《高上玉宸忧乐章》

I condense my own original and authentic primordial Qi (vital energy), transforming it into the Purple Phoenix City (a palace-city of the immortal realm). The high terrace soars past nine layers of mountain ridges, rising in successive lofty heights as if formed of flying, lustrous jade. It shines with radiance above the manifold heavenly realms, winding its way through to the pure precincts of the eight directions. A purple floral canopy illuminates the cloud palaces, its circulating brilliance reflecting and veiling the Five Spirits (the deities who preside over the five directions and the Five Phases).

On all four sides it opens onto boundless wilderness, while the Qi of the eight directions encircles a perfectly fused radiance. The soaring Qi circulates through the great void of space, and the seven kinds of heavenly scenery move in accordance with the Dao (the Way) of Heaven. When the circulation of Qi arrives, it appears to leave no trace; when the time of fortune passes, all things tilt and turn with the transformations. Heaven and Earth interweave in their movements, and the two Qi of Yin-Yang respond to one another. Diyi (the divine power that symbolizes the central original essence) holds fast to the central origin, so that the guidelines of the four directions do not collapse and the spirits attain stability.

To the south one gathers the treasures of the Flying Sovereign; to the north one arrays the Guanghan immortal court. In the profound and mysterious immortal chambers the assembled Perfected Ones meet; in the natural emptiness, songs arise of themselves. The Five Emperors (the heavenly emperors who govern the five directions) send forth numinous banners, while demonic flags summon the myriad spirits. Hosts of demons howl at length in the sky, and the joy within the realm of the Dao knows no end. Therefore this unadorned verse is written, celebrating the delight of the divine spirits and the peace of all under heaven. How long, after all, can this mutual attunement be maintained? Even ten thousand kalpas seem but a single year. Traversing back and forth through ninety thousand kalpas, we shall still ride together in the Purple Phoenix chariot (the vehicle of the immortals) and roam freely.

The original “high terrace…” sentence contains damaged glyphs with missing characters; before “purple phoenix” at the end there is also obvious repetition and omitted text. The foregoing is a free rendering according to the contextual meaning.

A purple phoenix terrace rises in the sky, and palaces of agate and jade soar high to join the Taiwei Enclosure (the stellar official region of heaven). Numinous winds pass through the eight directions, and the Changhe Gate (the Gate of Heaven) on the north opens.

In the heavens there is an immortal youth who chants and sings, often singing of how kalpic destinies cause all things to decline and decay. At dawn he rides forth upon the sunlight; at dusk he returns following the sunlight. The two radiances of sun and moon merge into one, yet he constantly fears losing this brightness. The Nine Qi (the nine primordial vital energies that constitute heaven, earth, and all things) cannot remain forever stable, and heaven and earth themselves face the peril of collapse.

When the great kalpa arrives, heaven and earth undergo a tremendous transformation; the Calamity of One Hundred and Six (an ancient cycle of disasters) rotates with the turning of fate. Floodwaters surge over the Nine Ridges, a great crow flies at the edge of the sky, all things are swept away by the long current, and there is nowhere left to return to the mountains for refuge. The wailing and weeping have no end—how can one not feel sorrow?

The worthies and sages diligently recite the Jing (scriptures), and thus they are able to ride the sunlight and ascend in flight. When the kalpic disasters arrive, they greet one another and gather together at the gate of the Nine Heavens. When the hours of the Golden Horse Chen (a specific time during the kalpic disaster) are exhausted, numerous epidemics and plagues crisscross and rage. People cannot see the awakened immortals; they can only weep over heaps of bones, with nowhere to rely upon, their wailing without end—how can one not feel sorrow?

The worthies and sages diligently recite the Jing, and thus they are able to ride the sunlight and ascend in flight; when the kalpic disasters arrive, they greet one another and gather together at the gate of the Nine Heavens. When the hours of the Golden Horse Chen are exhausted, numerous epidemics and plagues crisscross and rage; people cannot see the awakened immortals and can only weep over corpses. Alas, the nature of these ignorant ordinary people, who allow their lives to suffer such hardship—it is truly lamentable.

At the Nine Mysteries Terrace (Jiuxuan Tai, one of the immortal realms of Daoism) I disperse my sorrows and gather joy in the company of the great void. Hand in hand, I meet the Perfected of the Ten Directions (the immortals of the ten directions) and call, laughing, to the Youth of the Eastern Sea. The four quarters open onto one another and the Qi (vital energy) of the eight directions converges, and its subtle movement turns into the wind of Langtai. My gaze is clear, and I see the Western Splendor Hall. My heart is in accord, and it is as if I have come to the Palace of Vast Cold. A purple phoenix glides down, and the peaks of the Nine Ridges seem still and desolate. My eyes sweep on to survey the boundless plains, and I raise my head to behold the scenes of the cosmic calamity.

Clear, soaring song harmonizes with the notes of gong and shang, and sorrow and joy follow each other naturally. The two states answer to one another, and though their principles seem opposed, in the end they are connected. When all gather together, their joy has no end. They keep to the beginning and hold fast to the end as well. They drink deeply of the fine wine of the Jade Pool and sip the immortal blossoms as they fall from the sky. Then they feast by the river and taste the spirit melon, whose flavor is like the radiance of the sun and moon. The sun, the moon, and the five planets (together called the Seven Luminaries) wheel through the heavens with fragrant light. How could such happiness ever be forgotten?

Yet even the great kalpa comes to an end. As fortunes turn, the two forms of Yin-Yang are overturned. The Dragon Gate cuts off the Heavenly River, and the numbers three and five respond to one another in turn. Saturn, the red Zhen star, occupies the Well constellation in the east, and the Canopy star presses down the Morning Star. Darkness shrouds the eight directions, and foul vapors veil the light of heaven. The Three Officials (the Daoist deities who govern heaven, earth, and water) press and urge one another on, and even the Five Peaks can hardly keep their stability and efficacy. Plagues of every kind rage in turn, and the Northern Emperor (the supreme deity of the north) leads his fierce demon soldiers. Beyond the heavens, nets are spread in all eight directions, and only a sage ruler can bring peace to the world.

All of this is formed by the condensation of the Qi of nature, which builds the lofty and precipitous city of nine tiers. The immortals in the high temples take pity on the myriad beings, and from this pity arise both sorrow and joy. The subtle song dispels the grief of the spirits, and the people, having received its gladness, shed tears instead. Alas for the foolish and obstinate, who hoard their wealth and crave beauty and glory! They wait happily for their fate to arrive, heedless that calamity has already wound itself around them. The wise and discerning foresee the coming disaster. Day and night they diligently chant the scriptures, bow to the void, and fix their minds on the profound Dao (the Way), hoping to pass through endless ages.

If you can seek out the original source of the Great Dao, and at the Eight Festivals (the four seasonal beginnings, the two equinoxes, and the two solstices) recite the Jade Names (the sacred names chanted in Daoist Zhaijiao purification rituals), you will avoid the disasters brought by the Nine Luminaries (the calamities represented by nine stars) and live to see an age of great peace.

Jade phoenixes weave a magnificent scene across the morning firmament, and the Purple Terrace illuminates the jade groves. Flowing radiance brushes across layer upon layer of profound and mysterious realms, while towering peaks rise all the way to the Nine Yin. Purple rosy light spreads forth, and crimson clouds intertwine with drifting smoke. Branches of the Seven Treasures sway their jade leaves, and numinous beasts gallop among the cloud-wreathed ridges. The assembled immortals chant as they soar through the void, and divine beings strike up exquisite music.

Above dwells the Master of High Dawn (Gaochen Shi, the immortal master who resides in the high heavens). He quietly clasps his hands, now letting out a long whistle, now chanting in song. The Eight Assemblies (Bahui, the numinous Qi (vital energy) and scenes that gather of themselves in the heavenly realm) present their natural ceremonial aspect. Perfected Immortals descend from the emptiness, their bodies lustrous as orchid-gold. The jade nectar, having endured through kalpas, still circulates in the morning hours and scatters into the hearts of the assembled immortals. Voices like bright pearls raise numinous hymns, their solemn bearing blending with the clear and refined tones of the qin. Jade chapters set forth the essential purport of the supreme Dao (the Way), releasing human beings from the burdens of sorrow and of joy, enabling me to transcend the bounds of endless lifespan and to savor a profound peace and happiness. How could these naturally sublime immortal tones ever be set alongside the pleasures of the mundane world?

In the morning I amuse myself in the Palace of Eastern Floriate (Donghua Gong); in the evening I wander through the Hall of Western Floriate (Xihua Tang). I take my delight in the two Floriate lodges of east and west, yet the joys of the world are hard to meet with there. I hear only the Master of Mysterious Songs (Xuangezi, one who chants mysterious hymns of the Dao) giving voice to a sorrowful song, as if even the Heavenly Lads were moved to grief by it. The desolate sounds spread through the cold courtyards, caressing and mourning that the ways of the age have come to a dead end.

The Heavenly Horse leaps across the Nine Rivers, and the Crow Mother rides a flying dragon. The Mysterious Ford (Xuanjin, the profound and hidden crossing) has no bridge; the two Qi of Yin-Yang are cut off from each other and cannot communicate. I mount the lofty steps and look up at a realm enveloped by the Nine Calamities. Filthy Qi pervades the Three Numina of Heaven, Earth, and Humanity; the myriad beings bear disaster upon their backs. In the lands of the Eight Directions not a single place is spared; mountains great and small will all collapse.

I reflect that the multitude do not know how to cultivate and study; even when they hear the Jing (scriptures), they are as if foolish and deaf. I live together with them, submitting to fate; human life is brief, and in the blink of an eye one reaches the end. Why are the disasters so terrible, and when will they come? Thinking of all living beings, my heart is filled with unending sorrow.

The purple phoenix soars into the sky and flies toward the lofty Nine Mystery Mountain, an immortal mountain of the celestial realm. When Qi (vital energy) gathers, form and shadow appear; when Qi disperses, Shen (spirit) exists no longer. I drift at the boundary of being and non-being, and the music of heaven delights me. Together with the lofty immortals I sing the Song of the Eight Assemblies, the immortal music of heaven, and in company I meet the Celestial Perfected of the Ten Directions, the perfected of all the heavenly quarters, holding a banquet upon the Nine Phoenixes. We ascend the Palaces of the Jade Capital, dwelling of the Celestial Emperor, and descend to roam Langfeng Isle, a legendary land of the immortals. Feathered beings drive flying carriages swift as jade wheels; purple clouds of Qi accompany us through the air. From dawn to dusk we sing in response to one another, and the joy has no end.

Let the gaze follow the turning of the times: a hundred million years pass as if they were but a single cycle of the seasons. My heart is filled with natural delight, and the sorrows of the dusty world dissolve. Without the Mysterious Numinous Treasure (Xuan Lingbao), the wondrous Lingbao revered in Daoism, who could wander with me? Yet it is lamentable that in this emptiness, joy has scarcely arisen when sorrow is born once more.

At dawn I set out from Shumeng Ridge; at dusk I gaze upon Xilong Hill. I did not see the Nine Numinous Mother, a Daoist goddess, yet the Northern Perfected roams within the Dao (the Way). From afar I inquire into the movement of the Great Dao, and the two Qi of Yin-Yang suddenly pervade Heaven and Earth. Nine dragons revolve in the Eastern Well, a lunar mansion, and the Heavenly Horse gallops forth from the western horizon. The Northern Emperor (Beidi), Celestial Emperor of the North, dispatches the heavenly troops, and the mysterious spirits of the Five Sacred Peaks answer one another. The ten thousand demons have already been bound and brought under control, and the power of the Five Phases (Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, Water) has long acted in concert. The calamity of war spreads across the heavens, and hundreds of millions of living beings are all seized; Heaven and Earth, above and below, all encounter the destined kalpa, and the disasters shall be swept away, leaving none remaining.

How lamentable it is to dwell amid these Five Hardships: when the kalpic destiny arrives, neither kin nor stranger can easily escape. Ascend the Palace of the Eight Assemblies and keep company with me in the secluded darkness. Look upon all those who have achieved success in cultivating the Dao: the blessed lands come to aid them. Abandon household and livelihood, seek my Dao, and you shall be able to deliver yourself. Concentrate on cultivating the Supreme Scripture, the most wondrous of the classics; when the merit of the Dao is accomplished, a corresponding response will arise of itself. To wander free and easy upon the Phoenix Terrace—is that not a joyful thing?

At the gathering of great joy, primordial Qi (vital energy) converges in the Central Origin as the assembled immortals rejoice together in the courtyard of delight. In the heavens above, the breaths of the eight directions flow and meet, and a purple phoenix appears, dancing gracefully among them. Golden branches cling to jade trees, while the seven treasures form exquisite bells. Dragons soar over lofty mountain ridges, and the phoenix’s cry resounds into distant regions. The guests who have journeyed from afar cannot be seen; one hears only the phoenix’s call answering the cloudy vapors. The notes of gong, shang, and the other tones blend in harmony, and the music flows forth of itself. Mysterious songs give rise to wonderful melodies, sorrow and joy interweaving into a single composition. The I and the self seek one another; who can know the spiritual marvel of the Perfected Person?

Brocade clouds reflect the night moon, and purple radiance veils the flying jade. The Three Chen (celestial phenomena of sun, moon, and stars) revolve, illuminating a vast brightness; the Seven Wu (names of heavens or stellar bodies in Daoism) shine with brilliance, answering the Five Stars. Numinous banners emit majestic light, and flowing mists envelop the immortal realm of Purple Clarity. People may regard the immortal realm of Western Flower as already incomparably beautiful, yet it cannot compare with Purple Phoenix City. Upon the walls are those who open their robes in carefree joy; at a single meeting they celebrate for ten thousand years, sharing delight without end of kalpas. Only then does one perceive that heaven and earth themselves seem to tilt.

The numinous operations follow their own predetermined numbers; once the allotted Qi is exhausted, all still returns to mysterious naturalness. Coming and going accord with the transformations of destiny; why allow sorrow to entangle oneself? Scatter sorrow beyond the eight directions and return to the vast and genuine body of the Dao (the Way). In the courtyard of carefree joy, who would still wish to keep company with sorrow?

The five kinds of hardship are common in the world; it is only that those who suffer injury and pain differ from one another. Even if the gong and shang tones fall out of harmony, the fundamental principle of the Great Dao remains naturally balanced. Therefore this Melody of Sorrow and Joy was composed, to guide practitioners who awaken to the Great Dao. Through diligent and arduous cultivation, studying the mysterious scriptures (Jing), the profound meanings become clear of themselves. As long as one holds to and practices this musical chapter, one enters the realm without sorrow. Riding the void, one ascends the Phoenix Terrace, gazing afar from on high and receiving an age of great peace like that of Tang Yao.

What, then, is this joy? If one already understands from where sorrow arises, why inquire further into its origin?

The Gaoshang Yuchen Youle zhi Zhang (“Chapter of Sorrow and Joy of the Highest Jade Dawn”) arises from the heavens above the Phoenix Terrace. Its wondrous literary brilliance illuminates the five directions, and its clear, metallic-toned voice resounds throughout the ten directions of the heavenly realms. The Highest Perfected (Shangzhen) of the Nine Curves of the Jade Capital all engrave the scripture upon golden tablets, write it with a purple brush, and together chant this mysterious Melody of Sorrow and Joy. The meaning of the scripture is profound and its purport subtle; none but the Highest Perfected can fully comprehend it. Only those whose names appear as “Donghua” (Eastern Florescence) in the golden registers, and who have the characters “Fengque” (Phoenix Palace) written in the jade records, may behold this scripture.

If one can wear the Numinous Banner for Commanding Demons of the True Writ of the Mysterious Mound, authenticated by Phoenix Qi (feng qi, the numinous vital energy of the Phoenix Terrace), and recite the Chapter of Sorrow and Joy, then the Emperor Lords of the Five Directions will stand as guardians, the heavenly demons will respectfully keep watch, and one will be recommended as a Highest Immortal. One may also receive the Sage Lord in the Palace of Highest Clarity (Shangqing Gong) and roam the halls of the Phoenix Terrace.

All who receive and hold this scripture should, on their natal day, the day of Taisui, the Eight Seasonal Nodes (the Beginning of Spring, the Spring Equinox, the Beginning of Summer, the Summer Solstice, the Beginning of Autumn, the Autumn Equinox, the Beginning of Winter, and the Winter Solstice), as well as on the fifth, fifteenth, and twenty-fifth days of each month, bathe to purify the body and observe a fast to clear the mind before entering the meditation chamber. First face east and recite the Chapter of the Azure Emperor twice; after reciting, bow in homage to the Jade Perfected. Then turn in succession toward the south, west, and north, reciting the Chapter of the Red Emperor, the Chapter of the White Emperor, and the Chapter of the Black Emperor respectively, bowing to the Jade Perfected after each chapter. Then face the direction of Taisui and recite the Chapter of the Yellow Emperor, bowing once more to the Jade Perfected upon completion.

When the scriptures of the five directions have been recited, return to facing north, perform nine bows to Lord Yuchen (the Jade Dawn Lord), then raise the head and swallow the breath nine times; the rite is then complete. Afterward, set the Five Emperor Banners in the five directions of the meditation chamber.

This text is taken from the Shangqing Gaoshang Yuchen Fengtai Qusu Shangjing (Upper Scripture of the Plain Melodies of the Phoenix Terrace of the Highest Jade Dawn of Highest Clarity).

The Gaoshang Yuchen Youle Zhang ends here.

The following is a collation note: After this edition was compared with the Qusu Jing, several erroneous characters in the original text were corrected and some originally omitted characters were supplied. For example, “领” was changed to “岭,” “霞” to “灵,” and “九来” to “九围”; some instances of “兴” had originally been written in error as “与,” “偕” as “阶,” and “曲” as “章.” In addition, characters such as “劫,” “相,” “万,” “上,” and “有” were added on the basis of the Qusu Jing.