease and joy. This depends on the great compassionate grace of the Celestial Worthies, and it also commends the sincere hearts of the men and women of the world who take refuge.

The twelfth scroll of the Taishang Dongxuan Lingbao Scripture of the Responsive Names of the Celestial Worthies of the Thirty-Two Heavens (the Supreme Scripture of the Cavern Mystery, Dongxuan, and the Numinous Treasure) is complete.

Scrolls thirteen through twenty-one are missing from the original.

The twenty-second scroll of the Taishang Dongxuan Lingbao Scripture of the Responsive Names of the Celestial Worthies of the Thirty-Two Heavens.

Scrolls twenty-three through twenty-six are missing from the original.

In the Terrace of Luminous Perfection of Wusi Jiangyou Heaven (the title of a celestial realm) are treasured the profound writings on jade slips from the treasury of the Purple Prime. Within the Western Seven Qi (vital energy) Heavens (celestial realms named for seven kinds of primordial Qi), the hundred Heavenly Worthies (Tianzun) of the world of Wuji (the Limitless) compassionately manifest in response, answering the recitations of people in the world. When people burn incense, keep the fast, quiet the mind, worship, and make vows while chanting the names, they can expunge the jade-coffer documents of the long night in the nine springs of the dark underworld, in which transgressions are recorded, so that beings in heaven and in the human realm alike may leave suffering behind and attain liberation, wipe away karmic offenses as countless as the sands of the Ganges, and obtain immeasurable good affinities.

With utmost sincerity and reverent devotion, one worships the Heavenly Worthy of Cinnabar Heaven and Cavernous Emptiness. With utmost sincerity and reverent devotion, one worships the Heavenly Worthy of Cavernous Emptiness and the Three Primes. With utmost sincerity and reverent devotion, one worships the Heavenly Worthy of the Golden Treasury and Wondrous Numen. With utmost sincerity and reverent devotion, one worships the Heavenly Worthy of the Cavern Prime and the Immortal Prime. With utmost sincerity and reverent devotion, one worships the Heavenly Worthy of the Floral Garden and Wondrous Honor. With utmost sincerity and reverent devotion, one worships the Heavenly Worthy of Purple Clarity, Without Equal. With utmost sincerity and reverent devotion, one worships the Heavenly Worthy of Circulating Radiance and the Emptiness of Shen (spirit). With utmost sincerity and reverent devotion, one worships the Heavenly Worthy of the Cavern Prime and the Immortal Prime. With utmost sincerity and reverent devotion, one worships the Heavenly Worthy of the Floral Garden and Wondrous Honor. With utmost sincerity and reverent devotion, one worships the Heavenly Worthy of Purple Clarity, Without Equal. With utmost sincerity and reverent devotion, one worships the Heavenly Worthy of Circulating Radiance and the Emptiness of Spirit.

With utmost sincerity and reverent devotion, one worships the Heavenly Worthy of Jasper and the Perfection of the Law. With utmost sincerity and reverent devotion, one worships the Heavenly Worthy of Pure Brightness Without Obstruction. With utmost sincerity and reverent devotion, one worships the Heavenly Worthy of Mysterious Resonance and the Sounds of the Dao (the Way). With utmost sincerity and reverent devotion, one worships the Heavenly Worthy of Golden Radiance and Lofty Honor. With utmost sincerity and reverent devotion, one worships the Heavenly Worthy of the Great Prime and Unitary Nature. With utmost sincerity and reverent devotion, one worships the Heavenly Worthy of Golden Transformation and Wondrous Function. With utmost sincerity and reverent devotion, one worships the Heavenly Worthy Who Opens Deliverance According to Direction. With utmost sincerity and reverent devotion, one worships the Heavenly Worthy of Immortal Release and Radiant Reflection. With utmost sincerity and reverent devotion, one worships the Heavenly Worthy of Supreme Perfection, Without Equal. With utmost sincerity and reverent devotion, one worships the Heavenly Worthy of Unobstructed Taiji (Supreme Ultimate). With utmost sincerity and reverent devotion, one worships the Heavenly Worthy of True Emptiness and Great Brahma.

With utmost sincerity and reverent devotion, one worships the Heavenly Worthy of True Light Rising Upward. With utmost sincerity and reverent devotion, one worships the Heavenly Worthy of the Upper Prime and Circulating Radiance. With utmost sincerity and reverent devotion, one worships the Heavenly Worthy of Prolonged Life and Azure Florescence. With utmost sincerity and reverent devotion, one worships the Heavenly Worthy of the Ocean of the Law and Precious Truth. With utmost sincerity and reverent devotion, one worships the Heavenly Worthy Whose Light Illumines the Ocean of the Law. With utmost sincerity and reverent devotion, one worships the Heavenly Worthy of Great Clarity and the Great Cavern. With utmost sincerity and reverent devotion, one worships the Heavenly Worthy of Celestial Motion and Wise Illumination. With utmost sincerity and reverent devotion, one worships the Heavenly Worthy of True Rank and the Celestial Emperor. With utmost sincerity and reverent devotion, one worships the Heavenly Worthy of the Kingly Way and Vast Illumination. With utmost sincerity and reverent devotion, one worships the Heavenly Worthy of Wise Illumination and Original Penetration.

With a heart of utmost sincerity, I pay reverence to the Celestial Worthy (Tianzun) Gaozhi Daoyun, to the Celestial Worthy Wanhui Zhenyuan, to the Celestial Worthy Huncheng Zhenguan, and to the Celestial Worthy Huide Ziran.

With a heart of utmost sincerity, I pay reverence to the Celestial Worthy Mingzhi Bentong, to the Celestial Worthy Gaozhi Daoyun, to the Celestial Worthy Wanhui Zhenyuan, to the Celestial Worthy Huncheng Zhenguan, to the Celestial Worthy Huide Ziran, to the Celestial Worthy Qiongzhi Fahai, to the Celestial Worthy Dongming Dantian, to the Celestial Worthy Zhuji Baolun, to the Celestial Worthy Gaowen Daoshu, to the Celestial Worthy Yicheng Xuanjing, to the Celestial Worthy Kaitong Baosheng, to the Celestial Worthy Dongxuan Jiusheng, to the Celestial Worthy Danyuan Pingdeng, to the Celestial Worthy Guangxun Puci, to the Celestial Worthy Yunming Xuanguang, to the Celestial Worthy Ziran Zhenpin, to the Celestial Worthy Wuxiang Chengzhan, to the Celestial Worthy Daoxing Dongkong, to the Celestial Worthy Beiyuan Zhenxuan, to the Celestial Worthy Suxiang Miaole, to the Celestial Worthy Wuzhi Taihun, to the Celestial Worthy Wanwu Dongyuan, to the Celestial Worthy Bahui Beizhen, to the Celestial Worthy Kaiguang Yingmiao, to the Celestial Worthy Tai, to the Celestial Worthy Wuzhi Taihun, to the Celestial Worthy Wanwu Dongyuan, to the Celestial Worthy Bahui Beizhen, to the Celestial Worthy Kaiguang Yingmiao, to the Celestial Worthy Taiqing Ci’en, to the Celestial Worthy Jigan Shangling, to the Celestial Worthy Qidao Zhenzun, to the Celestial Worthy Dongshi Xiling, and to the Celestial Worthy Haikong Jiesheng.

The phrase zhixin xinli (至心信礼) is used repeatedly here. It means to believe in and pay homage with a heart of utmost sincerity. The titles of the various Celestial Worthies are retained as in the original text.

With utmost sincerity and reverent faith, worship the Celestial Worthy (Tianzun) of Skillful Means Who Prolongs Years (the Celestial Worthy who extends lifespan through skillful methods).

With utmost sincerity and reverent faith, worship the Celestial Worthy Who Sets Brightness in Motion and Manifests the Wondrous Dao (the Celestial Worthy who circulates light and reveals the wondrous Dao, the Way).

With utmost sincerity and reverent faith, worship the Celestial Worthy of Lofty Destiny, Radiant and August (the Celestial Worthy whose fortune reaches high and far, luminous and noble).

With utmost sincerity and reverent faith, worship the Celestial Worthy Who Sets Brightness in Motion, Exalted Immortal (the lofty immortal perfected one who circulates light).

With utmost sincerity and reverent faith, worship the Celestial Worthy of Skillful Means Who Opens the Light (the Celestial Worthy who, through skillful methods, brings brightness forth).

With utmost sincerity and reverent faith, worship the Celestial Worthy of Wondrous Radiance, Compassion, and Wisdom (the Celestial Worthy possessed of marvelous luster, compassionate mercy, and wisdom).

With utmost sincerity and reverent faith, worship the Celestial Worthy Whose Compassionate Power Delivers from Suffering (the Celestial Worthy who, by the power of compassion, rescues living beings from hardship).

With utmost sincerity and reverent faith, worship the Celestial Worthy Whose Dharma Covers the Limitless (Wuji) (the Celestial Worthy whose grace in the methods of the Dao extends to places without end).

With utmost sincerity and reverent faith, worship the Celestial Worthy Who Ascends into the Mysterious and Penetrates Heaven (the Celestial Worthy who rises into the wondrous mysterious realm and comprehends the Way of Heaven).

With utmost sincerity and reverent faith, worship the Celestial Worthy Whose Teaching Reaches the Boundless (the Celestial Worthy whose transformative teaching extends throughout realms without border).

With utmost sincerity and reverent faith, worship the Celestial Worthy Who Illumines the Dao and Mysteriously Transforms (the Celestial Worthy who makes the Great Dao manifest and sets mysterious transformation in motion).

With utmost sincerity and reverent faith, worship the Celestial Worthy of Precious Light and Spiritual Powers (the Celestial Worthy possessed of precious brightness and the power of wondrous spiritual penetration).

With utmost sincerity and reverent faith, worship the Celestial Worthy Who Accords with Light and Divinely Transforms (the Celestial Worthy who responds in accord with brightness and works wondrous spiritual transformation).

With utmost sincerity and reverent faith, worship the Celestial Worthy Lofty and Venerable, Gatherer of Many Virtues (the Celestial Worthy noble and exalted, in whom numerous good virtues converge).

With utmost sincerity and reverent faith, worship the Celestial Worthy Yin (yin means “margin” or “limit”; this name may refer to the Celestial Worthy who is boundless and without limit).

With utmost sincerity and reverent faith, worship the Celestial Worthy Who Illumines the Dao and Mysteriously Transforms.

With utmost sincerity and reverent faith, worship the Celestial Worthy of Precious Light and Spiritual Powers.

With utmost sincerity and reverent faith, worship the Celestial Worthy Who Accords with Light and Divinely Transforms.

With utmost sincerity and reverent faith, worship the Celestial Worthy Lofty and Venerable, Gatherer of Many Virtues.

With utmost sincerity and reverent faith, worship the Celestial Worthy of True Emptiness and Wondrous Contemplation (the Celestial Worthy who realizes the wondrous principle of true emptiness).

With utmost sincerity and reverent faith, worship the Celestial Worthy of Mysterious Light in the Upper Palace (the Celestial Worthy who dwells in the Upper Palace and manifests wondrous, mysterious light).

With utmost sincerity and reverent faith, worship the Celestial Worthy Who Ever Expounds the One Vehicle (who constantly proclaims the Dao of the One Vehicle, that is, the single method leading to the ultimate realm).

With utmost sincerity and reverent faith, worship the Celestial Worthy of the Great One and the Great Origin (Taiyi and Taiyuan are both Daoist titles for the primal source or the supreme existence).

With utmost sincerity and reverent faith, worship the Celestial Worthy of Superior Numen and Good Wisdom (the Celestial Worthy possessed of lofty, wondrous spirituality and wholesome wisdom).

With utmost sincerity and reverent faith, worship the Celestial Worthy of the Cavern Origin and the Immortal Gate (the Celestial Worthy who penetrates the primal source and opens the gateway of the immortal Way).

With utmost sincerity and reverent faith, worship the Celestial Worthy of Resounding Tones and Divine Transformation (the Celestial Worthy whose sounds manifest in response and who works wondrous spiritual transformation).

With utmost sincerity and reverent faith, worship the Celestial Worthy Who Forms the Flowing Bells (the Celestial Worthy who brings into being the ritual implements of flowing bell-tones; flowing bells are ritual bells used in Daoist ceremonies).

With utmost sincerity and reverent faith, worship the Celestial Worthy of Majestic Countenance and Dharma Treasures (the Celestial Worthy of solemn, dignified bearing, possessed of the precious treasures of the Dao’s methods).

With utmost sincerity and reverent faith, worship the Celestial Worthy Who Generates Wondrous Light (the Celestial Worthy who produces and manifests marvelous brightness).

With utmost sincerity and reverent faith, worship the Celestial Worthy Who Resolves Delusion with Universal Compassion (the Celestial Worthy who brings the bewildered to understanding and, through compassion, universally delivers living beings).

With utmost sincerity and reverent faith, worship the Celestial Worthy of the Mysterious Origin in Vermilion Radiance (the Celestial Worthy who manifests the vermilion brilliance of the wondrous mysterious origin).

With utmost sincerity and reverent faith, worship the Celestial Worthy Who Propagates the Dharma and Mysteriously Responds (the Celestial Worthy who spreads the methods of the Dao and answers with wondrous resonance).

With utmost sincerity and reverent faith, worship the Celestial Worthy of the Cinnabar Origin, Pure and Solemn (the Celestial Worthy whose Cinnabar Origin, Danyuan, is clear, upright, and gravely austere).

With utmost sincerity and reverent faith, worship the Celestial Worthy of Cinnabar Purple and Great Abundance (the Celestial Worthy who manifests cinnabar-purple Qi, vital energy, and possesses abundant merit).

With utmost sincerity and reverent faith, worship the Celestial Worthy Who Appears in Response, Wise and Able (the Celestial Worthy who manifests in answer to those who are moved to seek, fully endowed with wisdom and capacity).

With utmost sincerity and reverent faith, worship the Celestial Worthy of the Wisdom Eye and Immortal Numen (the Celestial Worthy possessed of the Dharma-eye of wisdom, a wondrous immortal perfected being).

With utmost sincerity and reverent faith, worship the Celestial Worthy of the Cinnabar-Purple Feathered Canopy (the Celestial Worthy whose solemn ritual appearance is adorned by a cinnabar-purple feathered canopy).

With utmost sincerity and reverent faith, worship the Celestial Worthy of Wondrous Radiance and Mysterious Numen (the Celestial Worthy possessed of marvelous luster and wondrous, mysterious spirituality).

With utmost sincerity and reverent faith, worship the Celestial Worthy of Great Space, Zhenkan (Great Space refers to the vast void; “Zhenkan” is an expression used in the honorific title).

With utmost sincerity and reverence, one offers worship to the Celestial Worthy (Tianzun) Mysterious Steward of the Northern Origin (Xuan Zai Beiyuan Tianzun). With utmost sincerity and reverence, one offers worship to the Celestial Worthy Wondrous Music of the Cinnabar Carriage (Miao Le Dan Yu Tianzun). With utmost sincerity and reverence, one offers worship to the Celestial Worthy of the Cinnabar-Purple Feathered Canopy (Dan Zi Yu Gai Tianzun). With utmost sincerity and reverence, one offers worship to the Celestial Worthy of Wondrous Colors and the Mysterious Numen (Miao Cai Xuan Ling Tianzun). With utmost sincerity and reverence, one offers worship to the Celestial Worthy Truly Forthright in the Great Void (Tai Kong Zhen Kan Tianzun).

With utmost sincerity and reverence, one offers worship to the Celestial Worthy Mysterious Steward of the Northern Origin. With utmost sincerity and reverence, one offers worship to the Celestial Worthy Wondrous Music of the Cinnabar Carriage. With utmost sincerity and reverence, one offers worship to the Celestial Worthy Who Protects Life and Opens the Numinous (Bao Ming Kai Ling Tianzun). With utmost sincerity and reverence, one offers worship to the Celestial Worthy of Divine Movement and Circulating Light (Shen Xing Yun Ming Tianzun). With utmost sincerity and reverence, one offers worship to the Celestial Worthy of Purple Clarity Who Opens Purity (Zi Qing Kai Jing Tianzun). With utmost sincerity and reverence, one offers worship to the Celestial Worthy of the Cinnabar-Purple Mystery (Dan Zi Mi Mi Tianzun). With utmost sincerity and reverence, one offers worship to the Celestial Worthy of the Treasury of the Law and Universal Illumination (Fa Zang Bian Ming Tianzun). With utmost sincerity and reverence, one offers worship to the Celestial Worthy of Circulating Light and the Response of Wisdom (Yun Ming Hui Ying Tianzun). With utmost sincerity and reverence, one offers worship to the Celestial Worthy of Mysterious Response and Contemplation of Being (Xuan Ying You Guan Tianzun). With utmost sincerity and reverence, one offers worship to the Celestial Worthy of the Wondrous Response to Transformation by the Law (Fa Hua Miao Ying Tianzun).

The Celestial Emperor Lord of Wusi Jiangyou Heaven told the Perfected: If among the common people there is a man or a woman who, with a heart of utmost sincerity, can believe in and worship the jade slips of mysterious writ of the Purple Prime Treasure Store of the Terrace of Illuminating Truth (sacred scriptures treasured in Daoism), recite and praise the one hundred Celestial Worthies of the boundless world of the West, chant the Cavern Chapters (passages within Daoist scriptures), visualize the deities and hold the Perfected in mind, burn incense and light lamps, and practice fasting and quiet cultivation in a pure dwelling, then one may pray for the removal of the sins accumulated from time without beginning, through life after life.

These sins include those committed, generation after generation, within the ancestral lineage, the nine degrees of kin and affines (nine generations of blood relatives and relatives by marriage), and every kind of karmic connection both within and outside the family, through enticing and deceiving others, obtaining the scriptures, and transmitting them to disciples. The Ten Upright Deities of the West (spirits who inspect good and evil in the human world), together with the Taiyi Director of Destiny and the Director of Records (divine offices that govern human lifespan and the records of merit and fault), will determine the categories of guilt and report them upward to the Celestial Bureaus (the offices of the heavenly realm). These sins entangle generation after generation and are hard to escape; they are also entered in the jade caskets (jade cases in which the offices of the numinous officials of heaven store documents) of the Bureau of Numinous Officials of the boundless world of the West in Wusi Jiangyou Heaven, and are examined by the Lower Prime Bureau of Investigation and Rectification under Taixuan Nüqing (the divine office responsible for examining offenses). Thus, even after passing through kalpas of calamity, there is still no release; one cycles endlessly between birth and death; dying and being born again, emerging from darkness once more into light, one must still bear every kind of bitter retribution and pass through changes of bodily form.

The scripture prays that all these sins may be pardoned, so that the Ninefold Darkness (the depths of the underworld) no longer pursues them, so that the Three Evil Paths (places of suffering such as the hells, hungry ghosts, and animals) become empty and still, so that the long night turns to light, and so that living beings may find peace, joy, and freedom. May one receive from above the grace of the great compassion and great mercy of the Celestial Worthies, and may the sincere faith of men and women who take refuge be commended below.

Within the jade slips of mysterious writ of the Purple Prime Treasure Store of the Terrace of Illuminating Truth of Wusi Jiangyou Heaven, the one hundred Celestial Worthies of the boundless world in the Heaven of the Five Qi (vital energy) of the North respond in compassion when their titles are called. The faithful burn incense, observe the purification fast, worship with a quiet mind, make vows, and recite the names, praying that the karmic offenses recorded in the cases of the long night within the jade caskets of the Ninefold Darkness of Illuminating Truth may be struck away, so that the sincere hearts of all men and women who take refuge may be protected.

They recite once more the titles of the one hundred Celestial Worthies of the boundless world in the Heaven of the Five Qi of the North, burn incense, observe the purification fast, worship, and make vows, praying that beings of the human world and of the heavenly realm alike may leave suffering and attain release, that karmic offenses as numerous as the sands of the Ganges may be eliminated, and that measureless good conditions may be obtained.

With sincere heart and reverent faith, worship the Celestial Worthy of Universal Virtue, Holy and True (Pude Shengzhen Tianzun).

With sincere heart and reverent faith, worship the Celestial Worthy of True Unity of the Three Heavens (Santian Zhenyi Tianzun).

With sincere heart and reverent faith, worship the Celestial Worthy of the Upper Cavern of Cinnabar Radiance (Danjing Shangdong Tianzun).

With sincere heart and reverent faith, worship the Celestial Worthy of Mysterious Origin and Wondrous Treasure (Xuanyuan Miaobao Tianzun).

With sincere heart and reverent faith, worship the Celestial Worthy of Mysterious Conduct and Revolving Light (Xuanxing Yunming Tianzun).

With sincere heart and reverent faith, worship the Celestial Worthy of the Northern Perfected, Holy and True (Beizhen Shengzhen Tianzun).

With sincere heart and reverent faith, worship the Celestial Worthy of True Emptiness and Weighty De (Virtue/Power) (Zhenkong Dezhong Tianzun).

With sincere heart and reverent faith, worship the Celestial Worthy Whose Numinous Powers Shine Bright (Shentong Zhaolang Tianzun).

With sincere heart and reverent faith, worship the Celestial Worthy of the Great Dao (the Way) in Stillness (Jiran Dadao Tianzun).

With sincere heart and reverent faith, worship the Celestial Worthy of Celestial Perfection Who Delivers from Suffering (Tianzhen Duku Tianzun).

With sincere heart and reverent faith, worship the Celestial Worthy of Precious Realization, Holy and True (Baocheng Shengzhen Tianzun).

With sincere heart and reverent faith, worship the Celestial Worthy of True Emptiness and Weighty De.

With sincere heart and reverent faith, worship the Celestial Worthy Whose Numinous Powers Shine Bright.

With sincere heart and reverent faith, worship the Celestial Worthy of the Great Dao in Stillness.

With sincere heart and reverent faith, worship the Celestial Worthy of Celestial Perfection Who Delivers from Suffering.

With sincere heart and reverent faith, worship the Celestial Worthy of Precious Realization Beyond Compare (Baocheng Wudeng Tianzun).

With sincere heart and reverent faith, worship the Celestial Worthy by Whom the True Dao Brings Deliverance (Zhendao Dedu Tianzun).

With sincere heart and reverent faith, worship the Celestial Worthy of Brahmic Radiance and Celestial Perfection (Fanming Tianzhen Tianzun).

With sincere heart and reverent faith, worship the Celestial Worthy of Divine Motion and Luminous Mystery (Shenyun Mingxuan Tianzun).

With sincere heart and reverent faith, worship the Celestial Worthy of Numinous Response in the Void (Ganying Xuwu Tianzun).

With sincere heart and reverent faith, worship the Celestial Worthy, Dharma King of the Eight Effulgences (Bajing Fawang Tianzun).

With sincere heart and reverent faith, worship the Celestial Worthy of Golden Radiance and Wondrous Simplicity (Jinying Miaosu Tianzun).

With sincere heart and reverent faith, worship the Celestial Worthy Who Responds and Meets the Heart (Suixin Yinghui Tianzun).

With sincere heart and reverent faith, worship the Celestial Worthy of Compassionate Response Who Relieves Suffering (Ciying Baku Tianzun).

With sincere heart and reverent faith, worship the Celestial Worthy of Primordial Light and Purple Clarity (Yuanguang Ziqing Tianzun).

With sincere heart and reverent faith, worship the Celestial Worthy of True Communion and Transformation by De (Zhentong Dehua Tianzun).

With sincere heart and reverent faith, worship the Celestial Worthy of Precious Virtue Beyond Thought (Baode Nansi Tianzun).

With sincere heart and reverent faith, worship the Celestial Worthy of Wisdom and Virtue in Stillness (Huide Jiran Tianzun).

With sincere heart and reverent faith, the Pure Celestial Worthy (Qing Tianzun).

With sincere heart and reverent faith, worship the Celestial Worthy of True Communion and Transformation by De.

With sincere heart and reverent faith, worship the Celestial Worthy of Precious Virtue Beyond Thought.

With sincere heart and reverent faith, worship the Celestial Worthy of Wisdom and Virtue in Stillness.

With sincere heart and reverent faith, worship the Celestial Worthy Who Delivers the Essentials of the True Dao (Duzhen Daoyao Tianzun).

With sincere heart and reverent faith, worship the Celestial Worthy of Wondrous Gold and the Dharma-Form (Miaojin Faxiang Tianzun).

With sincere heart and reverent faith, worship the Celestial Worthy of Golden Perfection and Wondrous Splendor (Jinzhen Miaoxuan Tianzun).

With sincere heart and reverent faith, worship the Celestial Worthy of Far-Reaching True Practice (Guangyun Zhenxing Tianzun).

With sincere heart and reverent faith, worship the Celestial Worthy of the Ever-One Empty Nature (Changyi Kongxing Tianzun).

With sincere heart and reverent faith, worship the Celestial Worthy of the Great Primordial, Mysterious and True (Taiyuan Xuanzhen Tianzun).

With sincere heart and reverent faith, worship the Celestial Worthy of the Golden Capital, Wondrous and Exalted (Jindu Miaozun Tianzun).

Here, zhixin xinli means to bow in worship with a conviction of utmost sincerity. The scripture lists the holy titles of the Celestial Worthies one by one. These titles are for the most part laudatory: duku, for example, means delivering beings from suffering; dehua means transforming all things by De; and jiran means clear, still, and at rest. The remaining names are retained as Daoist proper names.

With a devout and reverent heart, I believe in and pay homage to the Celestial Worthy (Tianzun) of Ascending into Mystery and Manifesting True Light (the Celestial Worthy who ascends into the mysterious and subtle and manifests the light of truth).

With a devout and reverent heart, I believe in and pay homage to the Celestial Worthy Born by Transformation from Wondrous Treasure (the Celestial Worthy generated and transformed from wondrous treasure).

With a devout and reverent heart, I believe in and pay homage to the Celestial Worthy of the Dao (the Way) in Motion and Divine Illumination (the Celestial Worthy who sets the Great Dao in motion and shines with marvelous light).

With a devout and reverent heart, I believe in and pay homage to the Celestial Worthy of Wisdom, the Dao, Mystery, and Peace (the Celestial Worthy who realizes the Great Dao through wisdom and abides in mysterious tranquility).

With a devout and reverent heart, I believe in and pay homage to the Celestial Worthy Who Circulates Light and Responds to the Root (the Celestial Worthy who circulates and transforms light and responds to the fundamental Dao).

With a devout and reverent heart, I believe in and pay homage to the Celestial Worthy, King of the Law, Who Saves Humanity (the Celestial Worthy who saves the people of the world by the methods of the Dao).

With a devout and reverent heart, I believe in and pay homage to the Celestial Worthy Perfected through the Songs of Emptiness (the Celestial Worthy condensed and brought to completion from wondrous sounds in the void).

With a devout and reverent heart, I believe in and pay homage to the Celestial Worthy of the Utmost Subtlety Who Responds to Light (the Celestial Worthy who manifests in the most hidden and subtle places and responds to the light).

With a devout and reverent heart, I believe in and pay homage to the Celestial Worthy Who Opens and Illumines through Spiritual Powers (the Celestial Worthy who opens and shines by means of spiritual powers).

With a devout and reverent heart, I believe in and pay homage to the Celestial Worthy of the Great Cavern beyond Form (the Celestial Worthy who penetrates the mysterious principles of the Great Cavern and transcends form and appearance).

With a devout and reverent heart, I believe in and pay homage to the Celestial Worthy Born of the Precepts, High Minister Above (the Celestial Worthy born of observing the precepts and dwelling in a superior station).

With a devout and reverent heart, I believe in and pay homage to the Celestial Worthy of the Great Dao Who Prolongs Life (the Celestial Worthy who extends lifespan by means of the Great Dao).

With a devout and reverent heart, I believe in and pay homage to the Celestial Worthy of Utmost Penetration and Illumined Emptiness (the Celestial Worthy who penetrates the highest principle and awakens to emptiness and non-being).

With a devout and reverent heart, I believe in and pay homage to the Celestial Worthy Who Illumines the August Pivot (the Celestial Worthy whose light shines forth and who occupies the supreme central axis).

With a devout and reverent heart, I believe in and pay homage to the Celestial Worthy of True Instruction, Bright and Pure (the Celestial Worthy who, through true teaching, makes the mind bright, clear, and pure).

With a devout and reverent heart, I believe in and pay homage to the Celestial Worthy of Circulating Light and Spiritual Stillness (the Celestial Worthy who circulates and transforms light, with spirit and thought quiet and still).

With a devout and reverent heart, I believe in and pay homage to the Celestial Worthy of Lasting Joy and the Great Origin (the Celestial Worthy who brings enduring peace and joy and returns to the primordial origin).

With a devout and reverent heart, I believe in and pay homage to—

With a devout and reverent heart, I believe in and pay homage to the Celestial Worthy Who Illumines the August Pivot, the Celestial Worthy of True Instruction, Bright and Pure, the Celestial Worthy of Circulating Light and Spiritual Stillness, and the Celestial Worthy of Lasting Joy and the Great Origin (the titles of the above four Celestial Worthies appear once again).

With a devout and reverent heart, I believe in and pay homage to the Celestial Worthy of Lofty Motion and Bright Ascent (the Celestial Worthy of exalted, wondrous operation who ascends in flight amid light).

With a devout and reverent heart, I believe in and pay homage to the Celestial Worthy of the Mysterious Constant and Liberation (the Celestial Worthy who penetrates the mysterious, constant Dao and attains liberation).

With a devout and reverent heart, I believe in and pay homage to the Celestial Worthy of Great Peace and Quiet Serenity (the Celestial Worthy who brings Great Peace and abides in stillness and ease).

With a devout and reverent heart, I believe in and pay homage to the Celestial Worthy of Wondrous Radiance of Jade Clarity (the Celestial Worthy possessed of marvelous and beautiful radiance, belonging to the realm of Jade Clarity).

With a devout and reverent heart, I believe in and pay homage to the Celestial Worthy of Wisdom, Mystery, and Circulating Light (the Celestial Worthy who penetrates mysterious principles through wisdom and circulates and transforms light).

With a devout and reverent heart, I believe in and pay homage to the Celestial Worthy Who Opens the Wondrous Realm of Golden Light (the Celestial Worthy who opens the wondrous realm of golden light).

With a devout and reverent heart, I believe in and pay homage to the Celestial Worthy of the Ultimate of Emptiness and Supreme Vacuity (the Celestial Worthy who reaches the utmost of empty stillness and dwells in the supreme realm of vacuity).

With a devout and reverent heart, I believe in and pay homage to the Celestial Worthy of Heavenly Bearing and Wondrous Conduct (the Celestial Worthy endowed with a noble heavenly demeanor who practices what is subtle and marvelous).

With a devout and reverent heart, I believe in and pay homage to the Celestial Worthy Who Saves the Living and Penetrates Deep Stillness (the Celestial Worthy who saves all living beings and penetrates the profound realm of deep stillness).

With a devout and reverent heart, I believe in and pay homage to the Celestial Worthy of the Contemplation of Emptiness in the Upper Palace (the Celestial Worthy who perceives truth through contemplation of emptiness and dwells in the upper palace).

With a devout and reverent heart, I believe in and pay homage to the Celestial Worthy Whose Resonance Extends throughout the Three Realms (the Celestial Worthy whose sympathetic response pervades the Three Realms; the Three Realms are the Realm of Desire, the Realm of Form, and the Formless Realm).

With a devout and reverent heart, I believe in and pay homage to the Celestial Worthy of Golden Majesty and Condensed Form (the Celestial Worthy who concentrates the majestic bearing of golden light and a solemn, dignified appearance).

With a devout and reverent heart, I believe in and pay homage to the Celestial Worthy Who Universally Opens the Light of Compassion (the Celestial Worthy who universally opens the light of compassion).

With a devout and reverent heart, I believe in and pay homage to the Celestial Worthy of Divine Wisdom, Universally Bright (the Celestial Worthy who universally illumines with marvelous wisdom).

With a devout and reverent heart, I believe in and pay homage to the Celestial Worthy of the True Pearl and Wondrous Fruit (the Celestial Worthy who brings to completion a precious wondrous fruit like a true pearl).

With a devout and reverent heart, I believe in and pay homage to the Celestial Worthy Opened by the Dao and Exalted in Transformation (the Celestial Worthy opened by the Great Dao and raised into a lofty and wondrous realm).

With a devout and reverent heart, I believe in and pay homage to the Celestial Worthy of Myriad Transformations in the Void (the Celestial Worthy who manifests countless transformations within empty space).

Here, zhixin xinli is an honorific used when reciting scripture and paying homage; it means to worship with sincere faith. Tianzun is the Daoist title for venerated deities. The scripture repeatedly lists the titles of the Celestial Worthies for recitation and worship. In one place, the word li does not follow zhixin xin; the original text is preserved as it stands.

With a heart of utmost sincerity, we believe in and reverently honor the Heavenly Worthy (Tianzun) of Harmonious Completion and Supreme Honor.

With a heart of utmost sincerity, we believe in and reverently honor the Heavenly Worthy of Great Mystery and Pure Practice (the honored deity symbolizing the realm of Great Mystery and pure cultivation).

With a heart of utmost sincerity, we believe in and reverently honor the Heavenly Worthy of the Victorious Dao (the Way) and Heaven’s Revolution (the honored deity symbolizing the wondrous supremacy of the Great Dao and the ceaseless circulation of Heaven’s cycles).

With a heart of utmost sincerity, we believe in and reverently honor the Heavenly Worthy of the Five Circuits Penetrating in Light (the honored deity symbolizing the unobstructed flow of the Five Circuits and the manifestation of radiance).

With a heart of utmost sincerity, we believe in and reverently honor the Heavenly Worthy of Left Mystery and Purple Clarity (the honored deity symbolizing the realm of mysterious Purple Clarity).

With a heart of utmost sincerity, we believe in and reverently honor the Heavenly Worthy of Wondrous Contemplation and the Immortal City (the honored deity symbolizing wondrous contemplation and the realm of the immortals).

With a heart of utmost sincerity, we believe in and reverently honor the Heavenly Worthy of Dongxuan (Cavern Mystery), Vast as Sea and Void (the honored deity symbolizing the depth and breadth of Dongxuan, boundless as the sea and empty space).

With a heart of utmost sincerity, we believe in and reverently honor Ever-Ascending Supreme Dao (“Supreme Dao” referring to the lofty and wondrous Great Dao).

With a heart of utmost sincerity, we believe in and reverently honor the Heavenly Worthy of the Victorious Dao and Heaven’s Revolution.

With a heart of utmost sincerity, we believe in and reverently honor the Heavenly Worthy of the Five Circuits Penetrating in Light.

With a heart of utmost sincerity, we believe in and reverently honor the Heavenly Worthy of Left Mystery and Purple Clarity.

With a heart of utmost sincerity, we believe in and reverently honor the Heavenly Worthy of Wondrous Contemplation and the Immortal City.

With a heart of utmost sincerity, we believe in and reverently honor the Heavenly Worthy of Dongxuan, Vast as Sea and Void.

With a heart of utmost sincerity, we believe in and reverently honor the Heavenly Worthy Ever Ascending in the Supreme Dao (the honored deity who ever ascends in the Supreme Dao).

With a heart of utmost sincerity, we believe in and reverently honor the Heavenly Worthy, the Silver Sovereign of Tranquil Joy (the Silver Sovereign deity symbolizing purity, stillness, and peaceful ease).

With a heart of utmost sincerity, we believe in and reverently honor the Heavenly Worthy of Universally Penetrating Light (the honored deity symbolizing illumination that penetrates all things and radiance that reaches everywhere).

With a heart of utmost sincerity, we believe in and reverently honor the Heavenly Worthy of Replete De (Virtue/Power) and Supreme Excellence (the honored deity symbolizing virtue fully abundant and utmost distinction).

With a heart of utmost sincerity, we believe in and reverently honor the Heavenly Worthy of Supreme Truth and the Cinnabar Heaven (the honored deity symbolizing the realms of Supreme Truth and the Cinnabar Heaven).

With a heart of utmost sincerity, we believe in and reverently honor the Heavenly Worthy Whose Practice and Merit Are Complete (the honored deity symbolizing the fulfillment of cultivation and merit).

With a heart of utmost sincerity, we believe in and reverently honor the Heavenly Worthy of True Deliverance for Suffering Souls (the honored deity symbolizing the true salvation of souls in suffering).

With a heart of utmost sincerity, we believe in and reverently honor the Heavenly Worthy of Mysterious Penetration and Clarity in the Eight Directions (the honored deity symbolizing mysterious comprehension and brightness throughout the eight quarters).

With a heart of utmost sincerity, we believe in and reverently honor the Heavenly Worthy of Jade Truth Who Treasures Life (the honored deity of Jade Truth symbolizing the cherishing of life).

With a heart of utmost sincerity, we believe in and reverently honor the Heavenly Worthy of True Revolution, Bright and Pure (the honored deity symbolizing a true cosmic movement that is luminous, clear, and upright).

With a heart of utmost sincerity, we believe in and reverently honor the Heavenly Worthy, the Dharma King of the Southern Extremity.

With a heart of utmost sincerity, we believe in and reverently honor the Heavenly Worthy of Pure Splendor and Wondrous Joy (the honored deity symbolizing unsullied radiance and wondrous bliss).

With a heart of utmost sincerity, we believe in and reverently honor the Heavenly Worthy of Golden Radiance and Pure White Jade (the honored deity symbolizing golden splendor and flawless white jade).

The Scripture of the Responsive Titles of the Heavenly Worthies of the Thirty-Two Heavens of the Most High Dongxuan Lingbao (Cavern Mystery Numinous Treasure), Scroll Twenty-Two.