《上清丹天三气玉皇六辰飞纲司命大箓》

The purple numen of the Exalted Perfected—the purple Qi (vital energy) of the high-ranking true gods of the upper realms—manifests in the Cinnabar Heaven of the south and sits at rest within crimson palaces high in the sky. Concentrating the Shen (spirit) and visualizing lofty, wondrous scenes, it climbs upon and draws in the clouds and Qi. A crimson radiance of Jing (essence) shines through the four directions; the stars of the Southern Dipper blaze in brilliance, casting light upon the myriad heavens, and the six true gods, together with the Jade Emperor, Lord of the Dao (the Way), are thereupon summoned to appear. They wheel about and ascend, traveling the Dao of the Vermilion Guideline—the path that symbolizes the movement of the stars through the celestial realm—instructing the various Perfected, opening heaven and closing earth, calling forth the sun and moon, and by decree bringing the host of spirits under their rule. These true gods who preside over destiny conceive and nurture life by means of wondrous Qi.

This is the mysterious talismanic scripture of Jade Clarity (Yuqing). Whoever holds it can ascend to the stars, report to the six true gods that the mandate has been received, obtain the longevity bestowed by the Southern Dipper, and cause the path of cultivating the Dao to endure. If this scripture is transmitted to a single person, that person’s name is entered, page by page, in the registers of the immortals; even while sitting or standing, one may in an instant vanish and attain transcendence, tread across the waves and pass through flame, and no calamity can intrude. By practicing the essential methods within it, one may become an Immortal King or an imperial minister; by refining and transforming the bodily form and liberating the souls, one will not come to an end even after passing through successive kalpas.

This Jing (scripture) should be engraved in the Hall of the Phoenix Treasure of the Cinnabar Heaven, and a covenant sworn with the true gods of the upper realms. Should anyone violate the covenant, the evidence of guilt will be exposed and subjected to examination; misfortune will reach body and bone, and the offender will fall into the gates of the Five Paths. The recipient must place the cinnabar writ in a brocade pouch, wear it on the person, and cultivate according to the ritual procedure; one will then be enrolled in the immortal registers of the Eastern Flower (Donghua) and become an attendant of the Imperial Dawn (Dichen).

When a junior official first receives the method, if cultivation of the Dao and of De (Virtue/Power) is not yet complete, that official, after practicing according to the ritual procedure, should likewise be enrolled in the immortal registers of the Eastern Flower and serve the Imperial Dawn. Then, with such offerings as the gold of the red orchid, one ascends the Mysterious Terrace, swears a covenant before Heaven, and makes plain one’s sincerity. The recipient must also pass through the rite of enrollment in the registers of Qi, and seal the oath by smearing blood, cutting the hair, observing a prolonged purification fast, and cultivating with diligent refinement; only after bowing in reverence may this method be transmitted.

To carry out the Dao of the Six Chronograms of the Cinnabar Heaven, together with the methods of pacing the stars in flight and of being raised up to heaven, one must first put on the “Talisman for Treading the Void”—a form of Fulu (talismans and registers) used in ritual—and place the talismans inside both shoes. The scripture says that the latent corpses, the foul Qi, the poisonous Qi, and every kind of essence-sprite upon the earth will thereupon retreat far away. The essence of the stars then descends to the ground; the soil is no longer defiled, the gods of the earth release their bonds, and the earth seems to sink and become an open void. The practitioner spreads out the diagram and walks according to it, and can thereby open a way downward to the deep abyss, passing without obstruction, buoyant and not sinking, bright and not dark. Upon it the practitioner treads the stations of the stars; starlight enters the body, so that the bodily form comes into accord with the Dao. Stellar Qi is not fixed and unchanging, but shifts in response to sympathetic resonance.

Write the talisman (fu) on yellow paper, wrap it in thin purple silk, and place it beneath the feet. Of the talismans in the scroll, all are to be written in cinnabar except those portions noted as needing to be recited.

The “Treading the Void, Back Turned to Earth” talisman is placed beneath the right foot.

“Impermanence” (Wuchang) will appear in response to sympathetic resonance.

Write the talisman on yellow paper, wrap it in thin purple silk, and place it beneath the feet. Of the talismans in the scroll, all are to be written in cinnabar except those portions noted as needing to be recited.

The “Treading the Void, Back Turned to Earth” talisman is placed beneath the right foot.

The “Treading the Void, Back Turned to Earth” talisman is placed beneath the left foot.

When a cultivator of the Dao (the Way) wishes to become a true immortal, yet the bodily form already shows decline and the heart-mind, spirit (Shen), and the hun and po souls are not held in undivided concentration, one should visualize the six stars of the Southern Dipper in the head: one star between the eyebrows, one star at the center of the crown, and the remaining stars ranged from the Jade Pillow (the back of the head) along the Great Vertebra (the spinal bone where the neck meets the back). Day and night one visualizes these stars, letting their light pass through the spine as if a fierce flame were rising, so that the withered weakness of the declining form disperses. One then visualizes the six stars again and slowly swallows them into the body; it is said that this can enable a person to live long. When lying down to sleep, sitting or standing, eating and drinking, or bathing, one should never face south. One may also paint images of the six True Lords in cinnabar, a man hanging them at the left elbow and a woman at the right elbow. When praying about auspicious or inauspicious matters, or when eating and drinking, one should always visualize the True Lords; it is said that the effect is then even better.

A cultivator of the Dao who wishes to become a true immortal should also visualize the six stars in the hands and feet, in the heart, and in the brain. After long practice, the six True Lords will send down Jing (essence) and Qi (vital energy) to refine the cultivator’s bodily form, so that the spirit ascends in flight to Jade Clarity (Yuqing, the upper realm of which Daoism speaks). When the cultivation is complete, the person’s appearance is like that of a Perfected, clad in brocade and marked with red stellar patterns.

When about to fall asleep at night, one should visualize the stars filling the bed-canopy, bright as fire, and then recite:

“The Cinnabar-Dark Jade Chamber: its light shines upon the Gate of Life. The Six Perfected, the Supreme August Ones, guard and govern the southern pavilion. I take in hand the wondrous Qi; it enters and shines upon the Thearch’s terrace, delivering and refining the nine ancestors. The Crimson Perfected, in brocade robes and red stars.”

When about to fall asleep at night, one should visualize the stars filling the bed-canopy, bright as fire, and then recite:

“The Cinnabar-Dark Jade Chamber: its light shines upon the Gate of Life. The Six Perfected, the Supreme August Ones, guard and govern the southern pavilion. I take in hand the wondrous Qi; it enters and shines upon the Thearch’s terrace, delivering and refining the nine ancestors. The Scarlet Mound ferries the souls; the purple brush and crimson script open the way to the source of life. Evil dreams and ill omens—swiftly deliver them to the Imperial Lord.”

“Talisman of the Crown”

“Talisman at the Elbow”

“Visualizing the Six Stars in the Heart Palace”

“Talisman within the Sleeping Canopy”

In practicing the “Method of the Southern Dipper” (Nandou zhi fa), one visualizes oneself flying up to the towers of the Crimson Capital in the southern heaven (the pavilions of the southern celestial realm). The offering should be made on the sixth day of the sixth month, or on the day of one’s own natal destiny, that is, one’s birthday. The offerings must be fresh, pure, and fragrant; one may also present things that one personally treasures. After the offering has been completed at noon, one then paces according to the ritual method, and this is said to be most auspicious.

The three Qi (vital energy) of the Cinnabar Heaven of Upper Clarity (Shangqing Dantian) are the Qi of Liangming of the Cinnabar Heaven, the Qi of Hongmin of the Cinnabar Heaven, and the Qi of Guangfan of the Cinnabar Heaven.

The Upper Worthy Jade Maidens of the Southern Dipper of the Cinnabar Heaven of Upper Clarity number five hundred in all. They wear red embroidered robes and hold chuang (ceremonial banners used in processional regalia). After the banners have been offered to, one paces according to the ritual method, and this is said to be most auspicious.

The text then repeats the three Qi of the Cinnabar Heaven and the five hundred Upper Worthy Jade Maidens who hold banners, and adds a note on the regalia and dress: the banners are red; the jade maidens all wear red embroidered robes, while the particular style of clothing may be chosen to suit one’s natal destiny pattern; everything else is carried out as described above.

The various classes of jade maidens of the Southern Dipper of the Cinnabar Heaven of Upper Clarity likewise number five hundred each. They wear red embroidered robes and hold their respective regalia. The Jade Maidens Who Pace the Hun hold banners; the Jade Maidens Who Tread the Po hold axes; the Jade Maidens Who Ascend the Asterisms hold gui (jade tablets used in ancient ritual); the Jade Maidens of the True Taboo Names hold jie (insignia representing status or authority); the Jade Maidens of the Flying Pace hold fan (long banners); the Usher Jade Maidens hold tuo (rudder-shaped implements); the Jade Maidens Who Oversee Prohibitions hold halberds; and the Jade Maidens Who Oversee Destiny hold wild geese.

The first Qi of the Southern Dipper is called the “Qi of Hundong Baiwei.” The second Qi of the Southern Dipper is called the “Qi of Chiyuan Qingwei,” and there are five hundred maidens of Chiyuan Qingwei, wearing red embroidered robes and holding halberds.

The Jade Maidens Who Oversee Destiny of the Southern Dipper of the Cinnabar Heaven of Upper Clarity number five hundred in all. They wear red embroidered robes and hold wild geese.

The three Qi of the Southern Dipper, in order, are the Qi of Hundong Baiwei, the Qi of Chiyuan Qingwei, and the Qi of Weihua Jiuyao.

The fourth star of the Southern Dipper belongs to the Qi (vital energy) of Great Nonbeing and the Most High; the fifth star belongs to the Qi of Utmost Truth and Great Simplicity; the sixth star belongs to the Qi of the Most High Jade Emperor.

This is the register of the ministers of the Latter Sage of the Jade Palace of the Southern Dipper: the Controller of Fate (Siming) of the Golden Portal, the Nine Numina of Enduring Life, and the Six Perfected.

The talisman of the Cinnabar Heaven of the Southern Dipper gives notice to the Controller of Fate of the Golden Portal, the Controller of Fate within the sun, the Controller of Fate within the moon, the Controllers of Fate of the Six Perfected of the flying paces, and the Mysterious Woman among the stars.

This is the left tally—the credential—that enables a person to ascend into the Southern Dipper and obtain long life.

The Mysterious Chart of the Controller of Fate of the Golden Portal of the Great Emperor, the Most High Jade Emperor of Highest Clarity (Shangqing) and Jade Clarity (Yuqing), is conferred upon those immortals who can perform the flying paces along the vermilion threads of the southern stars. On obtaining this text, one should prepare a separate case and place it before the image of the Southern Dipper; when carrying out ritual services one wears it on the body, or uses it according to the manner in which it was transmitted.

One who possesses this text may attain long life and become an immortal even without cultivating the art of the flying paces; yet this text is not transmitted to those of shallow cultivation. The Envoy of the Southern Tumulus commands sixty thousand Qi officers and soldiers of the Cinnabar Heaven of Highest Clarity, garrisoned within the Zi parish, where they guard the Fulu (talismans and registers) and preserve true nature. Without such immortal-bone endowments as the emolument bone and the patterned brain, one cannot hear of this text. One who obtains it ought properly to become a Perfected of the Golden Portal; but if a person is attached to the secular world and of improper mind, the text must not be transmitted even if that person holds the status of an Earth Official.

If a Daoist priest is to transmit this text, he should establish an oath and covenant in accordance with the Keyi (liturgy) of Highest Clarity, and observe the precepts and prohibitions as one would the law. In a given year the disciple, carrying precious cloth, goes to the master to request the Great Register of the Controller of Fate of the Cinnabar Heaven, praying to fly up to the six stars and ascend to Jade Clarity, and reports this vow to the Nine Heavens, so that he may penetrate the mysterious and wondrous, enjoy enduring long life, and become an imperial official of the Controller of Fate.