《太上洞玄灵宝净供妙经》

At that time, the Left Immortal Duke of Taiji (Supreme Ultimate), a perfected immortal venerated in Daoism, was on the lofty cloud peaks of the steep summit of Mount Ruoye, devoted to quiet cultivation. For a long time he had ceased chasing the sensory realms of external sounds, sights, and the like. His inner mind was empty, still, and pure; body and mind were settled, and he did not race outward. After cultivating in this way for seven days, he entered a state of silence and calm.

On the following day at noon, he suddenly heard bells and drums sounding together overhead, and celestial music arising among the clouds. Before long, fragrant flowers descended from the sky, some large and some small, each with a hundred petals, shaped like chariot wheels, differing in size and varying in color: blue-green, yellow, vermilion, and purple, as well as hues like the seven treasures, of manifold transformations, wondrous and rare. The many forms of these celestial flowers are difficult to describe one by one.

Various fragrances then drifted in as well, including powdered incense (ground aromatic spices), pearl incense, hundred-blend incense (compounded from many spices), seven-treasure incense, and others. The scent rose straight into the sky, rich and fragrant, filling the mountains and forests. Amid the clouds there also appeared five-colored auspicious clouds and Eight-Scene carriages (splendid vehicles in which immortals ride), and thirty thousand immortal retinues descended together. These immortals were of lofty wisdom and skilled in debate, fully endowed with the six penetrations (the various extraordinary powers spoken of in Daoism), and their realm was inconceivable.

In each of the three carriages was one zhenren (perfected person). Behind the head of each was a five-colored circular radiance whose brilliance lit the sky. They wore jeweled crowns and cloud-brocade robes, adorned with gold ornaments, and pearl ornaments bright as the full moon worn as yingluo (hanging strands of pearls). They possessed in full the thirty-two marks and eighty excellences (which describe the perfect and majestic appearance of a sage), luminous and resplendent, and each halted his carriage before the Left Immortal Duke of Taiji.

The first zhenren, riding a jeweled carriage, named himself Yuluoqiao; the second, riding a jade carriage, named himself Guangmiaoyin; the third, riding a green carriage, named himself Zhendingguang. The three zhenren praised him together, saying, “Excellent, excellent! Good man, through measureless and boundless kalpas you have cultivated with diligence, constantly practicing forbearance and harboring compassion. Therefore today you are not drawn along by external affairs; your body and mind are settled, and you have realized the mind of no-self. There is no mind attached to the self, nor any mind attached to others; there is no mind that discriminates others, nor any other discriminating mind. Thus you have attained the mind of equality.

“Good man, in this mountain you have reached such a realm and accomplished the inconceivable fruit of the Dao (the Way). Today, by command of the Celestial Worthy, having heard that your merit fills the world and answers above to the many heavens, we have come with our retinues to bear witness together to your cultivation and to help you bring the work of the Dao to completion. We also wish that those who cultivate hereafter may gain insight, enter the City of the Dharma (the realm of cultivating the true teaching), and realize the teaching of no fixed marks (the principle of not clinging to determinate forms). It is for this reason that we have descended here.”

At this time, the Immortal Duke and his kin confirmed the Great Dao (Dao) through their own practice and attained the way of the immortals. They enabled those who came afterward to gain insight, enter the “Dharma City” (a metaphor, shared by Buddhism and Daoism, for the firm refuge of the true teaching), and comprehend the “Dharma of No-Form” (the principle of not clinging to concrete appearances). It was precisely for this reason that the True Person came and descended here.

At this moment the Immortal Duke rose from his seat, prostrated himself with all five limbs upon the ground, and listened with reverence until the True Person Yuluoqiao had finished speaking. Only after a long while did he rise, pay his respects, and say, “Great True One, your radiant appearance is so extraordinary, and you have sent down fragrant flowers, manifesting all manner of transformations and auspicious signs. I do not understand what cause has brought this about today, or on what principle you have specially bestowed your grace in descending, even to this extent. I earnestly beg the Great True One to instruct me, so that I may understand these causes and conditions, and so that I, foolish and ignorant as I am, may awaken to these principles and in the end attain the supreme fruit of the Dao.”

At this moment the First Zhenren (Perfected One), Yuluoqiao, a revered deity of Daoism, said, “Well said, well said, good man. What wish did you hold in former times? What is it that you have been thinking in your heart?”

The Immortal Lord said, “This matter I have kept hidden in my heart all along, and I have not yet dared to speak of it rashly.”

The Great Perfected said, “I have come today precisely to fulfill the wish of your heart, so that later generations may establish a dharma-bridge that propagates the Great Dao (the Way), fashion a great boat that broadly ferries all living beings, open vast good affinities, and accomplish magnificent merit. It is for this very purpose that I have come.”

The Immortal Lord rose once more, bowed, and said respectfully, “Perfected Great Master, please instruct me, this foolish and ignorant person. I have a question I wish to ask, yet I dare not presume to speak. I earnestly beg the Great Perfected to hear my shallow view.”

The Perfected One said, “Very good, very good. Ask freely.”

The Immortal Lord bowed again and repeated his request that the Perfected One hear his question. The Perfected One answered as before, “Very good, very good. Ask freely.”

The Immortal Lord said, “On the seventh day of the seventh month of this year, in the space of a single thought, I beheld the scenes of the hells in the worlds of the ten directions (every side and quarter, together with above and below). Amid the darkness, the souls of the dead and the hungry ghosts—some swallowed fire and ate charcoal, some climbed mountains of knives; some had their heads and hands cut off, their bodies torn apart; some fell into boiling cauldrons, their five limbs cooked until they rotted, so that even the form of a ghost no longer remained. The sufferings they endured are beyond imagination. Of all the suffering in the Dharma-realm (the total realm in which the myriad things exist), truly none is deeper or heavier than this. Merely seeing these sufferings in a single thought, I could not help but have blood stream from every joint and pore of my body, as if my body had been dismembered. These are the things I formerly contemplated, and now I have spoken them all. I do not know, Great Perfected, what merit can be performed to save and deliver all these suffering souls of the dead, so that they may be free of affliction, obtain fullness and sufficiency, and ultimately attain liberation?”

At that moment, the Perfected One, having heard these words, snapped his fingers in praise and said, "Good, good! Good man, what you have said is truly inconceivable. I will tell you now. Please listen carefully, for I am going to explain it to you."

The Great Perfected One then said, "Only the offerings performed on the auspicious days of the Three Yuan—the festivals of the Upper Yuan, the Middle Yuan, and the Lower Yuan—and on the five festivals of the Five La are together called the 'Eight Days.' On these days one may go to a Mysterious Altar retreat, a place for venerating Daoist deities and holding rituals, and invite Daoist priests to stay overnight and perform the rites through the night, that is, such Daoist ceremonies as reciting scriptures and worshipping the gods. One should also offer fragrant oil, prepare offerings of every kind of fruit, pile them up like mountains, set them out according to their quantity, or display them together on shared platters, arranging everything with solemn dignity and order, and present them to the Celestial Worthies.

Because of this compassion, the grace can extend throughout the ten directions, and both the prisoners in the hells and the hungry ghosts can obtain liberation. Even those who have committed grave offenses can, for a time, be released by receiving these offerings. Grave offenses include slandering the Great Dao (the Way) and destroying the scriptures (Jing) and Daoist priests who keep the pure precepts; they also include killing one's father or mother, attacking one's teachers and elders, and plotting rebellion against the sovereign. Those whose offenses are lighter, through these offerings and the all-night performance of the rites, can be liberated forever and will never go hungry again.

Good man, to practice this kind of offering widely brings great merit. Daoist priests and filial sons of later ages who cherish compassion may all use it to make offerings to their ancestors. Deceased parents, sisters, and brothers can likewise obtain liberation, be filled, and no longer suffer hunger. If one does this outside these Eight Days, or does not make offerings to the ancestors, that counts as unfilial.

I tell the people of later generations: diligently cultivate pure offerings, offerings that are clean and solemn. In this way, not only can ghosts and spirits obtain liberation, but the living will also increase in wealth and goods and will not be harmed by the ancestors of seven generations; nor can any ghosts and spirits, external demons, or ghostly bandits harm them. Why is this? Ordinary people in the world sometimes see or hear of demons and then go to sacrifice to their ancestors, yet they do not make offerings according to the rule of these Eight Days. They instead fail their ancestors and bring guilt upon themselves. Why..."

Therefore, if sacrificial offerings are not carried out on these eight days, the souls of the ancestors will go hungry. In their hunger those souls may come to harm, and external demons may also be drawn in, giving rise to calamity. In this way one both fails the ancestors and adds to the offenses of those who make the offerings. If, however, offerings are made according to the proper rite on the eight days, the ancestors will rejoice and will not send down misfortune, nor will all manner of demons and malign spirits be able to intrude. Such is the principle of the matter.

The Immortal Lord (an immortal) said: “Well spoken. What the celestial True Persons (perfected beings of the heavenly realm) have just said has already made clear the importance of pure offerings. Yet the scripture (Jing) mentions the ‘eight days’ without explaining which days they are. Please set this out in detail.”

The True Person said: “The so-called eight days are the fifteenth of the first month, the fifteenth of the seventh month, and the fifteenth of the tenth month; these three together are called the Three Yuan days. In addition there is the first day of the first month, called the Celestial La; the fifth day of the fifth month, called the Terrestrial La; the seventh day of the seventh month, called the La of Dao (the Way) and De (Virtue/Power); the first day of the tenth month, called the La of the People’s Year; and the La day of the twelfth month, called the La of Princes and Nobles. Taken together, these days are called the eight days. If sacrificial offerings are not made on these eight days, one cannot by this rite bring about the recompense of transgression and blessing, just as has been said above.

“Good men, keep these words firmly in mind. What I now set forth is the norm established by the Upper Three Heavens, written in the purple books with titles of gold. It is the constant ritual order of heaven and earth, profound in meaning and not to be taken lightly. You ought to honor it and practice it according to the teaching.”

The opening of the original text contains a repeated passage, and the wording at “if it is not the eight days…” appears to be disordered or duplicated. The foregoing has been arranged and interpreted according to the coherent sense of the context.

The second Perfected One (zhenren), Guang Miaoyin, said to the Immortal Duke (Xiangong): “Well spoken, well spoken, good man. This merit is exceedingly great and beyond all measure. I have received the command of the Heavenly Worthy (Tianzun) and, leading the host of immortals together with their retinues, have descended to you. Why is this so? Because the matter is inconceivable, and also because it seeks no attainment whatsoever.

“Good man, the days just mentioned are called the ‘Eight Days.’ The method they contain is inconceivable, and they are also called the ‘Eight Liberations.’ On such a day, at the mao hour (from five to seven in the morning), one should set out seats representing the beings of the Six Paths, prepare pure offerings of fragrant bathing water, clothing, and the like, together with fine food and drink, and arrange them in due order. The Daoist priest should, within the ritual arena (daochang), submit at dawn a memorial petitioning for ablution; at noon he should perform the rites of walking the Way (xingdao), repentance, and acknowledgment of faults. The ancestral spirits already deceased in the patron’s household can all obtain liberation on this day, their bodies and minds made pure.”

The Immortal Duke said: “Well spoken. The great Perfected One arranges these matters in sequence for all living beings. The Daoist priest, within the ritual arena, submits at dawn a memorial petitioning for ablution; at noon he performs the rites of walking the Way, repentance, and acknowledgment of faults. The ancestral spirits already deceased in the patron’s household can all obtain liberation on this day and attain purity.”

The Immortal Duke spoke again: “Well spoken. The great Perfected One is able to open the gate of liberation for all living beings and, seeking no attainment, has deigned to descend here. I do not understand precisely which paths are meant by the ‘Six Paths’ of which you speak. Please explain them in detail.”

The Perfected One replied: “The first is the path of heaven, the second the path of humanity, the third the path of animals, the fourth the path of spirits, the fifth the path of ghosts, and the sixth the path of hell. These are called the Six Paths. Good man, hold these teachings firmly in mind—how could one fail to follow them?”

Then the third Perfected One, Zhen Dingguang, said: “Well spoken, well spoken, good man. As for these Eight Days, the two great Perfected Ones have already finished their exposition; the sequence of merit and the principles within it have all been explained very clearly. I now, last of all, have a great nexus of causes and conditions to set forth, and I am prepared to tell it to you. Are you willing to listen?”

The Immortal Duke rose and bowed, saying: “Your compassion extends broadly to all living beings, and you have not abandoned us ordinary mortals. Today the joy and emotion in my heart can hardly be expressed in words. I only hope the great Perfected One will enlighten my ignorance—how would I dare trouble you to wait until I make a request?”

The Perfected Person (Zhenren) said: “We speak by the command of the Celestial Worthy (Tianzun), and what we say truly concerns the causes and conditions of once again accomplishing the work of the Dao (the Way) in a past life. Why do you not speak it out from your heart? If you do not speak, you will fall into ignorance and cut off the root of cultivating the true Dao. In a past life you once gained attainment through the merit of cultivation—why do you not speak of it?

“Good man, the causes and conditions of merit born of offerings, of which I spoke before, are of two kinds. The first is clinging to the form of the offering; this is called the ‘exhaustible.’ The second is making an offering without clinging to form; this is called a ‘pure offering,’ and is also called the ‘inexhaustible.’ Why is this? It is like the waters of rivers and seas, which flow on without cease and never come to an end; the meaning of the inexhaustible set forth in the Jing (scripture/classic) is just the same. It is also like empty space, which has no boundary and whose size and measure cannot be calculated. Thus empty space and the rivers and seas are used to illustrate the inexhaustible.

“If the waters of the rivers and seas were in the end to run dry, then the meaning of the inexhaustible of which I speak would also have to be exhaustible. Yet the bounds of empty space and of the rivers and seas can never be measured or known, and so to use them to explain the meaning of the inexhaustible follows this same reasoning.

“Good man, one should also distinguish clearly the meaning of the ‘exhaustible.’ Suppose someone recites from memory a great many scriptural passages, from one or two sentences and a few verses all the way to hundreds of thousands of millions of billions of sentences. However great the number may appear, it still does not count as much. Why? If they are only explained aloud for others to hear, they will be finished within a few years, and so they remain exhaustible.

“Suppose again that someone obtains a throne, enjoys wealth and honor through successive generations, and possesses precious things such as gold, silver, lapis lazuli, coral, amber, and diamond, the treasures piled until they fill a whole city. Even this still does not count as much. Why? If they are taken and given in charity, they may be used up in less than half a month, and so they remain exhaustible.

“From this one may know that if one only recites scriptural sentences unceasingly with the mouth, or gives out treasures unceasingly with the hand, this still belongs to the practice of clinging to the form of the offering, and is called exhaustible. What is limited is gradually used up with time and use; what is truly unlimited is not destroyed even across long ages. This is the meaning of the exhaustible of which I speak.

“Good man, the principle is the same throughout. It is not the merit of offerings alone that is so. Whenever one performs the observances of the fast and of fasting offerings, even if one holds only a single ceremony and keeps it for a single night, the same principle applies. How, then, can one fail to cultivate with diligence?

“If you can constantly urge yourself on, do good without clinging to form, and understand the meaning of the inexhaustible, I will certainly bring you at last to the accomplishment of the unsurpassed Dao. Why? Because there is no fixed and unchanging ‘body of mine,’ nor any fixed and unchanging ‘mind of mine’; and since there is no body of mine, there is likewise no mind of mine.”

Here, “dwelling in marks” means clinging to the outward form of the offering, or clinging to the giver, the recipient, and the merit; “not dwelling in marks” means that, when making an offering, one is not bound by these thoughts. The “fast” spoken of in the text is one kind of rite within Daoist Zhaijiao (purification ritual) and fasting-offering activities.

When there is neither a mind that clings to “I” nor a mind that clings to others, and once clinging to others has likewise disappeared, every kind of discriminating mind comes to rest. This is called purity. From this one may attain the “concentration of no-mind” (a settled state in which the mind is not drawn along by delusive thoughts) and the “concentration of no-self” (meditative absorption that does not cling to a self).

Good man, I will now make the meaning of this passage plain. If the mind still clings to “I” and has only stilled its clinging to others, then attachment to self has not vanished. This can only be called no longer clinging to self at the level of body and mind; one has not yet reached the point of also not clinging to the whole realm of the body (the world in which body and mind dwell).

If one wishes also to reach non-clinging toward the dharma-realm (all things and events, together with the principle on which they depend), one should understand that it did not exist to begin with and does not exist now. Once this is understood, one also knows that the dharma-realm likewise cannot be grasped. Since the dharma-realm cannot be grasped, there can be no talk of its arising or of its ceasing. And since one says that it neither arises nor ceases, one should go further and understand that it also cannot be fixedly called “non-arising” or “non-ceasing.” Why, then, still speak of “neither arising nor ceasing”? Because this is said in order to expound the principles of the Buddhist teaching. Precisely because the matter is set forth in words, one says that it “neither arises nor ceases”; yet “neither arising nor ceasing” must not in its turn be clung to as a fixed concept.

One who understands this principle may be said to be able to practice pure offering (the pure cultivation of making offerings), and may also be said to have realized the selflessness of the dharma-realm and the purity of the dharma-realm.

Good man, these principles that I now set forth at the last are all what the immeasurable and boundless Celestial Worthies, Perfected Ones, and immortal perfected sages of the past, together with the kings of great and powerful ghosts and spirits of the ten directions, cultivated, and by which they realized the unsurpassed Dao (the Way). Although you have not yet been granted a title, your rank is “Left Immortal Duke of the Taiji (Supreme Ultimate).” With an immortal rank so high, you will certainly be able in time to come to cultivate this Dao, ascend to the sacred station of a Perfected One, be fully endowed with the six penetrations (the six supernormal powers spoken of in Daoist and Buddhist writings), and accomplish the unsurpassed Dao.

At that moment the Immortal Duke (Xiangong) at once rose from his seat, bowed in thanks, and said: “I have now suddenly met the Great Zhen (Dazhen) and received from him instruction such as this—truly a rare thing. Since immeasurable kalpas I have cultivated every kind of merit, and I have also met immortals, who often taught me methods of nurturing life belonging to the lesser vehicle and the lesser wisdom. Never before has there been anything so subtle and vast, boundless and beyond conception, as what the Great Zhen has set forth today.

“The many tangles in my heart were like hard ice long stored up; meeting fire all at once, they melted and vanished, leaving nothing behind. That there is now no obstruction left in my heart is just the same.

“It is also like someone who, by the proper procedure, is released from the matter of selling a child. Father, mother, and brothers—four persons in all—weep and wail in grief; yet, beyond all expectation, in a moment the treasuries of gold and silver are filled, the child is returned, and the whole family is overjoyed. My joy now is just like this.

“Or again, there was once a king whose daughter was named Guayin. She suffered six kinds of disability and could not speak; she was abandoned in the deep mountains, hungry and exhausted, her life in peril. Later she evoked a response, and a Perfected Person (Zhenren—an immortal perfected one who has attained the Dao) descended to guide and rescue her. Her illness was cured at once; not only did she regain the power of speech, she also ate her fill, and her joy was beyond measure. My joy now is just like this.

“I earnestly beg the Great Zhen to instruct the various spirit carriages (Lingjia—the vehicles ridden by the immortal perfected ones) to remain for a while among the groves and mountain wilds, and I hope they will not at once soar aloft and depart.”

Note: In the original, the passage beginning “The bonds I now…” appears twice; the above has been combined and understood according to the sense of the text. “The six extremes” (liuji) refers to bodily disability; what “the six extremes, and not speaking” specifically indicates is not explained in the original.

We shall first say something important: “We are leaving now, and we shall return very soon.”

After these words of farewell had been spoken, the three carriages set out one after another. The immortals played music, escorting them before and behind, and rose into the air until they were above the clouds. In the blink of an eye, no one knew where they had gone.

The Immortal Duke (Xiangong) respectfully followed the instructions he had been given. On the fifteenth day, in accordance with the method set forth in the scripture (Jing), he solemnly performed the purification offering and prepared everything the rite required. He made a “Great Fruit Mountain” (a mountain of fruit for offering), one zhang and eight chi in height, adorned with exquisite solemnity and rare wonder. Every kind of sweet fruit was set out among the mountain groves, and a great quantity of rice was also prepared. On that day, all the furnishings required for the ritual were made complete according to the regulations.

At noon that day, the beings of the hells of the ten directions, together with the sentient beings of the six paths (the six classes of life spoken of in Buddhism), each different in form and appearance and boundless in number, all came and gathered there. Among this host of ghosts was a great king named Dawei. He stepped forward and, together with the ghosts, paid homage to the Immortal Duke, and they praised him with one voice: “Excellent! Excellent!”

King Dawei said, “Daoist of the pure realm, you have opened for us the gate of liberation. Today, whether or not they belong to my retinue, countless souls have come here and together attained purity and liberation. Had you not upheld the pure precepts and held compassion in your heart, how could you have performed a purification offering for beings such as us? We only wish that you, Master of the Law, may soon become a great immortal and realize the supreme Dao (the Way).”

Heavenly beings, animals, spirits, ghosts, and the hidden souls of the hells likewise gathered there and spoke these words together.

When the words had been spoken, all the beings bathed in fragrant water, put on neat and splendid clothes, sat down each in their proper place, and partook of ample food and drink. When the noon rite came to an end, King Dawei and his retinue took leave of the Immortal Duke, saying, “Master of the Law, excellent, excellent! Your merit is inconceivable. Because of your compassion, countless souls have been liberated.” With that, they bowed their heads to the ground in reverence and then departed.

The Immortal Lord (Xiangong) admonishes the good men and good women of later ages, saying: “I have passed through immeasurable, boundless kalpas, and only today have I been granted by Dazhen, a revered deity of the Great Dao (the Way), the exposition of these important words—truly inconceivable. Although Dazhen had previously transmitted to me the Offering Scripture (Xianjing), the principles in it were comparatively brief. The various causes and conditions were not set forth as completely as they are today, nor were the principles explained with such depth.

“I have also seen a scripture entitled the Great Offering (Daxian). It speaks only of the Three Primes—the Upper Prime, the Middle Prime, and the Lower Prime, as they are called in the Daoist tradition. It does not explain the eight days, nor does it speak of merit as being so vast, boundless, and inconceivable. Good men and good women, how could one fail to revere and uphold this scripture? If one can reverently observe and practice it, one is a filial child, able to repay the kindness with which one’s parents raised one. What is repaid is not only one’s birth parents, but also one’s true parents, the source-parents of one’s own spiritual nature. Once the true parents have been repaid, one may gradually draw near to the fruition of the Dao.

“If someone slanders this scripture, refuses to believe it, and does not make offerings to the forebears—the deceased ancestors—this is called unfiliality, and it goes against the true parents. Why is this so? If one does not make offerings to the forebears, the souls of the dead will go hungry; that is unfiliality. After unfiliality, slander arises as well, and slander brings harm upon the forebears. The deceased parents will endure all manner of suffering; and the slanderer, in this present life, will also be injured by demon kings and ghost-bandits, and will suffer illnesses such as wind-leprosy together with every kind of pain.

“Men and women of later generations should all carefully understand this admonition.”