《太上洞玄灵宝智慧礼赞》

The Most High Mysterious Void—the highest and most profound Dao (the Way)—is the root of all things. To revere the Great Dao, one must propagate its scriptures. Practitioners, through advancing and retreating, bowing and rising, and cultivating in accordance with the Dao, attain immortality; they pass through countless kalpas, and their lives endure.

The De (Virtue/Power) of Taizhen, the realm of ultimate truth as Daoism terms it, is lofty and vast, still and Wuwei (non-action), and thus transcends birth and extinction. Scenes amid the clouds seem to congeal into towers in the air; riding the void, they come and go of themselves.

The light of sun and moon shines forth; heaven and earth are peaceful and glad, and joy has no end.

Those who study immortality should cut off thoughts of empty show. Thoughts gather one after another, drawing a person to and fro and throwing the mind and Shen (spirit) into disorder; when mind and spirit grow restless, one meets with every kind of vexation.

Still the stray thoughts, so that the mind becomes empty, quiet, and at ease, and one enters emptiness lightly and freely. Seek the scriptures as if hungry and thirsty, and hold to your resolve as firmly as metal and stone.

May you be protected as you fly up to the mysterious path of immortality, and by the Five Numina—the five kinds of wondrous Qi (vital energy), or divine powers, of which Daoism speaks—pass the barriers recorded in the talismanic registers.

Aid me in cultivating the Six Perfections, the six methods of practice, and thereby release the Three Nets, the triple snare that binds the practitioner. Purify the heart and observe the fast, and pay reverence to Taisu, the primordial Qi as Daoism terms it; breathe in and out to regulate the breath, and nurture and refine the yunya, the name in Daoist cultivation for Jing (essence) and Qi, or for the qi of immortals and perfected beings.

Roam freely within the Golden Portal, the palace towers of the immortal realm, and take the Jade Capital, the celestial capital of which Daoism speaks, as your home. Of themselves the Seven Treasures are gained, and everyone sits upon a lotus.

Look up to taste the immortal fare of the Mysterious Capital, and bend down to eat the immortal fruits within the hollow void. The countenance stays radiant for a thousand days without fading—why then reckon how many years and kalpas one has passed through?

The dharma drum sounds, gathering the celestial immortals; the bell rings, summoning the great demons. Of themselves the Seven Treasures are gained, and everyone sits upon a lotus. Look up to taste the immortal fare of the Mysterious Capital, and bend down to eat the immortal fruits within the hollow void. The countenance stays radiant for a thousand days without fading—why then reckon the years and kalpas? The dharma drum sounds, gathering the celestial immortals; the bell rings, summoning the great demons.

Numinous winds brush the fragrant flowers, and lush blossoms and leaves open in brilliant splendor. Taizhen plays the yun’ao, an instrument of the immortal realm, and the assembled immortals pluck spirit-zithers. Above the Three Heavens, the levels of the celestial realm of which Daoism speaks, they sing elegant songs, scattering wisdom through the Forest of Jade Blossoms. Ancestors of seven generations thereby ascend into the Hall of Blessings, and following the mysterious music they mount to the immortal realm.

If the De accumulated in former lives is insufficient, this scripture is hard to encounter. If the heart that trusts the Great Dao is not firm, the wish to ascend in flight will instead bring a fall.

The Most High Dao of Wuwei: to propagate it, begin from within your own heart.

To study the Dao, take firm faith as the root, and serve teachers as you would your own kin. Draw in the radiance of sun and moon, join with purity, stillness, and emptiness, and each day cultivate diligently, ever pressing forward.

As long as living beings have not yet been delivered, I will never seek deliverance for myself alone. When such a great vow is made, profound karmic blessings naturally follow, and far-reaching De (Virtue/Power) manifests of itself.

To do evil in secret is to let sinful karma accumulate very deeply. In the end one must face the corresponding retribution, continuing without cease, like the cycle of rebirth.

Cultivating and studying the methods of the Dao (the Way) is not easy; morning and evening one must nurture merit and virtue. Planting virtuous conduct is like planting a tree: one must accumulate it earnestly and diligently, letting it grow day by day.

As long as living beings have not yet been delivered, I will never seek deliverance for myself alone. When such a great vow is made, profound karmic blessings naturally follow, and far-reaching virtue manifests of itself.

To do evil in secret is to let sinful karma accumulate very deeply. In the end one must face the corresponding retribution, continuing without cease, like the cycle of rebirth.

Cultivating and studying the methods of the Dao is truly arduous; morning and evening one must nurture merit and virtue. Planting virtuous conduct is like planting a tree: heap up the earth carried in baskets, and in the end it too can rise into a mountain.

If you can devote yourself single-mindedly to revering the mysterious great Dao, you may rise lightly into the blue heavens. In cultivating this Dao of Wuwei (non-action), one should form a bond with good deeds.

The most profound and hidden Jing (scripture/classic) of the Taishang (the honorific title in Daoism for the supreme venerable deity) is called the “Chapter on Wisdom.” By means of vast wisdom one uproots suffering, transcends the secular world, and realizes the true Dao.

A bearing so numinous and graceful is seldom seen in the world—bright and vivid, like a lotus in a deep pool.

Each person’s conduct has its own root, and all of it is bound up with the merit accumulated in former lives. In establishing virtue, what matters is timeliness; once a good vow is made, do not abandon it halfway.

Good and evil each bring corresponding results, and the principles by which they depend upon one another and transform into one another are hard to exhaust. The worthy and wise honor the teachings of the scripture, cultivate the Dao and virtue, and at the same time do not cling to the names and distinctions of morality.

To comprehend this is to possess great wisdom; on high, one may become the Lord of Taiji (Supreme Ultimate) (a title of a Daoist immortal). Jeweled canopies and jade ornaments join high above; setting forth in a carriage, one is drawn by nine dragons.

Golden blossoms lift the Cavern Scripture (a scripture of the Dongxuan division of the Daoist canon); immortal youths hold incense burners in their hands. The sound of whistling song reaches Xuandu (a Daoist immortal realm); pendant jades strike against one another and sound the jasper bells.

Leaping upward, one ascends into Taiqing (the pure and tranquil celestial realm of which Daoism speaks), surpassing the light of sun and moon and flying beyond the purple empyrean. Preserving the celestial prime and holding to the norms and discipline of the Dao’s methods, one roams freely in the mysterious realm.

To pass through ten thousand kalpas seems as though only a single night has gone by; a lifespan of a thousand years is as brief as early morning. The lofty immortal realm overshadows the clouds and rosy mists; reaching out a hand, one can grasp the branches of the treasure grove.

Incense smoke rises of itself, and the stairway leading to the mysterious realm ascends with the wind. Spirit banners (banner-flags used in Daoist ritual) stream and scatter in the wind, and the tangle of thoughts disperses along with them.

Discriminating thoughts are cleared away, and one merges into the vast realm of undifferentiated unity; with a mind of non-action one beholds and listens to the pure and still songs of the Dao.

Hymn of the Earth Slip

Brilliant and radiant, it opens the deep and secluded immortal realm and veils the light of sun and moon. Dim and profound, it seems as though the long night will never break; the four assemblies (a term often used in Buddhist and Daoist scriptures to refer broadly to all who attend a ritual gathering) grasp the branches of the treasure grove.

Incense smoke rises of itself, and the stairway leading to the mysterious realm ascends with the wind. The spirit banners stream and scatter in the wind, and the tangle of thoughts disperses along with them.

Discriminating thoughts are cleared away, and one merges into the vast realm of undifferentiated unity; with a mind of non-action one beholds and listens to the pure and still songs of the Dao.

Hymn of the Earth Slip

Brilliant and radiant, it opens the deep and secluded immortal realm, veiling the light of sun and moon. Dim and profound, it seems as though the long night will never break; the four assemblies stand together in reverent solemnity.

The numinous workings manifest in their season and suddenly illumine the vast sky. The Lingshu (sacred scripture) is written in the graphs of the Eight Assemblies, and five kinds of sound join together to form its chapters.

The Supreme Truth (the highest true Dao, the Way) opens a vast grace, and the heavens are revealed tier upon tier. How wondrous is the Way of Longhan (the Dao of the remote ancient kalpa, as Daoism tells it): it condenses into form from the graphs of the Eight Assemblies.

It shines with splendor in the void, and flowing radiance illuminates the Three Realms (heaven, earth, humanity, and the other realms). Sacred charts and writings open a numinous assembly, and the titles of the scriptures are inscribed on jade books and cinnabar slips (precious volumes).

One prays for the true Dao, ascends the Purple Marchmount, and conveys the prayer to the numinous mountains. Jade Maidens utter fan-yin (pure and solemn chanting), and Golden Lads play immortal music like purple mist.

The names of the scriptures reach the Nine Bureaus (the abodes of the deities beneath the earth), and every character of the scripture is arrayed in the Three Heavens (the celestial realms of Daoism). Those who cultivate will forever enjoy long life, and when their merit is fulfilled they become Immortals of Golden Florescence.

Descent of the Perfected

The Nine Heavens bestow numinous chapters (sacred scripture), so that one receives the protection of the spirit of life and is thereby set free. The Yuanjun (an exalted female immortal) blocks the road of death, and the Sima recites the song-chapters of Dongxuan (Cavern of Mystery).

Chant them once, and the myriad perfected spirits all know; chant them a full nine times, and the deities of the heavens come together in audience. One bows in ritual homage, respectfully wishing long endurance through the kalpas, and celebrating the immortal seedlings of former days amid purple glory (practitioners who have attained the Dao).

The Great Void (boundless emptiness) senses the numinous assembly and commands me to proclaim the Shengshen chapters (scripture by which spirits are generated and made manifest). Chant once, and the Nine Mysteries (the profound and remote heavens) are shaken; at the second recitation, heaven and earth communicate; when the recitation reaches nine times, the deities of the heavens come together in audience. One bows in ritual homage, respectfully wishing long endurance through the kalpas, and celebrating the immortal seedlings of former days amid purple glory.

The Great Void senses the numinous assembly and commands me to proclaim the Shengshen chapters. Chant once, and the Nine Mysteries are shaken; at the second recitation, heaven and earth communicate.

The various sounds and Qi (vital energy) blend in harmony; when the recitation is complete at nine times, the fruit of merit is achieved. The Great Sage praises the auspiciousness of Yuanshi, the Primordial, scattering flowers in homage toward the vast empyrean.

Pray for the true Dao, and the true Dao will surely respond; pray for blessing, and blessing will surely increase. The deities of the heavens rejoice together, and all spirits bow in reverence.

The voices of the Nine Heavens are clear and lingering, and the jade chapters (sacred scripture) give birth to the myriad spirits. Recite three times, and the spirits each take their proper stations; Jing (essence) and Qi commune with the gates of the Eight Asterisms (the stellar portals of the heavens).

The Mysterious Pass (the wondrous aperture within the body) blocks the road of death, and numinous power guards the source of the bodily fluids. Resonance and assembly spontaneously bring forth efficacious response; the reckoning of heaven is clear and bright, and the movement of the Dao turns unseen.

Celebration within the round of rebirth is like an infant leaving the womb and being made new. One bows in ritual homage and praises the scriptures of Dongxuan.

Thanksgiving to the Spirits

Today we pray for fine blessings and bow in homage before the altar of the higher numina. The host of immortals descends together, and the multitude of sages all come to behold.

The gods leave their grace and bring good fortune; immortal cranes pause and circle, lingering for a while. The Zhaizhu (the one who presides over the Zhaijiao, the purification ritual) enjoys long life, and the whole household is at peace.

Light shines between heaven and earth, and the gods move to and fro in procession. The river of stars and auspicious clouds spread through the sky, and the multitude of sages all come to behold.

The gods leave their grace and bring good fortune; immortal cranes pause and circle, lingering for a while. The Zhaizhu enjoys long life, and the whole household is at peace.

Light shines between heaven and earth, and the host of deities comes and goes, ranging on patrol through heaven and earth. The Milky Way and the colored clouds part and disperse, while wind and rain swirl about the gates and courtyards.

Today the immortal sages descend, bestowing grace in answer to the prayers of all. Sweet dew is sprinkled upon the poor and the suffering, and the distressed ghosts are of themselves gathered in and given rest.

People’s ranks and stipends are allotted according to the registers of the unseen world, and wealth and honor will long endure.

The countless people present, together with the beings of the heavens, are fortunate to meet the true King of the Law (the venerable deity who upholds the orthodox Law).

In compassion the King of the Law descends to the ritual arena (the place where rites of worship are performed), a smile upon his face, releasing a majestic radiance.

The light shines throughout the three-thousand great-thousand worlds (a term used in Buddhist and Daoist scriptures to express a world vast without bounds). With sincere hearts the assembly takes refuge and bows in worship toward the ten directions.

With one heart they take refuge and dedicate their lives, paying homage to the Jade-Treasure Sovereign Emperor Celestial Worthy (Tianzun) of the Land of Abundant Joy in the East. With one heart they take refuge and dedicate their lives, paying homage to the Mysterious-True Myriad-Blessings Celestial Worthy of the Land of the Great Hall of Blessings in the South. With one heart they take refuge and dedicate their lives, paying homage to the Supremely Wondrous Ultimate Celestial Worthy of the Land of Great Fuli in the West. With one heart they take refuge and dedicate their lives, paying homage to the Jade-Treasure Sovereign Emperor Celestial Worthy of the Land of Abundant Joy in the East of Xina in the North. With one heart they take refuge and dedicate their lives, paying homage to the Mysterious-True Myriad-Blessings Celestial Worthy of the Land of the Great Hall of Blessings in the South. With one heart they take refuge and dedicate their lives, paying homage to the Supremely Wondrous Ultimate Celestial Worthy of the Land of Great Fuli in the West. With one heart they take refuge and dedicate their lives, paying homage to the Mysterious-Supreme Jade-Dawn Celestial Worthy of the Land of Xina in the North. With one heart they take refuge and dedicate their lives, paying homage to the Superior Sage Who Ferries Immortals, Celestial Worthy of the Land of Wondrous Joy in the Northeast. With one heart they take refuge and dedicate their lives, paying homage to the Life-Cherishing, Life-Delivering Celestial Worthy of the Land Hard to Surpass in the Southeast. With one heart they take refuge and dedicate their lives, paying homage to the Great Numinous Void Sovereign Celestial Worthy of the Land of Wanli in the Southwest. With one heart they take refuge and dedicate their lives, paying homage to the Measureless Great-Florescence Celestial Worthy of the Land of Yudan Chanshan in the Northwest. With one heart they take refuge and dedicate their lives, paying homage to the Jade-Void Radiant Emperor Celestial Worthy of the Land of Balanced Heaven above. With one heart they take refuge and dedicate their lives, paying homage to the True Sovereign Cavern-Spirit Celestial Worthy of the Land of Yucha below. With one heart they take refuge and dedicate their lives, paying homage to the countless Celestial Worthies of the ten directions, filling all of empty space, numberless as motes of dust. With one heart they take refuge and dedicate their lives, paying homage to the divine writings, numinous talismans, and precious counsels of the Three Caverns (Dongzhen/Dongxuan/Dongshen), the system by which Daoist scriptures are classified, and to the thirty-six honored scriptures (Jing).

The original text then repeats the homage to the True Sovereign Cavern-Spirit Celestial Worthy of the Land of Yucha below, to the countless Celestial Worthies of the ten directions, and to the scriptures of the Three Caverns and the thirty-six honored scriptures.

With my whole heart I take refuge and pay reverence to the profound treasury of teachings—the scriptures and methods of Daoism—coalesced in the void, manifest in the form of cloud-seal script, with rays of light descending from its eight corners.

With my whole heart I take refuge and pay reverence to the Treasure Hall of the Fragrant Grove on the celestial terrace of the Jade Capital.

With my whole heart I take refuge and pay reverence to the Great Master of the Methods of the Mysterious Center, who transmits the scriptures (Jing), proclaims the teaching, and saves beings lost in delusion.

With my whole heart I take refuge and pay reverence to the Perfected, the mysterious masters, and the hosts of immortals throughout the ten directions who have already attained the Dao (the Way).

Today, on behalf of the beings of the six paths in the realms above and below, in the human world and the heavens, and on behalf of sovereigns and common people, the teachers of successive generations, my own parents, the donors of the ten directions, and all beings of the six paths and four modes of birth (the various kinds of beings within the six paths; the four modes of birth being birth from the womb, from the egg, from moisture, and by transformation), I join with them in paying reverence to the methods of the Dao and in receiving the grace of the Dao, so that all may turn toward the correct Way and repent of their offenses.

We repent with sincere hearts. Born into an age of clarity and good order, and long blessed with peaceful and secure times, we have been able to enter the Mysterious Gate (the gate of Daoist cultivation). Yet our grasp of the Dao and its methods is shallow. Although we have received transmission from our teachers and obtained the numinous writings, we are constantly entangled and kept rushing by worldly affairs, and we often handle what we encounter improperly. On the days of the Three Assemblies and the Five La observances we seldom accumulate good deeds; at the Eight Nodes and the Three Primes we often neglect reverence and recitation; on the ten days of upright abstinence and the days of our root destiny we do not know how to cultivate; and on the jiazi and gengshen days, when we ought to pay court to the Perfected and the sages and keep vigil over the palaces, we have not given our whole hearts. The nine grades of purification rites (Zhai) we have not practiced with single-minded devotion, and the three thousand merits and deeds we have never carried out with reverence. The precepts and statutory articles are exceedingly solemn, yet our conduct has been amiss and we have incurred faults; the practice of the precepts is majestic, yet with ornate and empty words we have added to our offenses. In mind and in word and deed there has been much that is not upright, and we have violated the one hundred and eighty precepts; transgressing in full knowledge, we have gone against the three hundred great precepts.

All of this is karma we ourselves have created through body, speech, and mind. Misfortune has piled up like a mountain, and craving together with every kind of bondage has made our faults as deep as the sea. Our offenses are entered in the registers of the underworld and bound in the offices of the dark realm (the authorities who preside in the unseen world). We constantly fear that when the reckoning of our guilt arrives, the body will fail and the span of life will come to an end.

We earnestly beseech the divinities of utmost perfection and utmost holiness to perceive the sincerity of our hearts, to remit the peril of death so that we may lengthen our lives, to add to our years, to banish calamity forever, to let blessed virtue and wisdom descend upon us, and to grant us ample emolument and long life. May we always receive the protection of the Dao and its methods, so that our wisdom is penetrating and we comprehend the mysterious principle, forever bringing delusion and obscurity to rest, cultivating the methods of the Dao until we become Perfected, and, when we uphold and recite the scriptures, no longer violating the precepts.

The repentance is complete. We take refuge and pay reverence to the Three Treasures of Daoism (the Dao, the scriptures, and the masters).

I sincerely make this vow: May we, through many kalpas, broadly cultivate good deeds in the three activities of body, speech, and mind—conduct, words, and thoughts. May we constantly uphold the wondrous teaching, succor all living beings, and remain unbound by the afflictions of the worldly dust. Life after life, may we escape the Three Paths (the three destinations of suffering: the hells, hungry ghosts, and animals). May the mind be like the sun of wisdom, driving off darkness and shining through the void; and in every teaching, may we cling neither to “self” nor to “other.”

May we always cherish compassion and practice the Dao (the Way) of the One Vehicle—the teaching that guides all beings together toward attainment of the Dao. May our mouths constantly recite verses sweet as dew, proclaim the pure precepts, and save the beings of the human world and the heavens. May we speak neither evil words nor showy, empty talk, and may we not eat living beings. May our feet never tread the three evil paths, and may our hands never kill any living being. May we attend the Celestial Worthy (Tianzun) as a shadow follows the body, never drawing away whether sitting, rising, or walking. May we, together with all living beings, take leave of the bodies of hungry ghosts and animals, and, together with the beings of the Three Realms (those of the Realm of Desire, the Realm of Form, and the Formless Realm), diligently seek the supreme Dao.

When the vow has been made, we take refuge and pay reverent homage to the Three Treasures (the Dao, the Jing [scripture/classic], and the masters).

Please listen, all of you. This pure verse says that those who wish to return to the true Dao should leave secular life and dwell among the mountain crags, burning incense and offering homage at the three times of morning, noon, and evening. They should steady their resolve and be diligent in keeping the precepts, and they should also renounce glory and official stipend, not being drawn by fame and gain. In this way they may hope to meet a True Person (Zhenren, a practitioner who has attained the Dao), from whom they receive the supreme teachings of the Dao.

Practitioners of the upper, middle, and lower seats must all remember the Six Recollections: recollection of Heaven, of Earth, of the Dao, of the Jing, of the True, and of the precepts.

Please listen, all of you. Whoever would be diligent in keeping the precepts must refrain from killing, from stealing, from sexual misconduct, from false speech, from indulgence in wine and from eating meat, and from slandering the worthy and the good. These are the instructions left by the Celestial Worthy, and the exhortation is clear and plain. One should cultivate with earnest effort and seek liberation without delay. A human body is hard to obtain, and birth in the Central Land is hard to attain—here meaning birth in a place suited to hearing the Dao and to cultivation. Once the human body is lost, it is hard to gain again even through ten thousand kalpas. All are therefore urged to come together to the Daochang (ritual sanctuary) and cultivate, so that in this life and in lives to come they may constantly encounter the true scriptures and precepts.

The exhortation concluded, we take refuge and pay reverent homage to the Three Treasures.