《太上慈悲道场消灾九幽忏》Vol. 1

Preface to the Supreme High Compassionate Daoist Liturgy for Repenting and Dispelling Calamities in the Nine Netherworlds, written by Li Hanguang, Master of the Three Caverns and Mister Xuánjìng.

At the beginning of the Chiming era, a legendary ancient period in Daoist tradition, cloud-shaped seal script appeared at the highest reaches of heaven. After the Han dynasty, sacred scriptures gradually spread among humanity. In western Shu, the liturgies of the Golden Palace were handed down; in eastern Wu, the teachings of the Supreme Ultimate were transmitted. Thus, Daoist classics such as the Great Existence’s secret texts and the jade chapters of the Cavern of Truth were first propagated by the two masters Zhang and Xu, then later expounded by the two masters Tao and Lu. They passed from master to disciple, with successors in every generation.

The Taishang Compassionate Liturgy for Dispelling Calamities in the Nine Netherworlds is said to have originated during the reign of Emperor Huan of the Eastern Han. While the Supreme Ultimate’s Left Immortal Lord Ge Xuan, an immortal revered in Daoism, was living in seclusion and cultivating himself on Mount Shangyu on Tiantai, the Perfected One of the Supreme Ultimate, Xu Laile, was moved to descend to his dwelling. He transmitted to Ge Xuan the Celestial Books of Lingbao, the Jade Characters of Dongzhen, Dongxuan and Dongshen, and the thirty-six collections of precious scriptures.

Ge Xuan devoted himself to quiet contemplation and serene cultivation in the mountains for decades. In time, he gained communion with the spirits and responsiveness to the sacred Perfected Ones. The mountain’s spirits and ghosts came to guard him and bow before him; fallen souls, too, were delivered and given new life. He believed these scriptures contained the profound teachings of the Mahayana, capable of guiding all beings and relieving those sunk in suffering.

Ge Xuan therefore selected essential teachings from the Three Caverns, the Daoist system for classifying scriptures, and composed a liturgy of repentance so that people of his own time could hear and understand it, and later generations of Daoist cultivators could readily grasp and practice it. In this way, people could be kept far from the uninterrupted torments of the Avici Hell and from the netherworld’s places of suffering: Fengdu, the cold night of Avici, the Three Paths and Five Sufferings, and the Eight Hardships and Nine Netherworlds. The liturgy could help souls mired in suffering escape their confinement in the netherworld.

Whether living in the present, or among beings of the past or future; whether burdened by new offenses or old transgressions, or beset by grievances and calamities, all could receive the nourishment of the Daoist teachings and ultimately return to the right path. After this method spread, no more than two or three in a hundred followed evil connections, while eight or nine in ten came to understand the seeds of goodness. Thus the work of cultivating immortality was brought to completion, and the merit of guiding and transforming all beings was fulfilled. For this reason, the liturgy was compiled as a book and placed at the beginning of the volume.

Taishang Compassionate Liturgy for Dispelling Calamities in the Nine Netherworlds, Scroll One

Compiled by Ge Xuan, the Supreme Ultimate’s Left Immortal Lord

The Celestial Worthy of Primordial Beginning and the Supreme Sage Jade Emperor respond to the needs of living beings by manifesting in different forms and establishing teachings suited to the circumstances of each place. Teaching cannot be separated from precious scriptures: they dispel ignorance and free people from the delusions of the world. The Celestial Worthy proclaims these wondrous, secret teachings in lucid and subtle words, guiding people back to simplicity and their original nature. The principle is this: study and practice with sincere reliance on the scriptures, following the appropriate methods.

The Chapter on Generating the Spirits records that, during the Longhan Kalpa, the Celestial Worthy proclaimed the twelve fascicles of the Cavern of Truth scriptures (Dongzhen): The Most High, Wondrous Grove, Great Clarity, Penetrating Vision, Highest Clarity, Opening and Transforming, Original Yang, Wondrous Truth, Opening the Mountain, Ten Immortals, Jade Grove, and Yellow Elder. These scriptures were stored in the scriptural treasury of the Jade Clarity Heaven of the Great Cavern.

During the Chiming Kalpa, the Celestial Worthy proclaimed the twelve fascicles of the Cavern of Mystery scriptures (Dongxuan): Numinous Harmony, Numinous Treasure, Communion with the Spirits, Boundlessness, Gathering the Immortals, Inner Secrets, Utmost Truth, Gathering Goodness, Refining Essence, Life and Death, Palace Charts, and Destroying Demons. These scriptures were stored in the scriptural treasury of the Highest Clarity Heaven of the Great Cavern.

During the Kaihuang Kalpa, the Celestial Worthy proclaimed the twelve fascicles of the Cavern of Spirit scriptures (Dongshen): Great Truth, Utmost De, Yellow Court, Refining Qi, Dao and De, Original Spirit, Great Kalpa, Inner Documents, Spirit Invocations, Three Sovereigns, Subduing Demons, and Minor Kalpa. These scriptures were stored in the scriptural treasury of the Great Clarity Heaven of the Great Cavern.

Together, these three Caverns’ true scriptures comprise thirty-six fascicles. They belong to the celestial canon, serve as teachings that sages bequeath to later generations, and set out the essential rules of Daoism. Only after long kalpas do the scriptures become manifest, spreading in response to the needs of living beings. The Three Caverns can also be gathered into “One Vehicle,” the path of cultivation that runs through them all. The Zhengyi Jing says: though the Three Caverns are divided into three classes, they interpenetrate and unite as One Vehicle. Great Mystery belongs to the Great Vehicle, Great Peace to the Middle Vehicle, and Great Clarity to the Lesser Vehicle; Zhengyi encompasses all three. In terms of their levels, the Three Caverns correspond respectively to the Three Pure Ones (Sanqing): Great Mystery governs the three upper palaces, Great Peace the three middle palaces, and Great Clarity the three lower palaces.

The true scriptures of the Three Caverns set out profound teachings in detail. They guide living beings according to the circumstances of each place and lead beings in the human and celestial realms out of suffering. People’s cultivation in this world varies in level, and the teachings vary in depth, but all can guide beings in the Six Paths toward the right way and help practitioners of the Three Vehicles gain understanding.

I think of later generations of living beings, rising and falling as they cycle through the Six Paths, and of beings among the Four Births—womb-born, egg-born, moisture-born, and transformation-born—whose conditions differ in light and darkness. Some suffer in the Nine Depths, the cold darkness of the netherworld; others are trapped in Luofeng, the Daoist realm of the dead, and amid the Five Sufferings. Their souls sink into ruin and bear the consequences of their karma. Some endure pain even in this life, unable to escape the burdens of past wrongs and demonic obstacles. So I gathered the true scriptures of the Three Caverns and compiled the Repentance Rite for Dispelling Calamities in the Nine Depths, a compassionate ritual text in ten scrolls, establishing the principles of each section. By examining and explaining its hidden, profound mysteries, I sought to benefit both the living and the dead. Those who bow before the holy and worthy ones and repent their wrongs and past grievances can leave the Three Evil Paths and be reborn in pure realms, gradually realize Wuwei (non-action), and take refuge in the Great Dao.

The Great Mystery Scripture says that long ago the Lord of the Azure Lad told people: “Cultivating the Dao is hard; failing to cultivate it is also hard.” From birth through old age and illness, people toil to protect their bodies until death. Their hearts fill with distress and their lives become entangled in offenses, so their suffering has no end. Many, moreover, do not live out their allotted years. Cultivating the Dao also involves hardship: one must keep pure and preserve the truth, uphold the mysterious principles, maintain awareness of the spirits, seek out teachers and elders, observe the rules, and apply oneself with focus and tireless resolve. A practitioner regards the high rank of a feudal lord as a passing guest, gold and silver as broken stones, and fine silk as coarse cloth. Only then can one be said to understand what it means to seek the Dao.

The Lord of the Western City said: “After death, escaping the Three Evil Paths and being reborn as a human is exceedingly difficult. Once born human, being born male rather than female is difficult. Once male, having a body complete in every respect is difficult. With a complete body, being born in China is difficult. Born in China, it is still difficult to encounter a wise ruler and loving parents. To grow up in such surroundings and then study the Dao with a kind and compassionate heart is rarer still. And even with such a heart, believing in Dao and De and seeking longevity is no easy matter.” The Three Evil Paths are hell, hungry ghosts, and animals. Those who fall into them have difficulty being reborn as humans and may instead become birds, beasts, or insects.

The Celestial Worthy said: “If you wish to escape the Three Evil Paths, first make far-reaching vows before the true and holy images that I have manifested. Then cleanse the faults arising from the three karmic actions of body, speech, and mind, and from the six senses, and take refuge in the Three Treasures. After that, dedicate your merit, adorn your good deeds, and state, ask about, and repent your transgressions. In this way, you can realize the path of humans and spirits, and then accord with the path of the celestial immortals.”

First Chapter: Broadly Making Vows

Today, we, the assembly gathered at the ritual altar, together with the participant in repentance, a certain person, reflect that in this life we have been fortunate to receive human birth and live in the world of dust. We have also been able to draw near to the orthodox teaching, behold and bow before the sacred countenance of the holy one, and prostrate ourselves in refuge. We therefore make these far-reaching vows.

First, from this day forward, may we establish all kinds of good deeds and teach and transform beings in the six realms and four modes of birth, so that all may attain liberation together and forever leave behind the defiled and chaotic conditions of the world.

Second, may we leave home in life after life, relinquishing worldly bonds of affection and attachment. May we beg for food as circumstances allow, cultivate blessings widely, and constantly practice compassion and forbearance, never clinging to self or others.

Third, may we often encounter virtuous and wholesome friends who can guide and instruct us.

Fourth, may we meet teachers who understand the right path and learn from them the supreme Dao.

Fifth, may we hear the orthodox teaching and put its instructions into practice.

Sixth, may we be granted an audience with the Heavenly Worthy and hear the holy one’s teachings in person.

Seventh, may we save all beings, placing others before ourselves.

Eighth, may we widely awaken the ignorant through the teachings that proclaim the Great Dao.

Ninth, may all beings give rise to the aspiration to seek the Dao, believe in, honor, and revere the scriptures and sacred images, establish spiritual temples where deities are venerated and people may cultivate the Dao, and make offerings according to their means with incense, flowers, lamps, and candles.

Tenth, may my resolve in the Dao remain steadfast and never falter. By the power of these good deeds, may we subdue demons and bring peace and tranquility to the nation. May those who have never heard the orthodox teaching hear it, and those who have never seen the sacred teaching behold it. May those who favor the Lesser Vehicle no longer doubt the Middle Vehicle, and those who practice the Middle Vehicle no longer doubt the Great Vehicle. For those who have already entered the Great Vehicle, may all beings hear the teachings of wisdom. May those who have not yet awakened awaken soon, and may the awakening of those who have awakened continue to grow. May those whose awakening has grown become examples and guides for others, serving as their Dao teachers, parents, elder siblings, and friends. May they go together with others to the ritual altar and become companions in cultivating the teachings.

May all beings, before the scriptures and their teachings and in the presence of their elders, wherever they may be and whatever they may face, give rise to no thoughts of disrespect, arrogance, resentment, jealousy, or stinginess.

May all beings, when cultivating blessings, do so not for themselves alone but for the benefit of everyone. If they encounter those who are lonely and without support, imprisoned, or ill, may they give rise to a sincere wish to rescue, provide for, guide, and care for them.

May the true sages, both manifest and hidden, together protect and save all beings, so that the participant in repentance, a certain person, and all of us in this assembly may fulfill these far-reaching vows and bring our intentions into accord with the true sages. May our parents and six kinds of relatives from the past and present—those still alive find peace and joy, those who have died avoid falling into the lower realms, and those in future lives refrain from committing grave offenses. May they all make vows as they have today and receive the corresponding fruits of goodness.

First prostration.

Everyone gathered at the sacred site today should sincerely repent. In the past and in this life, the repentance leader has not heard the true Dharma, has often given rise to distorted thoughts, and has been confused and clouded in mind, without seeking ultimate truth. The Sūtra on Karmic Retribution says that all things with form are illusory and unreal: they are constantly changing and breaking down, without ever ceasing. Living beings revolve through samsara amid suffering, yet do not examine themselves or awaken. They pass back and forth through the three lower realms, endure suffering across countless kalpas, and are born again and again, always bound by afflictions. All of this arises from the three kinds of karma of body, mind, and speech.

Human beings have six sense faculties: eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, and mind. These six faculties give rise to all kinds of actions and karma, like plants flowering and bearing fruit in an unbroken sequence. From them come the many entanglements of the six emotions, six desires, six forms of defilement, six entrances, six thieves, six sense objects, and six consciousnesses. Form, sound, smell, taste, touch, and mental objects—the six objects of perception—are empty and still by nature and do not on their own disturb body and mind. It is only because living beings cling to them, make false distinctions and choices, and chase and contend from one thought to the next that afflictions bind them and they drift through the cycle of birth and death.

If one can reflect carefully with pure wisdom and understand the six sense faculties before the sacred image, these entanglements of faculties and sense objects can come to rest. The three kinds of karma are karma of body, mind, and speech. For countless kalpas, the gathered assembly and the repentance leader have indulged the three kinds of karma and the six sense faculties without awakening. Today, before the sacred image, they deliberately give rise to wisdom, vow to awaken, and pledge to rid themselves of these faults.

First, repent for the wrongs committed through the body. Since birth, people may have killed living beings, stolen, engaged in sexual misconduct, or craved beautiful things. The person leading the repentance, [name], vows that from now on they will no longer kill or steal, crave pleasure, or engage in sexual misconduct, and will strive to free themselves from the entanglements of desire. May they encounter the scriptures and teachings, bathe before the sacred image with fragrant water, cleanse body and spirit, reflect on the Dao and contemplate the truth, strike the ritual drum, and keep the Three Treasures (the Dao, the scriptures, and the master) in mind. May they dedicate this repentance to all beings and seek pure results forever. One bow.

Next, repent for the wrongs committed in the mind. Since birth, people may harbor greed, anger, delusion, and attachment, and be pulled along by all kinds of distracting thoughts. The person leading the repentance, [name], vows that from now on they will not give rise to greed or anger, become absorbed in delusion or passion, or entertain improper thoughts, and will constantly yearn for the right path and the truth. May they encounter the scriptures and teachings, recite them with full attention and practice with a single-minded heart, as though standing before the Three Treasures. May all beings take refuge and ultimately attain the fruit of Wuwei (non-action). One bow.

Next, repent for the wrongs committed through speech. Since birth, people may have spoken empty, extravagant words, lies, or harsh words, and stirred up discord. The person leading the repentance, [name], vows that from now on they will not speak words that drive people apart, will keep a pure thought at all times, and will put an end to disputes forever. May they encounter the scriptures and teachings, recite them with full attention before the sacred image, and enable all beings to hear and understand them, attaining the fruit of immortals and sages for a long time to come. One bow.

Next, repent for the wrongs committed through the eye faculty (the eyes and their acts of perception). What the eyes see is inherently illusory, not real. If one lets the eyes chase external things, one will falsely perceive all manner of forms. The person leading the repentance, [name], vows that from now on they will not let the eyes chase external things or become attached to forms. They will look rightly, understand that all forms they see are empty, and seek to attain a profound and ineffable state. One bow.

Next, repent for the wrongs committed through the ear faculty (the ears and their acts of hearing). Since birth, people hear all kinds of sounds, some clear and some muddled, and make distinctions among them. The person leading the repentance, [name], vows that from now on they will not let the ears chase sounds or allow sounds to disturb body and mind and entangle them in affliction. May they attain the fruit of stillness. One bow.

Next, we repent for the wrongs committed through the nose faculty, the sense of smell. The nose is naturally able to distinguish fragrant and foul odors, and also serves for breathing. I, the one who repents, vow that from this day forward I will no longer let my nose run after fragrances or dwell on pleasant and unpleasant smells, lest these mingle with my original Qi and disturb the numinous platform, where the spirit-mind resides. I aspire to attain the fruit of the mysterious and empty. I bow once.

Next, we repent for the wrongs committed through the tongue faculty, the senses and speech. The tongue is naturally greedy for every flavor and never content. It also stirs up discord, slanders the loyal and worthy, and praises the treacherous and corrupt. I, the one who repents, vow that from this day forward I will no longer indulge my mouth in craving delicacies or stirring up disputes, nor spread rumors. I aspire to attain the fruit of what is correct and true. I bow once.

Next, we repent for the wrongs committed through the body faculty, bodily sensation and action. I, the one who repents, vow that from this day forward I will no longer indulge my body in pursuing desire, becoming enamored of illicit sex, or giving myself over to pleasure. Instead, I will regularly restrain myself and save others, turning toward and attaining the fruit of the Great Dao. I bow once.

Next, we repent for the wrongs committed through the mind faculty, thought and consciousness. Human thoughts are naturally difficult to settle and change unpredictably, restless like monkeys and wild horses, and hard to control like fire and wind. I, the one who repents, vow that from this day forward I will no longer let my thoughts run unchecked. I will keep my resolve firm and my actions and stillness free of disorder. I aspire to attain the fruit of the natural Way. I bow once.

All those gathered at today’s Daoist altar, each of you, focus your will and make your vow. Join me, the one who repents, in repenting for the wrongs committed through the three karmic actions and the six faculties described above. Together, let us pray to the unsurpassed Numinous Treasure Celestial Worthy of the Ten Directions, and to all the revered deities and holy perfected beings…

All those gathered in the ritual space, each of you should now give rise to a sincere resolve. Also, on behalf of the person seeking repentance, so-and-so, repent for the sins committed through the three forms of action already mentioned—body, speech, and mind—as well as through the six sense faculties. May the Supreme Lingbao Heavenly Worthies of the ten directions, all the revered gods, sages, perfected ones, and immortals, together with the great holy beings who have attained the Dao, whether manifest or quietly offering their protection, all be moved to protect and care for us and to extend their boundless compassion.

May every sin committed by the person seeking repentance, so-and-so, from countless kalpas ago until today be completely erased through this single thought of repentance. May the person’s birth parents, the revered master who guided them to salvation, ancestors of every generation, siblings and relatives, and relatives by marriage, whether living in this life or in lives to come, also receive the merit of this repentance and be freed from their sins. For those who have died, may they not fall into the evil paths or remain stranded in the netherworld, but be reborn soon in the Land of Everlasting Joy, an ideal realm of peace and purity.

Make one bow.

Chapter Three: Taking Refuge in the Three Treasures.

Everyone gathered today for this Daoist ritual assembly, and the person leading this repentance, so-and-so, have heard the Great Treasury of Scriptures say: All beings are born between Heaven and Earth, yet do not know that Heaven and Earth shelter and nurture them. Though they receive the grace of the Great Dao, they do not understand that the Great Dao is the root of all things. Thus people turn away from the light and move toward darkness, pursue trivial details and abandon the root, forsake the right path and take to crooked ways, distance themselves from what is real and draw near to what is false. They offend the sun, moon, and stars, and for a long time commit the Ten Evils. They feel no shame or remorse, and often harbor evil thoughts.

To cultivate goodness and accumulate blessings, one must first take refuge in the Three Treasures. The scriptures say that without taking refuge in the Three Treasures, there is no firm foundation on which good practices can rest. The Three Treasures are the Treasure of the Dao, the Treasure of the Scriptures, and the Treasure of the Masters. Beings follow different paths, and their karmic conditions and outcomes differ accordingly.

The Treasure of the Dao consists of the many forms and transformations through which the Great Dao manifests across the Three Realms and the ten directions. At times it takes the form of a ruler; at times it becomes an emperor’s teacher. It opens Heaven and Earth and nurtures all things, pardons offenses and dispels calamities. It may also appear riding a dragon or ascend into the sky in a carriage. It abides freely in Wuwei (non-action), and is therefore revered as the Treasure of the Dao.

The Treasure of the Scriptures consists of purple writing on magnificent high terraces, mysterious chapters on divine trees, and secret texts treasured by celestial officials in Heaven and on Earth. Scripture scrolls have precious rollers decorated with azure dragons and jade cases adorned with white phoenixes. There are classics in four grades and works of five thousand words, as well as jade-bound volumes and golden tablets. They are displayed in a place of mysterious stillness and emptiness, covered with white gauze as pure as frost. Because the teachings of the scriptures are consummate and vast, they are revered as the Treasure of the Scriptures.

The Treasure of the Masters consists of the teachers on whom practitioners rely when they learn the principles of practice, discern their origins, and seek to cross the river of desire and reach the shore of the Dao. Without steps and a boat, and without a teacher’s guidance, how can one realize the fruit of the Dao, fulfill the precepts, and establish the Dharma Body—the pure body attained through practice? For this reason, the masters are revered as the Treasure of the Masters.

Everyone gathered today for this Daoist ritual assembly, and the person leading this repentance, so-and-so, seek peace and the deliverance of the dead. Before the sacred images of the divine beings, they confess their sins and faults, bow in reverence, and sincerely take refuge and pay homage.

They bow and take refuge in all the Treasures of the Dao throughout the ten directions. One bow.

I respectfully bow to the treasure of all scriptures in the ten directions, take refuge in it, and uphold it. One bow.

I respectfully bow to the treasure of all revered masters in the ten directions who transmit the Orthodox Way, take refuge in them, and uphold their teachings. One bow.

The donor and assembly gathered at today’s ritual site look up and pray to the unsurpassed, pure, and true Three Treasures of the ten directions. May the Three Treasures—the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha, here referring to the sacred teachings and lineage being honored—compassionately descend everywhere and manifest their efficacy in accordance with the capacities and karmic conditions of living beings. The person presiding over this penitential rite, so-and-so, seeks peace and the deliverance of the deceased. Relying on the Three Treasures, they reverently uphold the Way of utmost truth. May the wondrous power of light and wisdom continually deliver the four kinds of birth—womb-born, egg-born, moisture-born, and transformation-born, encompassing all living beings—and may all beings safely board the vessel of compassion and forever receive the protection of the Three Realms: the Realm of Desire, the Realm of Form, and the Formless Realm. May humans and spirits alike rejoice, and may both the netherworld and the visible world receive blessings. May all who hear of or witness these rites form karmic ties with the cultivation of the Way, and may all who pay homage come to understand the Great Dao. One bow.

Adornment Through Dedication of Merit, Fourth Section

The assembly gathered at today’s ritual site each focuses their thoughts and makes a vow, reverently bowing: May we continually deliver the four kinds of birth, so that all beings may safely board the vessel of compassion and forever receive the protection of the Three Realms. May humans and spirits alike rejoice, and may both the netherworld and the visible world receive blessings. May all who hear or witness these rites form karmic ties with the cultivation of the Way, and may all who pay homage come to understand the Great Dao. One bow.

Adornment Through Dedication of Merit, Fourth Section

Today, all those in the ritual hall should focus their minds and bow in reverence, taking refuge in the Three Pure Ones (Sanqing), the Four Realms, the Eight Poles and Nine Heavens, the Thirty-Six Heavens and Thirty-Two Emperors, and the supreme Lingbao Heavenly Venerable of the four quarters, above and below, the Five Directions without limit, and the Ten Directions. We honor the Utmost True August Sovereign Dao Lord, the Most High Lord Lao, all the Lords and Elders, the Twelve Immortal Lords, and the great sages of the Ten Directions who have attained the Dao; the Three Augusts and Star Emperors of the Central Heaven, the sun and moon, the Five Phases (Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, Water), the Twenty-Eight Lunar Mansions, the Southern Palace and Northern Dipper, and all the stars; the exalted perfected beings who govern the Five Sacred Peaks, Four Rivers, Four Seas, Nine Provinces, famous mountains, and great marshes; the Director of Destinies, the Director of Records, the Five Emperors, the Three Officials, the offices of the underworld, the Nine Deep Hells and Fengdu, the Six Palaces and Nine Offices, the officials of the underworld above, below, and on every side, the Nine Lands and Thirty-Six August Sovereigns, and all dragon gods, worthy ones, and sages of this realm.

We earnestly ask all of you to descend without reserve and look upon us together. For the matter being presented, the penitent, a certain person, is wholly sincere. With reverence and solemn care, they have prepared their dwelling, offered scriptures and divine images, lit lamps and burned incense, and bowed in heartfelt invitation to all present, joining them in paying homage throughout the Ten Directions to the immeasurable Heavenly Venerables who manifest according to circumstance and appear under different names. May all the great perfected beings and sages, the great Luo immortals, the governing deities and spirits, the Dragon Kings, and the intelligences in the void bear witness to this repentance, save and guide living beings, and enable everyone to hear and understand the Great Dao. The penitent, a certain person, prostrates with all five limbs touching the ground, devotes their whole heart to remembrance, bows before the compassionate deities, and respectfully pays homage to the perfected ones and sages.

With focused reverence, pay homage to the Jade Clarity Heavenly Venerable who bestows blessings.

With focused reverence, pay homage to the Heavenly Venerable who hears cries and saves those in distress.

With focused reverence, pay homage to the Jade Treasure August Heavenly Venerable.

With focused reverence, pay homage to the Heavenly Venerable of boundless blessings.

With focused reverence, pay homage to the Heavenly Venerable who prolongs life and increases one’s allotted years.

With focused reverence, pay homage to the Heavenly Venerable who preserves life and protects one’s fate.

With focused reverence, pay homage to the Heavenly Venerable who dispels calamity and releases one from adversity.

With focused reverence, pay homage to the Heavenly Venerable who protects the body through the Eight Trigrams.

Pay homage to the Heavenly Venerable with focused and wholehearted reverence.

Everyone, with utmost sincerity and reverence, pays homage to the Celestial Worthy Who Extends Longevity and Increases the Years, praying for longer life and added years.

Everyone, with utmost sincerity and reverence, pays homage to the Celestial Worthy Who Grants Long Life and Preserves Life, praying for longevity and the preservation of life.

Everyone, with utmost sincerity and reverence, pays homage to the Celestial Worthy Who Disperses Calamities and Resolves Adversity, praying that disasters be dispelled and hardships overcome.

Everyone, with utmost sincerity and reverence, pays homage to the Celestial Worthy Who Protects the Body with the Eight Trigrams (Bagua), praying for protection.

Everyone, with utmost sincerity and reverence, pays homage to the Celestial Worthy Who Guards Against Adversity through the Nine Palaces, praying for protection from misfortune.

Everyone, with utmost sincerity and reverence, pays homage to the Celestial Worthy Who Brings Down Blessings from Purple Clarity, praying for blessings to descend.

Everyone, with utmost sincerity and reverence, pays homage to the Celestial Worthy Who Fosters Great Powers of Blessing, praying for an increase in profound blessings and virtue.

Everyone, with utmost sincerity and reverence, pays homage to the Celestial Worthy of the Great Deliverance across the Dharma Bridge, praying to aid the salvation of all beings through the Dharma Bridge.

Everyone, with utmost sincerity and reverence, pays homage to the Celestial Worthy Who Preserves Life and Protects the Body, praying for the preservation of life and protection of body and mind.

Everyone, with utmost sincerity and reverence, pays homage to the Celestial Worthy Taiyi Who Saves from Suffering, praying for deliverance from hardship.

Everyone, with utmost sincerity and reverence, pays homage to the Celestial Worthy Who Responds to All Conditions, praying that the Celestial Worthy respond to the circumstances of sentient beings and come to their aid.

Everyone, with utmost sincerity and reverence, pays homage to the Celestial Worthy Who Endures through Hundreds of Millions of Kalpas, praying that the Celestial Worthy endure through countless kalpas and remain forever undying.

Everyone, with utmost sincerity and reverence, pays homage to the Celestial Worthy Who Manifests in Myriad Forms, praying that the Celestial Worthy divide into many forms and manifest transformations to extend salvation far and wide.

Everyone, with utmost sincerity and reverence, pays homage to the Celestial Worthy of Universal Compassion Who Protects the Nation, praying for the nation’s protection through compassion.

Everyone, with utmost sincerity and reverence, pays homage to the Celestial Worthy of Freedom and Joy, praying for ease and happiness.

Everyone, with utmost sincerity and reverence, pays homage to the Celestial Worthy Who Grants Rebirth According to One’s Wishes, praying to be reborn in a good place in accordance with one’s wishes.

Everyone, with utmost sincerity and reverence, pays homage to the Celestial Worthy Who Is Boundless, praying for limitless protection.

Everyone, with utmost sincerity and reverence, pays homage to the Celestial Worthy of the Ocean of Merit, praying to receive merit as deep and vast as the sea.

Everyone, with utmost sincerity and reverence, pays homage to the Perfected One Whose Treasury of Wisdom Is as Vast as the Sea and the Void, praying for wisdom as profound and boundless as the sea and the sky.

Everyone, with utmost sincerity and reverence, pays homage to the Perfected One Who Attains Wondrous Practices Everywhere, praying to cultivate and attain wondrous practices widely.

Everyone, with utmost sincerity and reverence, pays homage to the Perfected One of Great Compassion Who Saves from Suffering, praying for the relief of hardship through great compassion.

Everyone, with utmost sincerity and reverence, pays homage to the Perfected One of Great Mercy Who Removes Sin, praying that the power of great mercy remove one’s sins.

The patrons who have gathered to support today’s Daoist ritual assembly, together with everyone present, look up and pray: May the Supreme Numinous Treasure Celestial Worthy of the East, along with all the honored deities, sages, Great Perfected Ones, and Great Youths, extend throughout the ten directions and be present everywhere.

Everyone, with utmost sincerity and reverence, pays homage to the Perfected One of Great Mercy Who Removes Sin, praying that the power of great mercy remove one’s sins.

May the donors and assembly participating in today’s ritual at the sacred altar together look up in supplication to the Supreme Celestial Worthy of Numinous Treasure of the East, and to all the honored gods, holy perfected beings, Great Perfected Ones, and Great Youths; may all the honored gods and holy perfected beings, manifest or concealed, throughout the Ten Directions and filling the realm of mysterious emptiness, hear these prayers.

The presiding petitioner, So-and-so, wishes to dedicate the merit of this penitential rite far and wide, bringing it to a splendid and complete fulfillment. First, may the honored spirits of the imperial ancestors of every generation, the former emperors and their parents, and those enshrined in the ancestral temples ascend in spirit to the celestial realm of Purple Tenuity. May their souls be refined and delivered at Zhuling, where Daoist legend says departed souls are refined and delivered; may they bathe in jeweled pools and dwell in wondrous gardens, clad in red celestial robes and crowned with green-cloud diadems. May they ride three-colored cloud chariots and eight-luan chariots, ascend beyond the gates of the immortals, take office in the Jade Clarity realm, pay homage in person to the Void Emperor, stand alongside the High Sages, rise to the rank of divine perfected beings, and have their names entered in the registers of the immortals. May they dwell in the upper realm while also benefiting and protecting humankind, granting enduring shelter to their clan and ensuring that ancestral rites flourish through the generations without end. This is a shared blessing for all under Heaven.

Next, may the present emperor enjoy a flourishing realm and auspicious years, boundless blessings and a secure foundation. May good works gather and auspicious signs arrive in abundance. May the imperial body be healthy and the mind clear and wise; may his heavenly kindness cover the realm for ages, like Emperor Yao’s, and his radiance shine over the world, like Emperor Shun’s. May the emperor’s wisdom reach far, and his moral instruction spread widely, so that the realm prospers and his grace extends throughout China, beyond its borders, and to distant lands. May the dukes and ministers be wise and uphold order, and civil and military officials each put their abilities to good use, together fulfilling the imperial enterprise. May the Five Marquises, Nine Shepherds, and officials at every level secure the state, comfort the people, and faithfully discharge their duties. May epidemics disperse, the Four Seas be peaceful, grain harvests be plentiful, and warfare cease. May all under Heaven share in health and well-being, and may all sing the praises of enlightened rule.

May the Crown Prince next be blessed with exceptional virtue and character, his radiance growing ever brighter. May his virtue accord with Heaven and shine clearly like the sun and moon; may he shelter all beings and assist in the sage ruler’s governance. May his moral cultivation deepen, ritual and music continually renew themselves, and he aid the affairs of state and bring grace to the people. May the imperial descendants be gifted and virtuous, and flourish from generation to generation. May the empress, the consorts of the six palaces, and the imperial daughters be radiant, long-lived, and healthy. May the imperial house and the court, within and without, remain secure for ages, accumulating merit and virtue, cultivating sage virtue within and putting the kingly way into practice without.

May the princes, members of the imperial clan, heirs, dukes and marquises, noble relatives and court ministers, local officials, and subordinate officials at every level always cherish diligence, loyalty, and filial devotion. May they receive protection through the rites of repentance, their bodies and minds firm as mountains and their lives long as the sea. May they long uphold their duty as guardians of the state, keeping it secure as a steadfast rock. May their virtue be sincere and their kindness benefit the people, so that calamities and portents fade and auspicious signs return: fierce beasts depart, treasures return, wild pheasants grow tame, and infestations of caterpillars cease. May the state follow the proper way and bring about governance through Wuwei (non-action).

May all the people—scholars, farmers, artisans, merchants, and everyone else, throughout every part of the realm, whatever their rank or station—next receive the benefits of this penitential rite, find support and assistance, and each enjoy health, peace, and joy. May all sentient beings, flying, swimming, crawling, and moving, also be freed from attachments and impediments, nourished by the Daoist teachings, and forever released from karmic obstacles. May they make vows together before the holy perfected beings and attain peace and joy together.

May the nine generations of ancestors of the presiding petitioner, So-and-so, together with clan relatives, family members, friends and acquaintances who have died before or after, receive the guidance of the jeweled image. By way of the Dharma bridge of universal deliverance, may they reach Zhuling and pass safely beyond the suffering of fiery refinement. May their spirits become pure and clear, receive fitting reward for their good deeds, and ascend among the immortals, bringing glory to the ancestral rites of the clan. May elders and children among the living, and relatives within and beyond the family, each enjoy their allotted years. May the clan be blessed with auspiciousness; may all receive compassionate grace, dwell for long in a sage age, and form a shared bond with the Dao.

Finally, may beings in the Three Paths of Suffering, the Five Pains, the Eight Difficulties, and the Nine Depths no longer be trapped in the prisons of the netherworld, but be enabled to rise into pure realms. May they all receive the power of the Dao, dedicate their merit to the mystery, fulfill their aspirations, and together reach the far shore of liberation through attainment of the Dao.

One bow.

Today, everyone attending the ritual gathering is attentive. They gaze up at the compassionate deity, voice their questions, and confess their misdeeds. The presiding penitent clasps his hands before his chest and kneels upright, listening with reverence.

The Shengxuan Jing says that from immeasurable kalpas ago until the present, all living beings have wandered through the human world, cycling through birth and death. They drift in the deep river of craving and desire, become absorbed in sights and sounds, and are misled by ideas such as existence and nonexistence. The presiding penitent does not know where the causes of the karma he created in past lives came from, nor how the conditions of his former lives were formed. He also does not understand how to realize the correct Dao and escape the cycle of birth and death. Now, fortunate enough to encounter this penitential rite, he bows and takes refuge, beseeching the Compassionate Venerable One to examine and reveal the causes of his past karma.

The Jiyebao Jing says that long ago, in the Hall of Cold Radiance and Elixir, the Most High Heavenly Venerable took pity on living beings as they endured the cycle of birth and death and the suffering of sinful karma. He therefore manifested throughout the Three Realms and sent out his incarnations to travel through the ten directions; there was nowhere in heaven or on earth that he had not visited. Later, the Heavenly Venerable came to the World of Accumulated Merit and Virtue, in the midst of the heavens. Seated amid the radiance of the Seven Treasures, he gathered to teach the Dharma alongside the great sages of the three ages who had attained the Dao, the various Heavenly Emperors, flying celestial spirit kings, perfected beings, young attendants, and countless living beings.

At that time, the Perfected Being Pujì, who was attending the assembly, rose from his seat with fearless resolve and praised the Heavenly Venerable: “In immeasurable kalpas, I have never seen the Compassionate Venerable One as joyful as he is today. He spreads vast clouds of Dharma and sends down profound rains of Dharma, enabling all the beings before him to gain understanding and each receive the benefit suited to them. This is truly inconceivable. May he use his supernatural powers to observe the karmic conditions of good and evil in the boundless worlds and reveal what is to come, so that living beings may know their past lives and the many events of the past, future, and present.”

Having spoken, the Perfected Being Pujì bowed and prostrated himself, gazing up at the Compassionate Venerable One and listening with reverence.

The Celestial Worthy said to Perfected Puji, “You are now able to make such a vow, give rise to vast goodness, and benefit all living beings. This is truly inconceivable.”

At that moment, through this karmic connection, the Celestial Worthy sent forth nine-colored radiance. It illuminated countless worlds throughout the heavens and reached the immeasurable lands below. Its divine power passed through everything without obstruction, and its light appeared plainly before their eyes, as clear as the lines on an open palm.

With the aid of this divine radiance, Perfected Puji and the assembled congregation saw the sages above the heavens moving about freely. Each had a round halo above the head and a dignified, complete appearance. They could manifest transformations at will, growing or shrinking as needed. Some rode beams of light through the sky, driving dragons or riding cranes; they roamed at ease, appearing in whatever form was called for, with no obstruction to their supernatural powers.

They saw heavenly boys and girls, jade boys and jade maidens, too numerous to count. Phoenixes, peacocks, lions, pixiu, and other numinous beasts stood at their sides. They also saw halls of gold and palaces of jade, jeweled terraces and pearl pavilions, heavenly music and flowers, celestial fruits and immortal trees, treasured ponds and golden gardens, and scenes of immortals at play. Poisonous dragons and fierce beasts surrounded the city gates. The heavenly kitchens prepared all kinds of offerings, with delicacies of every flavor laid out. Banners, flowers, standards, and canopies were adorned with a hundred kinds of treasure. Flying terraces and traveling lodges moved through the air, while heavenly robes and cloud canopies met one another in the empty sky.

They saw the ground transformed entirely into the Seven Treasures—gold, silver, pearls, and jade. Palaces, gardens, bamboo groves, the calls of birds and beasts, songs and music, clothing, seats, mats, and blankets all came into being spontaneously, without human workmanship. Immortals asked the Heavenly Kings about the principles of the Dao, and the Heavenly Kings inquired into good and ill fortune. From countless jeweled seats, the Great Vehicle was taught. Flying immortals, celestial immortals, and those just beginning to study the immortal way listened to the teachings and debated them. Such blessings and joys, such freedom and wonders, were too many to describe one by one.

They also saw the great sages and perfected ones below the heavens riding clouds and moving through the void, carrying banners and tally tokens as they made their rounds, examining the sins and good deeds of living beings. Flying Heavenly Kings and the Maidens of Good and Evil inspected the human world each day, recording people’s good and evil actions and reporting them to the heavens. The numinous officials who governed cloud palaces and star courts, the palaces of the sun and moon, and the mountains, rivers, and waterways also examined people’s good and evil deeds and merits.

They saw the Five Planets moving out of order, the Seven Luminaries—the sun, moon, and five major planets—shifted from their proper positions, and the Twenty-Eight Lunar Mansions straying from their assigned regions. Ominous stars and calamity-bearing luminaries encroached upon the seat of the Celestial Emperor. They also saw wars breaking out in every region, the people rising in revolt, and disasters of flood and drought, insect and locust plagues, violent winds, and torrential rain.

They saw people afflicted by ill-starred cycles and the harm of the Heavenly Net and Earthly Snare: households fallen into hardship, family members dead and gone. The Five Pestilences, the Seven Epidemics, and other plague spirits ran rampant. Earth gods, tomb ghosts, spirits dwelling in plants and trees, and the ghosts of those who had died unjustly caused trouble and terrorized the human world. Spirits of water and wood brought calamity, leaving men and women childless for life, or unable to raise the children they had.

They also saw men and women shackled and imprisoned, beaten and interrogated, caught up in lawsuits and disputes, or sunk in poverty and hardship with no one to pity them. Some had been bedridden with illness for years, unable either to live or to die. Others suffered from severe diseases such as wind-damp leprosy, epilepsy, or derangement caused by evil spirits; some were dull-witted or intellectually disabled, while others had physical deformities.

They saw people struck by lightning, covered in sores, or wounded by weapons, water, and fire. Some were bitten or stung by venomous insects and fierce beasts. They saw orphans and widows enduring hunger and cold, bearing hardship alone; men and women parted before their time, unable to reach a natural end; mothers and children separated; and people reduced to servitude. Some were ugly and unloved, had short lives, or lost their children in infancy. Others were born with incomplete bodies: their hands and feet were cramped or twisted, they limped, were deaf or blind, or could not speak. Some were beset by every kind of illness; others had bodies covered in open wounds and pus, with damaged lips or a broken nose, and were shunned by those around them.

They saw birds and beasts, aquatic creatures, and all kinds of living beings throughout the human world, among the mountains and rivers, and in the great rivers, Huai River, and seas. They also saw criminals in the many hells of the Ninefold Darkness and Luofeng beneath the earth, enduring punishments of every kind. Their suffering was beyond words, piercing to the bone and breaking the heart. These were places where karmic offenses brought their retribution.

Seeing the many different conditions throughout the heavens and the earth, where sins and blessings, suffering and joy, varied so greatly, Perfected Puji said, “I do not know what they cultivated in former lives or what they did wrong in this life; what blessings they accumulated before, or what offenses they committed now. Are these conditions present from birth, or are they caused by karmic retribution? Are they brought about by water spirits or by the circumstances of their parents, or are they the suffering each person bears in this life? Were the causes planted in a former life, or does misfortune fall on one person alone and then pass to their descendants? Can cultivating goodness bring people deliverance, or must everything be left to fate? May the Celestial Worthy, in great compassion and mercy, bestow instruction, so that all may understand destiny and karmic connections.”

The Compassionate Venerable replied, “All living beings are children of the Dao. When a child suffers from illness, the parents grieve; when the child recovers, the parents are at ease. Since living beings endure such suffering, we should find ways to heal them. Well done: you cherish the wish to help all beings, and have awakened such profound compassion. You have revealed the benefits of the True Teaching and inspired the people. What you ask accords exactly with my own intent; even if you had not asked, I would have spoken of it. Your compassionate heart is no different from mine, and your merit is beyond measure. You are a field of blessings for the world, a ferry that helps beings cross beyond suffering, a parent, a teacher, a leader of the people, and one who transmits the principles of the Teaching and explains cause and effect. Sit down again, and I will speak to you.

Today, a certain repentance leader at the ritual altar has heard the teaching of the supreme Perfected Ones concerning the beginning of the primordial kalpa—the origin of the universe—and has therefore asked the many rulers and teachers above the heavens and below the earth: What, in truth, are the suffering and joy, sins and blessings, and the many fated causes and conditions of living beings? These principles are inconceivable. Now, in seeking peace and praying for the dead, this repentance leader bows before this liturgy, prostrates with all five limbs on the ground, makes a wholehearted vow, and bows before the Compassionate Venerable, reverently paying homage to the true sages and holy ones.

With utmost sincerity and reverence, we pay homage to the Celestial Worthy Who Bestows Blessings from the Jade Clarity; the Celestial Worthy Who Hears Cries and Relieves Suffering; the Celestial Worthy, Jade Treasure, Supreme Emperor; the Celestial Worthy Who Serves as Teacher of the Three Realms; the Celestial Worthy Who Freely Manifests in Response to Beings; the Celestial Worthy of the World of Flowing Light; the Celestial Worthy Who Transmits the Truth and Shines Universally; the Celestial Worthy of the Broadly Auspicious Source of the Teaching; the Celestial Worthy Who Prolongs Life Through Vast Kalpas; the Celestial Worthy of Boundless Compassionate Protection; the Celestial Worthy of the Jeweled Writings in the Treasury of the Teaching; the Celestial Worthy Who Opens Broadly the Means of Approach; the Celestial Worthy Who Delivers Beings from Calamity; the Celestial Worthy Who Saves from the Eight Difficulties; and the Celestial Worthy Who Transforms the Three Paths of Woe.

With single-minded reverence, we bow in worship to the Celestial Worthy Who Brings Prosperity to the Nation and Transforms Its People.

With single-minded reverence, we bow in worship to the Celestial Worthy Who Opens Many Means of Deliverance.

With single-minded reverence, we bow in worship to the Celestial Worthy Who Delivers Living Beings from Calamity.

With single-minded reverence, we bow in worship to the Celestial Worthy Who Rescues from the Eight Hardships.

With single-minded reverence, we bow in worship to the Celestial Worthy Who Transforms the Three Evil Paths, rescuing beings fallen into the realms of hell, hungry ghosts, and animals.

With single-minded reverence, we bow in worship to the Celestial Worthy Who Brings Prosperity to the Nation and Transforms Its People.

With single-minded reverence, we bow in worship to the Celestial Worthy Taiyi Who Relieves Suffering, a revered Daoist deity who rescues beings from suffering and hardship.

With single-minded reverence, we bow in worship to the Celestial Worthy Who Grants Long Life and Preserves Life.

With single-minded reverence, we bow in worship to the Celestial Worthy Who Extends Compassion Everywhere and Protects the Nation.

With single-minded reverence, we bow in worship to the Celestial Worthy of Boundless Reach.

With single-minded reverence, we bow in worship to the Celestial Worthy of an Ocean of Merit and Virtue.

With single-minded reverence, we bow in worship to the Celestial Worthy of Freedom and Joy.

With single-minded reverence, we bow in worship to the Celestial Worthy Who Enables Beings to Be Reborn According to Their Wishes.

With single-minded reverence, we bow in worship to the Perfected Ones: the Realized One Who Is an Ocean of Wisdom, the Realized One of Universal Virtue and Wondrous Practice, the Realized One of Great Compassion Who Rescues from Suffering, and the Realized One of Great Mercy Who Removes Sin.

The donors at today’s ritual assembly also bow with single-minded reverence to the Perfected Ones named above.

The donor of today’s ritual assembly, [Name], and everyone present look up to the Supreme Celestial Worthy of Numinous Treasure in the East, along with the revered deities, saints, Great Perfected Ones, and Great Youths. May the revered deities and saints who extend throughout the Ten Directions, fill the realm of the Mysterious Void, and appear and disappear everywhere, universally bestow their compassionate light and together grant the medicines of the Dharma that deliver living beings.

May the ancestors of the nation and the seven ancestral branches and three collateral lines be granted ascent and deliverance. May the emperor, the kings, the ministers, and the chief counselors be safe and at peace. May [Name], for whom this rite of deliverance and repentance is performed, together with our parents, teachers, and family members through three generations, from our ancestors nine generations above to our descendants seven generations below, be delivered. May all believers and donors, as well as all beings who receive the light of the sun and moon but have not yet appeared in the world—including birds and beasts, aquatic creatures, and the spirits sunk in the nine dark prisons and suffering there—escape the bonds of calamity and be delivered together to the farther shore of liberation. One bow.

Those gathered in the Daoist sanctuary today have heard that long ago, the Perfected One of Universal Aid once asked about the many kinds of suffering and joy in Heaven and on Earth, above and below, and about the karmic conditions arising from sins and blessings. The leader of the repentance rite respectfully prays: may the departed souls who are now enduring the sufferings of sin in the various hells be freed from the calamities that bind them, cross together through their hardships, and reach the farther shore of liberation. Having spoken, the leader bows once in reverence.

Those gathered in the Daoist sanctuary today have also heard that long ago, the Perfected One of Universal Aid once asked about the many kinds of suffering and joy in Heaven and on Earth, above and below, and about the karmic conditions of sin and blessing. The leader of the repentance rite approaches with reverence and sincerity, especially to hear the teachings of the scripture. The question the Perfected One of Universal Aid once asked was this: Above the heavens, the assembled saints and perfected beings dwell in celestial palaces—the Golden Halls, Jade Palaces, jeweled terraces, and pearl pavilions—where they roam freely, delight in ease, transform at will, and enjoy joys beyond description.

The Compassionate Venerable said: “Only through long years of cultivation across countless kalpas, advancing step by step, does one attain the rank of an immortal. Beneath the heavens, sages and revered spirits ride the clouds and soar through the sky, recording the good and evil deeds of humankind and reporting them to the Celestial Court. They carry out my commands, granting people advancement or imposing punishment.

Some regions suffer droughts and floods, insect infestations, violent winds and rainstorms, or even repeated warfare because local civil and military officials rely on their rank and power, disregard the laws of the state, harm the people, use public authority for private gain, twist right and wrong, and manipulate the law. Thus they bring these calamities upon themselves.

Those who in life suffer illness and hardship, fall prey to all manner of demonic obstacles and calamities, endure peril and want, live with bodily impairments, or remain poor and lowly, and who after death fall into hell, suffer retribution, and sink there for a long time, are beings on the evil paths. From countless kalpas ago through this kalpa, this life, and this very day, the karmic suffering they endure has in some cases arisen from their parents’ deeds, and in others from their own. Karmic offenses can also pass from ancestors to descendants. They have committed grave offenses through the Three Karmic Actions of body, speech, and mind, as well as through the Six Faculties—eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, and mind—and the Ten Evils. Across generation after generation, they undergo all kinds of suffering. Each kind of karma attributed to living beings in the scriptures actually encompasses many circumstances. What is given here is only a brief account; not every case has been described in detail.

At this, Pujì heard the Most High agree to explain clearly the causes and conditions of good and evil, and the workings of retribution. He bowed and prostrated himself, saying: “The Most High has said that living beings are ignorant and unenlightened, lost in the snares of worldly life and unable to see clearly. They are driven only by karmic causes and conditions, circling through birth and death and enduring all manner of sinful suffering. I beseech the Greatly Compassionate Heavenly Venerable to take pity on them and reveal the way to deliverance, so that living beings in the future may turn toward the good path, escape retribution, and avoid falling into the prisons of the Nine Netherworlds and Luofeng—the underworld—where they would suffer every kind of punishment.”

The Most High said: If a man or woman naturally gives rise to the wish to seek the Dao and turn toward goodness, they may cleanse and purify their dwelling, straighten their body and mind, prepare an altar with an offering canopy, and install my divine image. They may surround it with banners and fresh flowers, light lamps and keep them burning brightly, burn incense, scatter flowers as offerings, and recite the Dao while walking or sitting quietly. They may invite a ritual master to officiate, or practice on their own. They may do so to pray for peace in the state and safety for its people; for favorable winds and timely rains; for calamities to be dispelled and troubles resolved; for a peaceful home, increased good fortune and longevity, or the expulsion of ghosts and malign spirits. They may also establish an altar and perform rites of repentance for parents or themselves when illness or disaster strikes, when the stars’ influence upon their fate bears down on them, to seek children, or to rescue and deliver the deceased.

They may also pray for uncles, brothers, wives, and children; appease taboos associated with disturbing the earth and the spirits of graves; pray for the safety of household servants and prosperity in the family business; or seek help in facing all kinds of danger, hardship, and distress. They may also cultivate merit after the deaths of teachers, rulers, fellow Daoist practitioners, and relatives, including nine generations of ancestors, parents, brothers, uncles, and wives, offering prayers for their deliverance and salvation.

Whoever comes before my divine image, reverently bows and recites the sacred names of the immeasurable billions of transformed Celestial Worthies who manifest throughout the ten directions, sincerely lays bare their faults, and repents with body and mind will have their sins removed as they wish. These are the sins committed across immeasurable eons, through cycles of birth and death and rebirth in many places, up to the present life. My transformed titles are transmitted among humankind and recorded in the scriptures: above, they dispel disasters from Heaven; below, they quell calamities on Earth; and in between, they benefit the people. Merit in this life and the next will never cease.

Those who practice will bring peace to the realm and long life to the emperor; the stars will follow their proper courses, and wind and rain will come in due season. Demonic obstacles, bandits, and enemies can all be turned into good friends. Venomous insects and fierce beasts will harbor no ill intent, and storms, floods, fires, and warfare will cause no harm. What they hope for will go well; what they seek will come to pass. Sinful souls in the Ninefold Darkness, the shadowy underworld where suffering is endured, will escape their prisons and be reborn in the heavens. Beings of the Four Births and Six Paths—all forms of life and destinations within the cycle of rebirth—will likewise be liberated.

At that time, Perfected Puji heard the Most High expound this rite of repentance and understood that it could save and deliver living beings. His heart filled with joy and elation beyond words. He praised the Celestial Worthy and recited a verse.

Wonderful indeed! The Primordial Heavenly Worthy is revered by all beings of the Three Realms. His sacred power is beyond comprehension, and his wisdom and Virtue are without equal. He therefore proclaimed this rite of repentance spontaneously—a scriptural rite for making obeisance, pledging vows, confessing faults, seeking protection from calamity, and delivering the dead. Through it, beings are saved. Their bodies and minds rejoice and leap for joy, beyond the power of words to describe. All praise the Heavenly Worthy and chant this verse:

Wonderful indeed! The Primordial Heavenly Worthy is revered throughout the Three Realms. His sacred power is beyond comprehension, and his wisdom and Virtue are without equal. A jeweled throne made of the seven treasures appears of itself, manifesting amid the Qian grove. Its form is complete, yet it is unobstructed, like empty space. The Heavenly Worthy is about to expound profound and wondrous principles, opening subtle Dharma gates so that people may comprehend the supreme Dao and set the Great Vehicle—the vast Dao that delivers all beings—in motion. With skillful means, he proclaims many teachings, bringing all beings renewal and peace. Having heard this teaching, we stand in solemn reverence. The defilements within us are dispelled, and our joy cannot be restrained; we therefore bow before Yuxu, the celestial realm where the Heavenly Worthy dwells.

We, the assembly gathered at this sacred altar today, together with the repentance officiant, [name], have never encountered this rite of repentance throughout immeasurable kalpas. Today, seeking peace and dedicating merit to the dead, we have come with reverence before the scriptures and sacred image of the Compassionate Venerable One. We arouse boundless vows and intentions, prostrate ourselves with all five limbs touching the ground, and pledge ourselves with single-minded devotion. We bow before the Compassionate Venerable One and pay homage to the True Sage.

With utmost sincerity, we pay homage to the Heavenly Worthy of Blessings Descended from Jade Purity.

With utmost sincerity, we pay homage to the Heavenly Worthy Who Hears the Sounds and Saves from Suffering.

With utmost sincerity, we pay homage to the Heavenly Worthy, August Sovereign of Jade Treasure.

With utmost sincerity, we pay homage to the Heavenly Worthy, Master Who Transforms in Response to Calls.

With utmost sincerity, we pay homage to the Heavenly Worthy, Incarnation of the Great Luo.

With utmost sincerity, we pay homage to the Heavenly Worthy Whose Emanations Number in the Millions.

With utmost sincerity, we pay homage to the Heavenly Worthy Who Extends Compassion Through the Vast Kalpas, and to the Heavenly Worthy, Master Who Transforms in Response to Calls.

With utmost sincerity, we pay homage to the Heavenly Worthy, Incarnation of the Great Luo.

With utmost sincerity, we pay homage to the Heavenly Worthy Whose Emanations Number in the Millions.

With utmost sincerity, we pay homage to the Heavenly Worthy Who Extends Compassion Through the Vast Kalpas.

With utmost sincerity, we pay homage to the Heavenly Worthy of the Radiance of Ten Thousand Treasures.

With utmost sincerity, we pay homage to the Heavenly Worthy Whose Lamp Light Is Boundless.

With utmost sincerity, we pay homage to the Heavenly Worthy Whose Manifestations Are Without Limit.

With utmost sincerity, we pay homage to the Heavenly Worthy of Compassionate Deliverance on a Vast Scale.

With utmost sincerity, we pay homage to the Heavenly Worthy Who Transforms in Response with Unfettered Ease.

With utmost sincerity, we pay homage to the Heavenly Worthy, Exemplar of the Three Realms.

With utmost sincerity, we pay homage to the Heavenly Worthy Who Transmits the Truth and Shines Everywhere.

With utmost sincerity and reverence, I pay homage to the Celestial Worthy Who Opens the Way and Guides All Beings to Deliverance, the revered deity who guides and saves living beings.

With utmost sincerity and reverence, I pay homage to the Celestial Worthy Who Pities All Without End, the revered deity who shows compassion for living beings and ceaselessly holds them in tender regard.

With utmost sincerity and reverence, I pay homage to the Celestial Worthy Taiyi, Savior from Suffering, the revered deity in Daoism who delivers beings from suffering and hardship.

With utmost sincerity and reverence, I pay homage to the Celestial Worthy Who Grants Long Life and Preserves Vitality, the revered deity who protects life and bestows longevity.

With utmost sincerity and reverence, I pay homage to the Celestial Worthy of Universal Compassion Who Protects the Nation, the revered deity who safeguards living beings and the nation through compassion.

With utmost sincerity and reverence, I pay homage to the Boundless Celestial Worthy, the revered deity whose Virtue and power are vast and without limit.

With utmost sincerity and reverence, I pay homage to the Celestial Worthy Whose Merit and Virtue Are as Vast as the Sea, the revered deity whose merit and virtue are deep and immeasurable.

With utmost sincerity and reverence, I pay homage to the Carefree and Joyful Celestial Worthy, the revered deity who enables living beings to find peace, ease, and freedom.

With utmost sincerity and reverence, I pay homage to the Celestial Worthy Who Guides Beings to Rebirth According to Their Wishes, the revered deity who escorts them to rebirth in accordance with their wishes.

With utmost sincerity and reverence, I pay homage to the Perfected One Who Stores Wisdom as Vast as the Sea and Sky, a Perfected One whose wisdom is deep and boundless as the sea and open sky.

With utmost sincerity and reverence, I pay homage to the Perfected One of Universal Virtue and Wondrous Practice, a Perfected One whose Virtue is universal and whose practice is sublime.

With utmost sincerity and reverence, I pay homage to the Perfected One of Great Compassion Who Saves the Suffering, a Perfected One who aids beings in distress with great compassion.

With utmost sincerity, I reverently pay homage to the Carefree and Joyful Celestial Worthy.

With utmost sincerity and reverence, I pay homage to the Celestial Worthy Who Guides Beings to Rebirth According to Their Wishes.

With utmost sincerity and reverence, I pay homage to the Perfected One Who Stores Wisdom as Vast as the Sea and Sky.

With utmost sincerity and reverence, I pay homage to the Perfected One of Universal Virtue and Wondrous Practice.

With utmost sincerity and reverence, I pay homage to the Perfected One of Great Compassion Who Saves the Suffering.

With utmost sincerity and reverence, I pay homage to the Perfected One of Great Compassion Who Frees Beings from Sin, a Perfected One who helps living beings release themselves from the burden of their sins through great compassion.

Today, the patron who has established the ritual altar and the assembly gathered here join in looking up and praying to the Supreme Celestial Worthy of Numinous Treasure of the East, together with all the honored gods, sacred immortals, Great Perfected Ones, and Great Youths. May the holy beings who appear and disappear throughout the ten directions and fill the mysterious, empty realms draw on their vast compassion and inconceivable power to save and comfort living beings, helping them all escape suffering and find elevation.

If living beings are in the heavenly realm, may they ascend to the Formless Realm; if they are in the realm of spirits, may they rise beyond the Two-Form Realm; if they are born in the human realm, may they ascend to the One-Desire Realm. If they are in the three paths of hell, hungry ghosts, and animals, may they be reborn as humans and be forever freed from the consequences of suffering. Here, “path” refers to different destinations for living beings, while “realm” refers to different states in the Daoist cosmological order.

We also pray that the Compassionate Venerable lead the disciples in proclaiming the merit at this ritual altar, where rites of reverence and repentance are being performed, so that boundless lands may receive its beneficence, boundless living beings may be saved, and boundless Dharma realms may hear of and learn this teaching. May countless beings of the highest capacity understand the Great Vehicle; may those of middling capacity put offerings into practice; and may those of lesser capacity give rise to faith. May countless celestial dragons guard the altar, and may the Vajra spirits cut through demonic obstacles and delusion.

The presiding master of repentance, [name]—the person who leads the repentance rites and makes the vows of repentance—has continually relinquished and received bodies through immeasurable kalpas, taking birth in many places up to the present life. May every sin, however slight, committed in this life or in lives past, and even sins as numerous as the sands of the Ganges, be erased from this very moment through a single thought of resolve. May parents, teachers and masters, uncles, brothers, oneself, wife, kin, and dependents all be liberated together through performing repentance rites today, and suffer no more. May all living beings attain the supreme Dao. After speaking, make one bow.

The Supreme Taishang Compassionate Altar Repentance for Averting Calamities in the Nine Dark Regions, Volumes One and Two

Compiled by Ge Xuan, Left Immortal Duke of the Supreme Ultimate.

Chapter One: The Mirror of Bright Compassionate Care

These are the volume numbers, the name of the compiler, and the chapter title.

All those gathered at the Daoist ritual today, and the presiding officiant (the person leading the confession rite), please join your hands in reverence and listen attentively to what the scripture says.

The Compassionate Venerable One taught that the kinds of karma created by living beings number in the hundreds and cannot all be described one by one, so only a brief account can be given. The Perfected One of Universal Deliverance then addressed the Compassionate Venerable One and vowed to explain these offenses to living beings of later generations. Before the image of the Compassionate Venerable One, he first listed the various offenses and confessed them one by one. Even though he had not yet fully explained the causes of every offense, he was willing to elaborate further, so that living beings enduring long ages might have guidance to rely on.

The Compassionate Venerable One said: “Men and women in the world have given up their bodies and taken on new ones, passing through the cycle of rebirth for countless eons, because the six faculties—eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, and mind—and the thoughts of the heart have led them to commit all kinds of wrongdoing. These include killing, stealing, sexual misconduct and debauchery, stinginess and greed, anger, delusion and confused views, using ornate but empty words, lying, abusive speech, sowing discord, envying those who surpass oneself, and obstructing others. They also include drinking alcohol and eating meat, breaking the precepts in the scriptures, damaging sacred images, failing to observe fasting and precepts, showing no respect for one’s teacher, turning away from the true Dao to follow false paths, believing in heretical teachings and inverted views, cursing ghosts and spirits, failing to honor the Three Treasures—the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha—slandering and mocking, speaking recklessly and disrespectfully, becoming absorbed in sounds and sights, craving fragrances and flavors, and indulging in sensual pleasures. In thought and deed alike, people create harmful karma.

“These actions are bound up with one another and give rise to one another in turn. The six faculties interact, causing one fault after another; the roots of harmful karma keep growing, and each thought may give rise to a new wrong. The karma beings create is boundless, as plentiful as grains of sand and dust. Long-established habits lie deep within body and mind, carrying over from past causes and conditions into this life, and from one eon into the next.

“Yet a single thought of resolve can purify body and mind. It is like a bright mirror covered in dust, grease, and every kind of filth, its radiance obscured inside and out. If someone skilled at polishing mirrors takes it and rubs it until it shines, the mirror becomes clear through and through, reflecting near and far with crisp brightness and returning to its original state. This is because the mirror’s nature is pure from the beginning.

“Beings are the same. Their spiritual nature is pure from the beginning and free of defilement. But after taking birth, body and mind are gradually stained by dust and grime, and harmful habits take shape. The six faculties, six feelings, six entrances—the six ways the senses encounter the outside world—six defilements, six thieves, six sense objects, six desires, and six consciousnesses act upon one another. They stir up deluded discrimination, stain body and mind, cloud the heart, and nurture harmful habits. Thus people lose their true nature, wander through birth and death, and gradually sink into harmful karma. When karmic retribution and its causes and conditions draw beings onward, they fall into the hells, endure every kind of suffering, and remain submerged there for a long time.

“Out of compassion, I pity beings. So, from countless eons ago, I have come to the human world in one form after another. At times I appear as a Xia person or a non-Xia person; at times as an old person or a youth, an ordinary person or a sage, a woman or a man, or in any of many other social roles and stations. Through different manifestations and skillful means, I teach beings and help them escape suffering. The teachings have been passed down to awaken beings, lead them away from distress, and free them forever from the mire of the underworld.

“But beings have little wisdom and find it difficult to understand. I will now explain these causes and conditions at length, then distinguish and clarify them further, so that beings in later generations may turn toward the good path.”

After hearing the teaching and parable, and listening to the detailed explanation, Puji felt joy and renewed spirit. He praised the Compassionate Venerable One and recited a verse.

Praise to the Celestial Worthy of the Primordial Beginning, the Daoist deity honored as the source of all things! You are truly the parents of all living beings. You have repeatedly expounded thirty-six fundamental principles and illuminated them with mirror-bright parables. You are skilled in rescuing beings sunk in a sea of suffering, and with compassion you relieve their hardships. Having heard these teachings, we are freed from confusion and error in body and mind. You have long dwelt in the sacred sanctuary, repeatedly teaching these principles to all.

Today, the presiding penitent at this sanctuary, [name], has established this ritual assembly to pray for peace or dedicate merit to the deceased. Fortunate to hear the verses and receive guidance through the penitential rites, [name] is deeply moved by their immeasurable subtlety. Thereupon, [name] prostrates with all five limbs touching the ground, listens with undivided attention, bows before the compassionate holy deity, and reverently pays homage to the true sages.

With utmost sincerity and reverence, we pay homage to the Celestial Worthy of Jade Clarity Who Bestows Blessings.

With utmost sincerity and reverence, we pay homage to the Celestial Worthy Who Hears Cries and Rescues from Suffering.

With utmost sincerity and reverence, we pay homage to the Celestial Worthy Who Cherishes Life and Delivers Souls.

With utmost sincerity and reverence, we pay homage to the Celestial Worthy of Supreme Radiance and Unmoving Stillness.

With utmost sincerity and reverence, we pay homage to the Celestial Worthy of Great Penetrating Spiritual Response.

With utmost sincerity and reverence, we pay homage to the Celestial Worthy of Supreme Virtue and Radiance.

With utmost sincerity and reverence, we pay homage to the Celestial Worthy, King Who Spreads the Teaching.

With utmost sincerity and reverence, we pay homage to the Celestial Worthy of Unimpeded Sound.

With utmost sincerity and reverence, we pay homage to the Celestial Worthy Who Ever Turns the Dharma Wheel.

With utmost sincerity and reverence, we pay homage to the Celestial Worthy Who Transforms Every Calamity.

With utmost sincerity and reverence, we pay homage to the Celestial Worthy of Boundless Light.

With utmost sincerity and reverence, we pay homage.

With utmost sincerity and reverence, we pay homage to the Celestial Worthy of Unimpeded Sound.

With utmost sincerity and reverence, we pay homage to the Celestial Worthy Who Ever Turns the Dharma Wheel.

With utmost sincerity and reverence, we pay homage to the Celestial Worthy Who Transforms Every Calamity.

With utmost sincerity and reverence, we pay homage to the Celestial Worthy of Boundless Light.

With utmost sincerity and reverence, we pay homage to the Celestial Worthy, King of Virtue and Radiance.

With utmost sincerity and reverence, we pay homage to the Celestial Worthy of Quiet Subtlety.

With utmost sincerity and reverence, we pay homage to the Celestial Worthy of Fragrant Radiance.

With utmost sincerity and reverence, we pay homage to the Celestial Worthy of Blossoms in Every Direction.

With utmost sincerity and reverence, we pay homage to the Celestial Worthy of Pure Vision.

With utmost sincerity and reverence, we pay homage to the Celestial Worthy Who Contemplates Detachment.

With utmost sincerity and reverence, we pay homage to the Celestial Worthy Who Walks in the World.

With utmost sincerity and reverence, we pay homage to the Celestial Worthy Who Grants Long Life and Preserves the Mandate of Life.

With utmost sincerity and reverence, we pay homage to the Celestial Worthy of the Great One Who Rescues from Suffering.

With utmost sincerity and reverence, we pay homage to the Celestial Worthy of Universal Compassion Who Protects the Nation.

With utmost sincerity and reverence, we bow to the Boundless Heavenly Worthy, the Heavenly Worthy of an Ocean of Merit, the Heavenly Worthy of Ease and Joy, and the Heavenly Worthy Who Grants Rebirth as One Desires; and to the Perfected Ones: the Ocean-Empty Treasury of Wisdom, Universal Aid and Deliverance, Great Compassion Who Rescues from Suffering, and Great Mercy Who Removes Sin.

The donors and all those gathered at today’s ritual assembly jointly look up and pray to the Supreme Lingbao Heavenly Worthy of the southeast, along with the honored spirits, sages, and Perfected Ones. May they compassionately protect and bless us.

The donors and assembly at today’s ritual once again bow with utmost sincerity to the Perfected One of Great Mercy Who Removes Sin. They look up and pray to the Supreme Lingbao Heavenly Worthy of the southeast, all honored sages, all the Great Perfected Ones, great immortals, and great youths, as well as every true sage throughout the ten directions—those who fill the realm of the mysterious void, extend through past and future, and are sometimes hidden, sometimes manifest. May all the sages send down sweet dew to cleanse the dust and defilements of living beings. May the light and power of compassion rescue them and carry them to the farther shore, where they may at last attain purity.

Today, the person presiding over this repentance rite, [name], chants this repentance text to pray for peace and to honor the dead. With reverence, may the sages’ powers to rescue from suffering, guide and deliver, aid and protect, dispel calamities, bestow merit, and ensure safety grant every request. May all sentient beings repent together, turn toward the Dao, and attain its fruit. One bow.

The assembly at today’s ritual, together with the presiding penitent, [name], once again listens with utmost sincerity and focused attention to what the scripture says: The beings on earth dwell in this world, called “Abandoning the Worthy.” It is illusory, defiled, and mixed…

Today, all those gathered at this ritual assembly in the sacred precinct, along with the principal petitioner, So-and-so, must once again listen attentively as I expound the meaning of the scripture, with utmost sincerity.

The beings who dwell on earth live in the world called Abandoning the Worthy. This world is illusory, defiled, and chaotic. It is filled with hells, hungry ghosts, and animals, and serves as a place where beings undergo karmic retribution. Few cultivate goodness; many commit evil. Spring, summer, autumn, and winter take their turns in the world, and human lives are sometimes long, sometimes short. Wind and rain, cold and heat, day and night, light and darkness—all change without cease. The sun and moon move on, and time hastens people along. The earth is strewn with sand and stones, uneven and sloping; mountains and rivers are treacherous, roads difficult to travel, and plants and thorns grow thick everywhere. There is nothing here that offers true peace or joy.

The body people receive is temporarily assembled from impure things. It undergoes birth, aging, illness, and death: fragile and difficult to keep secure. Because they have a body, people must seek food and clothing, yet sometimes still go without, tormented by hunger, thirst, hardship, and every kind of suffering. They are also constrained by the laws and demands of rulers, unable to live freely. People are often foolish and shallow, with limited understanding, and their social ties and companions often lack discernment as well. Their eyes see unpleasant sights, their ears hear unpleasant sounds, their noses smell foul odors, their tongues taste unpleasant flavors, their bodies endure disagreeable sensations, and their minds fixate on unwholesome thoughts. Such things are beyond counting.

The impermanence of life is especially frightening. Thoughts arise and vanish one after another without pause, swift as a spark from a stone or a flash of lightning. A hundred years of life pass in the blink of an eye. The many sufferings of the world are terrifying; there is not a moment of lasting peace or happiness.

Look again at living beings: their karmic retribution continues without end, and their minds are stubborn, like earth mixed with tiles and stones. Those with many desires are always seeking gain, and so their afflictions are many. Those who are content can feel at peace even while living on the ground; those who are discontent remain unsatisfied even in heaven.

Living beings have long accumulated evil causes and severed their roots of goodness. Deluded by ignorance, craving, and attachment, they refuse to awaken. Ignorance clouds the mind, leaving people as if blind in both eyes. Some are ensnared by new misdeeds; others suffer retribution for old grievances. Some are disloyal as ministers or unfilial as children. Some harbor sinister intentions, secretly slandering and cursing others. Some are tormented by evil spirits and suffer long illness; some meet with accidents and baseless quarrels, while calamities descend upon them unseen. Some find their careers blocked and their wishes unfulfilled. Others endure floods and fires, injury by weapons, and the pain of separation and death. The sorrows and griefs are too many to recount.

Living beings are burdened by deep afflictions and rarely encounter wholesome results. Even when they have the chance to hear or see the true Dharma, they do not seek it and do not resolve to transcend the cycle of rebirth and leave suffering behind. They concern themselves only with youthful beauty, spouses and kin, grand houses, and all manner of pleasures, thinking it enough simply to preserve their lives. Yet all these things will one day decay. Whether rich or poor, noble or lowly, everyone’s life eventually ends. What use are these things then?

Living beings do not understand that the world is false and impermanent, and that life among humans and in heaven is like a dream. The body is frail and prone to illness; sorrow and affliction cling to it, time flies, and the seasons of cold and heat keep changing. They refuse to use even a brief moment of awakening to cultivate goodness, and wish only to drift forever in the sea of suffering, lingering in the cycle of birth and death.

My concern for living beings surpasses the concern parents feel for their children. A parent’s love for a child lasts only for one lifetime; my compassion for living beings extends through endless kalpas. When parents see their children behave without filial respect, their love may gradually grow distant. But when I see living beings act unwholesomely, my compassion for them only deepens. If, after death, living beings fall into the Nine Dark Realms of Luofeng—the underworld—or the Avīci Hell, I will continually expound the Dharma for them and bear their suffering in their place.

Now that I have heard your question about the causes and conditions of living beings’ sins and blessings, my heart aches as if I had swallowed iron and stone or been pierced through by sharp arrows. I have never for a moment forgotten my compassionate concern for living beings. I now expound the method of repentance precisely to save those who are lost in delusion. You must practice diligently and save living beings in generations to come on a wide scale.

Then Pujì once again recited the verse:

The Primordial, Supreme, First Venerable One—the Daoist deity Primordial Celestial Worthy—transcends the Three Realms (the Desire Realm, the Form Realm, and the Formless Realm), and none can compare with him. Throughout countless eons, he has accumulated good deeds and meritorious practice, and possesses the pure causes of blessings, De, and wisdom. He has completely ended afflictions and habitual tendencies, no longer creating old karma or giving rise to new evil karma. His spiritual powers are vast, and he fears nothing. He knows the past, present, and future, and understands both worldly convention and truth. His wisdom and merit are complete, gathered into this wondrous Dharma body.

He enters the hells and suffers on behalf of sentient beings. Even amid boiling cauldrons, blazing furnaces, and burning embers, he can endure; icy waters and frozen springs cannot harm him, and neither sword trees nor mountains of blades can rend his body. Seeing sentient beings suffer, he feels compassion and willingly takes their suffering upon himself, yet inwardly accepts it with joy. Thus he has attained a majestic and wondrous reward body, the form brought about by merit, like the bright moon reflected upon the vast sea, clear and radiant. He can contain all things without obstruction and give life to all things without end. He dwells among the sacred ranks of the Three Pure Ones (Sanqing), imparting compassionate teachings through the mind in an unbroken succession. Even if we praise him, we cannot fully express his kindness and grace; this beneficence is so profound that a lifetime, or even countless eons, would not suffice to repay it.

Today, all those gathered at this sacred altar each devote themselves to making vows. The presiding master of repentance recognizes that the Four Great Elements—the earth, water, fire, and wind that make up the human body—are illusory and unreal; that the splendors of the Three Realms are like a dream; that the length of life cannot be predicted; and that bodily appearance is not lasting. Bound by the force of karma, the master has committed many faults. Having encountered this repentance liturgy today, the master makes a sincere vow and bows solemnly. May the fires of the three poisons—greed, anger, and delusion—be extinguished, and may the resolve to perform good deeds widely arise. We pray for peace for those living and dedicate these rites to the deceased, seeking their deliverance. We bow to this text of repentance, prostrating with all five limbs touching the ground and listening with undivided attention. We bow before the compassionate deity and reverently pay homage to the true sage.

With sincere reverence, we pay homage to the Celestial Worthy of Jade Purity, who bestows blessings.

With sincere reverence, we pay homage to the Celestial Worthy Who Hears the Cries and Rescues from Suffering, who comes to deliver sentient beings upon hearing their cries for help.

With sincere reverence, we pay homage to the Celestial Worthy Who Cherishes Life and Delivers Lives, who protects life and saves sentient beings.

With sincere reverence, we bow before the venerable deity and pay homage to the true sage.

With sincere reverence, we pay homage to the Celestial Worthy of Jade Purity, who bestows blessings.

With sincere reverence, we pay homage to the Celestial Worthy Who Hears the Cries and Rescues from Suffering.

With sincere reverence, we pay homage to the Celestial Worthy Who Cherishes Life and Delivers Lives.

With sincere reverence, we pay homage to the Celestial Worthy of the Great Luo, the Perfect Ultimate.

With sincere reverence, we pay homage to the Celestial Worthy of Precious Light Shining Everywhere.

With sincere reverence, we pay homage to the Celestial Worthy Who Subdues Demons and Dispels Afflictions.

With sincere reverence, we pay homage to the Celestial Worthy Who Always Protects the Good.

With wholehearted reverence, we bow in homage to the Heavenly Worthies Who Truly Accord with the Dao, Who Delight in Practicing the Dao, of the Great Simplicity Body, Who Command the Director of Destinies, Who Deliver from the Ten Afflictions, of Compassion and Love, Who Contemplate the Wondrous, Who Bestow Auspicious Blessings, of the Three Qi, of the Myriad Perfected, of the Mysterious Origin, Who Deliver from Calamities, of the Precious Cavern, of Lapis Lazuli, Who Preserve Life and Protect Destiny, the Great One Who Saves from Suffering, of the Ocean of Merit and Virtue, of Boundless Reach, the Universal Heavenly Worthy, the Universally Compassionate Protector of the Nation, Who Delight in Freedom and Joy, and Who Grant Rebirth in Accordance with One’s Wishes; and to the Perfected Ones of Wondrous Practice and Broad Faith, the Greatly Compassionate Perfected One Who Saves from Suffering, and the Greatly Merciful Perfected One Who Frees from Sin.

Today, the donor of this ritual sanctuary, [name], and everyone gathered here look up in prayer to the supreme Numinous Treasure Heavenly Worthy of the southeast, and to all the Heavenly Worthies, sages, great Perfected Ones, and great lads. May all the true sages, manifest or hidden, throughout the ten directions and to the furthest reaches of the realm of the Mysterious and Empty, bestow upon us their vast concern, compassion, deliverance, relief from calamities, gathering of blessings, and saving from suffering. May the wishes of the repentance leader, [name], be fulfilled; may they receive the karmic fruits of the true sages’ merit and virtue, help living beings escape suffering, and enable everyone to ascend together to the highest Dao. We bow once.

Second Section: Repenting of Deluded Thoughts.

The assembly in today’s sanctuary, each person focus your mind and revere the Compassionate Venerable One, the merciful deity. Repent the sins created by deluded thoughts. I, the officiant leading this repentance rite, gather my thoughts, kneel reverently on the ground, and listen respectfully to the scripture. From the moment living beings are born into physical bodies, they are stained by all kinds of worldly distractions.

The eyes behold the five colors, the nose smells the five fragrances, the tongue tastes the many flavors, and the ears hear all kinds of sounds. As a result, the spirit becomes confused and disturbed, unable to distinguish what is proper to hear or see. Violent and malicious thoughts arise in the heart; people become absorbed in them and cling to them, thereby committing all manner of sins. Their root is deluded thought. Whether male or female, whenever a single thought arises, come before me and repent your various sins: first repent deluded thoughts and doubts, then repent the other sins.

Puji asked, “What are deluded thoughts?” The Compassionate Venerable One replied, “The inverted, deluded thoughts of living beings all arise from the mind. People force distinctions upon things and bind their thoughts to the body. When they encounter the external world, they become confused; as soon as a thought arises, they fall into delusion. Therefore, use wisdom to examine the body: bones, flesh, skin, form, and hair; the Six Roots (eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, and mind); the Four Great Elements (earth, water, fire, and wind, which constitute the body); and the hundred spirits of the five organs. Consider them carefully, and you will find no true, unchanging substance. They are merely various conditions that temporarily come together to form the body. Search from the outside inward: where, exactly, is the ‘I’? Since the body is only a temporary union of conditions, the mind too has no fixed, unchanging substance. What is called emptiness or appearance is not truly unchanging; in the end, it is deluded thought. The same is true of everything else.

“Distinctions between self and other, right and wrong, love and hatred, acceptance and rejection; forms, sounds, fragrances, and flavors; and all kinds of conduct, including jealousy, stinginess, greed, killing, stealing, sexual misconduct, flattering speech, and harsh words—all should be eliminated. When the inner mind and the external world are clear, empty, and pure, one can accord with the true Dao.

“If living beings give rise to deluded thoughts before the Three Treasures (the Dao, the scriptures, and the masters), in a sanctuary, before the Daoist teachings, or in places where scriptures are expounded and praises offered—or before heaven and earth, the empty sky, the sun, moon, and stars, sacred deities and their images, rulers and officials, monastics, parents and relatives, teachers and elders, virtuous people, or sacred altars and holy sites—then, whether they have already acted or not, the moment such a thought arises they incur a grave offense. The sins brought about by deluded thoughts fall upon the person, bringing demonic misfortune upon the household, persistent illness, failure in one’s undertakings, and one hardship after another. Calamity may also ensnare one’s ancestors and descendants, burdening generation after generation.

“Because of this, one cannot open oneself to the true teaching or understand the truth. After death, one will fall into the Fire-Covered Hell, where one suffers every kind of punishment, and may even be reborn in a body that is neither male nor female. Without repentance, one will sink into suffering for a long time.” Then the Compassionate Venerable One spoke this verse:

While alive in the world, people’s minds teem with delusions, and they deceive and play tricks on everyone. After death, they fall into the Hell of Blazing Shadow, where their whole bodies are burned black and left to rot. In a future life, they are reborn as women, ugly in appearance and repulsive to others. In the human world, they are ignorant and unenlightened, unable to hear the true Way and its orthodox teachings.

All those gathered at today’s ritual assembly, and the presiding penitent who initiated this rite of repentance, have harbored all kinds of delusions toward their masters, fellow students, disciples, parents, siblings, and own family members from countless kalpas past up to this very day, yet have never repented. Today, with reverence, they perform this rite of repentance, bowing and prostrating themselves to pray for peace and to commend the dead. They listen with single-minded attention, prostrate before the compassionate deity, and respectfully pay homage to the True Sages.

With sincere reverence, they pay homage to the Celestial Worthy of Jade Purity Who Brings Blessings, the Celestial Worthy Who Hears the Cries and Rescues from Suffering, the Celestial Worthy Who Cherishes Life and Delivers Souls, the Celestial Worthy of Boundless Wisdom, the Celestial Worthy of Unimpeded Divine Power, the Celestial Worthy of Radiant Wisdom, the Celestial Worthy Who Confers Prophetic Assurance on All, the Celestial Worthy of Wondrousness as Numerous as Dust and Sand, the Celestial Worthy of True Sage Wisdom, the Celestial Worthy of Majestic Radiance, the Celestial Worthy Who Transforms Qi, the Celestial Worthy of Supreme Auspicious Signs, the Celestial Worthy of True Wandering, the Celestial Worthy Who Constantly Observes, the Celestial Worthy of the Eight Directions, the Celestial Worthy of the True Sages, the Celestial Worthy of True Transformation, the Celestial Worthy Who Preserves Life and Protects Destiny, the Celestial Worthy of the Great One Who Rescues from Suffering, and the Celestial Worthy of Universal Compassion Who Protects the Nation.

With sincere reverence, they pay homage to the Celestial Worthy of the True Sages and the Celestial Worthy of True Transformation.

With sincere reverence, we bow to the Heavenly Worthy of Longevity and Preservation of Life, the Heavenly Worthy of the Great One Who Rescues from Suffering, the Heavenly Worthy of Universal Compassion and Protection of the Nation, the Heavenly Worthy Beyond All Bounds, the Heavenly Worthy of a Sea of Merit, the Heavenly Worthy of Freedom and Joy, and the Heavenly Worthy Who Grants Rebirth According to One’s Vows; as well as the Perfected One Who Understands the Dharma, the Perfected One of the Supreme Ultimate, the Greatly Compassionate Perfected One Who Rescues from Suffering, and the Greatly Merciful Perfected One Who Removes Sin.

Today, the patron of this ritual site, so-and-so, and everyone gathered here look up toward the supreme Heavenly Worthy of Numinous Treasure in the southeast, and toward all the venerable gods, sages, Perfected Ones, and attendants spread throughout the ten directions and filling the realm of the mysterious and subtle, who extend through past and future, whether manifest or hidden. We earnestly ask them, with the heart of the Great Dao, the heart of the sages, a boundless and immeasurable heart, and unobstructed wisdom, to use their inconceivable intention and power of merit to ensure that the principal penitent, so-and-so, may, through this repentance, eliminate all karmic causes created by deluded thoughts and inverted conduct—from the beginningless cycle of birth and death through this present life—as well as those of the nine ancestors and seven generations, of themselves and their kin, living and dead.

From this day forward, may the principal penitent realize the heart of the sages and cultivate the Dao of Wuwei, never again giving rise to evil thoughts or committing harmful deeds. May the power of the sages and the Great Dao also enable all kinds of beings to hear the Great Dao, find peace and joy, and return to and understand the Great Dao. One bow.

Third: Dispelling Doubt

Today, everyone gathered at this ritual site should each quiet and gather their thoughts, turn toward the compassionate venerable gods, and repent of and dispel the offenses committed through doubt. The principal penitent, so-and-so, listens with sincere and focused attention to what the scripture says: Although the bodies of living beings are insubstantial and unreal, they still have tangible form. Pain, itching, soreness, hunger, cold, heat, dampness, and other sensations—along with inner changes and external stimuli—constantly assail the body. As a result, the mind and spirit cannot find peace, and worry and distress follow. How, then, should one contemplate so as to remove these sufferings all at once?

The Compassionate One said, “You are confused because you take what is illusory to be real. Everything with form is like a floating cloud or a phantom: it comes together temporarily to assume a shape, but in the end has no true substance. The body feels pain, itching, numbness, and soreness; it experiences hunger, cold, heat, and dampness; and it is affected by movements of the mind and by contact with the outside world. These sensations follow one another from moment to moment and disturb each other. The mind and spirit cannot settle, and sorrow and distress surge up together. So how should one contemplate in order to dispel these afflictions at once?”

The Compassionate One continued, “You are confused because you take what is illusory to be real. Everything with form is insubstantial, changing constantly and unable to last. Beings cling to things, and so mistakenly believe that all things truly exist. If they can understand that the body is not a permanent, unchanging entity, then the various kinds of suffering lose their foundation. Once you let go of attachment to yourself, your delusions will disperse. Why, then, take pain, itching, numbness, and soreness so seriously?”

Puji said, “The doubts in people’s minds run deep, and their attachments have already taken firm root. It is indeed difficult for them to let go of attachment to the body all at once. Is there a suitable method for gradually explaining the principles of causes and conditions?”

The Compassionate Venerable said: “You should make your resolve firm, observe yourself with wisdom, and listen and reflect with care. Everything in the world may seem real, yet careful examination reveals no fixed, unchanging essence. If this gives rise to doubt, you will sink into ruin. Living beings perform different kinds of karmic deeds and therefore receive different consequences, just as different forms cast different shadows, and different sounds produce different echoes. People do indeed differ in status, goodness, and evil. But even when they see these differences, if they do not understand their underlying causes, they will still be left in doubt.

“You see people who live long, but do not know that longevity comes from diligent practice and keeping the precepts. You see people who die young, but do not know that an early death comes from taking life. You see people who are wealthy and honored, but do not know that wealth and honor come from aiding the poor and relieving others’ suffering. You see people who are impoverished, but do not know that poverty comes from greed, theft, and insatiable desire. People see someone else live long and want to live long themselves; they see someone else prosper and want prosperity for themselves. Who does not feel such envy and desire? Yet they do not understand that the karma they created in the past and the conditions formed in former lives determine their circumstances in this life. This is doubt.

“Some living beings see scriptures and rites of repentance but refuse to recite them or believe in them deeply, and so they scorn and slander them. They see realms beyond the Three Realms but do not believe those realms are places of bliss; they see life within the Three Realms but do not realize that it is full of suffering. Beyond the Three Realms—the Desire Realm, the Form Realm, and the Formless Realm—is a realm of Wuwei and freedom. The heavens hold joy, with heavenly clothes and food, and life there can last through vast eons; yet these people call it suffering. Within the Three Realms, the sun and moon hasten time along, and cold and heat keep taking turns. There are also illnesses of every kind, punishments imposed by officials, prisons, weapons, floods and fires, and the suffering of birth, aging, sickness, and death. Yet these people regard such a life as joyful. Living beings differ in understanding and insight, and so doubt arises.

“You see people who abstain from food for long periods and eat only vegetables, who care nothing for adornment, wear garments of grass, and eat coarse food. Their bodies are like withered wood and their minds like cold ashes. You do not understand that they practice in order to rise beyond this world and attain liberation; instead, you think they are simply bringing suffering upon themselves. You see people who keep the precepts, recite scriptures, and practice the Dao with tireless diligence, praying for peace in the land and for their own liberation; yet you say they are needlessly seeking hardship. When you see someone with a beautiful appearance, you deliberately harbor thoughts of slander. When you see people copying scriptures or painting and sculpting images of deities, you do not respond with faith and reverence. Instead, you cast sidelong glances and gossip and slander them among yourselves. Whatever you cannot do yourselves becomes a cause for doubt.

“Before the Three Sages, within the ritual sanctuary, before the scriptures and teachings, and before images of the divine and the holy, these living beings give rise to doubts of every kind. All day they toil in body and mind, their thoughts never ceasing and their ideas in disarray. Questions keep arising in their hearts. When will they ever find even a moment’s rest? They do not seek the truth or dispel their doubts. They simply indulge their karmic habits and let hesitation and delusion grow. For those who understand the principle, demonic obstacles and confusion naturally fade away; for those who do not, doubts only multiply. After death, such people will fall into the hells of wind and thunder and undergo the varied consequences of their deeds.

“The Compassionate Venerable, moved by pity, spoke in verse once more:”

While alive in this world, those who harbor doubts will fall into the Wind and Thunder Hell after death. Their hands and feet will be severed inch by inch, and they will grieve and weep day and night. Obsession with heretical teachings will fade away of its own accord; for those who do not understand the truth, doubts and delusions will instead grow ever stronger. After death, such people will fall into the Wind and Thunder Hell, where each will receive a different retribution. The Compassionate Venerable therefore made a vow and proclaimed this verse once more:

While alive in this world, those who harbor doubts will fall into the Wind and Thunder Hell after death; their hands and feet will be severed inch by inch, and they will weep in anguish without cease, day and night. They must also pass through forests of swords and mountains of blades, where pain pierces to the heart and bones. Reborn as birds and beasts, they will suffer retribution without end, with no way to escape.

All of you gathered today at this ritual altar: if you remain hesitant and uncertain, harboring doubts, and do not root them out in this life, they will only grow more deeply entrenched in the future. These people have accumulated good deeds in the past, and so have not yet incurred guilt. You have still not escaped birth and death, and continue to travel through the cycle of rebirth. If you must endure such retribution, regret will come too late. Now, fortunate enough to have encountered the repentance liturgy at this ritual altar, you can cleanse the errors of the past. You should take refuge with all sincerity.

I, the presiding master of repentance, know well that human life and the physical body are both uncertain. A lifetime passes in an instant; how many days are there in a hundred years? Since time without beginning, people have cast off old bodies and taken on new ones. Yet even today, in this present life, they still indulge the six faculties—the six kinds of consciousness, sensory perceptions, and desires—and give rise to all manner of doubts. They have harbored suspicions, delusions, and faults toward their teachers, fellow students, birth parents, paternal uncles, brothers, and other relatives, without ever becoming aware of them. Today, I respectfully bow in repentance for the doubts arising from these six faculties, and for the deluded and wrongful deeds committed toward teachers, fellow students, parents, paternal uncles, brothers, and relatives. I recite and pay homage to this repentance text, praying for the safety of the living and dedicating merit to the deceased. I prostrate with all five parts of the body touching the ground, listen with single-minded attention, bow before the Compassionate Venerable, and reverently pay homage to the true sages.

With wholehearted reverence, I pay homage to the Heavenly Worthy of the Jade Clarity who bestows blessings.

With wholehearted reverence, I pay homage to the Heavenly Worthy who hears cries and relieves suffering.

With wholehearted reverence, I pay homage to the Heavenly Worthy who cherishes life and delivers souls.

With wholehearted reverence, I pay homage to the Heavenly Worthy of the Golden Register and Dharma Treasury.

With wholehearted reverence, I pay homage to the Heavenly Worthy who opens the Cavern of the Luminous Pearl.

With wholehearted reverence, I pay homage to the Heavenly Worthy of the Primordial Sovereign’s universal transformation.

With wholehearted reverence, I pay homage to the Heavenly Worthy of the Great One and the Dharma.

With wholehearted reverence, I pay homage to the Heavenly Worthy of the Golden Purple Pole.

With wholehearted reverence, I pay homage to the Heavenly Worthy of the True and Wondrous Form.

With wholehearted reverence, I pay homage to the Heavenly Worthy of Infinite Life.

We sincerely and reverently pay homage to the Celestial Worthy of the Great Measure, the Celestial Worthy of Dao and De, the Celestial Worthy of the Great True King, the Celestial Worthy of Radiant Splendor, the Celestial Worthy Who Responds to the Real, the Celestial Worthy of Mysterious Response, the Celestial Worthy of Pure Truth, the Celestial Worthy Who Prolongs Life, the Celestial Worthy Who Preserves Life and Protects Destiny, the Celestial Worthy Taiyi Who Saves from Suffering, the Celestial Worthy of Universal Compassion Who Protects the Nation, the Celestial Worthy of Boundless Extent, the Celestial Worthy of an Ocean of Merit and Virtue, the Celestial Worthy of Ease and Joy, and the Celestial Worthy Who Grants Rebirth According to One’s Wishes, as well as the Perfected One of Great Seclusion, the Perfected One Who Delivers from Suffering, the Greatly Compassionate Perfected One Who Saves from Suffering, and the Greatly Merciful Perfected One Who Removes Sin.

Today, at the ritual altar, the donor, [name], and all those gathered here together look up to and pay homage to the supreme Celestial Worthy of Lingbao in the southeast, and pay homage to the Perfected One of Great Seclusion, the Perfected One Who Delivers from Suffering, the Greatly Compassionate Perfected One Who Saves from Suffering, and the Greatly Merciful Perfected One Who Removes Sin.

“To pay homage with wholehearted devotion” means to bow in worship with focused and reverent sincerity. “Perfected One” is an honorific for an immortal who has attained the Dao. Here, paying homage to the Celestial Worthies and Perfected Ones expresses the wish to relieve suffering, remove sins, and protect all living beings.

Today, the sponsor, So-and-so, and all those gathered at the ritual sanctuary look up in prayer to the Most High Celestial Worthy of Numinous Treasure in the southeast, along with the honored deities, sages, great perfected beings, and great youths. They also pray to the true sages throughout the ten directions, filling the realm of mystery and emptiness, whose presence has remained hidden or revealed in uncertain ways throughout the past and future. May they use the method of gathering and stilling the mind to protect and watch over the repentance leader, So-and-so.

May the repentance leader, So-and-so, from immeasurable eons ago through countless times of abandoning an old body and being born into a new one, up to this very life and this very day, together with nine generations of ancestors and seven generations of descendants, and all family members living and deceased, cast off every doubt in their hearts, accept this rite of bowing and repentance, attain liberation, and enter the gate of the true path of faith. May everyone hold firmly to their resolve and set their hearts on following the true path. In all matters, within and without, may they cultivate goodness and accumulate blessings. When copying scriptures or making offerings to images of the deities, may they have no doubts and encounter no obstacles or calamities.

When they see upright men and women, or any of the world’s many good deeds, may they always feel reverence, follow along with joy and praise, and help those who do good to keep making progress. May they attain good fruits and spread their blessings to all living beings, so that all beings among the four forms of birth—womb-born, egg-born, moisture-born, and transformation-born—and all beings in the six paths—heavens, humans, asuras, hell beings, hungry ghosts, and animals—may rise together and attain the supreme Great Dao. One bow.

Chapter Four: Quelling the Fires of the Heart

Today, all those gathered at the ritual sanctuary each set their minds upon the work and look up toward the fruits of compassion and goodness—that is, the merit formed through compassionate and virtuous deeds. May this merit spread to all living beings, so that those in the four forms of birth and the six paths may rise together and attain the supreme Great Dao. One bow.

Chapter Four: Quelling the Fires of the Heart

Today, everyone in the ritual hall gathers their thoughts and looks up toward the compassionate deity, repenting and dispelling the karmic offenses created by the fires of the heart. The presiding penitent, a certain person, clasps his hands in salute, kneels for a long time, and listens reverently to the scripture.

At first, all living beings made no distinction between north and south; gradually, they came to distinguish east from west. They began to criticize what was coarse and favor what was splendid, to delight in wealth and resent poverty and low status. They trusted everything their thoughts produced, yet gave no heed to the greater or lesser importance of things. They coveted profit and forgot kindness, grew distant from their relatives but felt pity for outsiders. At the sight of ornate decoration, their craving knew no end; on hearing plain, sincere words, they found them grating, as if they had encountered an enemy. They regarded their offenses as high as mountains, but weighed the fruits of goodness as lightly as the wind.

Their understanding was narrow, their temper stubborn and foolish. They acted without restraint, always convinced that they alone were right. Their greed was insatiable, their stinginess without limit. They looked on good deeds as if they were enemies, yet rejoiced to hear of wrongdoing. Even after amassing great wealth, they still claimed to be poor; though they had committed many grave offenses, they insisted that it was only natural. From beginning to end, what did they notice, and what did they understand? Day after day, year after year, they never repented.

Doubt and delusion arise from one’s own mind; folly, attachment, greed, and anger also spring from the mind. When anger or delight arises in the heart, there is no restraint. They drink, kill living creatures, and indulge their desires. Once they dress in fine, elegant clothes, lustful thoughts arise, even leading to the ruin of families and states. They boast of the vigor of youth and flaunt their outward beauty. They do not draw near to virtuous friends, associating only with bad companions. From morning until night they sink into confusion, remaining dazed even after dark. They disregard their kin and show no respect for their parents. Once they are lost in delusion and fail to turn back, they are like a fire in the mountains and forests: blazing fiercely and difficult to extinguish. The wind that feeds the flames refers to the thoughts of the human heart: the stronger the fire, the higher the wind, and the more the mind chases its thoughts and follows its desires. Foolish, ordinary people take things tainted by attachment to be real. Thoughts arise from the mind, and all that they see and imagine becomes illusion.

Then the Compassionate Venerable One again proclaimed this verse:

Angry thoughts summon demonic obstacles and enmity, and cause one’s words to go astray. When tempers clash, anger shows on the face; glaring and knitting the brows at others, one becomes as fearsome as a five-colored snake. Before long, life itself may be lost, and one may fall into the torments of hell. I urge all living beings to correct their faults and repent in time; do not remain trapped in the prison of karmic offenses. If you arouse the resolve to cultivate the Great Way, the obstacles of karmic offenses can be dispelled.

At this time, the Venerable Compassionate One once again said to Pujì, “The offenses of living beings arise from thoughts of the mind, and they can also be dispelled by thoughts of the mind. As soon as a sincere resolve to reform arises, the offenses can be erased. Karmic force entangles a person like a rope tied to a bird. However far it flies, it remains held by the rope.

“The bird can move only as far as the rope allows. It searches everywhere for food, believing itself free and happy, unaware that someone is holding the rope and preparing to catch it. When the rope is drawn in and the bird is on the verge of being seized, only then does it panic. Once it falls into human hands, its life and death are no longer its own. It may cry out in sorrow and crouch down to beg, but no one can save it.

“People create karmic force in the same way. If they do not restrain the six faculties—the eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, and mind—and let the seven consciousnesses, the levels of consciousness described in Buddhism, run unchecked, they will commit all kinds of misdeeds without understanding their consequences. These wrongs accumulate into karma. People then undergo the circumstances of life that their karma brings upon them, while this unseen karmic rope binds their hearts. Whether born into a wealthy family or cast into the harsh conditions of animal or hungry ghost existence, or into illness, they may chase pleasure wherever they are, believing themselves happy without the least awareness of their plight.

“Those with whom they formed grudges or debts in the past will follow the pull of karma to seek repayment in the underworld and the human world. Misfortune often arrives without warning. When people suffer all kinds of distress, they fail to awaken to repentance. Instead, they blame the gods, heed false teachings, turn right and wrong upside down, and even kill living beings in sacrifice. While still enduring the calamities of the past, they create new enmities as well. At that point, no one can protect or save them, and nothing can be undone.”

Those gathered at today’s Daoist altar should, as the scripture says, reflect carefully and remain alert. Invisible karmic forces bind people like ropes; they arise from unwholesome deeds. The suffering endured across one life after another is brought about by one’s own thoughts and actions. Without sincere repentance, how can it be dispelled? These karmic ties are like shadows cast by the body: they arise from ignorance—being deluded and unaware of the truth—and vanish as ignorance fades. We should therefore feel remorse, cleanse body and mind, and repent sincerely.

The presiding celebrant has, from beginningless and immeasurable eons until this present life, passed through countless births and deaths. Their honored teachers, fellow practitioners, and members of the lineage above and below them, as well as their parents, siblings, and close relatives, have all formed boundless karmic ties through deluded thoughts—so many that they cannot be recorded. Today, in prayer for peace and to commend the dead, we respectfully chant this repentance text. All present prostrate themselves, listen with single-minded attention, bow before the compassionate and revered divinities, and pay reverent homage to the true sages.

With sincere and reverent devotion, we bow to the Celestial Worthy of the Jade Clarity who bestows blessings.

With sincere and reverent devotion, we bow to the Celestial Worthy who hears cries and rescues from suffering.

With sincere and reverent devotion, we bow to the Celestial Worthy who cherishes life and saves lives.

With sincere and reverent devotion, we bow to the Celestial Worthy who universally manifests the Dao and De.

With sincere and reverent devotion, we bow to the Celestial Worthy whose compassion reaches throughout the Three Realms.

With sincere and reverent devotion, we bow to the Celestial Worthy who widely bestows blessings.

With sincere and reverent devotion, we bow to the Celestial Worthy who hears cries and rescues from suffering.

With sincere and reverent devotion, we bow to the Celestial Worthy who cherishes life and saves lives.

With sincere and reverent devotion, we bow to the Celestial Worthy who universally manifests the Dao and De.

With sincere and reverent devotion, we bow to the Celestial Worthy whose compassion reaches throughout the Three Realms.

With sincere and reverent devotion, we bow to the Celestial Worthy who widely transforms the beings of the Six Paths.

With sincere and reverent devotion, we bow to the Celestial Worthy of Flying Elixirs and Radiance Shining to the Pole.

With sincere and reverent devotion, we bow to the Celestial Worthy of the Treasure Grove and Primordial Cavern.

With sincere and reverent devotion, we bow to the Celestial Worthy of boundless numinous efficacy.

With sincere and reverent devotion, we bow to the Celestial Worthy whose wisdom and power advance without cease.

With sincere and reverent devotion, we bow to the Celestial Worthy of Fuluo’s Radiant Heaven.

With sincere and reverent devotion, we bow to the Celestial Worthy whose compassion and aid extend through eternal eons.

With sincere and reverent devotion, we bow to the Celestial Worthy of perfect wisdom.

With sincere and reverent devotion, we bow to the Celestial Worthy who enables people to ascend forever to the Realm of Dawn.

With sincere and reverent devotion, we bow to the Celestial Worthy of glorious light.

With sincere and reverent devotion, we bow to the Celestial Worthy who opens the way to light.

With sincere and reverent devotion, we bow to the Celestial Worthy who widely offers salvation.

With sincere and reverent devotion, we bow to the Celestial Worthy of the myriad mysteries.

With sincere and reverent devotion, we bow to the Celestial Worthy of Great Subtlety.

With single-minded reverence, we bow in worship to the Celestial Worthy of Wondrous Understanding.

With single-minded reverence, we bow in worship to the Celestial Worthy of the Ocean of the Dharma.

With single-minded reverence, we bow in worship to the Celestial Worthy Who Grants Longevity and Preserves Life.

With single-minded reverence, we bow in worship to the Celestial Worthy Taiyi, Savior from Suffering.

With single-minded reverence, we bow in worship to the Celestial Worthy of Universal Compassion, Protector of the Nation.

With single-minded reverence, we bow in worship to the Celestial Worthy of the Ocean of the Dharma.

With single-minded reverence, we bow in worship to the Celestial Worthy Who Grants Longevity and Preserves Life.

With single-minded reverence, we bow in worship to the Celestial Worthy Taiyi, Savior from Suffering.

With single-minded reverence, we bow in worship to the Celestial Worthy of Universal Compassion, Protector of the Nation.

With single-minded reverence, we bow in worship to the Celestial Worthy of Boundless Reach.

With single-minded reverence, we bow in worship to the Celestial Worthy of an Ocean of Merit.

With single-minded reverence, we bow in worship to the Celestial Worthy of Freedom and Joy.

With single-minded reverence, we bow in worship to the Celestial Worthy Who Grants Rebirth According to One’s Vows.

With single-minded reverence, we bow in worship to the Perfected One of Wondrous Practice (a Perfected One of sublime cultivation).

With single-minded reverence, we bow in worship to the Perfected One of Wondrous Countenance (a Perfected One of dignified and auspicious appearance).

With single-minded reverence, we bow in worship to the Greatly Compassionate Perfected One Who Saves from Suffering.

With single-minded reverence, we bow in worship to the Greatly Merciful Perfected One Who Removes Sins.

Today, so-and-so, who presides over the repentance rite at this Daoist altar, and all those gathered here, look up and pray to the supreme Celestial Worthy of Lingbao in the southeast, as well as to the revered deities, sages, Perfected Ones, Great Perfected Ones, and Great Youths. We pray to all revered and holy beings throughout the ten directions, filling the realm of the mysterious and void, encompassing past and future, the manifest and the hidden. May they act with the heart of the Great Dao and exercise the power of Wuwei, helping the person leading the repentance, so-and-so, to eliminate the many offenses arising from thoughts and committed by their own hand. May these offenses be erased through today’s repentance. From this day onward, now that past transgressions have been confessed, may they never be repeated, and may no new offenses be committed.

When we see others sincerely vow to cultivate the Way, perform good deeds, and accumulate merit, whether their efforts succeed or remain incomplete, are thorough or imperfect, we should turn our thoughts toward joy and a sense of shame, and encourage and guide them to continue doing good. May wholesome connections come to fruition. May all beings in the Dharma Realm, together with our own nine generations of ancestors and seven generations of descendants, and the beings of the four births and six realms—all kinds of sentient beings and those caught in the cycle of rebirth—be liberated together and take refuge in the Great Dao. Bow once.

The Supreme One’s Greatly Compassionate Repentance Liturgy for Dispelling Calamities and Delivering the Nine Hells, Scroll Two.

Compiled by the Supreme Ultimate’s Left Immortal Lord Ge Xuan, a Daoist immortal traditionally regarded as the compiler of this scripture.

First Section: Cutting Off Afflictions

Everyone gathered today at the altar should each focus their minds, look up toward the compassionate divine being, repent, and cut off afflictions and sinful karma. The repentance leader, so-and-so, gathers his thoughts, kneels upright on the ground, and respectfully listens to the scripture.

All beings are born dependent on their parents and gestate in their mother’s womb. Some are wealthy from childhood, while others are poor in youth; some rise to prominence early in life, while others later become lowly. Some commit only one kind of misdeed, while others commit many. Some are men, others women, yet they cannot understand the cycle of rebirth or distinguish the beginning and end of life.

Beings suffer afflictions because they cling to their own views. Clinging arises from delusion; delusion arises from false thoughts; and false thoughts give rise to doubt. Doubt brings all kinds of suffering, and that suffering stems from the karma one has created. Once karma has been created, one must face the pressure of impermanence, with little freedom to act as one wishes.

The Compassionate One said to Puji: “Afflictions are the sufferings that sentient beings endure when they are born as humans and live in this world. Whether rich or poor, high or low in status, male or female, young or old, everyone must find a way to obtain food and clothing, depend on various conditions to sustain life, and attend to daily needs. They are also constrained by the laws of the sovereign and by the limits of social rank; they gather with and part from their loved ones, experience all manner of affection and attachment, and eventually grow old, fall ill, and die. Some do not live out their full span of years. Driven by the karma they have made, they wander from place to place and fall into the three evil destinies—the hells, the hungry ghosts, and the animals—gradually drifting farther from the human and heavenly realms, without recognizing the suffering brought by impermanence.

“If they had wisdom and understood that nothing has a fixed, unchanging nature of its own, they could see through deluded thoughts and resolve their doubts. They would not cling to these circumstances as true suffering, and so would indulge their impulses and sink into ease and pleasure. When a thought stirs, the mind arises with it; wherever the mind turns, it gives rise to all kinds of karmic actions. Sentient beings cling to their own views, taking upside-down and mistaken ideas for the truth. When they encounter the outer world, they conjure delusions, grasp greedily and refuse to let go, and become consumed by doubt. They let the six faculties—the eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, and mind, through which they perceive the world and think—run unchecked, creating countless misdeeds. By failing to restrain the three kinds of karma—actions of the body, speech, and mind—they plant immeasurable causes for falling into hell. All of this arises from affliction, and from clinging to and becoming attached to body and mind.

“With a body come afflictions; without a body, there are no afflictions. Since you still have afflictions, you should practice.” Puji asked, “What wholesome practices should one cultivate to be freed from affliction?”

The Venerable Compassionate One said: To eliminate the karma created through body, speech, and mind, one must establish three kinds of wholesome conduct: wholesome conduct of the mind, wholesome conduct of the body, and wholesome conduct of speech.

Wholesome conduct of the mind means not being greedy, not becoming angry, and not being deluded. Live with integrity and keep oneself in check; want little and be content, restrain acquisitiveness, and put aside thoughts of pursuing private gain. Be compassionate and patient, even-tempered and gentle, generous and accepting toward others. Dispel anger and remain calm. Contemplate subtle and mysterious principles and maintain purity and stillness. Understand being and nonbeing, and use wisdom to discern clearly the principles of all things. This is called wholesome conduct of the mind.

Wholesome conduct of the body means not killing or harming living beings, not stealing, and not engaging in sexual misconduct. Treat others with kindness and wisdom, give generously, show compassion for living beings, save lives, and aid the departed. Be humble and yielding, and do not take what is unjustly gained. Do not begrudge even your own person, life, or possessions. Keep yourself upright and pure, avoid sexual misconduct, do not become absorbed in sensual desire, and do not let the mind run unchecked. This is called wholesome conduct of the body.

Wholesome conduct of speech means not speaking falsely or deceptively, not using flowery and exaggerated language, not sowing discord, and not insulting others. Speak honestly and do not deceive. Express what is true without embellishment. Keep words and intentions fair and clear, take neither side, and do not contradict yourself. Speak in a calm and gentle tone. Also learn to explain principles well and recite the Dongzhang, passages from Daoist scriptures. This is called wholesome conduct of speech.

When all three kinds of wholesome conduct—of body, speech, and mind—are fulfilled, there will be no more doubt. Without doubt, there are no deluded thoughts; without deluded thoughts, there is no confusion or inversion. Without inversion, one does not cling to biased views; without fixed views, there is no affliction. Without affliction, there are no manifold sufferings; without suffering, there are no forms of evil karma. In this way, one attains peace and joy and enters the Dao of Wuwei (non-action).

At this, Puji heard the teaching on the three kinds of wholesome conduct. All the beings present were cured of the illness of affliction, and they praised the Venerable Compassionate One, chanting:

I respectfully bow to the true master of the Dharma among the sages. You proclaim the wondrous medicine that heals the afflictions of living beings.

Every being carries within the heart a treasure beyond price, yet it is often plundered by the “Six Thieves”—the six kinds of sensory desire that make people lose their original nature. Anger pierces the heart like a sharp arrow; ignorance and craving wrap around the body like chains, with no key in sight to unlock them. Clinging to the self and setting oneself against others is like being confined by stocks. Attachment and deluded thoughts toward family and friends also continually disturb and seize the mind. Now, by relying on three kinds of good deeds, we seek to dispel these afflictions, hoping from this day onward to cease clinging to the “Four Marks”—fixations on self, others, sentient beings, and lifespan.

The people gathered in the sanctuary today also have their precious nature repeatedly plundered by the six desires… Now, by relying on three kinds of good deeds, we seek to dispel these afflictions, hoping from this day onward to cease clinging to the Four Marks.

Those gathered in the sanctuary today, together with the repentance sponsor, So-and-so, should carefully reflect on these afflictions. Throughout immeasurable kalpas, we have endured every kind of suffering. Though we experience happiness in this life, we remain in the midst of suffering. We have not awakened or severed our afflictions; instead, we have allowed them to grow without end. The karmic forces accumulated in past lives entangle us with one another, keeping us in this illusory world. We cannot see the Great Dao or understand the true teachings, while calamities and afflictions multiply day by day, binding body and mind.

Now we have encountered the teachings of the Compassionate Venerable One, which explain in detail the methods of cultivation, use parables to reveal afflictions, and guide those sunk in ignorance and darkness, enabling all sentient beings to awaken. From beginningless time until this kalpa, this life, and this very day, the repentance sponsor, So-and-so, along with all relatives from the nine generations of ancestors and seven generations of descendants, the living and the dead alike, has indulged body, speech, and mind and created karma: three bodily misdeeds, four faults of speech, and ten harmful thoughts of mind. Through fundamental ignorance, the sponsor has also given rise to the Three Poisons, the Four Destinies, the Five Hindrances, the Six Dusts, the Seven Defilements, the Eight Impurities, the Nine Bonds, the Ten Fetters, and all manner of afflictions, losing freedom of action. Afflictions are like a prison, causing beings to wander through the cycles of existence.

Encountering this repentance liturgy today is like seeing the sun by day and the moon at night; like a blind person regaining sight, a mute gaining speech, a deaf person hearing sound, or a criminal receiving pardon. Whether seeking peace or dedicating merit to the dead, when bowing and reciting this repentance text, one should prostrate with all five limbs touching the ground, make one’s vow with undivided attention, bow before the Compassionate Venerable One, and reverently pay homage to the true sages.

With utmost sincerity and reverence, I bow before the Celestial Worthy of Jade Clarity Who Bestows Blessings (the Celestial Worthy who grants good fortune).

With utmost sincerity and reverence, I bow before the Celestial Worthy Who Hears Cries and Relieves Suffering (the Celestial Worthy who hears the cries of those in distress and comes to their aid).

With utmost sincerity and reverence, I bow before the Celestial Worthy of Mysterious Truth and Ten Thousand Blessings.

With utmost sincerity and reverence, I bow before the Celestial Worthy Who Travels Through the World (the Celestial Worthy who journeys throughout the world).

With utmost sincerity and reverence, I bow before the Celestial Worthy of Primordial Yang and Measured Transformation.

With utmost sincerity and reverence, I bow before the Celestial Worthy.

With utmost sincerity and reverence, I bow before the Celestial Worthy of Mysterious Truth and Ten Thousand Blessings.

With utmost sincerity and reverence, I bow before the Celestial Worthy Who Travels Through the World.

With utmost sincerity and reverence, I bow before the Celestial Worthy of Primordial Yang and Measured Transformation.

With utmost sincerity and reverence, I bow before the Celestial Worthy Who Transforms Me (the Celestial Worthy who transforms my body and mind).

With utmost sincerity and reverence, I bow before the Celestial Worthy Who Makes the Mind a Clear Mirror (the Celestial Worthy who makes the mind clear, pure, and unstained).

With utmost sincerity and reverence, I bow before the Celestial Worthy of the Highest and Wondrous Heaven.

With utmost sincerity and reverence, I bow before the Celestial Worthy of Lasting Tranquility.

With utmost sincerity and reverence, I bow before the Celestial Worthy of the Mysterious and Wondrous Gate (the Celestial Worthy who embodies the gate of the mysterious and wondrous Great Dao).

With utmost sincerity and reverence, I bow before the Celestial Worthy of Lasting Purity and Stillness.

With utmost sincerity and reverence, I bow before the Celestial Worthy Who Transcends Birth and Death (the Celestial Worthy who guides living beings beyond birth and death).

With utmost sincerity and reverence, I bow before the Celestial Worthy of Great Majesty.

With utmost sincerity and reverence, I bow before the Celestial Worthy Who Contemplates the Wondrous Body.

With utmost sincerity and reverence, I bow before the Celestial Worthy Who Constantly Shelters All (the Celestial Worthy who ceaselessly protects living beings far and wide).

With utmost sincerity and reverence, I bow before the Celestial Worthy of the Highest Mystery.

With utmost sincerity and reverence, I bow before the Celestial Worthy Who Aids the Spirit.

With utmost sincerity and reverence, I bow before the Celestial Worthy Who Turns the Dharma Wheel (the Celestial Worthy who sets the order of the Dharma in motion and spreads the Dao teachings).

With utmost sincerity and reverence, I bow before the Celestial Worthy of True Wondrousness.

With utmost sincerity and reverence, I bow before the Celestial Worthy of Flourishing Yang.

With utmost sincerity and reverence, I bow before the Celestial Worthy Taiyi Who Relieves Suffering (an important Daoist deity who saves those in distress).

With utmost sincerity and reverence, I bow before the Venerable One of Long Life.

With utmost sincerity and reverence, I bow before the Celestial Worthy Who Turns the Dharma Wheel.

With utmost sincerity and reverence, I bow before the Celestial Worthy of True Wondrousness.

With utmost sincerity and reverence, I bow before the Celestial Worthy of Flourishing Yang.

With utmost sincerity and reverence, I bow before the Celestial Worthy Taiyi Who Relieves Suffering.

With utmost sincerity and reverence, I bow before the Celestial Worthy Who Grants Long Life and Preserves Vitality (the Celestial Worthy who protects longevity and preserves life).

With utmost sincerity and reverence, I bow before the Celestial Worthy of Universal Compassion Who Protects the Nation (the Celestial Worthy who extends compassion widely and safeguards the nation).

With utmost sincerity and reverence, I bow before the Celestial Worthy Without Limit.

With utmost sincerity and reverence, I bow before the Celestial Worthy Whose Merit Is as Vast as the Sea (the Celestial Worthy whose merit is as boundless as the sea).

With utmost sincerity and reverence, I bow before the Celestial Worthy of Freedom and Joy.

With utmost sincerity and reverence, I bow before the Celestial Worthy Who Guides Beings to Rebirth According to Their Wishes (the Celestial Worthy who protects living beings so they may be reborn according to their wishes).

With utmost sincerity and reverence, I bow before the Perfected One of the Left Mystery.

With utmost sincerity and reverence, I bow before the Perfected One of the Right Mystery.

With utmost sincerity and reverence, I bow before the Greatly Compassionate Perfected One Who Relieves Suffering.

With single-minded reverence, we bow to the True Person of Great Compassion, who removes the burden of sin through the power of great compassion.

Benefactors and all who have gathered for today’s ritual assembly, we look up in supplication to the Most High Celestial Worthy of Numinous Treasure of the South, together with the revered gods, sages, immortals, Great True Persons, heavenly beings, and attendants. May all the true sages of past and future, whose presence is unhindered throughout the ten directions and the boundless void, join in exercising the benevolent power of compassion to save and protect living beings.

May the sages save and protect the repentance leader, [name], helping him forever sever afflictions and leave behind the defilements of the world. May they also gather benevolent power for living beings of past and present lives, helping them escape the Three Evil Paths—hell, hungry ghosts, and animals—and forever leave the evil destinies. May all of us be reborn in pure and peaceful lands throughout the ten directions.

May all afflictions, accumulated habits, and roots of sinful karma be dispelled through this repentance. From this day forward, may everyone cultivate the true Dao without growing negligent. May we gain wisdom, skillful means, and the power to deliver living beings from suffering; dispel every kind of disaster and protect the nation’s peace. May we deliver beings, both seen and unseen, in the Six Paths, as well as the distant departed souls of the Nine Ancestors among the Four Births—womb-born, egg-born, moisture-born, and transformation-born—and the purified spirits of our ancestors across three generations. May they all escape the prison of suffering together and reach the far shore of liberation through attaining the Dao.

We bow once.

Chapter Two: Cleansing the Toils of the World and the Burden of Karmic Obstruction.

Everyone gathered today at this sacred site should each quiet and collect their thoughts, look up to the compassionate deity, and repent for the offenses created through worldly toil and affliction. The one leading the repentance, [name], should focus the mind, take refuge and return to the Way, and listen carefully to what the scripture says.

Ever since all beings were born and came to possess bodies, they have had the rounded heavens above their heads and the square earth beneath their feet. Their bodies are impure, their flesh and bones carry the smell of the mundane, and they often fail to avoid the stars, leaving themselves exposed to wind and rain. Having accumulated offenses in the world of the living, they are bound also to have incurred transgressions in the world of the dead. Yet between Heaven and Earth, regardless of status, the kinds of wrongdoing are without number.

Some offenses arise from the three karmic actions of body, speech, and mind: bodily conduct, words, and thoughts. Some faults begin with the six faculties: eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, and mind. Some stem from a crooked heart; others arise through attachment to external things. Some are prompted by the three poisons of greed, anger, and delusion, giving rise to four kinds of mistaken view. Some produce one hundred and eight afflictions through the three karmic actions. Some develop from five mistaken views into sixty-two partial views. Some bring forth forty kinds of evil conduct from the ten evils. And some arise from the consciousnesses of the six senses, producing eighty-four thousand afflictions born of worldly toil.

Even in a single instant, the four mistaken views, one hundred and eight afflictions, sixty-two partial views, and forty kinds of evil conduct may arise, creating eighty-four thousand kinds of painful karma born of worldly toil. How much more so over the course of a day, a month, or a year, when thoughts continue without ceasing—or across successive eons, when the offenses created are all the more numerous. Thus afflictions and painful karma entangle one another and keep multiplying without end.

Yet the roots of karmic offenses are three. Puji asked, “What are the three?” The first is vexation, the second karma, and the third thought. Because of these three obstructions, beings cannot behold the realm of the sages, nor receive the fine blessings of the human and heavenly realms. If they can awaken to these three obstructions in a day, an hour, or even a single instant, then the three karmic actions, six faculties, one hundred and eight afflictions, sixty-two partial views, forty kinds of evil conduct, and eighty-four thousand kinds of painful karma born of worldly toil can all be purified.

These beings do not believe what I say or act according to the scripture. They do not know how to resolve enmities or seek liberation. Their evil conduct piles up like grains of sand, and their offenses fill Heaven and Earth. They are ensnared by the three poisons, ten evils, five views, six sense objects, six forms of defilement, and six entrances; they also commit offenses that lead to the uninterrupted hell. Some begin to create karma but then lose faith and abandon their practice. Some slander the Celestial Venerable, revile the Three Jewels, vilify the sages and worthies, destroy the True Dharma, and refuse to believe in the law of cause and effect governing good and evil.

They commit the ten evils: losing sight of truth and turning away from the right path is the karma of delusion and ignorance; failing in loyalty to the ruler is the karma of treachery; failing to honor one’s parents is the karma of disobedience; slighting a revered teacher is the karma of disrespect; breaking faith with friends is the karma of unrighteousness. They commit the four grave offenses and obstruct the sage’s path; violate pure precepts and break the Eight Purification Precepts; transgress the precepts and bring about all manner of faults. They do not uphold the Ten Precepts, and, whether the offense is great or small, even their slightest actions taint pure cultivation. They do not regularly observe the six fasting days each year and the ten fasting days each month. In the many forms of proper conduct they fail to observe the rules, and even the details of the two thousand four hundred forms of proper conduct are marred by faults. They obstruct their own cultivation of body, precepts, mind, and wisdom. On the Eight Kings’ Days in spring and autumn they commit numerous offenses. Their conduct is often evil, violating precepts and ritual rules. They feel no compassion for beings who suffer: they show no understanding, pity, or aid. They harbor jealousy and make distinctions between themselves and others. They fail to treat enemies and loved ones with equal regard. They sink into the five desires of wealth, sex, fame, food, and sleep, without knowing how to turn away from them. They grow careless and indolent through indulgence in clothing, food, gardens, bathing pools, and other comforts. Or they dedicate virtuous deeds still bound by attachment to the Three Sages, thereby obstructing the path of renunciation and cultivation. Offenses such as these are limitless and boundless, too numerous to recount.

Puji asked, “What kind of mind should one cultivate so that these karmic obstructions and offenses may be dispelled?”

The Compassionate Venerable said, “One should first cultivate seven kinds of wholesome thoughts and take them as the foundation for how one conducts oneself and acts. Wholesome deeds of this kind are boundless and beyond counting or recounting.” Pujie asked, “What thoughts should one hold in order to dispel karmic obstacles and offenses?”

The Compassionate Venerable said, “First cultivate seven kinds of wholesome thoughts as aids to repentance; only then can offenses be eradicated. What are the seven? First, feel shame and remorse. Second, become alert and fearful. Third, reject one’s faults and resolve to turn away from evil deeds. Fourth, arouse the aspiration to seek the unsurpassed good path. Fifth, regard enemies and loved ones equally. Sixth, reflect on the kindness of the Celestial Venerables, the ruler of the state, one’s teachers, and one’s parents, and wish to repay it. Seventh, contemplate the many deluded thoughts and understand that the nature of offenses, too, is empty.

“If a person lacks these wholesome thoughts and refuses to repent, calamities may extend to distant ancestors, and misfortune may reach their descendants. In this life, that person may suffer blindness, deafness, chronic illness, and other afflictions. After death, they may fall into the prisons of the Ninefold Darkness, the underworld’s shadowy depths, and endure countless kalpas before being reborn; or they may take the form of hungry ghosts, nonhuman beings, and other creatures.” Then the Compassionate Venerable recited this verse:

If someone harbors evil thoughts and commits all manner of offenses without cause, even the slightest evil may lead them, after death, to fall into the eighteen levels of hell and suffer every kind of torment, no matter how many offenses they have accumulated. Even if they later take birth as a famished tiger, they will never be full. And even if they have the chance to be reborn as a human, they may meet sudden disasters such as floods, fires, or warfare; they may suffer long illnesses, or even become mad or epileptic.

The assembly now gathered in the Daoist sanctuary is just as the scripture says: these painful consequences are truly fearsome. When people suffer such hardships themselves, how could they recognize what they have undergone across lifetimes? Their minds have simply been obscured by ignorance. Some commit the Ten Evils—the ten kinds of wrongdoing described in Buddhism—while others urge people to commit them. Some approve of and praise the Ten Evils; others knowingly continue to practice them. Some, in a passing thought, resolve to commit them. Even the smallest evil deed will bring consequences in the future, and by then regret will come too late. Now is the time to strive diligently and repent with sincerity.

Whether beings are in the Six Realms, the six destinations of rebirth, or belong to the Four Births—womb-born, egg-born, moisture-born, and transformation-born—all who are undergoing or have yet to undergo the consequences of suffering are included in my vow here: may we all attain liberation together.

The chief officiant of repentance, [name], performs prostrations before this repentance text, praying for peace and seeking the salvation of the dead. With body, speech, and mind wholly devoted, they make a vow, bow before the Compassionate Venerable, and reverently pay homage to the true sages.

With utmost sincerity and reverence, I bow before the Celestial Venerable of the Jade Clarity who bestows blessings.

With utmost sincerity and reverence, I bow before the Celestial Worthy Who Hears the Cries and Saves from Suffering (a revered deity who hastens to help upon hearing of the suffering of sentient beings), the Celestial Worthy of Ten Thousand Blessings of Mysterious Truth, the Celestial Worthy Who Transforms and Liberates the Dragon Kings, the Celestial Worthy of Cycles Through Ten Thousand Kalpas, the Celestial Worthy Who Responds to Calls from the Ten Directions, and the Inconceivable Celestial Worthy.

With utmost sincerity and reverence, I bow before the Celestial Worthy of Ten Thousand Blessings of Mysterious Truth, the Celestial Worthy Who Transforms and Liberates the Dragon Kings, the Celestial Worthy of Cycles Through Ten Thousand Kalpas, the Celestial Worthy Who Responds to Calls from the Ten Directions, the Inconceivable Celestial Worthy, the Celestial Worthy Who Dispels Afflictions, the Celestial Worthy of Lofty and Far-Reaching Virtue, the Celestial Worthy of Subtlety as Fine as Dust and Sand, the Celestial Worthy Whose Body Shines with the Dharma, the Celestial Worthy Whose Wisdom Is Unmatched, the Celestial Worthy of the Utmost Hidden Dharma, the Celestial Worthy of Highest Clarity, the Celestial Worthy Who Advances in the Dao, the Celestial Worthy Who Responds Through Transformation, the Celestial Worthy Who Knows Suffering, the Celestial Worthy Who Transforms Beings, the Celestial Worthy of Faith and Wisdom, the Celestial Worthy Who Delivers from Calamity, and the Celestial Worthy Who Guides to Immortality.

With utmost sincerity and reverence, I bow before the Celestial Worthy Taiyi Who Saves from Suffering, the Celestial Worthy Who Preserves Life and Grants Longevity, the Celestial Worthy of Universal Compassion Who Protects the Nation, the Celestial Worthy of Untroubled Joy, the Celestial Worthy Who Grants Rebirth According to One’s Wishes, the Boundless Celestial Worthy, and the Celestial Worthy of the Ocean of Merit and Virtue.

With utmost sincerity and reverence, I bow before the Celestial Worthy of Untroubled Joy, the Celestial Worthy Who Grants Rebirth According to One’s Wishes, the Boundless Celestial Worthy, the Celestial Worthy of the Ocean of Merit and Virtue, the Perfected One of Wondrous Function, and the Perfected One Who Understands the Body (Perfected One is an honorific title in Daoism for those who have attained success in cultivation).