《洞真八景玉箓晨图隐符》

The Jiuhui Taichen hidden Fulu (talismans and registers) is worn by the Yuqing Zidao Xuhuang Shangjun of Yuyue Nalin Changyutai Heaven and written in red characters on nine-cun azure silk. The Guanling Yuanchen hidden Fulu is worn by the Yuqing Yiri Xuhuang Shangdaojun of Gaotao Lichong Longluo Heaven and written in red characters on nine-cun red silk. The Zongchen Jiuji hidden Fulu is worn by the Yuqing Changyangji Xuhuang Gaoyuanjun of Biluo Kongge Yuli Heaven and written in red characters on nine-cun white silk. The Tayaoxuangen hidden Fulu is worn by the Gaoshang Xuhuang Jun of (the original text is garbled at this point, so that the names of the deity and heaven cannot be identified) and written in red characters on nine-cun black silk.

The Xuanjing Chenping hidden Fulu is worn by the Yuqing Taiming Xuhuang Dongqingjun of Fudao Gaihua Fuluo Heaven and written in vermilion characters on nine-cun yellow silk. The Hehui Chenming hidden Fulu is worn by the Yuqing Shiyuan Xuhuang Taixiaojun of Juwei Yequ Chumo Heaven and written in red characters on nine-cun yellow silk. The Qihui Chenxuan hidden Fulu is worn by the Yuqing Qiguan Wusheng Xuhuang Jinlingjun of Chongrong Yuyu Lisha Heaven and written in vermilion characters on nine-cun yellow silk. The Gaoshang Longyan hidden Fulu is worn by the Yuqing Baguang Gaoyuan Xuhuang Tingjingjun of Danyuan Chabao Lunfa Heaven and written in vermilion characters on nine-cun yellow silk.

Eight kinds of Yinfu are listed here. Yinfu are Fulu of sacred significance found in Daoist jing; “wearing” means carrying the Fulu on one’s person. Each corresponds to a different heaven and divine lord and is inscribed on silk of a prescribed color and size.

The Shangqing Eight Sceneries Jade Register Morning Diagram Hidden Talisman (a secret Fulu of the Shangqing school) is said to have been transmitted by the Most High Lord of the Great Dao and treasured by the High Lord of Jade Clarity. Only those whose names are listed in the celestial registers and who possess golden slips with jade characters have the opportunity to hear of or see it. Without reciting the thirty-nine chapters of the Scripture of the Great Cavern and practicing the methods described therein—the “Divine Perfected of the Three Treasures,” the “Female One, Eight Interstices, and Twelve Superior Vows,” “Summoning Auroras and Ingesting Essence,” “Red Effulgence Racing to the Moon,” “Knotting the Phosphors,” and similar techniques—one cannot wear this Jade Register Eight Sceneries Morning Diagram Mysterious Hidden Talisman.

It is said that those who obtain this hidden talisman will, after eight years, be able to ride the chariot of the Eight Sceneries (the vehicle used by immortals). This scripture is extremely secret, known to few in the world. The High Lord of Jade Clarity concealed the hidden talisman in the Chamber of Seven Reflections within the Golden Orchid Jade Casket, sealed it with a case of cinnabar stamens, and entrusted it to the Left Duke of the Immortal Capital for safekeeping; he also commanded twenty-four Golden Dawn Jade Lads and thirty-six Jade Flower Jade Maidens to guard it.

The scripture warns that one must record merits and distinguish good deeds, awaiting the descent of teaching commands from the Mysterious Perfected. Transmission is permitted only three times every seven thousand years; if no suitable candidate appears, it should be sealed and stored in a famous mountain. One must not rashly leak this precious true method, or else both master and disciple will incur guilt. The seven generations of ancestors of both the transmitter and the recipient are said to suffer severe punishments as well; the person themselves and the former master will fall to become ghost servants in the lower realms, enduring endless suffering.

Now this scripture is compiled and recorded in order to illustrate the principle of cautious secrecy. Those who receive the hidden talisman transmitted by the Most High Lord of the Great Dao should burn incense in a separate room, paying homage morning and evening; they must not allow miscellaneous people to enter or leave, nor let the room become dusty or filthy, lest they offend the divine Perfected and violate the divine Qi. Otherwise, the Jade Lads and Jade Maidens will report this person’s transgressions to the High Lord and cause them to suffer the punishments of water and fire. The secret methods guarded by the Celestial Perfected are extremely precious; how can one not treat them with caution?

Those who receive the talisman, on each of the Eight Seasonal Nodes (the eight festivals valued in Daoism) as well as on their own natal day, should bathe and then enter the chamber, facing north at noon or midnight, concentrating in homage and closing the eyes to visualize the clouds of the Three Primes (the cloud vapors contemplated in Daoist cultivation) appearing from heaven and arriving from the northwest.

Those who receive and hold this talisman must, on each of the Eight Festival Days and on their own natal day, bathe and then enter a quiet chamber. At noon or at midnight, facing north, they make obeisance in the heart and close the eyes, visualizing the clouds of the Three Primes drifting down from the northwest of heaven and covering the entire room, so that both inside and outside grow dim. After a while, they cover the ears and mouth with both hands, inhale the cloud Qi (vital energy), and swallow it in thirty portions. When the swallowing is complete and they sense the cloud Qi dispersing, they will see two children resembling infants, each holding a brocade pouch: one pouch contains the Hidden Script of the Jade Registers of the Eight Luminaries, and the other contains the Divine Scripture of the Three Treasures. They transmit the scriptures to the practitioner, then transform into two Imperial Lords and enter the practitioner’s body.

Then recite the incantation:

“From the mysterious and wondrous realm I pass in and out of the clear and luminous realm, returning to the palace chambers illuminated by the light of dawn. Wuying and Baiyuan instruct me and transmit to me; the Female One (Ciyi) nurtures me, causing me to thoroughly penetrate the Five Registers and the mysterious principles. The Thirty-Nine Chapters, cultivated ten thousand times, grant longevity within the womb, protect the hun and po souls, summon the spirits, and enable me to open and behold the Cavern Gate. The cultivation of the Jade Talisman is complete; my body mounts purple clouds, I ascend to pay homage to the Northern Emperor and have audience at Jade Clarity (Yuqing).”

After reciting this, recite once more the portion from “thoroughly penetrate the Five Registers” through “have audience at Jade Clarity.” Then click the teeth nine times and swallow saliva thirty times. Practicing in this way for eight years, one will be met by the green palanquin of the mysterious clouds of the Jade Luminaries of the Eight Heavens and will ascend into the Palace of Jade Clarity. Practice must not be neglected; one must concentrate wholly upon the mysterious and wondrous Dao (the Way). This is a method treasured by the High and Supreme and honored by the Most High Great Dao; the key lies in utmost sincerity, and it should be cautiously kept secret, transmitted, and put into practice.

The “Hidden Talisman of the High Clarity Most Limitless Supreme Dao Lord” is the hidden talisman worn by the High Clarity Most Limitless Supreme Dao Lord. This venerable deity dwells in the capital of Mifanluo Terrace, Xiaojue Liaoqiu, and Feiyuan Yungen, in the Heaven of Jade Clarity above. On each natal day, write it in cinnabar on green paper and ingest it, or write it in orpiment on plain silk and wear it. The scripture states that this talisman can command the myriad spirits under heaven, conceal demonic gods and the ghosts of ballads, and enable one to communicate with the numinous and attract the Perfected; when reciting scriptures it can also prevent confusion and loss of voice. Wearing the talisman and reciting the scripture ten thousand times, the Three Primes will of themselves dispatch the carriage of the Eight Luminaries to welcome the practitioner, who will then ascend into the Palace of Jade Clarity.

The Hidden Talisman of the Morning Chart (Chen Tu Yin Fu) originates from the Palace of Vacuous Birth of the Eight Origins, its writing formed from condensed primordial Qi (yuanqi). The Vacuous Sovereign Lord of the Purple Dao of Jade Clarity transmitted it to the Supreme Lord of the Great Dao (Taishang Dadaojun). Wear this talisman and cultivate it ten thousand times in the Boundless Palaces of the Eight Heavens (celestial palaces), and the spirits of the Three Primes will naturally dispatch the chariot of the Eight Sceneries to come and welcome you, enabling you to ascend to the Palace of Jade Clarity.

After this talisman had been transmitted for seven thousand kalpas, the Azure Lad, Upper Minister (Shangxiang Qingtongjun), passed it to those destined to become immortals in the latter age. No written record of it exists in the world; unless one holds the Golden Slips and Jade Registers (jinjian yulu, documents of sacred transmission), there is no way to know of it. This Dao is profound and mysterious; it cannot be written on ordinary paper, nor can it be explained by speech alone. As the cycle of one hundred and six (bailiu zhi yun, a kalpic period) advanced, and after seeking sagely assistants across three generations, it finally had to be transmitted to later generations.

Transmission of this talisman must observe the Mysterious Precepts (xuanke, the secret disciplinary codes of Daoism): it may be transmitted three times within seven thousand years. The recipient must possess the foundation for immortality, swear an oath of alliance, and prepare eight liang of purple gold together with eighty chi of purple-patterned silk in order to receive the teaching. When the master transmits it, the tokens of faith should be given to those living in seclusion and poverty who have met with hardship; they must not be kept for personal use. The strict precepts admit of no transgression and must be treated with caution; if the oath is broken, one suffers punishments like wind-knives and is condemned without end to ghostly labor in the lower realms. Transmit with prudence, and practice according to one’s capacity.

In former times, during the reign of King You of Zhou, there was a certain Jin Guzi, originally surnamed Wang with the courtesy name Xuandu, who was an ordinary person. Happening to pass the Northern Peak, he obtained a jade casket; upon opening it he saw within the Hidden Talisman of the Eight Sceneries. Though Xuandu could not read the characters, he realized it was divine writing and therefore wore it according to the talisman. He undertook no additional cultivation, yet clouds of the Three Primes (sansu zhi yun, vapors symbolizing immortal spirits) covered his body throughout the year. He thus styled himself Jin Guzi. After eight years he mounted the clouds and ascended to heaven; he is now enfeoffed as an Outer Immortal of the Nine Palaces. Because he did not fully fulfill his duties, however, he cannot enter the halls of the Jade Emperor. This is the account as transmitted by Lord Wang.