《太上正一法文经》

Zhang Daoling, the Celestial Master (Tianshi) venerated in Zhengyi (Orthodox Unity), bowed in respect to Taishang and inquired: “I often see the common people of the world trapped by toil, illness, and imprisonment, subjected to shackles and confinement, and also encountering disasters of water and fire, wars of blades and soldiers, as well as dangers from tigers, wolves, insects, and snakes. These various hardships cause people worry and pain; some die prematurely, while others perish innocently. I do not understand where these calamities originate, nor do I know what meritorious practices to cultivate in order to escape such suffering. I earnestly request that the Heavenly Worthy, with a compassionate heart, provide instruction so that people may understand the faults they have committed and thereby free themselves from worry, sorrow, and bitterness.”

The Most High (an honorific in Daoism for the supreme deity) told Daoling (Zhang Daoling) that people in the world encounter illness and disaster because they do not believe in karmic retribution, they look down on teachers and elders, they neglect the Great Dao (the Way), they break the fasts and violate the precepts, they go against the order of Heaven, Earth, sun, moon and stars, and they abandon the orthodox path for deviant ways.

Some people oppress the poor and weak, curse ghosts and spirits, and insult the Three Venerables (the Dao, the Jing (scripture/classic) and the Shi (masters) that Daoism venerates). They are disloyal and unfilial; brothers fall into discord, fathers and sons lack loving-kindness, husbands and wives are unharmonious, relations between men and women become disordered, and they injure one another. There are also all manner of fraudulent acts, killing of living beings and theft, illicit lust and jealousy, greed and ignorance, exchanging evil words and stirring up gossip, speaking boastfully and falsely, drinking wine and eating meat which defiles the innate purity (the state of pristine original nature), relying on strength to bully the weak, and using official rank and power to tyrannize. Some, as rulers, fail to practice the orthodox Dao; as ministers they are not loyal. Some deceive those above them, oppress those below, harm the common people, wrongly injure the loyal and good, and indulge without restraint.

Therefore they suffer sickness and successive calamities. This is because Heaven has the Nine Ugly Killing Ghosts, each commanding ninety million, who ride the clouds and mount Qi (vital energy), follow the wind and chase the rain, lurk among groves and trees, attach themselves to households, and watch for moments of human weakness. They can also disperse Jing (essence) and Qi through clothing, enter the viscera with food and drink, or linger in dwellings, inflicting nine kinds of disaster throughout the world in order to punish evildoers and turn them back toward the good path.

If one is able to observe the fast (keep the fasting precepts), worship and practice the Dao, recite the Jing, burn incense, scatter flowers, sincerely repent and give alms, vow to relieve the poor, release living creatures or ransom captured lives, repair Daoist temples, establish hermitages and mysterious altars and ritual halls (places for enshrining deities and conducting Daoist ceremonies), extensively plant fields of merit, do good and accumulate De (Virtue/Power), then one can be exempted from disaster and escape danger and suffering.

If one does not believe that good and evil bring recompense, and continues to kill living beings and steal, drink wine and eat meat, slander the Three Treasures, slight those who have left home, destroy sacred images, and persist in all kinds of evil, then various disasters will descend: one will encounter hardship, fields and family wealth will be depleted, livestock will die, official career will be thwarted and positions dismissed, household members will die young or be injured, things sought will not go smoothly, and wishes will be hard to realize.

The so-called “Nine Calamities” refer to:

The first kind is disease, including those from wind-cold, summer-heat, damp evils, and epidemic outbreaks, as well as sores and ulcers, accumulations and lumps, knots, scars, cholera, diarrhea and similar conditions, along with ailments believed to be caused by evil spirits and ghosts. These various illnesses and sufferings cling to the body, making it impossible to eat, causing one to waste away day by day, so that one wishes to live yet cannot, wishes to die yet cannot, enduring torment night and day and finding no rest whether sitting or lying.

The second kind is the calamity of imprisonment, encompassing disputes with officials, unjust written judgments, being bound in fetters and chains, and subjected to whipping and interrogation that leave the body in unbearable pain. Such disasters may also implicate parents, brothers, wives and children, plunging an entire family into years of suffering from which there is no escape. The original scripture text here repeats a passage and contains missing characters or errors.

The third kind is the disaster of weapons and warfare. In times of tyranny and deviation from the Dao, the worthy and good are slain, or the innocent suffer harm and plunder, even having their hands and feet severed. One may also, through the nation’s campaigns, be cut by blades or pierced by arrows, the corpse torn apart, relatives scattered, remains pecked by birds and beasts, and the soul left wandering in a distant land with no resting place.

The fourth kind is flooding. Deluges overflow until waters fill the sky, valleys and rivers surge with waves, people drown, fathers and sons perish together, the bones of kin dissolve, and corpses fill ravines to become food for fish and turtles. Traveling across rivers, seas, streams and gorges one may likewise drown, the body sinking into the depths.

The fifth kind is fire. Passing through mountains, forests and marshes one may meet wildfire, or a blaze may erupt at home, leaving the body charred black.

The sixth kind is injury from poison. Tigers, wolves, insects, snakes, bees and the like may inflict harm, while the flowers and leaves of plants may wound the skin; poisonous vapors or substances may invade the body and enter the abdomen, producing pain too great to bear.

The seventh kind is the misfortune of being crushed. Mountain rocks, cliff banks, or the tiles and timber of houses may collapse, smashing and pressing the body, injuring the hands, feet and head, and causing such agony that one finds no ease sitting or lying.

The eighth kind is terror. The scripture cites the majesty of official power, water and fire, weapons and similar circumstances that inspire fear. Later the text again repeats the account of being crushed by mountain stones and house tiles and wood, the wording appearing disordered.

The eighth kind of disaster is fright. Fright refers to encountering the power of government authorities, disasters of flood and fire, wars involving blades and troops, strikes from wind and thunder, fierce birds and ferocious beasts, as well as wangliang evil spirits (legendary sprites of mountains and rivers and malevolent entities) that suddenly draw near, causing people to feel fearful and anxious, their hun and shen startled into disorder, even resulting in death.

The ninth kind of disaster is hunger and cold. Hunger and cold refers to being sent on official or private errands, traveling far from home, encountering dangers, flood and fire disasters, and raids by soldiers and bandits along the way, as well as being oppressed and coerced, leading to the exhaustion of clothing and food supplies; it also includes household poverty and prolonged endurance of hunger and cold. These are all presided over by the Nine Ugly Killing Ghosts.

The Nine Ugly Ghosts number nine in all: they are named Dixing, Kuangyun, Zhongyao, Tianguai, Jianzhou, Gandu, Jingkuang, Jinghuchang, and Zhi. Each is in charge of one type of disaster and frequently moves about in the human world.

Furthermore, there are the Divine Officials of the Five Emperors, each of whom carries out five kinds of disasters in order to surveil wicked people.

The first is the Divine Official of the Azure Emperor, who implements Qingwen, Qingyi, Qingdu, Qinggu, Qingdong, and Qingchui. People who encounter these disasters suffer from headaches and high fevers, contract Shanghan (cold damage), seasonal plagues, cholera, and diarrhea; they also experience irritating pain in the hands and feet, stiffness in the shoulders and back, inability to eat, pain throughout the body, aching of bones and flesh, absent-minded speech, and a clouded mind.

The second is the Divine Official of the Red Emperor, who implements Chiwen, Chiyi, Chidu, Chigu, Chidong, and Chichui. People who encounter these disasters are arrested by government officials, thrown into prison, shackled and fitted with instruments of punishment, and become entangled in documentary disputes and lawsuits of the tongue, suffering confinement, flogging, and interrogation, and enduring all manner of torment.

The third is the Divine Official of the White Emperor, who implements Baiwen, Baiyi, Baidu, Baigu, Baidong, and Baichui. People who encounter these disasters meet with plunder by armed troops, or they may be injured by tigers and wolves, insects and snakes, bees, and other poisonous creatures, suffering harm to the body.

The fourth is the Divine Official of the Black Emperor, who implements Heiwen, Heiyi, Heigu, Heidu, Heidong, and Heichui. People who encounter these disasters may drown in the vicinity of rivers, mountain valleys, or water springs, being swept away or submerged by the waters, and thus come to harm.

The designations of the Nine Ugly Ghosts and the Divine Officials of the Five Emperors are retained in accordance with the original scripture; certain phrases such as “shouren” are suspected of being corruptions, and the foregoing is a coherent reading based on the context.

The fourth kind consists of the spirit officials of the Black Emperor, who oversee calamities and illnesses such as black plague, black epidemic, black gu, black toxin, black dong, and black chui. In places struck by these disasters, rivers and mountain valleys suffer flooding, springs overflow, and people are submerged, swept away, and ultimately perish.

The fifth kind consists of the spirit officials of the Yellow Emperor, who oversee calamities and illnesses such as yellow plague, yellow epidemic, yellow gu, yellow toxin, yellow dong, and yellow chui. When disaster descends, mountains and rocks collapse, houses are destroyed, carts and horses are damaged or killed, plants and trees are crushed, and people suffer various kinds of poisoning.

These spirit officials each lead three million killing ghosts who wield five kinds of knives as they roam the human world. The “killing ghosts” are the ghosts and spirits named in the scripture as those responsible for inflicting disasters and harming people.

The first is called the wood knife. Those wounded by it suffer alternating chills and fever, pain or itching of the skin, restlessness in movement, aching of the hands and feet, and may also experience mental confusion, abnormal behavior, and an inability to sit or lie in peace.

The second is called the fire knife. Those wounded by it suffer headache and high fever, pain and oppression throughout the body, disordered speech, and a flushed complexion.

The third is called the metal knife. Those wounded by it suffer coughing with rebellious Qi, pain in the joints; at times the body or feet ache, and they may also experience mental confusion and restlessness whether sitting or lying, or sores erupting on the body.

The fourth is called the water knife. Those wounded by it suddenly vomit and have diarrhea, their complexion turns bluish-black, the body swells, and the hands and feet ache with a feeling of oppression.

The fifth kind is called the “Earth Blade”: when a person reaches middle age the abdomen becomes bloated and food that has been eaten is difficult to digest. The five ailments described above will successively give rise to all manner of illnesses, causing the person to grow thinner day by day, the hun and po souls to become restless, and frequent dreams of walking together with the dead. The scripture further says that for such people the tally of lifespan (the record that symbolizes longevity) will be hidden away, their names entered in the Black Register, or their allotted years will fall under the Black Star or the Red Lodge (stellar designations named in the scripture), and they will meet with disasters as inescapable as the Heavenly Net and Earthly Snare.

Those who encounter various disasters should first dress neatly and, with a reverent heart, fashion an image of the Heavenly Worthy Who Saves from Suffering (Jiuku Tianzun), copy this precious scripture, and perform blessing rites for deliverance from calamity; each of these should be done in nines, the more the better. They should also light a perpetual lamp that burns day and night without being extinguished, recite scriptures and practice the Dao, confess and receive precepts, burn incense and scatter flowers, set out zhai offerings and recite the Dao; they should succor those in danger and hardship, release prisoners, give alms to the poor, free living creatures and redeem lives, establish high seats for the exposition of scriptures, widely invite persons of virtue to lecture on the great-vehicle scriptures, found Daoist temples, convert the multitude, and continuously fulfill all manner of wholesome vows without cease, day and night. The scripture states that in this way one can escape disasters and prolong life.

The Most High (Taishang) further said: If someone frequently fashions in advance images of the Heavenly Worthies of the Ten Directions (the Tianzun who represent the ten directions of the world), they may according to their means make one, ten, or even a hundred, a thousand, or ten thousand images; they may also copy the various scriptures of the Three Caverns (Sandong, the classification system of the Daoist canon), from a single volume up to ten thousand volumes, and circulate and recite them widely. They may further invite Daoist priests to recite the complete scriptures of the Three Caverns, perform Daoist liturgies (keyi), pray for blessings and avert disasters, convert the multitude, and found Daoist temples. These practices are the most excellent, their efficacy inconceivable. If one cannot accomplish all this, simply sweeping the dwelling, purifying body and mind, reciting this scripture day and night, paying homage to the Heavenly Worthies of the Ten Directions, burning incense to pray for the elimination of disasters, and scattering flowers to declare one’s wishes, one can likewise be exempted from all kinds of calamities and obtain inexhaustible blessings.

The Most High said: If one wishes to dispel disasters and resolve calamities, one may take an azure left-twisted silk thread, braid it into a cord of nine knots nine chi in length, and prepare nine gold rings, or silver or copper rings and the like. First attach a ring to the end of the cord, then burn incense and light lamps. The text of the scripture is lacunose at this point, and the subsequent ritual steps have not been written out in full.

The Most High said: If one wishes to dispel disasters and eliminate calamities, one may take azure silk thread and braid it leftward into a nine-strand cord nine chi in length. Prepare nine gold rings, which may be replaced by silver or copper rings. First fasten a ring to the end of the cord, then burn incense and light lamps. There is no rigid prescription for the number of incense sticks and lamps, yet all should be counted in nines. Sit facing east and recite this Jing (scripture). After each complete recitation, tie a ring onto the cord; once nine knots have been formed, fasten another ring. Continue in this way until all nine rings have been attached.

A Zhai (purification ritual) is then held to untie the knots, an act known as “untying the nine celestial calamities and opening the nine celestial knots.” This is said to confer the blessings of “having one’s name registered in the Nine Heavens and extending life among the Nine Perfected.” After the untying, the knots are retied according to the same method. When several people take part, each person ties and unties independently. Should the recitations accumulate to ninety thousand, one is said to remain free of calamity for life; this is called “ascending to East Florescence.”

At the untying one may also fashion images of the deities, arrange lamps and candles, and set out nine Celestial Worthies, reciting blessings so as to display the solemnity of the cord-tying rite. The ceremony may equally be performed before the Three Worthies (the three honored deities of Daoism). The ritual master may recite the Jing and form the knots while wearing a sash; an individual practitioner may likewise chant praises while tying, by which time the sash is already fastened.

Worship of the Celestial Worthies of the Ten Directions

Facing east one bows ninety times, to the southeast one hundred twenty times, to the south thirty times, to the southwest one hundred twenty times, to the west seventy times, to the northwest one hundred twenty times, to the north fifty times, and to the northeast one hundred twenty times. Then, facing northwest, one bows three hundred sixty times to the Upper Direction; facing southeast, one bows one hundred twenty times to the Lower Direction. The total is one thousand two hundred bows. With each bow the title of the Celestial Worthy of that direction is recited.

Sincerely take refuge in the Jade Treasure Sovereign Celestial Worthy of the East.

Sincerely take refuge in the Life-Nourishing Destiny-Delivering Celestial Worthy of the Southeast.

Sincerely take refuge in the Mysterious Perfected of Myriad Blessings Celestial Worthy of the South.

Sincerely take refuge in the Great Numinous Void Sovereign Celestial Worthy of the Southwest.

Sincerely take refuge in the Supreme Wonder Ultimate Celestial Worthy of the West.

Sincerely take refuge in the Immeasurable Great Florescence Celestial Worthy of the Northwest.

With utmost sincerity, take refuge in the Mysterious Upper Jade Dawn Heavenly Venerable of the North (a Daoist high deity). With utmost sincerity, take refuge in the Immortal-Delivering Supreme Sage Heavenly Venerable of the Northeast. With utmost sincerity, take refuge in the Jade Void Bright Emperor Heavenly Venerable of the Upper Direction. With utmost sincerity, take refuge in the True Emperor Dongshen Heavenly Venerable of the Lower Direction and the Boundless Great Flower Heavenly Venerable. With utmost sincerity, take refuge in the Mysterious Upper Jade Dawn Heavenly Venerable of the North. With utmost sincerity, take refuge in the Immortal-Delivering Supreme Sage Heavenly Venerable of the Northeast. With utmost sincerity, take refuge in the Jade Void Bright Emperor Heavenly Venerable of the Upper Direction. With utmost sincerity, take refuge in the True Emperor Dongshen Heavenly Venerable of the Lower Direction.

After completing the worship toward each direction, remain kneeling for a long time, offer incense three times, and confess as follows: “I, the disciple so-and-so, am an ordinary mortal of flesh and blood, born into this world. From the age of seven onward I have gone against the will of Heaven, violated the laws of Earth, scolded the wind and rain, offended the stars, slighted the Three Treasures (Dao, Jing [scripture], Shi [master]), defiled the ten directions, failed to observe the Keyi (liturgy) prohibitions and precepts, and slandered the orthodox Dao and the realized persons. I have been disloyal and unfilial, killed living beings and stolen, fallen into improper lust, spoken honeyed and false words, uttered evil speech and made curses. My sins are too numerous to record, and I myself have not even been aware of them. Today I sincerely confess my faults and take refuge in the Heavenly Venerable. I earnestly beg the Heavenly Venerable, out of great compassion, to forgive me, pardon the immeasurable sins of disciple so-and-so, rescue me from disasters and calamities, and cause my name to be entered into the register of immortals of long life.” Then offer incense three more times, kowtow, and strike the cheeks to express repentance.

The Most High said: “Lighting lamps and reciting scriptures at the positions of one’s natal destiny, the current year’s Tai Sui, and the large and small tombs can resolve misfortune and eliminate disasters; lighting lamps at the positions of the twelve double-hours and the twenty-eight lunar mansions can prolong life and increase longevity; lighting lamps at the doors can increase the household population and attract wealth; lighting the seven-star lamps in the courtyard can resolve imprisonment and confinement. In all these one should burn incense and recite scriptures.

“It is also said: On the first, fifteenth, and last days of every month one should always observe a pure fast, burn incense, and light the twenty-eight mansion lamps without slackening day or night. The various heavens will then eliminate the calamity of death for you, help you obtain new life, increase your allotted lifespan, and extend your years. If one can recite the Great Scriptures of the Three Caverns (Dongzhen/Dongxuan/Dongshen), the blessings will be inexhaustible.”

The Celestial Master (Tianshi) bowed in homage and praised: “Excellent.” Then he withdrew.