《上清经秘诀》

According to the purport of the scripture, one should knock the teeth, visualize the spirits, and silently recite in the heart in order to attain the realm of flying ascension.

The Great Dao is originally one, yet it is divided into the Three Caverns (Dongzhen, Dongxuan, and Dongshen), the three major classifications of Daoist scriptures. Therefore the teachings distinguish between gradual progress and sudden awakening, and people distinguish between the worthy and capable and the dull and foolish. Teachings must be arranged according to people's circumstances, the essential point being to bring people into accord with the Dao (the Way). Precepts serve to prevent faults, halt evil actions, and restrain the six emotions (the six kinds of feelings or sensory desires); registers (lu) enable those who cultivate the Dao to rise in rank, become immortals, and far transcend the Three Realms (the realm of desire, the realm of form, and the formless realm). Therefore the “Chapter on Dao-Nature” states: “The practice of precepts can gather and receive living beings, while name registers can guide living beings to return to the True One.”

Inquiring step by step from the shallow, there are naturally distinctions of high and low within. As people move from the mundane toward the sagely realm, they likewise have different stages: the Zhengyi (Orthodox Unity) immortal spirits constitute the initial-stage precepts, while Yuqing Shengxuan constitutes the final stage of receiving registers. One comprehends the mysterious principles and unites with the Dao, matching the true words of teaching and images; one reveres the methods of the Dao, takes as teacher those who possess the Dao, puts their teachings into practice, and observes their rites.

I have heard that throughout the vast and boundless heaven and earth the True Sovereign (the true deity who rules heaven and earth) has always been present; at the first opening of chaos the sage appeared in accordance with the time. Daoism instructs people without taking them as its own; the operation of the Dao is apparent in everyday life yet is ever capable of renewal. Thus the cloud-seal immortal writings (immortal scriptures written in cloud-seal script) shine forth brilliantly, hidden away in the jade chapters and jade tablets. Unless one is the officiant who holds the diagrams and registers and receives the Dharma registers, one cannot carry out this teaching; unless one rests the mind in the true Dao and selects persons of worth and virtue, one cannot approach the meanings of the texts.

Mingzhen has established five categories (five types of cultivation norms), and the Most High has left behind ten precepts. Our land inherits the accumulated blessings of the gathering white clouds and receives the mysterious instruction of Xuanyuan (Laozi); its De (Virtue/Power) unites with heaven and earth, its radiance reflects that of the Five Sages. All people nourish the myriad things with the ultimate Dao and govern the common folk with sincere and generous De.

The Shangqing Jing states that the “Three Caverns” (Dongzhen, Dongxuan, and Dongshen) refer to three categories of scriptures, each containing twelve sections, which together are known as the Thirty-Six Honorable Scriptures. In the heavens they correspond to the Thirty-Six Heavens within the realms of the Three Pure Ones (Sanqing); beneath the earth they correspond to the Thirty-Six Palaces among the Nine Layers. Therefore the human head possesses nine palaces, the heart nine apertures, the navel nine spirits, and the body nine doors, which together correspond to thirty-six locations.

The Jiutian Shengshen Jing states that while a person is still in the mother’s womb, they are nurtured by the Three Origins (the three kinds of primordial Qi, or vital energy, spoken of in Daoism), and the nine Qi condense to form the body. In the ninth month the spirits array themselves, the breath becomes sufficient, and the child can utter sounds; the body is fully formed and the spirits occupy their proper places, so the Nine Heavens congratulate together. Taiyi (a revered deity in Daoism) holds the talismanic mandate at the formation of the fetus, the Imperial Lord assesses its fate, the Master of Records registers its name, the Director of Destiny determines its lifespan, the Five Emperors oversee its birth, the Holy Mother guards the delivery chamber, and the gods of heaven, the spirits of earth, and the deities of the Three Realms all descend together. This is a matter of the utmost solemnity.

The Dengzhen Yinjue states that the “one principle” spoken of here is the pure Dao-nature present within the bodies of all sentient beings. This Dao-nature belongs neither to being nor to non-being; the true original nature always abides. Because it pervades the myriad things it is called “Dao” (the Way). Although the Dao exists it has no physical form; although it possesses form it contains affective nature; its transformations cannot be fathomed, and it pervades all sentient beings. Within the human body the Dao manifests as spiritual illumination and is therefore called the heart. Teaching people to cultivate the heart is teaching them to cultivate the Dao; teaching people to cultivate the Dao is likewise teaching them to cultivate the heart. The Dao cannot be seen directly; it is revealed through life. Life cannot last forever and must be guarded by the Dao. When life perishes, the Dao can no longer appear in that body; when one unites with the Dao, longevity is attained.