《太上洞玄灵宝天尊说养蚕营种经》

At that time, the Celestial Worthy and the Most High Lord Lao (a revered deity of Daoism) set their robes and caps in order and sat upright to expound the Dao (the Way). The Celestial Worthy said, “When ordinary people raise silkworms and plant the five grains, this concerns the livelihood of all beings. The silkworm seed comes from the Purple Tenuity Palace (a stellar palace in the heavens) and is cherished and nurtured by the Jade Maidens of the Ten Directions (goddesses among the Daoist immortals). The five grains and the silkworm seed are the foundation on which all beings depend for survival; in the world, planting grain and raising silkworms is the most important of matters.”

Lord Lao said to the Celestial Worthy, “Well spoken! Ordinary people of the world dwell only temporarily in Jambudvīpa (the human world) and sustain their lives by clothing and food. Tilling the fields is the foremost undertaking, and raising silkworms is likewise something the immortals and sages have taught people to do. Cultivation and the accumulation of merit may all begin from these affairs. Whether sage or ordinary person, clothing and food alike depend on tilling the fields and raising silkworms. Filial reverence for one’s parents and the making of sacred images likewise rest on the hope that the fields, the silkworms, and the five grains will yield in abundance.

“If people follow the Great Dao, elders and princes and marquises will all be at peace, and the various peoples of the four directions will all return to the correct Way. By the power of this Jing (scripture/classic), the common people will be content, and wind and rain will arrive in their proper seasons. May the five grains be abundant and all the people follow the Dao; may people treasure the tilling of fields and the raising of silkworms, and regard them as the foundation of prosperity.”

The Celestial Worthy said: If ordinary people in the world harbor malice and envy others, scheme to make them poor and lowly, or steal the Three Treasures—the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha—together with the permanent property of monasteries of the Dao (the Way), they will suffer extremely severe evil retribution. They die and are born again, their bodies tormented to the utmost in order to repay the debt of their sins; they also meet with unexpected calamities, and their descendants are often ill and harmed. Ghosts and spirits punish those who do evil. Even with hundreds or thousands of bodies, one still cannot finish repaying the debts owed to one’s teachers’ lineage and to the Gate of the Dao. Stealing even a single needle and thread may require ten thousand taels of money and still fall short of compensation; if the debt is not repaid within three years, it will also bring illness. When bright spring reaches the third month, the demon king releases poisonous Qi (vital energy) and puts to death those who remain in debt.

If one does not accumulate merit and is unwilling to give, one will be poor, one’s descendants will likewise suffer harm, and one will forever find it hard to stand equal with others. Slandering the methods of the Dao and the Jing (scripture/classic), gossiping about the rights and wrongs of one’s teachers, or failing to respect one’s parents will also bring on white-lai disease—what the ancients called a severe skin disease—which is difficult to cure.

If year after year one accumulates merit and donates wealth and fields to one’s teachers’ lineage and the Gate of the Dao, one will be repaid with abundant harvests of farmland and of silkworms and mulberry, the yield doubled. If one steals the property of others, then even diligent farming serves only to repay old debts. Those who wish for rich harvests of silk and of the five grains should recite this Jing; they will obtain measureless blessings, and evildoing thieves will also turn and give rise to compassionate hearts, remembering the methods of the Dao and their teachers.

The Celestial Worthy, in the void, beholds with the eye of wisdom those in the world who do evil, and Heaven will surely punish them. If one wholeheartedly reveres the methods of the Dao, fields and silkworm cultivation will quickly receive blessed reward, without much labor required, and the Celestial Worthies of the ten directions will also bestow good conditions upon you. Under the protection of heavenly beings, a person gradually becomes wealthy and honored; most of what is sought proceeds smoothly; neither humans nor ghosts and spirits can disturb one; and the silk harvest is doubled as well. As for what the heart hopes for, demonic ghosts and baleful influences all disperse, and the heavenly gods naturally extend their protection.

Those who raise silkworms should bow to the ground and burn incense, place the silkworm eggs in the four directions and in the grain fields, and then recite the names of the heavenly deities of the ten directions:

With reverence I hereby entreat the one hundred thousand silkworm-protecting lords under the command of the Azure Emperor of the East to descend, in accordance with this wish, upon this dwelling. May ghosts, monsters, and malign spirits be destroyed and driven away, and may the celestial deities come of themselves to protect and bless.

Those who raise silkworms should bow reverently and burn incense, place the silkworm eggs in the four quarters of the home and in the grain fields, and then recite the names of the celestial deities of the ten directions:

With reverence I hereby entreat the one hundred thousand silkworm-protecting lords under the command of the Azure Emperor of the East to descend, in accordance with this wish, upon this dwelling; I also entreat the one hundred thousand silkworm-protecting lords under the command of the Red Emperor of the South to descend in accordance with this wish. The silkworm-protecting lords under the White Emperor of the West, the Black Emperor of the North, and the Yellow Emperor of the Center, each likewise numbering one hundred thousand, are also to descend in accordance with this wish. I further entreat the divine lords of the Five Emperors of the Five Directions and the silkworm-protecting generals and soldiers, each numbering one hundred thousand, to descend together and protect and bless the divine silkworms.

The Celestial Worthy said: “You mortals living in the world, I now dispatch the divine lords who protect the silkworms of the Five Directions to descend and rescue all living beings who suffer hardship and distress. Though you dwell in the world, you seldom put your faith in the sacred teaching, and so you are poor and thwarted: you wish to sell clothing yet have no clothing to sell, you wish for grain yet have no grain to eat, and you are often short of clothes and food. If you wish silkworm silk and the five grains to be abundant, with storehouses piled full and granaries filled, each year you may burn incense before the ritual arena, prepare precious foods and dishes of every kind to offer to the immortals, pray to the Three Treasures—the Dao (the Way), the Jing (scripture), and the masters—for silkworm eggs, invite a Daoist priest into your home, set out a full array of offerings for their sustenance, and recite this scripture. In this way, every kind of ghost, monster, and baleful influence will of itself not enter the dwelling; benevolent deities will descend of their own accord and bestow upon you silkworm silk and the five grains; and celestial beings will also deliver them to your home, increasing the harvest by thousands and tens of thousands of times. You must remember the grace of the Dao and the masters.”

The Celestial Worthy faced the east, gave the command, and recited the invocation for driving away demons:

I admonish you ghosts of depletion, the wangliang spirits, the flying-corpse ghosts upon the roads, the Three Generals of the Five Soils, and all such ghosts and spirits: if only you practice goodness together and protect Heaven and humankind, the fields and the silkworms and mulberries will yield a harvest ten thousand times greater, and the household will prosper as though filled with gold and silver.

In this way, moreover, malicious speech and quarrels of the tongue can be cut off, so that the household surpasses the five neighboring families around it. The demon soldiers will all withdraw into the earth; when people pray with sincere hearts, their wishes will be fulfilled as they desire. Grain and cloth from the five directions—east, south, west, north, and center—will all enter the home, and joy will be felt every day.

So long as one recites the protective scripture (Jing), the seven treasures will be sent down from heaven. Should any demonic evil come seeking to invade and harass, it will be shattered, its head split into seven parts.

The Celestial Worthy says: If you wish crops and sericulture to flourish, you must always keep a heart of sincerity and reverence and offer prayers to the celestial deities. Celestial immortals will descend in accordance with your wishes and bestow blessings, so that your toil will not have been in vain. You may bring the silkworms for the master to see and ask the master to pray for them; when the silkworms multiply and thrive, this is to have received the grace of the Dao (the Way).

All manner of demons, monsters, and evil ghosts that waste and deplete wealth, upon seeing the master enter the household, will scatter and withdraw a thousand li from the dwelling. From the time you begin raising silkworms, you should also, at the proper times, do good and accumulate De (Virtue/Power). In this way sericulture will be protected and will not suffer loss. You may burn incense and pay reverence to the four directions, reciting this Jing (scripture/classic) aloud, and thereby obtain a rich reward of blessings.

Do not look down on the master or treat the Jing with negligence, and do not steal objects of the Three Treasures belonging to the master or the Daoist abbey—the Dao, the Jing, the master, and the like, which Daoism venerates. Otherwise the corresponding evil retributions will follow: to call the master by name outright or to offend his title shortens one’s lifespan; to eat the flesh of others brings many illnesses; to kill living beings with one’s own hands is to bear a debt of life; to wound people with malicious words and sow discord is repaid with the affliction of muteness; to take pleasure in beating servants and slaves and breaking their spines leads to rebirth as a donkey; to curse others viciously on days of fasting and abstinence brings madness; to steal others’ belongings at night accumulates the evil karma of rats; to eat alone without inviting those nearby leads to rebirth as a pig or a dog; to handle the Jing while one’s body is unclean causes malignant sores; after raising silkworms and harvesting grain, to feel no gratitude brings the retribution of poverty, cold, and hunger; if, when bowing in worship, the head does not touch the ground, one is reborn as a hanging insect; to tear a fish’s mouth with the hook while fishing leaves one with mutilated lips; to promise to support the master and then fail to do so means one will often obtain nothing; to break faith, abandon righteousness, and go against the Dao of Heaven brings the disease of white leprosy; to be closed and obstinate, unwilling to understand, brings blindness; to deceive and betray the master’s kindness brings illness throughout one’s life; to promise to hold a purificatory feast and then not carry it out brings hunger and cold, with clothing that cannot cover the body; to read the Jing without first washing the hands and rinsing the mouth leaves a constant foul odor in the mouth; to revile one’s parents creates the karmic conditions for falling into hell and causes descendants, generation after generation, to be unfilial.

The Celestial Worthy told the assembly: All people in the world create karmic offenses through their own actions, and they must personally bear the corresponding retribution; there is no escaping it. If one wishes for long life in this existence, one should be cautious and must not treat others with ill will or drive them into poverty and low station. Poor harvests of silkworms and mulberry, illness that increases day by day, and descendants who do not fare well—these are all retributions in the present life brought by karmic offenses. If one does no good, is unwilling to give alms or help others, and is always calculating how to scheme against people, how can one remain safe and well for long? A short life and an early death will likewise become the corresponding retribution.

Day and night the Celestial Worthy abides in the sky and, with the eye of the Dao (the Way), clearly sees those who do good and those who do evil; not even the slightest distinction is overlooked. If good men and good women wish for longevity and for their fields, silkworms, and mulberry to prosper, they should regularly offer incense and flowers to the Three Jewels (the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha) and to exalted Daoist deities such as the Three Masters and the Lord of the Dao. The Celestial Official will descend and respond to your intentions; those who pray for blessings may thereby dispel calamities, and what they seek may be fulfilled. The scripture (Jing) further says that sincere prayer may receive grace, and that the various ghosts and spirits who bring sudden loss cannot draw near; hearing the scripture, they rejoice in their hearts and disperse of their own accord. The celestial deities repay good with good and evil with evil.

If you in the world wish to seek blessings, you may burn fine incense, express what is in your heart, and state your petition, inviting benevolent spirits to descend and to protect and bless you according to each person’s wish. With single-minded devotion one respectfully invites the Divine King Hukuan, praying that he accord with one’s heart’s desire and descend into so-and-so’s household.

From the east, south, west, and north, from the northeast, southeast, southwest, and northwest, and from above and below, the Limitless Flying Heaven Divine Kings and Great Sages of Longevity all come to protect and bless you. (“The ten directions” refers to above and below together with the eight directions.) The Celestial Kings of the ten directions descend riding flying clouds, cinnabar skies, green carriages, and jade wheels, to establish for you a household of goodness and blessing, sending good fortune day after day in return for your cultivation of blessings and practice of goodness. So long as one accumulates merit, does good, and establishes virtue, such efforts will never be in vain, and in the end one will receive a generous reward.

The Celestial Worthy (Tianzun) told those assembled: first contemplate the Dao (the Way), next recite the scripture (jing), and then contemplate one’s master. At every fitting time, one should arouse the resolve to cultivate the Way and pray for grace, so that blessings descend from heaven and your devout households are free of illness and hardship, without calamity or distress. Whatever is sought will be fulfilled as the heart desires: seek children, and children will be granted; seek official rank, and official rank will be granted; seek gold and silver, fields, and silkworms and mulberry, and the corresponding harvest will be received; seek peace, longevity, and abundance of clothing and food, and the corresponding blessings will likewise be received; seek eternal life, and the reward of eternal life will be received.

If one must travel far, the roads in all four directions will open. Reciting this scripture brings the compassionate protection of the holy ones; within more than a hundred ten-day periods, one will meet neither injustice nor unexpected calamity, and will in every case receive blessing and protection.

If what is sought is not realized, recite the names of the “Shanzhu deity who comes from the east, the deity who comes from the west, the deity who comes from the south, the deity who comes from the north, and the deity who comes from the center,” and ask them to remove evil and harm on your behalf. The poisonous qi (vital energy) that spreads with the seasons will at once disperse; sudden disasters brought by the authorities will not occur; and a thousand kinds of calamity will immediately cease. All manner of ghosts and monsters under heaven and on earth will flee elsewhere, and jealous spirits that work mischief will withdraw and hide, while the Divine Kings of Great Power will descend to protect you. For one who recites this scripture, the blessings sought will be realized and disaster will not descend, so that whether sitting or lying down one remains safe and auspicious, untouched by sudden misfortune.

Of these words spoken by the Celestial Worthy, there was not a single sentence that was not a good word.

The Celestial Worthy told the assembled heavenly beings: “This Jing (scripture) is exceptionally wondrous, and its spiritual power is vast. If a household enshrines and venerates it, one may prolong life and extend one’s years; whatever is sought will come to pass as wished; evil demons will naturally recede and will not dare to harm people. Should one meet with grave illness, heavenly youths and heavenly maidens will come to give healing, so that the illness is cured and one suffers no further harm. All manner of calamities will likewise be unable to do injury, and the Celestial Worthies of the ten directions will constantly come to protect you.

Those who recite this Jing will have peaceful homes and auspicious households, and will live long without disaster. When they go out and travel about, the many benevolent spirits will follow close behind them at all times, helping them avoid every kind of calamity and evil. Those who regularly recite and practice it will have blessings as deep as a mountain; those who hear and receive this Jing will also enjoy health through successive generations. Whoever holds this Jing in hand will be regarded with awe by a hundred demons; if one can long uphold it in accordance with what the Jing teaches, the wishes of the heart will surely be fulfilled.”

The Celestial Worthy spoke again: “You mortals, whether of noble or humble station, should all reverently bow in worship and recite this Jing, and you will naturally find peace and happiness. The eight classes of heavenly demons, on hearing the text of the Jing, will withdraw, and benevolent spirits will stand guard. The door gods and household wardens—the spirits who guard the gates and doors—will block every kind of calamity. The sacred silkworms raised in the home will multiply in abundance, their cocoons so many as to fill the house. Gold and silver, wealth and goods, money, grain, and cereals will all be plentiful; children will be numerous, servants many, and livestock sturdy and prolific. A hundred ghosts will retreat one after another; heavenly beings will protect you; silk will keep increasing; disasters will no longer occur; and whatever is sought will go as one wishes. The sacred merit and wondrous power of this Jing are beyond all measure.”

The Celestial Venerable (Tianzun, the revered deity of Daoism) tells the assembly: You ghosts who commit wrongs in the human world and have nothing to rely upon, you do not fear the majesty and prohibitions of the great Dao (the Way). You constantly change your forms. Sometimes you become monstrous apparitions; sometimes you pose as family members of a household, or as the gods of the village shrine or the hearth. Sometimes you display various shapes, imitate the calls of a hundred birds, or enter dreams to frighten people. Sometimes you also beguile mortals into wrongly seeking blood sacrifices, and you disturb the fields and the silkworm and mulberry cultivation, so that crops and silkworms cannot thrive, causing harm year after year.

If these ghosts refuse to leave, invoke the Lords Who Eliminate Harm and Shatter Ghosts, the Lords Who Bind Ghosts, the Lords Who Devour Ghosts, and the Lords Who Behead Ghosts, ninety million each. Invoke also seventy million soldiers who raise high their banners, their faces like iron, bearing ghost-slaying weapons with blades turned outward. Invoke as well nine hundred thousand Lords of the Ghost-Devouring Cavalry of Exhaustion, who swallow ghosts, along with four hundred thousand each of the Lords Who Seize Ghosts and the Lords Who Slay Ghosts; one hundred twenty thousand each of the Lords Who Gather [illegible] and the Lords Who Shatter [illegible]; three hundred eighty thousand divine lords who remove the old baneful qi and lingering bones from the dwelling; and nine hundred thousand Lords Who Sever Ghosts. Let them descend together to expel the ghosts from this place on behalf of this household, so that the ghosts are at once dispersed and utterly destroyed.

If any ghosts still linger and will not depart, invoke the Lords Who Protect the Silkworms of the Ten Directions (the spirits guarding silkworm and mulberry cultivation), hundreds of millions strong, to descend from their respective directions, slay them, and deal with the ghosts that earlier made trouble without warrant. If essences of the Five Phases (Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, and Water; the spirit-creatures born of these five forces) appear, subdue them each by the method of mutual overcoming among the Five Phases: when the Wood essence comes, the Metal spirits cut it down; when the Fire essence comes, the Water spirits extinguish it; when the Metal essence comes, the Fire spirits dissolve it; when the Water essence comes, the Earth spirits cut it off; and when the Earth essence comes, the Wood spirits restrain it.

For these five kinds of ghosts and monsters, the household should first honor the Celestial Venerable's decree and invite the Celestial Master (Tianshi, the honorific for a Daoist ritual master) to gather in the essences of the five spirits of Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth, so that all of them withdraw and scatter. Then all affairs will be auspicious. The ghosts of depletion, every kind of demon, and a thousand varieties of goblins and sprites, together with such baneful spirits as the "Nü Gu Tu Zhang," shall likewise all scatter in every direction.

The original text repeats material after this point, and the ending, "let all be made to the four...," is incomplete.

Ghosts and spirits of the netherworld enter the earth to depths of a thousand zhang and ten thousand chi, and the guardian spirit-kings likewise protect their master. The yield of silkworms will multiply, and all comings and goings will be safe and auspicious; the strongmen who guard the household will dispel disasters and drive away calamities. Silkworms may be raised in abundance, and the crops will also ripen; whatever one wishes in the heart will be fulfilled, and blessings arrive together with wholesome intentions.

Those who recite this Jing (scripture) are able to prolong their years and extend their lifespan. Gold arises within the household, and treasures well up from beneath the ground, while poisonous insects and harmful creatures are driven a thousand li away. Celestial immortals and holy spirits, the dragon hosts and the Brahma hosts, all come to hear the scripture; spirit-children of the ten directions also descend to behold it in reverence; and there is no household-protecting spirit-king who does not lend support.

This scripture is profound, subtle, and beyond conception. After the assembly has finished hearing it, each person bows in full prostration, circles the Celestial Worthy, praises the excellence and goodness of the scripture’s meaning, and, having paid homage, takes refuge in it and puts it into practice.