《上清太微帝君结带真文法》

This method is also known as the Jiaodai Wen, originating from the Taiji (Supreme Ultimate) Jiaodai Jing (scripture/classic). It is found in the Dongzhen section of the Three Caverns (Dongzhen/Dongxuan/Dongshen), fourth division, thirty-first juan. Master Lu’s authentic version fully records this method, and the colors and numbers of the Fulu (talismans and registers) writings are as follows.

Before cultivating this method, one must observe a thirty-day purification fast and prepare nine pairs of guoyuan, lusang, and niu. According to the Jing (scripture/classic), the Taiwei Emperor Lord conducted a clear fast in the Jade Heaven and received this method from the Highest Jade Emperor. He distributed the Shen (spirits) and made oaths at the nine households, tied the middle sash at the Heavenly Gate, and cast the covenant tokens into the Great Void. He proclaimed the decrees to the Nine Mysteries, summoned the Five Numina using jade characters, and called forth ten thousand riders from the way of no interval. This document is also called the Jiaoluo Wen.

The nine talismans of the upper section symbolize the Highest Jade Emperor before he manifested in the nine voids, condensing natural Jing (essence) and Qi (vital energy) generated from the womb of the Mysterious Mother. It is also said that this is a clarified and refined qiong-embryo that transforms to form the talismans of the Nine Emperors. They should be written with a yellow brush and ingested facing north; in this way one can change one’s appearance, see the Taiwei Emperor Lord, ride a flying rosy-cloud feather canopy, and roam in Xuandu (the immortal realm of Daoism).

The nine talismans of the middle section symbolize the clear condensed Qi of the Nine Heavens coalescing into natural talismanic writings, generated as numinous texts by the Mother of the Nine Mysteries. They should be written with a cyan brush and ingested facing north; according to the Jing (scripture/classic), this allows one to see the Taiwei Emperor Lord, fly through emptiness, and ascend to the Nine Heavens.

The five talismans of the lower section symbolize the Five Emperors before they differentiated, condensing hollow Jing and Qi in the void, then refined by the Mother of the Nine Mysteries into talismanic writings. They should be written with a vermilion brush and ingested facing west; according to the Jing (scripture/classic), five-colored Jing radiance will appear, and one can fly through emptiness and ascend to Taiqing.

Men use white silk ribbons and women use purple silk ribbons. The ribbons measure nine cun in width and nine chi in length, and the talismanic writings (Fulu) are inscribed upon them in the prescribed sequence.

The phrases appearing in the text, “the seven ancestors shall bear the guilt, with no pardon throughout ten thousand kalpas,” together with the passages identical to those of the High Purple Plain Covenant Text (Gaoshang Zisu Mengwen), indicate that this method follows the intent of the Highest. Those who cultivate it have already become Perfected Persons (Zhenren) and thus accord with the statutes of the Purple Plain Covenant. This is why the opening states that the teaching ought to be transmitted to those of later generations who attain the Dao.