《洞玄灵宝无量度人经诀音义》

Whenever one recites and upholds the Taishang Dongxuan Lingbao Wuliang Shibu Zunjing (the Supreme Venerable Scripture of Dongxuan, the Cavern Mystery, and Lingbao, the Numinous Treasure, in Ten Limitless Sections), one first faces east and performs three salutations, then stands facing north, turns left to face east, and clicks the teeth thirty-six times. In the mind one visualizes five-colored clouds of Qi (vital energy) filling the entire chamber. The Azure Dragon, the White Tiger, the lion, the Dark Warrior, the Vermilion Bird, and the phoenix keep guard before and behind, while jade maidens and immortal lads, the spirit officials of the Imperial Lords of the Five Directions, and countless immortal soldiers and horses stand protectively all around. One then sways the body three times and finishes reciting the scripture; next, descending from the south, one performs the lung rite of salutation, the ceremony being the same as before.

The foregoing is taken from the Jinlu Jianwen Jing (Scripture of the Brief Text of the Golden Register).

Whenever one opens the numinous repository and recites scripture, one should burn incense, put on properly arranged ritual robes, bow to the scripture according to the rites, and then chant the incantation:

Silent and without a sound, one returns to the root of the ultimate extreme; the void stands lofty, enduring through kalpas. The Dongxuan scripture appears all at once—who can fathom how deep and far it reaches?

Once one has set foot on the path of the Great Vehicle, who still reckons how many kalpas have passed? It neither arises nor perishes; when it would manifest the impulse of life, it is born by means of the lotus.

Beings who transcend the Three Realms, with compassionate hearts, undo the net of the world. The realm in which the Zhenren (Perfected) dwell is deep and far-reaching.

Once one has set foot on the path of the Great Vehicle, who still reckons how many kalpas have passed? It neither arises nor perishes; when it would manifest the impulse of life, it is born by means of the lotus.

Beings who transcend the Three Realms, with compassionate hearts, undo the net of the world. The Zhenren possess supreme De (Virtue/Power), and generation after generation they return to the household of the immortals.

The foregoing is taken from the Taiji Baojue (Precious Formula of the Supreme Ultimate). The Chisheng Shenzhang Jing (Scripture of the Divine Stanzas on Sustaining Life) likewise adopts the incantation and ritual given above.

The title Taishang Dongxuan Lingbao Wuliang Duren Shangpin Miaojing at once names those who cultivate the Dao (the Way) and the method they follow, and at once embraces the whole while marking the specific title of this scripture. “Taishang” is a supreme and unsurpassed honorific. At the greatest height there is nothing higher, and when vastness reaches its extreme nothing can go beyond it. The title is used to show that the sage’s De (Virtue/Power) is exalted, that he has exhaustively investigated the principles of things until he reaches a subtle and wondrous realm, and that his transformations and turnings lie beyond fathoming and cannot be gauged by ordinary reasoning.

“Dong” means penetrating without obstruction: suddenly open and expansive, pure and still in Wuwei (non-action), contemplating what is deep and far, with principles bright and thoroughly clear. “Xuan” means profound, minute, secluded, and remote, silent and limpid; the meaning is deep, and the source is hidden and hard to fathom. “Ling” means refined, subtle, and numinously wondrous, lucid and unimpeded, with wisdom complete, able to accord with change and teach as the occasion requires, meeting every affair with true wisdom. “Bao” means precious, extraordinary, noble, and worthy of reverence. The methods of the Dao spread forth and transform; heaven and earth take form through them, and the myriad things depend on them to be born, to grow, and to be nourished.

“Dongxuan Lingbao” is the collective name of the ten divisions of Daoist scriptures, while “Wuliang Duren” is the proper name of this particular scripture. “Wuliang Duren” means that beings of the heavens and of the human world are saved in numbers without end. Every being who is raised up can enter the gate of the wondrous Dao, so that the clinging mind returns to the formless—no longer clinging to concrete images and distinctions.

“Shangpin Miaojing” means that this scripture issues from the beginningless origin. It is the scripture first proclaimed, and among the many grades of scripture it stands highest. It is called a “wonderful scripture” because its fundamental purport is ever pure and still, secluded, profound, and exquisitely subtle.

The “limitless” spoken of in the scripture may be understood in five ways.

The first is the limitlessness of fundamental being. The origin of the Celestial Worthy (Tianzun) is remote and hard to know. He may manifest as a true body or as a body of responsive transformation, and he may employ either expedient or true wisdom. The scripture uses such names as “Longhan” and “Kaihuang” to speak of these different manifestations. The Celestial Worthy teaches according to the capacities of beings, as medicine is given according to the illness, and he can respond and transform everywhere without end.

The second is the limitlessness of virtuous conduct. The Celestial Worthy rests at ease in Yuanyang, the primordial harmonious yang Qi (vital energy), his mind and Shen (spirit) serene, quiet, and still. Five-colored light is held in his mouth, and its radiance illumines the vast world, so that those who receive the teaching may enter the precious realm and hear the scriptural method spoken by the Taishang.

The third is the limitlessness of majestic power. The sage holds the sun and moon within his breast and reckons Yin-Yang. He can turn mountains about and bring flowing water to a halt, and he harmonizes climate and the sequence of the seasons. He can also destroy demons and subdue wickedness, so that the deviant cannot disturb what is upright.

The fourth is the limitlessness of kinds and ranks. Ordinary things all have degrees of high and low and quantities of many and few. The sage teaches according to the condition of things and the affinities of beings, neither fixed upon high or low nor bound by many or few, and therefore cannot be measured by rank or by number.

The fifth is the limitlessness of sound. The sage proclaims a teaching without words, and what is spoken is inexhaustible; he communicates through a sound without sound, and the resonance never ceases, so that beings who have passed through distant kalpas can all understand, and both the human world and the heavens can hear. This is the limitless sound meant by the “Hidden Language of the Great Brahma”—the profound and recondite language of the Great Dao—and by the “Sounds within Heaven.”

The above is only a brief account of the main meaning of this passage of scripture.

The foregoing is taken from the Preface to the Ten Scriptures (Jing) of the Dongyuan Lingbao.

The Siji Mingke (Luminous Code of the Four Poles) says that whenever one recites a scripture, one’s thoughts must correspond to the text being read before one’s eyes. The eyes should not look about at random, and the mind should not give rise to other thoughts. Each time one opens a scripture scroll to recite, one must read the text sentence by sentence all the way through. One must not stop halfway, nor skip or omit the true words of the celestial realm. Violate this three times, and one cannot become an immortal; violate it five times or more, and after death one will fall into the “three paths and five sufferings” of hell—a way of speaking, in Buddhist and Daoist writings, of the torments of hell—and pass through ten thousand kalpas.

The Yinzhu (Hidden Commentary) says that for every full five hundred characters read, one should knock the teeth three times, lick the upper and lower lips with the tongue, and then swallow the saliva in the mouth three times. This prevents one’s Qi (vital energy) and strength from being exhausted, and if it is kept up over a long time, the voice will also become clear and bright. If one does not follow this method, one will deplete primordial Qi and weary and injure the spirit (Shen).

The foregoing is taken from the Preface on the Inner Affairs and the Work of the Mind of the Dongxuan Lingbao Zhai (purification retreat).

People in the world often recite the Dongxuan Lingbao Scripture of Limitless Salvation. Although methods of visualization and invocation exist, few understand the order of sections and the rules of recitation. These are now explained again in detail, in the hope that readers may understand them. From the scripture title down to “the descent of the orthodox scripture of the Primordial Beginning,” since this is the praise and exposition of the scripture made by the Lord of the Dao (the Way; a venerated deity of Daoism), it should be read according to the rules of the Ten Scriptures of the Dongxuan. When one visualizes and holds in mind the true sounds within, one should also follow the original method. The concrete procedure is set out below.

After one has read as far as “The Dao says,” one carries out contemplative concentration, invocation, and recitation according to the method that follows. If reciting for oneself, one should not say “your servant and so-and-so”; if reciting for another person, one should not say “your servant” either, because the reciter’s mind cannot attend to both objects at the same time. If one is reciting both for oneself and for another person, one should recite according to the original wording of the scripture. When that recitation is finished, one slowly draws in Qi thirty-two times, visualizing the absorption of the Qi of the thirty-two heavens, and then recites the scripture according to the method. This is the method of contemplative retention for reciting and upholding the Scripture of Limitless Salvation of the Primordial Beginning.

When performing the “Chapter on Practicing the Dao (the Way),” one should click the teeth thirty-two times so that the sound rises to the thirty-two heavens, and bow thirty-two times within the heart. One must silently recite in the mind the name of each heaven in proper sequence, visualizing the heavens one by one and bowing inwardly. What is called “bowing in the heart” means that although the body does not move, the heart bends down and prostrates along with the act of reverence, just as if one were performing the salutation in person. In ordinary times one should first practice this material until it is familiar, and clearly remember the position of each heaven, so as to avoid hesitation and confusion when the rite is actually carried out. All visualization, invocation, and recitation should be done in this same way.

The names of the heavens and their orientations are as follows.

The Eastern Nine-Qi Azure Heaven—the East belongs to azure and is marked by nine Qi (vital energy)—comprises eight heavens in all, beginning from the north and arranged in sequence toward the south: Taihuang Huangzeng Heaven, Taiming Yuwan Heaven, Qingming Hetong Heaven, Yuanlian Pingyu Heaven, Yuanming Wenju Heaven, Qiyao Moyi Heaven, Xuwu Yueheng Heaven, and Taiji (Supreme Ultimate) Mengyi Heaven.

The Southern Three-Qi Cinnabar Heaven—the South belongs to cinnabar and is marked by three Qi—comprises eight heavens in all, beginning from the east and arranged in sequence toward the west: Chiming Heyang Heaven, Yuanming Gonghua Heaven, Yaoming Zongpiao Heaven, Zhuluo Huangjia Heaven, Xuming Tangyao Heaven, Guanming Duanjing Heaven, Yuanming Gongqing Heaven, and Taihuan Jiyao Heaven.

The Western Seven-Qi White Heaven—the West belongs to white and is marked by seven Qi—comprises eight heavens in all, beginning from the south and arranged in sequence toward the north: Yuanzai Kongsheng Heaven, Tai’an Huangya Heaven, Xianding Jifeng Heaven, Shihuang Xiaomang Heaven, Taihuang Xichong Heaven, Wusi Jiangyou Heaven, Shangshe Ruanle Heaven, and Wuji Tanshi Heaven.

The Northern Five-Qi Dark Heaven—the North belongs to the dark and is marked by five Qi—comprises eight heavens in all, beginning from the west and arranged in sequence toward the east: Haoting Xiaodu Heaven, Yuantong Yuandong Heaven, Hanchong Miaocheng Heaven, Xiule Jinshang Heaven, Wushang Changrong Heaven, Yulong Tengsheng Heaven, Longbian Fandu Heaven, and Pingyu Jiayi Heaven.

In the original text, after the names of the eastern heavens, the beginning of the southern group of heaven names and the explanation of their orientation appear again, and the western group is also partly repeated. The foregoing has been arranged as eight heavens for each of the four directions, and the repeated portions have not been translated over again.

The Eastern “Danlou” sixty-four-character method of contemplative visualization: Tap the teeth nine times, visualize dragons of nine colors leading the way before and behind the body, with nine layers of azure cloud encircling the body, and then recite the incantation:

“Crimson Brilliance opens the celestial chart; the Qi (vital energy) of the eight directions returns to the true Dao (the Way). The Great Deity of the Azure Emperor holds overall command of the essential passes of the Primordial Beginning. The current of the Dao flows and transforms beyond the Nine Heavens, winding about and protecting my body. The numinous tones of the Eight Writings comprise sixty-four chapters in all. They render Heaven and Earth thoroughly clear and bright, so that I may unite with the immortal Dao. Driving a dragon chariot, I ascend to the heaven where the sovereign dwells.”

When the incantation is finished, inhale and swallow nine times, then stop. Cultivating in this way for nine years, each of the Eight Heavens dispatches eight Azure-Waisted Jade Maidens and eight Azure-Blossom Jade Lads to guard the practitioner’s body and enable him to obtain the Jing (essence) of the Azure Sprout. The body gives forth light and can see fully into the Void. By reciting the incantation ten thousand times, one can perfect the art of flight, and seven generations of ancestors are likewise blessed and ascend into the Southern Palace.

The Southern “Nanyan” sixty-four-character method of contemplative visualization: Tap the teeth three times, visualize the Vermilion Bird and the phoenix flying before the body, with three layers of crimson cloud-Qi encircling the body, and then silently recite the incantation:

“The Three Qi circulate back and forth, and the numinous phoenix comes flying. The eight characters of jade tones shine in splendor upon Purple Tenuity. On an auspicious day of great celebration, the Dao I cultivate suddenly opens wide. Nourishing myself with the Qi of vermilion cinnabar, I raise my head and draw in the numinous light. My body partakes of both the Qi of water and the Qi of fire; I am draped in crimson garments and wear a feathered robe. I ascend into the void in flight, my feet treading the phoenix ladder. As I tour the Eight Heavens, seven generations of ancestors all travel with me.”

When the incantation is finished, inhale and swallow three times, then stop. Cultivating in this way for three years, each of the Eight Heavens dispatches eight Great Cinnabar Jade Maidens and eight Great Yang Jade Lads to guard the practitioner’s body, enabling him to obtain the Jing of the three Qi of vermilion cinnabar and thereby recover a pure white countenance that will not decay even through ten thousand kalpas. Seven generations of ancestors are able to ascend and enter the Hall of Blessings; the practitioner may also be reborn into a household of princes and marquises and obtain a new life.

At the end of the original text, beginning from the words “three years in the west,” part of the wording of the southern method of cultivation is repeated, and its content is the same as what precedes.

The “Xidaoli” sixty-four-character visualization method: Knock the teeth seven times, and visualize a white tiger and a lion leading the way on the left and right, with seven layers of white cloud encircling the body. Then silently recite the incantation:

Seven Qi (vital energy) of golden numina, venerable spirits of the Eight Heavens. The white tiger drives the carriage; the lion supports the shafts. The seven Qi wind closely about me, refining me into an immortal. My body mounts the golden light, shining upon the white clouds. Within and without I am transformed, and ascend into the cavern gate. The seven generations of ancestors emerge from the long night; souls in the Ninefold Darkness turn back. Through a hundred million kalpas I am delivered, enduring forever with the turning of the cycles.

When the incantation is finished, draw Qi into the body and swallow it seven times, then stop. Cultivated in this way for seven years, each of the Eight Heavens dispatches eight White-Numen Jade Lads to guard the practitioner’s body, so that one receives the Qi of Grand Simplicity and ascends into the cavern gate. The ancestors of seven generations can likewise leave the long night, and the souls in the Ninefold Darkness are able to return.

The scripture and incantation further say that, even after a hundred million kalpas, one may still obtain deliverance and endure forever as the cycles of destiny turn. The practitioner may obtain the essence of the seven Qi, and the countenance remains youthful; the blessing also extends to the ancestors of seven generations, enabling them to ascend to the Southern Palace and be reborn, born in every generation into families of rank and distinction.

The “Beijuewu” sixty-four-character visualization method: Knock the teeth five times, and visualize flying dragons and feathered canopies—carriage canopies adorned with feathers—circling on the left and right, with five layers of black cloud covering the body; further visualize divine lads and jade maidens clad in feathered robes attending as guards before and behind. Then silently recite the incantation:

The Primordial Heaven wheels and roams; streaming radiance reaches Upper Clarity. Great Existence opens the cycles; the eight characters shine on high. Flying primordial essence clears the void; cavernous Yin arises of itself. The five Qi wind closely about me, pouring into and filling my bodily form. Crowned and sashed in the northern solitude, I receive refinement from the cavern spirits. From the kidney palace I issue forth to the north; within and without, light and essence gleam. I fly through the Three Realms and feast in the Purple Court. The seven generations of ancestors celebrate together, rejoicing through the ages of kalpas. In the Forest of the Seven Treasures, I return to the womb and am born anew. I depart the long night; my name is recorded in the Southern Palace. On the Yellow Register and the White Slips, in every generation I am born an immortal.

When the incantation is finished, draw Qi into the body and swallow it five times, then stop. Cultivated in this way for five years, each of the Eight Heavens dispatches eight Jade Lads of the Grand Primordial to guard the practitioner’s body, so that one receives numinous nourishment and the essence of the five Qi, recovers youth, and has one’s name registered in the Southern Palace. The ancestors of seven generations can likewise celebrate together, leave the long night, and be reborn in the Forest of the Seven Treasures; the practitioner is then listed on the Yellow Register and the White Slips—the Daoist registers of the immortals—and may become an immortal in every generation.

After the incantation has been recited, one guides the breath, swallows five times, and then stops. Cultivated in this way for five years, each of the Eight Heavens dispatches eight Taiyuan Jade Lads, celestial deities, to guard the practitioner’s bodily form, so that he receives numinous nourishment and the essence of the Five Qi (vital energy), the refined essence of the five primordial energies that constitute life and the cosmos, recovers his youth, retains his countenance, preserves his life, and enters the realm of the Three Pure Ones (Sanqing), the highest heavens revered in Daoism. The blessing further extends to seven generations of ancestors, so that generation after generation they may be born as immortals.

The foregoing comes from the Lingbao Yuzi Jing (Scripture of the Jade Characters of the Numinous Treasure).

For all who cultivate this Duren Jing (Scripture of Salvation), the methods of the six visualizations, the invocations, and the recitation of the scripture have already been explained item by item in the preceding text.

Pronunciation and meaning. The preface to the Duren Jing states that it was composed by the Most High Lord of the Dao (the Way), and therefore the scripture throughout uses the words “the Dao speaks” (daoyan), that is, the Lord of the Dao speaks.

What follows is chiefly an account of the pronunciations and meanings of characters in the scripture. “Shiqing Heaven” (始青天) refers to the heavenly realm of the northeast. “Fuli” (浮黎) is read du (杜); “liang” (量) is read liang (良), in the departing tone. “Wuyang” (无鞅) is read with the fanqie spelling yuyang (于仰切) and means that the heavens are vast and boundless. “Yin” (喑) is read yin (因) and means being ill and unable to speak; “bo” (跛) is read with the fanqie bowo (博我切) and means an affliction of the legs and feet; “ke” (痾) is read jiu (久) and means illness; “gu” (痼) is read chen (沈) and means a disease so long-standing that it is hard to cure. “Fan” (返) is marked with the spelling yuanqie (远切); “bobo” (勃勃) is read fu (拂); “kuosan” (廓散) is read with the fanqie sigan (思干切); the jian (监) of “jiandu” (监度) is read jian (缄); and “cuxi” (粗悉) is read with the fanqie zugu (祖沽切). “Shu” (倏) is read shu (叔); “xu” (欻) is read with the fanqie xuwu (许物切); the zhong (中) of “zhongshang” (中伤) is read in the departing tone; and “zeng” (憎) is read with the fanqie zineng (子能切). One character in the original is damaged in form, and its pronunciation is noted as ji (忌).

“Jingshi chujiao” (经始出教), “when the scripture first issued its teaching,” is the correct wording; some editions write “Yuanshi chujiao” (元始出教), “when the Primordial Beginning issued its teaching,” which is a miswriting. “Cang” (藏) is read with the fanqie silang (似郎切). “Xuanji” (璇机) is read xuanji (旋机) and refers to the four stars of the bowl of the Northern Dipper. The xing (行) of “buxing” (不行) is read heng (衡). In some editions “shi” (尸) is written “shisi” (尸死); “sang” (丧) is read with the fanqie xiyi (息依切). The line “wei wei zhi tian” (威未制天) should be punctuated after the character wei (威). The zeng (曾) of “yizeng” (亿曾) is read zeng (憎); the chang (常) of “shangchang” (上常) is read in the departing tone.

“Shijie” (尸解) means that the practitioner temporarily conceals the bodily form and, through transformation, becomes an immortal. “Changyi” (长役) is read with the fanqie yingzhi (营只切); “duandi” (断地) with tuguan (徒管切); and “changwei” (长为) with ganwei (干伪切). In “wei diwang” (为帝王), wei (为) is read as the zheng (正) of zhengyue (正月), the first month, the pronunciation being the same. “Wengming” (蓊冥) is read with the fanqie wukong (乌孔切); the shi (使) of “shizhe” (使者) is read with the fanqie shishi (师事切). “Dafan” (大梵) refers to the eight layers of heaven above the sun and moon. In “miaomiao jieren” (眇眇劫刃), miaomiao (眇眇) means remote and hard to fathom. “Sanhua” (三华) is read in the level tone, and the bian (便) of “libian” (离便) means convenience, an expedient means.

“Sen” (森) is read with the fanqie suocen (所岑切); “jinghong” (净霐) is read hong (泓); the xing (行) of “daxing” (大行) is read heng (衡); the e (厄) of “du’e” (度厄) is read e (厄); “can” (骖) is read can (参); and the jian (监) of “jianzhen” (监真) is read jian (缄). “Yingdu” (应度) is read yinxiang (音响); “yulan” (郁褴) is read lan (蓝); in “tianhui” (恬懀), tian (恬) is read tian (甜) and hui (懀) is read with the fanqie wuwai (乌外切). “Huangjia” (皇笳) is read jia (加); in “Wanli” (宛黎), wan (宛) is read with the fanqie yuyuan (于远切) and li (黎) with lidi (力低切); the yue (乐) of “Ruanyue” (阮乐) is read yue (岳); “bobei” (勃悖) is read pei (沛); “tan” (昙) is read tan (潭); the le (乐) of “xiule” (秀乐) is read luo (洛); the jian (监) of “zongjian” (总监) is read jian (鉴); and the xing (行) of “xingyuan” (行元) is read meng (孟).

In the line “jinri xinqing shoudu” (今日欣庆受度), “today we joyfully receive salvation,” “danshi” (担石) is read with the fanqie duogan (多甘切), “gucong” (鼓从) with ciyong (词用切), the guan (观) of “youguan” (游观) is read guan (贯), the ting (听) of “xianting” (咸听) is read ting (汀), “xing” (涬) is read with the fanqie huding (胡顶切), and the shi (使) of “shitian” (使天) is read shi (史). The fen (分) of “yishi wu fen” (一十五分) is read with the fanqie fuwen (扶问切). “Shangwen zhutian” (上闻诸天), “made known above to the various heavens,” is miswritten in some editions as “shangguan zhutian” (上关诸天). “Zhanguo” (斩馘) is read with the fanqie gubo (古伯切) and refers to the ancient punishment of cutting off an enemy’s ears.

The le (乐) of “lexi” (乐兮) is read luo (洛), and the same applies below; “guozhi” (过之) is read with the fanqie guwo (古卧切); “biezhen” (别真) with biyue (彼月切); “xietui” (懈退) with guai (古隘切); and “yunceng” (云嶒) is read ceng (层). “Yixie” (易邪) is read with the fanqie yizhi (以致切); “bule” (不乐) with wujiao (五教切); “deguo” (得过) is read ge (戈); “jiuge” (旧格) is miswritten in some editions as “qige” (其格); and “fouzhong” (否终) is read bi (彼). “Pao” (炰) is read xiu (休) and describes grandeur and abundance. In the line “fan you ci zai tongqi” (凡有此灾同气), wei (为) is read wei (位); “haofen” (毫分) is read with the fanqie fuwen (符问切); “dan” (亶) is read dan (丹); “hui” (荟) is read with the fanqie wuwai (乌外切); “he” (和) with huwai (胡外切); and the guan (观) of “Guanyin” (观音) is read guan (贯).

“Huizhi” (回跖) is read zhi (只); “Nanyan” (南爓) is read yan (艳); “shenshen” (诜诜), according to the note of Lord Yan, is read xixi (洗洗); the tui (推) of “tuiqian” (推前) is read chui (吹); in “Duoluo” (凙洛), duo (凙) is read duo (铎) and luo (洛) is read hao (郝); and “yuanzhan” (缘邅) is read with the fanqie zhilian (陟连切). “Xiaoyu” (萧嵎) is read yu (愚); “yimiao” (易邈) is read yi (亦); “jue” (攫) is read with the fanqie jufu (居缚切); “dongfu” (东覆) with fangmao (方茂切); “zongjian” (总监) is read jian (鉴); and “bubi” (不辟) is read bi (壁). In the phrase “daliang xuanxuan yun yuanliang zhe” (大量玄玄云元量者), writing “yuanliang” (元量) is incorrect; the text should read “daliang xuanxuan” (大量玄玄).

This Jing (scripture/classic) was received by Taishang Dadaojun, the Supreme Lord of the Great Dao (the Way) and a revered deity of Daoism, from the Celestial Worthy of Primordial Beginning, and then transmitted to the people of the world. The text of the Jing has three prefaces: a front preface, a middle preface, and a rear preface. The front preface begins with “The Dao says: In former times, at” and ends with “face east and recite the Jing.” The middle preface begins after “the song chapters of the Three Realms” and ends with “thoroughly illuminating the ultimate words.” The rear preface begins with “within these various heavens” and ends with “the great measure, profound and mysterious.”

The Jing has two chapters. The first runs from “Primordial Beginning, Dongxuan” to “words arrayed in Supreme Clarity,” and the latter from “the Jade Calendar of the Primordial Cavern” to “calamity reaching the seven ancestral elders.” The Hidden Language of the Great Brahma (esoteric scriptural words expressed in concealed characters) does not belong to these two chapters. Some count the text of the Jing as one chapter and the hidden language as two; this is incorrect. The middle preface says, “Recite the Jing ten thousand times, and only then can one attain the Dao.” “Thoroughly illuminating the ultimate words” is the esoteric content within the hidden language, and from this one can know that it does not lie within the two chapters of the Jing.

Those who recite it should hold faith in their hearts and not give way to doubt. When merit is complete and cultivation fully accomplished, thorough awakening comes of itself. In this way heaven and the human world may share together in blessings, and both the living and the dead may receive grace. How could one fail to keep this in mind and strive to practice it? Both the Record of Numinous Verifications of the Mysterious Gate and the Collected Records of Verifications of the Daoist Gate record cases of those who upheld and recited this Jing and obtained numinous responses. Those who have penetrated the true Dao should cultivate it with diligence.