《洞玄灵宝丹水飞术运度小劫妙经》

The Most High Lord of the Great Dao (Taishang Dadaojun) said that the Celestial Worthy of Primordial Beginning (Yuanshi Tianzun) once taught: When the kalpic cycles between heaven and earth reach their end, Jingguang Bingguo—the condition of the world within those cycles—is vast and boundless. Its scene has no canopy overhead; its radiance is unfathomably deep, and people cannot settle or remain there. The light of the sun and moon does not reach it, nor can the stars mark or record it. There is no distinction of above and below, nor any place on which one may rely or to which one may arrive, and its number is all the more impossible to exhaust.

The Dao (the Way) says: The cosmos has no boundary of above or below; the myriad things move and gather within it. It is light and numinous, lofty and remote, reaching what cannot be measured, and it also sinks into a realm of empty stillness and dark mystery. Above and below are alike called Xuan (the Mysterious), yet the principle within them is remote, deep, and silent, hard to put into words. Circulating back and forth, they at last come together; when the circuit reaches its limit, it returns to a state of mysterious, perfect roundness. Upward it attains the utmost height; downward it enters the finest dust; to the left it opens onto vast and boundless expanses; to the right it courses through the ten thousand rivers.

The Daluo Heaven (Daluo Tian, the supreme celestial realm of which Daoism speaks) spreads out layer upon layer; the stars of the Dipper rise sheer and join the hidden darkness. The Primal Lord of the Mysterious Capital (Xuandu Yuanjun, a revered Daoist deity) moves with numinous subtlety, now hidden and now manifest; the great mountains and rocky valleys turn with this motion, as though all had become one.

When the six degrees of cultivation are completed and pure practice (Fanxing, undefiled cultivation) is likewise fully attained, one ascends the passes of the many heavens. The roads of the celestial realm are broad and empty; at their root all is vacant, still, and profound. The lesser revolution circulates, and from it the measured turning of the epochs (yundu) begins; the heavens turn with it, and the Fiery Measure (Yandu, the age of catastrophe corresponding to the kalpa cycle) reaches the season of meeting. Every form of cultivation is brought to completion; the practitioner mounts the passes of the heavens; the celestial way is vast, and the root of emptiness is deep. The lesser revolution circulates once more, the measured turning opens again, the heavens wheel about, and the Fiery Measure arrives at its time of meeting. Every region answers according to the numerical order of the kalpa and turns gently together; heaven is high without limit and opens through to the Cavern Origin (Dongyuan, the deep and far-reaching realm of the primordial source).

The heavens take the Qian trees (Qianshu, the celestial trees of which the Jing, or scriptures, speak) as their regulating framework and knit them into a network; the earth takes its support from human beings, birds, and the mountains that dwell amid fiery smoke. When the turning of a minor kalpa arrives, high heavens are generated above; the measured turning begins from the celestial realm, and the gates of the hidden darkness continue to turn as well. The assembled spirits then record and register this change, naming it “the Conjunction of the Numbers of Heaven and Earth,” that is, the alternation of minor kalpas.

The Celestial Worthy of Primordial Beginning (Yuanshi Tianzun, the highest deity of Daoism) passes through this revolving alternation of kalpas. Each time three hundred and sixty thousand kalpas have elapsed, this movement is called the “Lesser Celestial Wind Measure,” that is, the alternation of minor kalpas.

What is called the Great Heaven comprises three thousand nine hundred and sixty layers of heaven and embraces the lesser heavens of the ten directions. Each layer is governed by Perfected Persons (Zhenren, immortals who have attained the Dao), and each has Perfected Persons of the ten directions. Every three hundred years they make a circuit of the Qian trees and Human-Bird Mountain; when this course is finished, it is called “the conjunction of the lesser celestial measured turning, the completion of a minor kalpa.”

The Perfected Persons set out from the heaven of the present and proceed toward the Great Heaven. The Great Heaven holds a great kalpa of three thousand nine hundred and sixty heavens. After the Perfected Person of Radiant Light has ritually traversed these heavens, the process is called “the completion of the measured turning of a minor kalpa.”

The Celestial Worthy of Primordial Beginning said to the Perfected Jingguang: Heaven contains ten billion great heavens, and earth contains ten billion grotto-heavens. Each heaven passes through three hundred and sixty thousand kalpas, and with that the course of its celestial years comes to an end; this round of the heavenly realm is called a “lesser heaven.” A Perfected of the Great Cavern Parish presides over each lesser heaven.

When the lesser kalpa (the shorter cycle in the movement of heaven and earth) arrives, the destined cycles come full circle and begin again, and heaven and earth are restored to their former state. The Gang asterism, the Five Dippers, and the Seven Registers □□ are at last brought to completion; the sun and moon shine brightly once more, and the Celestial Prime (the fundamental order of the movement of heaven and earth) is renewed. At this time Xuandu manifests and comes into being through transformation, and the scriptures (Jing) accordingly circulate and answer the needs of the age. The Lady of Great Numinosity and Purple Prime descends from the Heaven of Numinous Radiance and, accompanied by more than ten female flying celestials, travels far in search of Xuandu. Xuandu is then present in person among the Five Marchmounts, holding in check the fiery vapors of this place, sweeping away calamities, and subduing fierce evils. When the celestials see Xuandu, they pay homage in the void of the Ten Absolutes.

The Lady said: Before the alternation of kalpic destinies in remote antiquity, the Celestial Worthy of Supreme Perfection had already manifested and sent down his words, setting forth the categories and the number of scrolls of the Lingbao scriptures of high antiquity and concealing them in the Mysterious Parish of the Great Cavern. Only those possessed of an affinity for immortality can see these scriptures.

Later there was a Perfected of the Supreme Ultimate (Taiji) who, before attaining the Dao (the Way), long dwelt in the human world, roaming mountains and forests and gathering medicinal herbs. From the age of seven to ninety he traveled from place to place, never killing living beings, and constantly studied the various scriptures of the world, taking Lord Lao’s Daodejing—the classic of the Dao and of De (Virtue/Power)—and other classics as his regular practice, and inquired deeply into subtle principles. He possessed the character and capacities required of divine beings and Perfected. Wherever he went, whether secluded valleys, dense forests, precipitous cliffs, or deep ravines cut off and hard to traverse, he never turned aside. Later, in a cavern on Mount Wuren, he met the Primordial Lady and received the traces of attaining the Dao that she had left behind, the wondrous scripture of the true writs of the Eight Simplicities and the Interlocking Belt, and the Wondrous Scripture of the Most High of the Dongxuan (Cavern Mystery) Lingbao on the Cyclical Numbers of the Lesser Kalpa.

Cultivators ought to transmit this scripture, so that people may harmonize the cyclical numbers of the movement of heaven and earth. When the count of ten billion has run its course and Xuandu descends once more, it is to be feared that the reckoning of the great kalpa will already be near—how could one easily escape it? The signs of the lesser kalpa will then appear.

The Celestial Worthy of Primordial Beginning (Yuanshi Tianzun) said to the Perfected Person Xuandu (Xuandu zhenren): “The reckoning of kalpas arrives together with the ‘hundred and six’ (bailiu), occurring within the destined course of the final age. I bestow it upon you, so that you may harmonize the destined cycles of Heaven and Earth. When the myriads of kalpas throughout Heaven and Earth converge and the former reckoning is about to be exhausted, the Perfected Person Xuandu will descend once more. Seeing that the great kalpa is about to arrive, how can one pass through it? This is the teaching concerning the lesser kalpa.”

The Celestial Worthy of Primordial Beginning spoke again: “The reckoning of kalpas arrives together with the ‘hundred and six,’ occurring in the final age. If at that time there is a person who possesses immortal roots, I will personally teach that person the method of preserving the self and passing through the calamity. Practitioners who wish to pass safely through disasters such as fire and the affliction of smoke should study the wondrous scriptures of the Three Caverns (Sandong; the Dongzhen, Dongxuan, and Dongshen classics of Daoism) and establish the Lingbao purification rite (the fasting ritual of the Lingbao tradition, a form of Zhaijiao).

“If one remains in the human world, one should set up a high seat and a precious canopy, prepare offering implements such as lamps, candles, and incense burners, perform rites of audience six times each day, and take food only once a day, at noon. If one withdraws from worldly affairs and cultivates the purification rite alone in the secluded valleys of mountains and forests, one should observe a prolonged fast, swallowing only Qi (vital energy) and ingesting elixir, ordinarily standing or sitting upright, and turning the left hand toward the North Star. One recites: ‘So-and-so, on an auspicious day and at a favorable hour, with a steadfast heart cultivates the field of merit, and prays that the Most High of the North Pole may save and deliver the bodily form of so-and-so.’ One then holds the breath three times. Cultivating in this way at all six periods of each day, one will naturally attain the Dao (the Way). When the destined cycles of Heaven and Earth succeed one another and the lesser kalpa arrives, the Perfected Person Xuandu will use the nine talismans (fu) in this secret text to save and deliver practitioners.”

The Celestial Worthy of Primordial Beginning said: “The nine talismans are the nine chapters, corresponding to the nine tally texts of the Most High. Those who receive and uphold the Lingbao method and wear these nine water-script talismans are wearing the writings of the Numinous Chapters of Dongxuan. When reciting the scriptures, one should wear the talismans on the body; write them in cinnabar, make registers (lu) of plain silk, draw them according to the talismanic script, place them in a pouch, and wear them on the person, and thereby pass through the time when the lesser kalpa alternates. These contents ought to be kept secret.”

The Celestial Worthy of Primordial Beginning sets forth the nine chapters of the Talismans of the Cavern Chapters of the Most High (Taishang Dongzhang Fu). The first chapter is the Talisman of the Cavern Chapters of the Most High; the second, the Talisman of the Mysterious Chapters of the Most High; the third, the Talisman of the Numinous Chapters of the Most High; the fourth, the Talisman of the Precious Chapters of the Most High; the fifth, the Talisman of the Jade Chapters of the Most High; the sixth, the Talisman of the Golden Tones of the Nine Chapters of the Most High; the seventh, the Talisman of the Thirty-Nine Chapters of Jade Tones of the Most High; the eighth, the Talisman of the Chapters on Engendering Shen (spirit) of the Most High; and the ninth, the Talisman of the Chapters on the Nine Submergences and Concealing Transformations of the Most High.

The so-called “secret talismanic texts” are the hidden talismanic registers of the Supreme Cavern Mystery (Taishang Dongxuan). Practitioners wear them on the body and regularly chant the sounds of these nine chapters, and the true Dao then descends of itself. The scripture lists Chapter Seven, the “Talisman of the Supreme Chapter on Generating the Spirits,” and Chapter Eight, the “Talisman of the Supreme Chapter on the Nine Cycles of Transformation and Concealment”; the original text also mentions a “ninth” here, but does not give the chapter title.

The Celestial Worthy of Primordial Beginning says that the “Three Simplicities” refer to the Purple Simplicity, the Yellow Simplicity, and the White Simplicity. Each transforms into a Perfected Being of the Numinous Unity of the Supreme Cavern Mystery; taken together, the Three Simplicities are three Perfected Beings, who constantly preside over the parishes of the present age (the regions administered by Daoist divinities).

The scripture says that when a Lingbao ritual master performs a purification ritual (zhai), he should wear ritual vestments: the ritual skirt is made of yellow cloth, and beneath it he wears “Niwan silk” (a type of undergarment for ritual dress); over the Niwan silk, a width of blue-green cloth is worn crosswise as a cape, and yellow silk is used for the headcloth. Whether in the cold of winter or the heat of summer, this manner of dress is not changed, and it is taken as the fixed ritual costume; it is said that divine youths and jade maidens constantly guard those who wear these vestments.

The scripture further says that if the ritual master establishes a purification ritual and practices the method in a secluded place among mountains and forests, the skirt, coarse robe, headcloth, coverlet, and the like that he uses may be made of deerskin.

When performing the purification rite (Zhai), one must not mingle with worldly people. Those who are still cultivating and studying while remaining in the world should follow what the scripture (Jing) says: one must not wear the ritual robes used for practice in the mountains when going about among people, nor may the clothes worn among people be taken into the mountains and forests. To do so both goes against the scripture and violates the precepts. When the great perfected of the various heavens see that a practitioner’s bearing is improper, they will judge that he has lost due decorum; the demon kings will mock him for this, the orthodox spirits will not respond to his summons, and the mysterious perfected will not descend.

In remote antiquity there was a Perfected One of Taimiao Heaven who had not yet attained the Dao (the Way). When he cultivated the Lingbao methods he did not follow the prescribed ritual procedures, and he wore the robes of mountain practice while wandering in the human world. He was on the verge of achieving the Dao, yet because he still wore these robes when presiding over a purification rite in the household of a king, he broke the precepts and damaged the merit of his cultivation of perfection. He later became a Perfected One of the Five Sacred Peaks and remains in the world to this day. Only when the lesser kalpas of heaven and earth are drawing to a close will this Perfected One have a chance to ascend one kalpa-stage; thereafter, because of a lapse in the secret precepts, heaven and earth underwent nine faults. After ten segments of the lesser cycles have passed and those cycles are about to end, he only then begins to roam the numinous peaks, and has still not been able to rise to the realm of the Ten Ultimates. All of this came about because he failed to observe the liturgy (Keyi) when wearing ritual robes. Those who cultivate and study must be careful indeed. If the lesser periods of the heavenly cycles reach a full ten segments, this Perfected One will again be able to cultivate in seclusion within the number of the Perfected Ones of the Ten Directions.

The scripture further says: there was also a ritual master who cultivated the purification methods of Dongxuan (Cavern of Mystery). He never left the world; he made offerings to the precious scriptures, upheld the precepts, and cultivated the work of the Dao. Through long accumulation he too came to be numbered among the Perfected Ones of the Ten Directions and to cultivate in seclusion among them.

The scripture (Jing) says: There was also a ritual master who cultivated the purification methods of Dongxuan (Daoist Zhaijiao, or purification rituals, and methods of practice) and never left the human world. For a long time he venerated the precious scriptures, set his precepts and conduct in order, and cultivated the work of the Dao (the Way). Later he entered the mountains by mistake in secular ritual robes, and so failed to attain the Dao.

At that time there were also three jade maidens. They wore robes embroidered with nine kinds of bramble patterns and were girded with purple silk sashes; their hair was dressed in three circular horn-buns, covered on the outside by kerchiefs embroidered with orchid patterns; and on their feet were shoes embroidered with nine kinds of dragon patterns. In their hands they held numinous banners for crossing the cycles (ritual banners used to pass through the destinies of the kalpas). They burned elixir medicines and blended incense of nine colors, laughing and jesting as they said, “The cycle of Heaven is about to end—who can bring deliverance?”

Then an immortal of high antiquity saw these jade maidens. Judging them to be no ordinary persons, he bowed low in salute. At first the jade maidens did not look at him. They said, “You are a worthy ruler of high antiquity; why do you suddenly bow to us?” The jade maidens then rose and paced about uneasily. Two more jade maidens came forward, each holding a scroll of wondrous scripture, and said, “Lady Purple Tenuity has sent us to bring these eight scriptural texts. They issue from the celestial realm and have no communication with the people of the world. This scripture is kept in secret and will not be made public here.”

The Perfected Jingguang set forth the numbers of the great kalpas and minor kalpas of heaven and earth. Worried that after the kalpic reckoning ended there would no longer be seed-people (the people who continue humankind after the kalpas and multiply anew), he composed a method for passing through the minor kalpas. He held that by cultivating this method and secretly preserving the scriptures, one could pass through the calamity and become one who truly attains deliverance. On each of the eight nodal days, jade slips (pieces of jade inscribed with writing) were to be offered in order to carry out this method.

The Perfected Jingguang composed the Hymn of the Seed-People Surpassing the Kalpas (a hymn concerning the seed-people’s passage through the calamities).

After one full round of procession and worship, reverence enters the realm of emptiness and void: upward, one may reach the stellar lodge of the numinous clouds; downward, one may enter palaces profound, dark, and subtle. Dwelling at ease upon what is round and square, level and upright, one holds in mind the land where the precious chambers lie. Though the days that pass are not many, the revolution of heaven already seems long. The transformative, nurturing Qi (vital energy) of Yuanshi (the Primordial Beginning) flourishes, and there is constant coming and going between the heavens and earths of the eight directions.

The three accord with one another—why, then, does ritual instruction come so late? As the Qi of the Six Directions (Liuhe) circulates to and fro, the blessings of the world can long endure in prosperity. The radiant Jing (essence) and Qi of the Golden Horse grow full and abundant, a sign that the fortunes of the age will turn peaceful and secure. Who can set out upon the path of wisdom and call to mind the inner and outer realms of the Dao (the Way) of Yuanshi?

The guiding order of heaven and earth will for a time reach its end, and the number one hundred and six now meets at its conjunction. The Three Su (Sansu; the three pure and vacant celestial realms of which Daoism speaks) stream forth and become manifest, honored by the Celestial Emperor. The seeds of the past are carried on no longer, and the destined revolutions of heaven and earth will reverse. By what means can one pass through this kalpic calamity? One should rely upon and contemplate the teachings of the Lingbao Jing (Numinous Treasure Scripture). When thought resonates with the Dao, there is hope of coming through disaster; holding the ritual staff, one chants the jade chapters (Yupian; chapters of Daoist scripture).

At the turning of the destined revolutions, the Perfected of Radiant Light (Jingguang Zhenren), having finished proclaiming this hymn, summoned the Earl of the Wind together with the celestial Perfected of the many heavens and the lesser heavens to assemble as one. The allotted span of the kalpic calamity having run out, the lesser heavens were established anew. The Perfected now divides his own person and becomes the Celestial Worthies (Tianzun) of the ten directions; he roams and surveys the Lingbao Perfected of the Ten Extremes within the world of the Five Turbidities. Whoever today uprightly carries out the teaching, studies the scriptural methods, and attains the Dao may in the future also become one of these Perfected of the ten directions. Although one has not yet gained the state of which the scripture speaks, nor ascended in broad daylight, if after encountering the teaching one continues to cultivate and in turn practices and spreads that teaching, one may later also become a Perfected within the lesser heavens.

The Celestial Worthy of Primordial Beginning said: “What is called the ‘minor kalpa’ is the time when the Perfected have passed through three completions, when the revolution of Heaven has run to its end, and when the numbers of Heaven and the numbers of Earth meet and converge on every side. This turning and transformation is known as the ‘cyclical passage of the minor kalpa.’ At that time the sun, moon, and stars in all the heavens will extinguish themselves of their own accord, and the mountains, rivers, and ordering principles of the earth will lose their foundation.

“At this moment the True Lords of the Three Luminaries teach and transform the many lesser sages who have not yet attained the Dao (the Way), and they are especially anxious that this revolution of Heaven is about to reach its end. In former times there was a person named Xuandu. He was born from within the subtle void of the Nine Depths and came into being by spontaneous transformation. His countenance was lustrous, and he looked like a youth. In his hands he held the True Scripture (Jing) of the Eight Divisions of the Most High, the Primordial Cavern of Clarity and Stillness, the Numinous Treasure, and the Two Pure Essences. He rose forth from among the Eight Divisions and proclaimed this scripture to the Five Marchmounts in order to subdue calamity. Thereafter he settled the flames and smoke, brought Qian and Kun into being, set forth the Bagua (Eight Trigrams), compiled registers of names, and transmitted this scripture to the Perfected of Taiji (Supreme Ultimate).

“Three worthies disclosed the method of free contemplative illumination, so that living beings might pass through the destiny of the kalpa. A Jade Maiden held a scroll of the Jade Characters of the Minor Kalpa for Quelling Flames and Weeping Rivers, and it is said that she once transmitted it to Xia Yu, the celestial being of the Morning Realm. This scripture can instruct the living beings of all the heavens, so that when great disaster comes they may rely on it to pass through the calamity. The immortals of high antiquity have now become Taiji, and they preside over the registers that record the names of those who attain the Dao and become immortals.”

The scripture says: “Before the age of Emperor Yao, the Perfected received from the Jade Maiden of Chongluo Heaven the Wondrous Scripture of the Minor Kalpa for Quelling Flames and Infusing Smoke. Down to the present, this scripture is still used to teach, transform, and deliver body and mind. The text reads as follows:

“Circulating and revolving in a full circuit, the ordering principles are destroyed; mountains and seas sink from sight, and awesome spirits descend. Departing and then returning, the sun and moon suffer eclipse, the Kui star changes, and now it has already arrived.”

The Celestial Worthy of Primordial Beginning said: “Within the Great Mystery there are the Six Wu. The Qi (vital energy) of clarity, stillness, and profound depth washes through and flows abroad, turning without end in accordance with the revolution of Heaven. Teaching and contemplative illumination lead toward the empty and distant realm, enabling one to ascend on high. Destruction; mountains and seas sink from sight, and awesome spirits descend; departing and then returning, the sun and moon suffer eclipse, the Kui star changes, and now it has already arrived.” Here “Six Wu” is a Daoist technical term referring to the six day-times named with the stem wu. The wording of the original at this point appears corrupt or incomplete, and so the meaning of certain sentences is difficult to determine with certainty.

The Celestial Venerable of the Primordial Beginning (Yuanshi Tianzun, the highest revered deity of Daoism) said: Within the Great Mystery (Taixuan, the profound origin of the Great Dao) lie the Six Wu (the numbers of cosmic calamity), vast, remote, pure, and empty, revolving in boundless flow, their cycles without end. He taught people to contemplate the far reaches of emptiness and to ascend to a lofty height, where the mountains are steep and without limit, the ten directions are cut off, and there is nowhere to stand, only an immense and desolate void. The turn of the kalpa (the cosmic calamity cycle) shifts in silence: the Five Stars lose their order, the constellations are overturned, and the Tiangang (the Celestial Dipper's handle) reverses. When the cycle of calamity reaches its end, the sun and moon lose their light, the moistening Yang qi falls out of harmony, the seasons lose the qi that rightly belongs to them, and the qi of Heaven and Earth leaks away. The Five Peaks sink beneath the waters, and even the Blessed Lands (the famous mountains and cavern-dwellings where immortals reside) are flooded into mere hills. Only those who pass through this calamity can gather in the cool shade and return to their ancient origin. At that time, the people of the Three Realms perish entirely without remainder. Among the Great Perfected Ones of the heavens (high-ranking Perfected Beings), those who refined their bones and merged with the Dao during the calamity have their names recorded on the Yellow Silk (the register of immortals). Thus the calamities are lived through to their end, and all returns to Emptiness. Emptiness unites as one and becomes the Great Realm (the vast domain where the immortals and Perfected Ones dwell), facing the ten directions without limit. The great numbers of past and future governed by the Northern Pole are all merged into the Great Number, entering the Expanse of Emptiness. Number returns to emptiness, creation and transformation become void, and its names and titles can never be exhausted.

The Perfected One of Daluo said: The Dao can be spoken of, yet it cannot be fixed by words as constant. What is recorded in words becomes a name, and one may also say it is not a name, which may be called subtle and hard to fathom. Those who dwell in the lower three return to emptiness; the greatest enter the wide and open expanse, and the finest reach the realm of utter obscurity. They move unseen within the empty realm, inside the radiant and brilliant Cavern Palace. The Four Rivers (the Yangtze, Yellow, Huai, and Ji) become the gates of the cavern, and the dwelling places of the past are the Great Realm where immortals are refined.

The Perfected One of the Primordial Supreme Ultimate (Yuanshi Taiji) and the Perfected One Xuandu expounded the Dao of the end of the calamity at the cavern gate of the Lesser Kalpa, and recorded the mountain-realm where the cavern is located. Within the mountain lies a Cavern Heaven, and the Cavern Heaven has four gates, the first being the Gate of the Great Cavern (Dadong). When a practitioner reaches this gate, they will naturally be able to pass through the calamity.

The Supreme Lord of the Great Dao (Taishang Dadaojun, the Way) said: The Celestial Worthy of Primordial Beginning (Yuanshi Tianzun) once taught that when the greater and lesser kalpic cycles reach their end and the passage of the kalpa is about to arrive, living beings of every kind reappear according to their own categories and karmic conditions. Those of higher station dwell above, while those of lower station return below; the great revert to the whole, the small enter into the subtle, and Primordial Qi (vital energy) abides within them.

Living beings differentiate and are born in ways that differ: some are born on high or in low places, some in forms of greater or lesser size, some arise from a root, some are conceived in the womb, some undergo periodic return to life, some are born by spontaneous transformation, and some come into being amid emptiness where there is no Qi. At first they have no visible form and emerge in hidden obscurity. All such beings meet with fortunes matching their blessings; they come with transformation, each according to the karmic conditions it originally possessed.

When the number of living beings reaches its end, those whose blessings remain deep are not cut off, but begin anew according to their kind. Beings born from a root gain added radiance and beauty; they are like the Register of the Seven Treasures (a precious register recording the names and titles of immortals and perfected beings) that grows in the Grove of the Seven Treasures in the Realm of the Numinous Treasure (Lingbao), which the host of immortals and great sages often go to view. After the greater and lesser kalpic cycles have ended, the world comes full circle and transforms once more, and living beings then have the opportunity to be reborn as human beings.

By cultivating the methods of the Dao taught in the scriptures, one can personally behold the host of the Perfected (immortals and perfected beings who have attained the Dao) and receive the radiance of the Numinous Treasure, which shines universally upon the ten directions. To be born from the womb shows that the blessings of a former life were profound; thus one can be born within a womb, possess a bodily form, have the hun and po souls condense into Shen (spirit), and naturally receive the words of the Supreme Sovereign (the teachings transmitted by the exalted deities of high antiquity).

The Celestial Worthy of Primordial Beginning and the Exalted Lord on High (Gaoshang Laojun), in the Lesser Chamber of the Jade Capital in the Upper Township of the Mysterious Metropolis, expounded and transmitted the Supreme Dongxuan (Cavern of Mystery) Lingbao Superior Scriptures of the Thirty-Six Sections of Wondrous Treasures. At that time the lifespan of the Exalted Lord on High was inexhaustible and beyond reckoning; yet before the age of the Supreme Sovereign had arrived, the cycles of the world had already turned, and blessings and fortunes were about to succeed one another. Yuyi (the spirit of the sun) withdrew, and Jielin (the spirit of the moon) moved in its course; lofty kalpa-mountains rose, the stars split apart, the arrayed lodges (constellations) were set in a new order, the Five Marchmounts changed, and the regional bastions (the mountains and rivers that guard the four quarters) were altered; the four great rivers were swept away, seas became mountain peaks, and waters became massive stones. Birds, insects, and all living beings, in a fleeting instant, underwent the transformation of the kalpa and passed through three hundred and twenty thousand seed-people.

The Primordial Lord further expounded the Five Thousand Characters, together with the Upper, Lower, and Middle Scriptures of the Dao and De (Virtue/Power), the true writings of the Three Caverns (Dongzhen, Dongxuan, and Dongshen), and many important wondrous scriptures, in order to instruct later students. The scripture then continues:

Lord Baishi, surnamed Kong, once studied the methods of the Dao (the Way) under a master at Mount Yurenniao, learning four hundred thousand words in all. He later remained on this mountain and practiced alone, keeping a purification retreat, eating a vegetarian diet, and taking his meal at noon. He confessed his transgressions and reflected on karmic cause and fruit and the blessings of merit, hoping to deliver all living beings, free them from the calamities of the world, and bring them to behold Great Peace. Each day he paid homage to the many heavens and worshipped the ten directions, looking upward in thanks to the Mysterious Perfected and the heavens of Luo and Fan. He burned incense and lit lamps, recited scriptures (Jing) and performed worship, and cultivated according to the “Method of Recollection of the Ten Extremes,” considering how to dispel drifting evils and discoursing on the most subtle principles. He accumulated six hundred years of practice and study, then returned to the dwellings on the northern side of Mount Wuren in the Mysterious Capital and cultivated for another two hundred years.

On the twenty-fourth day of the fifth month in the jiawu year of the Grand Year-Star, Numinous Treasure manifested. Suddenly twelve flying celestials of the Seven Treasures, riding chariots of flying cloud, descended from the Terrace of the Nine Mysteries to welcome the Primordial Lady of Great Vacuity and the Hollow-Cave Perfected, Lord Baishi. The two rose lightly into the air, ascended to the realm of the Nine Rosy Clouds, taught and transformed the assembled immortals, and studied the arts of the true immortals.

On the tenth day of the ninth month of the first year of Taihuang, Lady Wang of Tortoise Mountain came to receive the eight scrolls of the Upper Scripture of the Primordial Register of the Eight Births. On the fifth day of the tenth month of the same year, Master Redpine received, in the mountains of the Treasure City of the Mysterious Capital, the thirty-six marvelous scriptures of the Precious Stanzas of the Great Cavern, together with the True Codes of the Three Caverns (Dongzhen/Dongxuan/Dongshen) and the essential precepts of the Dao and of De (Virtue/Power). In the rite they broke gold and cast fish, bound hooks with flood-dragons, ascended the altar to perform the observances, and offered precious objects as tokens of faith. They transmitted the scriptures with a hundred feet of flying-cloud brocade, two jade tablets, two golden dragons, a pair of fish, twenty-four swords, forty feet of plain white silk, and the bright mirrors of the five directions. As the rite was performed, the heavens of Luo and Fan sounded the eight kinds of celestial music and chanted the “Hymn of the Three Covenants.” Those who received the teaching thereby attained the Way of the true immortals, and they expounded such methods as presiding over the kalpas and the lofty palaces of the Mysterious Caverns.

The abodes of the Lord of Primordial Unity of the Hollow Cave, the Lord of Great Radiance, Lord Lao, and the Lord of Great Unity far surpass realms that are boundless and bottomless, minute and impossible to fathom. Within the Three Caverns of the great chiliocosm there have always been the True Code of Great Simplicity and the Precious Code of the Numinous Robe, both codes of the utmost subtlety and marvel.

Related purification methods include The True Guardians of the Hollow Cave, The Purification Method of the Great Cavern, and The Scripture in Praise of the Pure Numen. Practitioners chant the hymns of the Cavern Purification in the mysterious tones of the Luo Heavens, and they also recite the Pacing the Void Hymns of the Scripture of Jade Capital Mountain, the Cavern Spirit (Dongshen) Purification Method in the tones of the Brahma Heavens, the Scripture of the Eight Simplicities and Yin-Yang, and the Great Cavern Purification Method in the tones of central Xia. Practitioners live in seclusion, far from the world, observing prolonged fasting and dietary discipline, swallowing primordial Qi (vital energy), and taking no part in ordinary life. Anyone who cannot maintain prolonged fasting and dietary practice should not join them in discoursing on this method. The supreme holy Celestial Worthies of the ten directions examine people’s good and evil. This purification method is called the “Lofty and Supreme, Most True, Mysterious and Marvelous Purification Method.”

At Mount Yurenniao the Primordial Lady of Great Vacuity received from the Most High the Great Precepts of the Majestic Rites of the Cavern Mystery, the Brahma Heavens, and the Luo Heavens. She confessed and called to mind the sins and blessings, calamities and afflictions of a hundred million generations of ancestors and of fathers and mothers through seven generations, amid the cycle of birth and death and rebirth through womb-transformation, praying that they might long dwell in the realm of Wuwei (non-action). She burned incense and lit lamps, ate only one meal at noon each day, and at the six periods of day and night confessed the faults of ancestors through the generations, wishing that all of them might ascend to the heavenly halls, be born by transformation throughout the ten directions, and share the Dao with the Mysterious Capital.

When she recited the true writs of the Three Caverns, the cloud-radiance of the Perfected of Numinous Treasure descended, and more than ten flying celestials of the Ten Extremes, divine youths, and jade maidens arrived in each company. The heavens of Luo and Fan sounded their music; the light of the Seven Treasures shone upon the Jade Capital; and all chanted the Luo Heaven Hymn of the Three Covenants. The Perfected of each of the Ten Extremes sang one covenant verse, and the flying celestials, divine youths, and jade maidens together composed a poem of the Brahma Heaven hymn and presented it to her. The Primordial Lady of Great Vacuity then left her seat to worship the Celestial Worthies and received the lines: “Numinous stanzas, marvelous, lofty, and true—the Primordial Lady holds them supreme.” Within the Mystery she composed a poem in grateful reply, and then she suddenly vanished. In the place to which the assembled Perfected had gone, Lord Baishi too had already cultivated and realized the true Dao.

Above the Luotian (Net Heavens), the Exalted Perfected intones these three chapters.

One

Passing through six layers of realms, the traces of the Brahma Heaven appear; the Dao (the Way) of ultimate perfection emerges from the dark and mysterious void. Abiding in the realm of the Empty Cavern, he moves toward the heaven of the Numinous Empyrean and looks up to the guests of the heavens of the ten directions. His bodily form receives wondrous appearances, and from afar he sets out upon the road that leads to the realm of the worthy. Holding the ritual insignia, he serves beside the camp-branches, clad in coarse cloth, and cultivates in the clear dawn of the Numinous Treasure (Lingbao). He loosens and disperses the knotted Qi (vital energy) that flies like clouds, and the radiance illuminates the Luotian. He looks up to the guests of the heavens of the ten directions; his bodily form receives wondrous appearances, and from afar he sets out upon the road that leads to the realm of the worthy. Holding the ritual insignia, he serves beside the camp-branches, clad in coarse cloth, and cultivates in the clear dawn of the Numinous Treasure. He loosens and disperses the knotted Qi that flies like clouds, and the radiance illuminates the Luotian.

His whole body takes on a golden luster, and circular ornaments of the seven treasures adorn his neck; walking upon lotus blossoms, he roams back and forth among the heavens of the ten directions. In the City of the Mysterious Capital and in the Jade Capital (the capital city of the Daoist heavens), celestial writings in red script appear of themselves. The Jade Instructions (the precious secret teachings of Daoism) are not ordinary speech; only what the Dharma Wheel turns and proclaims is the true word. How subtle and marvelous is this exalted teaching! The text of five thousand words established by the Dao becomes the guiding framework of all the Jing (scriptures/classics). All at once it opens into clarity, and the mysterious truth is seen through. When De (Virtue/Power) reaches completion, he transcends the dusty world and departs, far removed from worldly causes and conditions.

Two

The immortal homeland of the Empty Cavern is dense, secluded, and profound, and the Terrace of Celestial Treasure towers into the clouds. The many Perfected descend one after another, and ten thousand kalpas gather into a single cycle. If you cradle the Yuzhen Jing (the Scripture of Jade Perfection) and recite and chant it, you can pass through the three calamities. The five kinds of suffering disperse at once, and ancestors of seven generations are likewise transformed into the realm of Wuwei (non-action). Ascending to the Palace of Purple Tenuity (a palace of the heavenly realm), you obtain and treasure the precious register conferred by the Celestial Worthy of Primordial Beginning. The Great Void is not so remote as to lie beyond reach; so long as you harmonize your cultivation, in breathing out and breathing in you can expel deviant thoughts and doubts. The body, together with Jing (essence) and Qi, gradually casts off turbidity and impairment, and you pay homage to the Exalted Master.

Three

From the mysterious realm of the Empty Cavern one ascends into the void, vast and boundless, without direction. Above the Luotian, dwellings of the cavern-heavens come into being, and the ten holy Perfected together observe the purificatory fast and worship the gods. The Five Sacred Peaks are thereby settled and secured, and the four great rivers also receive forms of numinous wisdom. Rising in flight once more, one universally contains the myriad things; all sentient beings, however many they may be, are held within. The realm of the Nine Voids is vast and boundless, without direction; above the Luotian, dwellings of the cavern-heavens come into being, and the ten holy Perfected together observe the purificatory fast and worship the gods. The Five Sacred Peaks are thereby settled and secured, and the four great rivers also receive forms of numinous wisdom. Rising in flight once more, one universally contains the myriad things; all sentient beings, however many they may be, are held within.

By cultivating the Record of the Nine Perfected Reverted Elixir (a Daoist scripture of internal refinement), one can ascend in flight to the Jade Capital. Ten thousand kalpas pass in an instant, and a hundred million years seem but a moment. Thereby one transcends the fundamental predicament from which sentient beings can hardly escape and, riding the flowing roseate light, ascends to the realm of Menglong (a heavenly realm wreathed in clouds and colored mists).

(The original text is marked “the fourth,” but the content of a fourth chapter is not attached.)

The Dao (the Way) is not the “Dao” of ordinary speech; it goes beyond the Dao in the usual sense. A name, likewise, is not a fixed and unchanging name. “Emptiness” is not the emptiness commonly spoken of, and “mystery” is not the mystery commonly meant. The substance of the Dao is therefore deep and secluded, vacant, still, and empty, and its designations have a mystery of their own.

The Dao extends everywhere and is vast, embracing all things: above, it can contain the Daluo Heaven (the lofty celestial realm of which Daoism speaks), boundless and without limit; below, it can enter the bottomless abyss, subtle to the very extreme. Like a mirror, it also reflects the mara (demonic beings that disturb cultivation) of the great thousand worlds, yet the mara can scarcely perceive the Daluo Heaven.

This Celestial Lingbao (Numinous Treasure) Mysterious Scripture (Jing) is a precious true utterance, proclaimed by the Most High Venerable One, with the true immortals exhorting and instructing; it is a scripture of the utmost subtlety and secrecy. It can deliver three hundred and twenty thousand kinds of people, sweeping away deviance and defilement by the Way of the “Three Ones,” and opening the gate of salvation for officials and commoners alike; it expounds the true texts and instructs the ignorant. If a person observes the precepts and prohibitions, that person receives salvation; even one whose spiritual capacity is insufficient may still be spared the calamity of the hells.

Within the Dao there are the Five Thousand Words, one chapter of the supreme true and wondrous scripture; the Great Cavern in Thirty-Nine Chapters is also one chapter; the Dongxuan (Cavern Mystery) Lingbao True-Text Jade-Character Upper Scripture of the Luo Heavens is one chapter; and the Inner Sounds of the Three Sovereigns is likewise one chapter. Dragon Flight along the Nine Ways is called a record of attaining the Dao. Those who study the Dao should read carefully the Five Thousand Words, the Dongxuan True Texts, and the Great Cavern in Thirty-Nine Chapters.

This scripture has been kept secret in the Golden Portal (the golden portal within the celestial palaces) ever since the Primordial Beginning. When the Upper Prime arrived and the Way of transmitting the scriptures was about to flourish, the barrier between the pure and the turbid was swept away, and the people of the world were warned to distinguish clearly between transgression and blessing, so that ordinary persons might come to understanding. The supreme Dao is not remote, nor does it exist only in the void of space.

The Great Cavern in Thirty-Nine Chapters originally consisted of thirty-nine sentences. In the time of the Upper Prime, when the Way of transmitting the scriptures was about to flourish, the Most High Lord Lao elaborated them into thirty-nine chapters and transmitted them to Suhuang, Primordial Lord of the Great Void. Suhuang, Primordial Lord of the Great Void, diligently studied the true texts of the Empty Cavern for one thousand six hundred and twenty-four days; the immortals turned toward this lord in reverence, and at last the true Dao was realized.

The Perfected of the Empty Cavern examined the Six Degrees (levels or realms of cultivation) and further expounded one scroll, the Scripture of the Great Kalpa, to instruct the host of immortals. The scripture is lofty, profound, and mysterious, and in the end all of it returns to the root.

The True Codes of Supreme Perfection, the Liturgical Codes of the Most High, the True Codes of Great Simplicity, the True Secrets of the Empty Cavern of the Primordial Lord of the Great Void, the Lingbao Jade Characters, and the Dongxuan True Texts are all related to the Great Cavern in Thirty-Nine Chapters that first came into being. The thirty-six wondrous scriptures evolved from the jade characters are deep and subtle in meaning, and they arise from the speech of the Dao. The perfected of the various heavens revere the Red Writ (the sacred writing of Daoism) and survey the Brahma traces (the sacred characters or talismanic traces of the heavens).

Therefore the perfected say: one who cultivates and studies the Way of the Great Vehicle, and who reveres the jade characters and the Dongxuan True Texts, can realize the rank of the lofty perfected, be entered in the Brahma Register (the celestial register of immortals and perfected beings), and become a true immortal of the highest stations of the ten directions. A practitioner may rise step by step and pass beyond realm after realm, returning at last to the original source of the Empty Cavern. The perfected are the perfected of the ten directions, who assist in governing the celestial realms of the ten directions; those whom the Brahma Heavens call the “Perfected of the Ten Extremes,” together with the voice of the supremely true Luo Heaven, all take the name “Dao.”

The Boundless World of the East (the boundless, limitless world of the east) is the Precious Light World of the Perfected of Wondrous Form of the void within the void (the Perfected of solemn and wondrous appearance who dwells in the realm of the “void within the void”). He opens the way and delivers all within the void, and intones one stanza (chanting this chapter).

Amid lofty mountains and secluded ridges, the orthodox Dao (the Way) contains mysterious words. Within the Luotian (the heavenly realms of which Daoism speaks) there are empty and mysterious chapters; one ascends in flight to visit the Nine Mysteries (the ninefold mysterious heavens).

Setting foot upon the cloud-gang (the paths formed of the cloud-Qi, or vital energy, of the heavens), one advances, bowing and gazing upward toward the Perfected of the Supreme Sovereign (the venerable deities of the heavens). Upholding the precepts, one rises into the realm of emptiness and nothingness and chants the Lingbao Chapters (the Lingbao scriptures).

The Boundless World of the South is the Numinous Light World of the Unsurpassed Perfected of the emptiness within emptiness. He opens the way and delivers all within emptiness, and intones this chapter.

Void-truth is itself mysterious truth. The supreme Great Dao honors Wuwei (non-action). Primordial Qi abides in empty stillness; the dragon proceeds by turning backward, and the vermilion phoenix wheels in flight.

One plucks only the elegant jade agaric (the numinous mushroom of the immortal realms), upholds the precepts, and enters the Cloud Gate. Riding the flying net (a flying net, or a curtain of cloud), one sports with dragon and tiger, wishing that the affinity formed in a former life may continue.

The Boundless World of the West is the Numinous Light World of the Great and Vast Perfected of the mystery within mystery. He opens the way and delivers all within the mystery, and intones this chapter.

Within the Purple Tenuity (the heavenly realm where the Celestial Emperor dwells), mystery lies upon mystery; one stands alone and is so of oneself. Seventy-two kinds of auspicious signs appear, and a five-colored radiance shines in a circle above the head.

The light is brilliant and illuminates the ten directions; flying clouds disperse, and incense smoke curls about. With palms joined, one faces the Brahma Heaven (here referring to the sacred celestial realm) and is able to behold the boundless chapters.

The Boundless World of the North is the Mysterious Light World of the Perfected of the Mysterious Register of the nothingness within nothingness. He opens the way and delivers all within nothingness, and intones this chapter.

Numinous light shines in the void; how could the realm of supreme mystery be far away? The Jade Dawn (a venerable Daoist deity, or the title of a heavenly realm) is not a thing possessed of form, and calamities disperse because of this.

The Scripture of the Five Sufferings of the Golden Gate can cause embryonic refinement (the cultivation by which one purifies body and mind and transcends suffering) to be cut off forever. The flowing pearl (the numinous nature in Daoist cultivation, or an image of Neidan, internal alchemy) ascends to the Upper Palace; even after passing through a hundred million kalpas, it is not too late.

The Boundless World of the Northeast: the Perfected of the Upper Township of the Mysterious Continent opens the way and delivers all the boundless beings of the Upper Township of the Mysterious Continent, and intones this chapter.

The cavern forest is hushed and solemn, its fragrance sweet, and the person ascends into the high and distant roseate clouds. Pendant jades chime as one receives the sheltering protection of the heavens; the cloud-Qi is dense and towers up layer upon layer.

The foremost of the many Daos of the Crimson Realm dispels baleful influences by the Dao of long life. By reverently reciting the Yellow Court Register (the Daoist scripture-register related to the Yellow Court), one can attain the Dao and return, saving and delivering the members of one’s family.

The Boundless World of the Southeast: the Perfected Who Spans the Kalpas, within the Pure Net Heaven, opens the way and delivers all in the world, and intones this chapter.

Looking up at the kalpa-ren (the lofty forms of the mountains), one sees only that it towers high and runs deep.

Between the brows of living beings is received the spiritual Qi (vital energy) of the many Daos (the Way) of the Crimson Realm. The Dao of longevity can ward off evil spirits and baleful influences. By reverently upholding the Huangting Register (a Daoist Fulu, talismans and registers), one who has attained the Dao may also return to the native home and deliver one’s kin.

In the boundless world of the southeast, the Perfected One Who Spans the Kalpas opens and delivers the living beings of the world in the Jingluo Heaven, reciting this chapter:

One looks up toward the lofty and distant homeland of Jieren. The Jade Capital (Yujing, the Jade Capital of the immortal realm) is deep, secluded, and empty. Chisongzi (Master Red Pine) sits towering and high above it, ascending to the heights as though dwelling amid the Great Aurora. He travels back and forth, saving living beings; Taiyi (the Great Unity) rides a chariot of clouds. People delight in cultivating the noble methods of the Dao, and for this reason their ancestors of seven generations also ascend to dwell in heaven.

In the boundless world of the southwest, the Perfected One of Immeasurable Extent opens and delivers living beings in the Yuluo world, reciting this chapter:

Radiance manifests from the Great Cavern-Heaven, and true spirits come and go within it. Looking to the left, one sees a dragon holding the reins in its mouth; looking to the right, one sees a tiger displaying its majestic power. Vermilion phoenixes cross in flight and gather, and the Tengshe (a numinous serpent of myth) ascends to a high station. The Nine Palaces evolve into the Bagua (Eight Trigrams). Even the farthest reaches of the ten directions may be traveled, arriving directly at Taiwei (a stellar palace of the celestial realm).

In the boundless world of the northwest, the Perfected One of Transformative Birth opens and delivers living beings in the Boluo Radiance world, reciting this chapter:

One practices the art of the flying pace, ascends the palaces of the celestial realm, and cultivates according to the Dao of longevity of the Seven Primes (the stellar system symbolized by the seven stars of the Northern Dipper). May the people of the world delight in cultivating the Dao, rise aloft, and leave suffering and affliction behind. The offenses accumulated through successive ages are eliminated, and one comes and goes in audience with the Five Elders (exalted deities of the celestial realm). Names and titles are registered upon jade tablets, and all pray that they may long preserve themselves.

In the boundless world above, the Perfected Ones of the Supreme Sovereign, from billions upon billions of kalpas past, open and deliver the living beings of the Primordial Center in the world of Ninefold Radiance and Numinous Treasure, reciting this chapter:

Within the Great Aurora one surveys the subtle and hidden realm, crosses lofty peaks, and enters deep mountain ranges. Rocky caverns and secluded lands open into one another, and Xuanzhou (the Mysterious Continent) gathers a host of immortals.

The host of immortals processes for three circuits, opens and delivers the living beings of the Primordial Center, and recites this chapter:

Within the Great Aurora one surveys the subtle and hidden realm, crosses lofty peaks, and enters deep mountain ranges. Rocky caverns and secluded lands open into one another, and Xuanzhou gathers a host of immortals. After processing for three circuits, one is refined and transformed once more, so that radiance and form are changed. Returning at the appointed time, one meets the Perfected of the ten directions, travels borne upon clouds, and ascends to the Jade Capital.

In the boundless world below, the Perfected One Who Reckoned the Nurturing of Life opens and delivers living beings in the Taiyi Golden Radiance world, reciting this chapter:

One turns toward the wondrous realm and the true realm of the Great Dao. Within the Brahma Heavens (the sacred celestial realms) are preserved numinous and subtle chapters of the Jing (scripture/classic). From within emptiness and void, jade characters evolve, to instruct the worthy of later times. Although the Perfected do not manifest physical form, they can merge with radiant Qi and pervade the dusty world. One offers the jade tablets (jade registers recording the names and titles of immortals and Perfected, or the methods of the Dao) to the Supreme Sovereign, praying that important scriptures be bestowed.

The ten pieces above were composed by the Perfected of the ten directions, for use in rites of fasting and purification. When the rite is performed, incense is burned to thank the deities, one paces while intoning the Buxu verses (Pacing the Void), and prayers are offered for the bright lamps. These contents are compiled separately and are not included among the various scriptures.

In the fifth year of Xuhuang, on the seventh day of the seventh month, Taixu Yuanjun, a Daoist goddess, descended into the human world. She toured the various heavens and examined good and evil among humankind. She saw many sprites, monsters, and demons running rampant everywhere, harming the people and taking their lives. Although the realm of the Most High Dao (the Way) is lofty and remote, and although the realms of the Three Pure Ones (Sanqing) are vast, countless demonic evils often disguise themselves as the orthodox Dao. Wind, rain, drought, and flood likewise fail to shift in accordance with the seasons.

Yuanjun manifested on Mount Renniao and expounded the Dongxuan Zhenwen Yujue Miaojing, the Wondrous Scripture (Jing) of the Jade Instructions on the True Writs of Dongxuan (the Cavern of Mystery). She divided it into thirty-six scrolls and established rites and regulations, to be used in pacifying and securing the Five Marchmounts and in inspecting numinous responses throughout the heavens. The scripture then mentions the “Ten Manifest Trigrams,” stating that this material comes from the Mysterious Cavern Chamber of Haodong Taixiang on Mount Renniao. The Mysterious Honored One held that this classic is a teaching of the supreme treasure: those with an affinity for immortality ought to read it, study it with concentrated attention, and cultivate according to the ritual methods set forth in it.

In the world there are also methods of offering, together with the thirty-six wondrous scriptures recorded in the canonical texts. The Perfected of Baishi Kongtong transmitted three hundred and sixty thousand words. These scriptures originally comprised thirty-six scrolls and are called the “Thirty-Six Venerable Scriptures,” yet the amount of text in each scroll is not fixed. The titles and openings of the various scrolls are found in the Dadong Daxiao Jie Benye Miaojing (Wondrous Scripture of the Fundamental Practices of the Greater and Lesser Kalpas of the Great Cavern). The “celestial tones” spoken of there refer to the inner names of the gods. What is now transmitted is a middle-grade wondrous scripture, expounded by Taixu Yuanjun, for students of the teaching to practice.

Taixu Yuanjun said: If a practitioner wishes to behold the Great Dao within the scripture, one must be single-minded and sincere, so that utmost sincerity calls forth a response. The ten Perfected will send flying celestial divine beings to transmit the section titles in person, causing the meaning of the scripture to grow ever clearer; with diligent practice, one can realize the true Dao.

The hymn of the flying celestial spirits and the jade maidens says:

The clear and vast sky is mysterious and profound;

in stillness one upholds the guiding principles and lets them proceed of themselves,

and by the mysterious Dao one passes beyond the nets of the Nine Heavens.

Severing the traces of the mundane world, one returns mind and Shen (spirit) to emptiness;

even the passage of a thousand kalpas is not reckoned long.

Subtle radiance shines everywhere, clear and crystalline,

penetrating and luminous, illuminating one’s own being.

The exalted Jade Sovereign descends,

releasing people from layer upon layer of affliction.

The hymn of the disciple of the Most High, the Perfected of the Great Void and Empty Cavern, is in its latter half largely the same as the preceding one. The opening is incomplete, and the surviving text reads:

Radiant and resplendent, without bound or visible trace;

even the passage of a thousand kalpas is not reckoned long.

Subtle radiance shines everywhere, clear and crystalline,

penetrating and luminous, illuminating one’s own being.

The exalted Jade Sovereign descends,

releasing people from layer upon layer of affliction.

Radiance blazes without bound or limit; the space is vast, deep, and still, like a realm of emptiness and quiet. Looking down upon the Purple Tenuity Terrace—a palace of the celestial realm—worldly forms appear where causes and conditions chance to meet.

Scripture texts of the Cavern chapters (Dongzhang wen) are held in the hands, and the company sports together amid the Jade Scenery, an immortal realm. The Celestial Worthy ascends in flight and attains perfection, released from the bonds of the dusty world.

The Perfected says that the tradition of the Dao (Dao) possesses these scriptures (Jing): the Wondrous Scripture of the Jade Characters of the True Writ of the Primordial Cavern of Supreme Purity and Stillness; the Jade Instructions of the Primordial Cavern of Supreme Purity and Stillness; the Wondrous Scripture of the Many Sounds of the Luo-Brahma; the Wondrous Scripture of the Cavern of the Nine Primordials of Pure and Quiet Flight; the Wondrous Scripture of the Primordial Cavern of Transformation and Salvation through the Seven Births of Pure and Quiet Flight; the Upper Scripture of the Numinous Stanzas of the Pure and Quiet Primordial Cavern; the True Upper Scripture of Cycling through the Five Paths of the Pure and Quiet Primordial Cavern; the Upper Scripture of the Mysterious Wheel of the Pure and Quiet Primordial Cavern; the True Scripture of the Many Sounds of the Thirty-Six Ramparts of the Pure and Quiet Primordial Cavern; the Wondrous Scripture of the Traces of the Dao of Dongzhen (Cavern of Perfection), recording the wondrous annals of the phoenix’s halt in the Pure and Quiet Primordial Cavern; the Wondrous Scripture in Foreign Speech of the Pure and Quiet Art of Cinnabar-Water Flight; and the Secret Scripture of the Ritual Deportment of the Jade Writ.

The Perfected of Great Deliverance and the Elder of the Limitless expound, in Jieren Township—an immortal realm named in the scripture—the method of the instructions for cinnabar-water flight, and transmit it to Lady Wang of Purple Tenuity. Lady Wang bows and receives it with reverence. The Perfected of the ten directions together transmit there the Great Numinous Stanzas of the Cavern of Ultimate Emptiness, the thirty-six wondrous scriptures of the true writs of the celestial Dao, and the catalogue of Brahma-sounds. When the rite is complete, the Perfected receive these teachings in good faith and put them into practice, and transmit them to Lady Wang of Purple Tenuity; Lady Wang bows and accepts them. The Perfected of the ten directions likewise all receive them in good faith and carry them out.

The twelve medicinal substances used in the cinnabar-water flight method are identified by mnemonic formulae. The formula “Pearl of the Crimson Mound” refers to cinnabar. “White Horse of Mysterious Communion” refers to stalactite. “Mysterious Subtlety Throughout the Body” refers to white quartz. “Purple Span of Blazing Light” refers to purple quartz. “Yellow Aide Pervading the Body” refers to sulfur. “Mysterious Life-Mandate That Increases the Allotted Years” refers to Taiyi Yuyu. “Flowing Blossom of Lunar Essence” refers to powdered mica. “Green Wu That Restores Essence” refers to baizhu. “Warding Off Poison and Warming the Body” refers to xixin. “Withered Way of Winter Blossom” refers to fuling. The phrase rendered “丹侍觥】谠E” is textually corrupt; from the context it appears to name some drug, and the later words “this is jusheng” identify it as jusheng, sesame. After the formula “Prolonging Years and Securing the Life-Mandate,” the text is fragmentary, and the surviving words do not allow the corresponding drug to be determined. At the end the formula “Warding Off Poison and Warming the Body” again appears as xixin, which may be a scribal disorder.

The mnemonic “kudao donghua” refers to fuling (Poria). “Dan shi gong 】 dang E” refers to jusheng, that is, sesame. The mnemonic for prolonging life and increasing longevity refers to huangjing (Polygonatum).

Each of the medicinal ingredients above is used in the amount of twenty-four jin.

The twelve medicinal ingredients above are processed separately. When the drugs are pounded, only fine, choice materials may be used. The person who prepares them should observe zhaijie (ritual fasting and purification) for one hundred and twenty-four days. Pound the drugs in a bronze mortar: each herbal drug for fifty thousand strokes, and each mineral drug for one hundred thousand strokes. When all have been properly prepared, mix them together; first blend them with white honey in the bronze mortar, then pound for a further one hundred and twenty thousand strokes.

When the medicine is half finished, place twelve shi of mercury in a bronze cauldron and cover it with a bronze lid; mix white quartz into a paste and seal the cauldron with it. Leave two openings on the cauldron, then put up a shed to cover it, so that ordinary people, birds, chickens, and dogs cannot see it. Use cypress leaves as fuel to heat and refine the contents until the mercury is entirely consumed. After the medicine has been completed, set it in a shaded place to air for one hundred days, then open it and take it out, and store it in a vessel of gold, silver, or jade.

Before taking the medicine one should observe ritual fasting and purification. Take twelve pills, each the size of a sesame seed, and one will float lightly upward and ascend ten thousand stages. This is the account of how the Perfected of the ten directions and the Perfected of the various heavens ingest the elixir, accomplish the shuifei shu (the art of water-flight), and thereby attain the Dao (the Way).

Note: The original text contains many suspected corrupt characters; in particular, “丹侍觥】谠E” cannot be reliably explained. There is also a repeated passage in the procedure for refining the medicine.

The Most High Lord Lao (Taishang Laojun), a venerated deity of Daoism, surveyed the worlds of the ten directions, admonished the foolish and obstinate, set down a profound and subtle scripture (jing), and transmitted it to the Perfected of Great Deliverance (Dadu Zhenren) of the various heavens and to the ritual masters of Luotian. By means of the principles of this scripture, the Supreme Perfected of the Mysterious Extremity made them manifest throughout the numinous realms of the heavens of the ten directions.

On the ninth day of the ninth month in the twenty-third year of Jiaping, a Zhenren (Perfected) traveled to Jieren Xuandu, a Daoist immortal realm, ascended into the abbey, and gazed upon the Jade Scenery and the Human-Bird. He then paid homage to Taiji (the Supreme Ultimate) and offered court ritual to the Perfected of Supreme Deliverance. When the rites were complete, he wished to request a method for those who were foolish and base and sunk deep in evil and turbidity, yet he was uneasy at heart and dared not speak. He said, “I was originally like withered bone at the beginning of holding the primordial, and after passing through successive rebirths and transformations I was mistakenly born a human, with flesh and bone that rot and stink. Now, by good fortune, a profound and subtle grace has descended, so that those whose hearts turn toward the Dao (the Way) may be awakened and delivered. The Numinous Honored One’s attainment in the Dao is lofty and marvelous; he nourishes all living beings and universally saves all. Even the minutest creatures, such as birds in flight and insects, can all escape the three evil paths—hell, hungry ghosts, and animals. Yet the Numinous Honored One has still not bestowed the True Writ of Withered Bone. I wish to know its meaning.” When he had finished speaking, he rose and bowed, and according to ritual circumambulated seven times.

The Perfected of Great Deliverance remained silent and gave no reply. Suddenly, Lady Wang of Tortoise Mountain came from the Palace of Purple Mist, followed by more than ten jade maidens, and together they arrived at Jieren. Smiling, the Lady said, “What is it that you request? The Perfected One is unwilling to grant it to you.” She added, “Within the Dao there are eight chapters of the Wondrous Scripture of the Flying Art of Cinnabar Water, Extolled Above by Mysterious Perfection; the essential writings of the mysterious registers and the orthodox Dao are already complete.” The Lady then bowed her head to the ground and earnestly petitioned with utmost sincerity, and the jade maidens petitioned together with her. After a short while, the Perfected One brought out the scripture and bestowed it upon this Perfected One of the ten directions, who thereby received the text. One who cultivates this scripture can become a Lingbao Perfected One of the ten directions.