《太上慈悲道场消灾九幽忏》Vol. 4

Reverently pay homage to the Perfected One of Precious Appearance, a revered Daoist deity. Reverently pay homage to the Perfected One of Perfect Nirvana, a revered Daoist deity. Reverently pay homage to the Perfected One of Great Compassion, who rescues those in distress, and respectfully worship the Celestial Worthy. Once again, reverently pay homage to the Perfected One of Precious Appearance, the Perfected One of Perfect Nirvana, the Perfected One of Great Compassion, and the Perfected One of Great Mercy, who delivers beings from the suffering of sin.

The presiding officiant and all participants in today’s repentance ritual together entrust and devote themselves, looking up in supplication to the supreme Lingbao Celestial Worthy above, as well as to all the revered deities and holy Perfected Ones; the celestial immortals, the immortals of the Grotto-Heavens, the terrestrial immortals, water immortals, and flying immortals; the Perfected Ones who aid all beings, the Perfected Ones who rescue those in distress, and the Youths who rescue those in distress; and all the hidden and manifest holy Perfected Ones who fill the mysterious realms and extend throughout the ten directions. May they widely bestow their virtue of protection upon all living beings, and let its grace spread throughout the land.

May the emperor’s good fortune endure, may no flames of war arise at the borders, may weapons be laid aside, and may the realm be secure. May the rulers and crown princes of every state together consolidate their imperial enterprises; may their ministers be loyal and upright, and may the chief ministers share in the state’s fortunes and prosperity as they govern the world together.

May Heaven and Earth be clear and bright, and the weather harmonious. May floods and droughts be kept away for a long time; may pests and locusts never appear again; may border conflicts subside, and calamities and epidemics recede. May wind and rain come in season, crops yield abundant harvests, sweet dew descend from Heaven, and auspicious clouds appear on Earth. May the state be prosperous and its ministers worthy; may the people’s households have ample food and clothing, and may they observe their duties of filial piety and respect for elder siblings.

Next, may the prisons of Mount Luo and the tormented realms of the Eight Difficulties and Nine Depths cease their interrogation and punishment of souls, so that living beings may escape forever from the Three Evil Paths—the realms of suffering such as hell, hungry ghosts, and animals. The officiant of repentance, [name], from the countless kalpas before time began through this kalpa and this lifetime, together with the ancestors of nine generations, parents, and all relatives, wishes by the power and merit of bowing in repentance to ascend beyond suffering and return to the true and upright Great Dao.

Make one bow.

“Widespread Rescue of the People,” Section Two

The assembly gathered in today’s ritual hall each turns with sincere hearts toward the compassionate and revered deities, praying that they broadly rescue the people and proclaiming the benefits brought by all kinds of good deeds. The presiding penitent gathers his thoughts, joins his palms in reverence, and listens attentively to the scriptures. He continually bears in mind that living beings dwell in a world rife with the Three Poisons—greed, anger, and delusion—and the Ten Evils, the ten kinds of wrongdoing named in Buddhism. They are assailed by monstrous spirits and demons, evil ghosts and wicked gods, venomous insects and fierce beasts, weapons, fire and flood, instruments of torture and prisons, illness and suffering. All kinds of hardship entangle them, leaving them no peace.

Therefore, the sages expounded the scriptures and precepts of the Three Caverns (Dongzhen, Dongxuan, and Dongshen) and established rites of purification and deliverance to bless and save the people, bringing salvation to all beings. They also transmitted talismanic diagrams and divine incantations to those who practice the Daoist arts, and commanded the emperors of the heavens, the Perfected Ones who save from suffering, the Great Demon Kings of the Three Heavens, and the Demon Kings of the Five Heavens to spread throughout the world and protect living beings, so that they might find peace and ease.

Yet living beings are ignorant and do not understand the difference between wrongdoing and blessing. They indulge the six passions, kill and steal, pursue illicit sex and wander aimlessly; they are miserly and greedy, angry and irritable, with their minds turned upside down. They speak empty, showy words, fabricate lies, use abusive language, and sow discord. They consume living beings, break the rules of purification, defy the principles of Heaven and Earth, abandon right belief for heretical teachings, and even curse spirits and ghosts. Their many sins are intertwined, and they perform not a single good deed. As a result, poisonous winds and baleful Qi arise, and the demons of the Six Heavens spread throughout the world. Killing and calamity multiply; injury and death occur day and night, reaching tens of thousands each day—too many to count.

The Compassionate Venerable sends the celestial emperors, the divine kings of the Ten Directions, and the deities of the Four Offices of the Three Realms, among others, down into the human world to keep watch over and deliver living beings. Their aid extends throughout Heaven and Earth, though people may not know of it. I tell you again now: the means of rescue and protection are wondrous beyond comprehension. Pray with sincerity, and a response will come. The assembly praised him, saying, “Compassionate and merciful Venerable, please teach us how to deliver living beings.”

The Venerable said: On New Year’s Day, the Eight Festivals, the Three Primordial Festivals—the Upper, Middle, and Lower Primordial Festivals—the days of darkness and full moon, the Five La Days, the Ten Days of Abstention, and other such occasions, devoted men and women should observe purification and abstain from meat, fish, and impure foods. They should restrain the six senses—eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, and mind—and prevent stray thoughts from arising, keeping body and mind pure. Then they should burn incense, maintain the fast, recite Daoist scriptures, and bow in reverence to my Manifestation Names. First, they should atone for their own offenses, acknowledge their failings, and repent. Only then can they accumulate merit to make amends and avert calamity.

If you cannot devote yourself to the practice, you may invite the sacred manifestations of male and female ritual officials, who serve as the deities invited in the rite, to assist you. Pray, bow, and make offerings with sincerity. Whether at home or in a Daoist temple, offer flowers and fruit, vegetarian food, banners and pennants, incense and lamps, as well as clothing, bedding, bed curtains, embroidered cushions and quilts, fragrant oil, rice, flour, and other items according to your means. The benevolent gods will descend to protect you and keep disaster from you.

If you suffer from a grave illness, are afflicted by a malign illness, or have been ill for years under the influence of baleful stars, while your household wealth dwindles and your possessions are lost; if childbirth goes badly or children die young; if, after entering religious life, you grow old and come to regret it; if strange beings haunt your dreams at night and your spirit is troubled, or you face the terror of a fire, an unfounded lawsuit, or other misfortune; if you have broken a taboo, offended spirits, disturbed a grave, or encountered calamities of every kind, such as the clashing of water and fire or entanglement with wood and stone—then you should hold rites at home on an ample scale to pray for blessings, making offerings according to your means. Bow before the Manifestation Names of the Compassionate Venerable, light lamps, burn incense, and persevere day and night. The Four Heavenly Emperors will then descend to protect you. The calamities for which you pray to be dispelled will subside; your requests will receive a response, your petitions will reach those above, and your prayers will be granted. This practice can also erase offenses and protect both the living and the dead. Such rites to avert calamity and pray for blessings are supremely efficacious.

If emperors, sovereigns, high officials, chief ministers, royal consorts, empresses, princes, and their descendants seek deliverance for their parents, themselves, relatives, or members of the imperial family, they may invite as many of the sacred manifestations of male and female ritual officials as they wish. In the palace, they should observe purification, perform the rite, bow and repent, and continue diligently without faltering, day and night. The True Immortals of the Ten Heavens, the Four Offices, and the Five Emperors will then descend to examine merit and fault. The sick will recover, the dead will return to life, those in danger will escape harm, those under restraint will be freed, travelers will return safely, and those in official service will be promoted. Disasters of water and fire, warfare and armed conflict, tigers, wolves, and venomous beasts, malign spirits, and ghosts will be unable to harm them.

If the people wish to pray for blessings for the emperor and sovereign, the land and its people, and all living beings, they may bow before the true image of the Compassionate Venerable and pray for the peace and happiness of all beings. The merit of doing so is likewise beyond comprehension. If warfare breaks out everywhere and the borders are invaded, bow before the true image of the Compassionate Venerable, and the troops will withdraw and disperse without harming the people. If an epidemic spreads and prayers to avert it have not yet worked, bow before the true image of the Compassionate Venerable, and the sick will recover and the disease will cease to spread. If floods and droughts disrupt the seasons and the Five Grains fail, bow before the true image of the Compassionate Venerable, and the climate will return to harmony and all things will flourish. If fierce winds and poisonous vapors assail the people, bow before the true image of the Compassionate Venerable, and the suffering of those who fall ill will ease and their bodies return to peace. If harmful insects and savage beasts attack the people and their livestock, bow before the true image of the Compassionate Venerable, and the creatures will flee; the mountain gods will also hide them away. If a pregnant woman has difficulty giving birth, bow before the true image of the Compassionate Venerable, and mother and child will be reunited in safety and escape harm.

All calamities can be dispelled, and every kind of change can be transformed. Through his Manifestation Names, the Compassionate Venerable protects living beings far and wide; no wish is beyond fulfillment. If the heart is wholly sincere, even the most urgent danger can be met with aid. All who are gathered at today’s altar should each bring a sincere heart and, as the scripture instructs, devote themselves to bowing before the names of the Compassionate Venerable’s many manifestations. May the merit thereby gained deliver living beings far and wide and bring all beings to salvation.

The leader of the repentance rite, a certain person, has lived in the human world through immeasurable kalpas, sunk in offenses and suffering, and has never been able to escape. Today, I humbly pray for peace and safety and perform this repentance rite to commend the dead. Prostrating with all five parts of the body touching the ground, I make my vow with single-minded devotion, bow before the Compassionate Venerable, and reverently pay homage to all the True Sages.

With reverence and utmost sincerity, I bow to the Celestial Worthy Who Brings Blessings from the Jade Clarity Heaven, praying for blessings.

With reverence and utmost sincerity, I bow to the Celestial Worthy Who Hears Cries and Relieves Suffering, praying that suffering be relieved when cries for help are heard.

With reverence and utmost sincerity, I bow to the Celestial Worthy of the Jade Void and Radiant Sovereignty, the Celestial Worthy Who Honors the Immortals and Protects Life, the Celestial Worthy of Great Might and Virtue, the Celestial Worthy of Mysterious Stillness, the Celestial Worthy of Embodied Liberation, the Celestial Worthy Who Expounds the Teaching, the Celestial Worthy of the Dragon’s Accord, the Celestial Worthy of the Central Dharma, the Celestial Worthy of Constant Serenity, the Celestial Worthy Who Flourishes the Dao, the Celestial Worthy of the Myriad Wonders, the Celestial Worthy of the Great Tenuity, the Celestial Worthy of True Reality, the Celestial Worthy of the Great Dharma, the Celestial Worthy of Infinite Life, the Celestial Worthy Who Upholds the Dao and Virtue, the Celestial Worthy Who Brings Blessings from Purple Clarity, the Celestial Worthy of Mysterious Virtue Who Rescues and Raises Up, the Celestial Worthy of Perfected Right Wisdom, the Celestial Worthy Who Responds to Conditions in Every Direction, the Celestial Worthy of the Great One Who Relieves Suffering, the Celestial Worthy Who Preserves Life and Protects Vitality, the Celestial Worthy of Universal Compassion Who Protects the State, the Celestial Worthy of Boundlessness, the Celestial Worthy of the Ocean of Merit and Virtue, the Celestial Worthy of Ease and Joy, and the Celestial Worthy Who Grants Rebirth According to One’s Vows, praying for the protection and aid of all these honored beings.

“Reverently bow with a focused heart” is an expression of homage used in Zhaijiao (purification ritual) repentance liturgies. It means bowing before the divine with a single-minded and reverent heart. The text names the honored titles of various Celestial Worthies in sequence, expressing homage and prayer. Titles such as “Relieves Suffering,” “Protects Life,” “Brings Blessings,” and “Rescues and Raises Up” each convey a prayer for relief from hardship, protection of life, the granting of blessings, or deliverance and elevation.

We sincerely pay reverence to the Equal Illumination Perfected Person, the Jade Radiance Perfected Person, the Greatly Compassionate Perfected Person Who Rescues from Suffering, and the Greatly Merciful Perfected Person Who Frees from Sin.

The patrons and assembly gathered today for this ritual pay homage together and take refuge. With reverence, they pray that the supreme Lingbao Heavenly Worthy above, along with the assembled honored spirits and perfected sages, the great flying immortals, celestial immortals, earthly immortals, water immortals, great perfected beings, and great youths, as well as all emanations and sacred images spread throughout the ten directions and filling the realm of mystery and emptiness, may together bestow boundless grace, proclaim the wondrous Daoist teachings, spread them throughout the world, broadly rescue living beings, dispel calamities, and grant blessings.

May the principal penitent, [name], draw upon the power of the Daoist teachings: may those who pray for calamities to be dispelled find relief; may those who pray for protection be spared misfortune; may the sick recover; and may those facing danger find safety. May those who have died recently be liberated, those who died long ago be reborn in the heavens, and the souls of the dead sunk in the netherworld be saved in accordance with cause and effect. May all sentient beings receive aid, leave the roots of suffering behind, and together reach the far shore of the Dao. One bow.

Third Section: Loosening the Bonds of Living Beings.

Today, all those gathered in the Daoist sanctuary should each still their minds and spirits, and look up to the compassionate revered deities, the boundless Great Dao, and all the true sages, asking them to release living beings from their many entanglements. The presiding officiant of repentance should purify body and mind, bow with reverence, and strengthen the resolve to cultivate.

The scripture says that the Celestial Worthy of Primordial Beginning brought forth Heaven, Earth, and humanity—the Three Powers—from a single Qi. Heaven and Earth move and turn, and from this all things come into being. People live between Heaven and Earth, receiving from them the form and substance that sustain the body; this, too, comes from their generative transformation. From Heaven and Earth, people receive refined, clear Qi. Through the interaction of inner and outer forces, the Five Virtues associated with Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, and Water take shape. Living beings receive the protection of Heaven and Earth, which form their bodies and minds, within and without. After ten months in the womb, as breath circulates and Qi transforms, they are born; the joints throughout the body gradually unfold. Within each joint, Qi forms ten knots, and each knot contains a deity. Habits and entanglements bind together, causing layers of karmic offenses to coil around one another.

To undo these entanglements and bring harmony and free circulation to the hundred spirits within the body, the scripture establishes deities of the ten directions and preserves countless names. Living beings need only recite the appropriate divine names to seek release from their bodily entanglements. By untying the knots that bind living beings, one can deeply understand the source of the Great Dao. This is like putting down a rebellion in the world: a thousand soldiers may be assembled, but once one bandit is captured, the rest need not fight.

The human body is provisionally formed from the Four Great Elements of earth, water, fire, and wind. The changes, manifestations, and concealments of Yin-Yang are also connected to their interaction with the five organs and the Six Roots: eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, and mind. The heart is like a ruler, while thoughts are like a galloping horse. The many afflictions and offenses that arise in this way form knots of doubt, knots of entangled roots, knots of obstruction, knots of injury and disfigurement, knots of illness, knots of gossip and disputes, knots of enmity, knots of grave illness, knots of muteness, knots of play and amusement, knots of trade, knots of wine and food, knots of killing, knots of boiling water and fire, knots of jealousy, knots of false speech, knots of frivolity, knots of greed, knots of aggression, knots of breaking the fast, knots of violating precepts, knots of mischief, knots of mental strain, knots of accumulated resentment, knots of shamelessness, knots of desire, knots of ears unable to hear, knots of eyes unable to see, knots of inner distress, knots of anger, knots of Heaven’s net, knots of Earth’s web, knots of water and fire, knots of the hidden chamber, knots of mutual opposition, and knots of mutual hindrance.

Living beings dwell between Heaven and Earth. Their bodies pass through flourishing and decline, as though enduring the torment of a blazing fire. In the turmoil of this fleeting life, layers of affliction and entanglement obstruct and torment the physical body. These knots bind one another, seemingly without end. Puji then asked, “What is meant by the ruler of the heart and the galloping horse of the mind?”

The Compassionate Venerable said: The heart is fierce like a lion, while thoughts are hard to restrain, like apes and wild horses. They dart about and never rest. Even when the apes and wild horses grow quiet for a time, thoughts do not cease. If goodness can subdue this fierce heart, the mind will no longer race in every direction. When the heart and mind are settled, the causes of karma will no longer arise.

Puji asked, “What good methods can be used to teach living beings, so that they may understand and untie the knots in their hearts?”

The Compassionate Venerable replied: “If living beings wish to understand and untie the knots in their hearts, they should find a pure place and make the Buddhist altar in their home clean and solemn. Prepare offerings according to your means, light incense and lamps, and before my sacred image pay homage to the holy names of my emanations, repenting for karmic grievances and entanglements. Then listen attentively to the scriptures and reflect on their meaning with vigorous diligence. In this way, you can untie the knots in your hearts and avoid sinking into ruin.

“Through the power of repentance, pure forces may descend: Vajra tempered a hundred times, Jade Nectar harmonized a thousandfold, Great White flowing radiance, and Primordial Yellow dispersing. They wash away delusion and falsehood, dissolve enmity and resentment, untie the knots in the heart, dispel affliction, and bring peace to body and mind. Good thoughts and evil thoughts will meet and mingle of their own accord, while evil thoughts, too, will gradually be tempered. The Four Brahma Perfected Ones—revered Daoist deities—and the Transforming Lords of the Ten Directions, divine beings who guide and transform living creatures, will enable all beings to awaken. When evil karma no longer arises and good deeds grow ever deeper, one may gain new life. How, then, could karmic obstructions fail to be removed?

“Furthermore, if living beings can properly untie even one knot in the heart, hundreds and thousands of knots will loosen in turn. From there, they may ascend to the realm of pure Qi. The Heavenly Talisman’s mighty generals, the Dharma-protecting divine kings with iron brows and copper heads, and the protective powers of the Jade Hook and Golden Lock can also instantly still a thousand kinds of heart knots and ten thousand kinds of resentment. When the heart-ape is calm, the mind’s thoughts gather like an orange pearl. Deluded thoughts will never again arise in the heart, and no new knots will form. Enmity and hatred will dissolve, and the nets that bind people will be removed. May all living beings forever understand the true Dao and attain liberation.

“Everyone gathered in today’s ritual assembly, each of you must give your full attention. Listen carefully and keep these words in mind: let no deluded thoughts remain in the heart; let no knots form; let enmity and hatred dissolve, and bonds be released. May all living beings forever understand the true Dao and attain liberation. The scripture says that living beings dwell in the world, long confined and fettered by afflictions, unable to escape. Where, then, can they flee? By paying homage to this repentance rite, they can suddenly awaken to the afflictions that entangle them. Now you should reflect carefully, and worship and recite with diligence. May the power of this goodness extend to all sentient beings, so that through the power of repentance they may understand the entanglements they suffer, realize the Dao of Wuwei (non-action), and ascend to the Dao of ultimate truth.”

The leader of the repentance rite, a certain person, also said: “People living in the dusty world accumulate foul Qi day after day. The body creates the Three Karmas—through body, speech, and mind—and the mouth commits many faults. The roots of karmic obstruction are entwined with one another; once they have gathered into knots, they are hard to escape. Now we must purify body and mind and wash away the stains of the mundane world. Today, whether praying for safety or dedicating merit to the deceased, we pay homage to this repentance text, prostrate ourselves with all five limbs touching the ground, and make our vows with single-minded sincerity. We bow before the Compassionate Venerable and respectfully pay homage to all the perfected saints.”

With sincere reverence, I pay homage to the Celestial Worthy of the Jade Purity Realm who bestows blessings, the Celestial Worthy Who Hears the Cries and Relieves Suffering, the Celestial Worthy of the Jade Void and Radiant August Majesty, the Celestial Worthy Who Establishes Merit Everywhere, the Celestial Worthy Who Proclaims the Dao’s Grace Far and Wide, the Celestial Worthy of Majestic Purity and Merit, the Celestial Worthy Who Teaches the Dao with Compassion, the Celestial Worthy Who Transforms Through the Supreme One’s Teachings, the Celestial Worthy Whose Sagely Virtue Is Profound and Inconceivable, and the Celestial Worthy Whose Appearance Is Majestic and Whose Radiance Is wondrous.

With sincere reverence, I pay homage to the Celestial Worthy of the Heavenly Law that Generates the Four Qi, the Celestial Worthy Who Transforms Through the Supreme One’s Teachings, the Celestial Worthy of Inconceivable Sagely Virtue, the Celestial Worthy with a Wondrously Radiant Golden Countenance, the Celestial Worthy Who Generates the Four Qi, the Celestial Worthy Who Attains the Fruit of Realization and Fulfills Wishes, the Celestial Worthy Who Reveals the Right Way and Guides Souls to Rebirth, the Celestial Worthy of the Hall of Ten Thousand Blessings, the Celestial Worthy of the Lofty and Wondrous Dao, the Celestial Worthy of Good Deeds and Wisdom, the Responsive Celestial Worthy, the Celestial Worthy of the Upper Spirit, the Celestial Worthy of the Dharma Sea, the Celestial Worthy of the Myriad Wondrous Things, the Celestial Worthy of Meritorious Wisdom and Radiance, the Celestial Worthy Taiyi Who Relieves Suffering, and the Celestial Worthy Who Grants Long Life and Preserves Life.

With sincere reverence, I pay homage.

With sincere reverence, I pay homage to the Celestial Worthy of the Dharma Sea, the Celestial Worthy of the Myriad Wondrous Things, the Celestial Worthy of Meritorious Wisdom and Radiance, the Celestial Worthy Taiyi Who Relieves Suffering, the Celestial Worthy Who Grants Long Life and Preserves Life, the Celestial Worthy of Universal Compassion Who Protects the State, the Celestial Worthy of Freedom and Joy, the Celestial Worthy Who Grants Rebirth According to One’s Wishes, and the Boundless Celestial Worthy.

With sincere hearts, we reverently pay homage to the Venerable One, Ocean of Merit, the Perfected One of the Golden Wheel, the Perfected One Who Subdues Demons, the Perfected One of Great Compassion Who Relieves Suffering, and the Perfected One of Great Mercy Who Frees Souls from Sin.

Today, the assembly, led by the presiding master of repentance at this ritual altar, bows together in wholehearted devotion. We look up to the supreme Venerable Lingbao, along with all the honored deities, sages, spirits who manifest in response, immortals, holy beings, attendants, and all the worthy and enlightened ones. May they extend throughout the ten directions, fill the realm of the Mystery, and protect this ritual altar.

We pray that the Vajra Warriors use the water of Great Harmony to cleanse Master of Repentance So-and-so of long accumulated defilements and obstacles within the body, and to purify the heart. May impediments disperse, Qi and blood become balanced and flow freely, and all join in single-minded, pure reflection. May good intentions continually take root and grow, free from deluded thoughts and distress. Today, purity is the foremost aim at this ritual altar. We pray that the souls of our ancestors, our parents, and our relatives may soon be freed from bonds of resentment and cease to sink into suffering. May the living and the dead, in this life and in lives to come, cultivate together and attain the fruit of the Dao. One bow.

“Chapter Four: Arousing the Heart of Praise.”

Today, all those gathered at the ritual assembly should each focus their minds and, before the compassionate honored deities, encourage beings to awaken a heart of praise. The presiding penitent, so-and-so, gathers the mind and spirit, kneels upright on the ground, and respectfully listens to the scripture.

There is no human life that does not arise from causes of karma created in the past. Thus, each person’s spiritual consciousness and physical form have their own karmic conditions, and each person’s sins, blessings, misfortunes, and good fortune follow from the karma they have made. Lifespans may be long or short, status high or low, lives wealthy or poor, appearances beautiful or plain, and minds clever or dull: all are determined by the causes of past karma. Anyone who understands that they have committed the three kinds of karma through body, speech, and mind, and the ten evil deeds, and that their offenses are grave, should awaken to this, earnestly plead for mercy, and bow in repentance.

The thoughts of living beings are boundless, and the wishes they form are innumerable. Whenever one encounters a good deed or a wholesome connection, one should praise it. The merit of praising good conduct is beyond comprehension. When one sees kings, emperors, empresses, consorts, princes, princesses, or ministers give rise to vast good intentions, one should praise them and pray that blessings and Virtue protect the state and its ruling family, and that the imperial enterprise endure for generations.

When one sees palaces being built or grand Daoist altars being established, one should praise these efforts and pray that the work be completed soon, so that people may take refuge there. When one sees the court grant permission for male and female Daoist officials and practitioners to receive ordination and enter the Dao, one should praise them and pray that they be freed from suffering and attain purity throughout the Three Ages: past, present, and future. When one sees sacred images being fashioned, whether of true forms, responsive forms, or transformed forms, one should praise them, make offerings with sincere reverence, and never grow lax.

When one sees someone copying the Great Collection of the Three Caverns, one should praise this and pray that the scriptures endure for ages, so that all beings may receive their teaching. When one sees halls, towers, terraces, and pavilions made splendid and beautiful, one should praise them and pray that everyone may take refuge there and often come to behold and honor them. When one sees bells, chimes, and ritual implements of bronze or iron, one should praise them and pray that they awaken deluded beings, their sounds reaching even the hidden realms.

When one sees someone expounding scriptures and illuminating their subtle, profound meanings, one should praise them and pray that, through this merit, the suffering of imprisonment be relieved. When one sees someone reciting scriptures and penitential texts, upholding them and making offerings, one should praise them and pray that they gain the conditions for cultivating the Dao, with firm faith that never falters. When one sees people performing Daoist rites, singing hymns of praise, or praying for grace and blessings, one should also praise them and pray that the power of their blessings reach countless worlds.

When one sees men and women burning incense, lighting lamps, and diligently making obeisance, one should praise them and pray that their wishes be fulfilled. When incense is burned, one should praise this and pray that its fragrant smoke be offered to the True Sages. When lamps are lit to illuminate darkness, one should praise this and pray that enmities and karmic debts be dispelled forever, and that all beings shine like the sun and moon.

When one sees someone observing a vegetarian fast, keeping the precepts, and making offerings to the True Sages, one should praise them and pray that all living beings in the world, all those with life and awareness, enter the right path and no longer sink into suffering. When one sees someone giving generously to people and the heavenly realms, one should praise them and pray for abundant blessings, long life, high rank, and unending wealth and provisions. When one sees someone diligently honoring the Dao with wholehearted sincerity, one should praise them and pray that they never turn back from their resolve and remain joyful at all times.

When one sees someone acting with courage and reverence, and giving rise to vast good intentions, one should praise them and pray that they suffer no interference from evil spirits and attain the Dao soon. When one sees householders regularly reciting scriptures and penitential texts, one should praise them and pray that the True Spirits of the heavens hear and bear witness. When one sees someone cultivating the Dao in the mountains, dwelling in a hut or a cave, keeping to a quiet and pure resolve and seeking neither fame nor profit, one should praise them and pray that those who have attained the Dao guide later practitioners, in turn, to attain it.

When one sees men and women with upright and attractive features, one should praise them and pray that they leave home to cultivate the Dao, carrying on and spreading the Orthodox Teaching. Whenever one sees any wholesome connection or good deed in the world, one should praise it and pray that beings in the human and heavenly realms receive good results and benefit.

By using many forms of praise for good deeds to encourage beings, one helps them bring their hearts to the Dao and cultivate it with diligence. In this way, the retinue of nine generations of ancestors and seven generations of forebears, one’s parents in this life, uncles, brothers, oneself, and relatives in every branch of the family may all be freed from the offenses committed from beginningless time through this present life: the three kinds of karma created today through body, speech, and mind; the transgressions of the six sense faculties; and grave sins such as the five rebellious acts and ten evils.

All those gathered at today’s ritual assembly should remember, as the scripture says, that the power of praising good deeds is beyond comprehension. They should strive diligently to praise good conduct widely, and wish that this merit be bestowed everywhere upon all sentient beings.

The presiding penitent, so-and-so, bows before this penitential text to pray for peace and to dedicate merit to the dead. Prostrating with all five limbs on the ground, they make their vows with focused sincerity, bow to the Compassionate Venerable One, and respectfully pay homage to the True Sages.

With utmost sincerity and reverence, we bow in worship: May the Jade Clarity bestow blessings and protect all sentient beings everywhere. The person presiding over this confession, [name], performs this rite of repentance and worship to pray for peace and to commemorate the departed. Prostrating with all five limbs touching the ground, they make their vows with single-minded devotion, bowing before the compassionate honored deities and reverently paying homage to all the perfected sages.

With utmost sincerity and reverence, we bow to the Celestial Worthy of Jade Clarity Who Bestows Blessings (the honored deity who grants blessings to all beings).

With utmost sincerity and reverence, we bow to the Celestial Worthy Who Hears Cries and Saves from Suffering (the honored deity who hears beings call for help and comes to their aid).

With utmost sincerity and reverence, we bow to the Celestial Worthy of the Jade Void and Radiant Sovereignty.

With utmost sincerity and reverence, we bow to the Celestial Worthy of the Great Dark Capital.

With utmost sincerity and reverence, we bow to the Celestial Worthy of Measureless Life (the honored deity who symbolizes boundless longevity).

With utmost sincerity and reverence, we bow to the Celestial Worthy of Everlasting Stillness and Silence.

With utmost sincerity and reverence, we bow to the Celestial Worthy of Unhindered Eloquence (the honored deity endowed with eloquence that knows no impediment).

With utmost sincerity and reverence, we bow to the Inconceivable Celestial Worthy (the honored deity whose merit and state are beyond reckoning).

With utmost sincerity and reverence, we bow to the Celestial Worthy of Broad Transformation (the honored deity who widely spreads transformative teachings).

With utmost sincerity and reverence, we bow to the Celestial Worthy of True Wisdom (the honored deity endowed with genuine wisdom).

With utmost sincerity and reverence, we bow to the Celestial Worthy Who Opens the Way to Deliverance (the honored deity who opens the gate to salvation).

With utmost sincerity and reverence, we bow to the Celestial Worthy of Boundless Forms (the honored deity whose forms and transformations are without limit).

With utmost sincerity and reverence, we bow to the Celestial Worthy Who Expounds Truth and Emptiness (the honored deity who expounds truth and the way of stillness and emptiness).

With utmost sincerity and reverence, we bow to the Celestial Worthy of Wondrous Teachings and Sage Wisdom (the honored deity endowed with wondrous teachings and sage wisdom).

With utmost sincerity and reverence, we bow to the Celestial Worthy of Hidden Mystery and Wuwei (non-action) (the honored deity who follows the profound, subtle, and hidden Way of Wuwei).

With utmost sincerity and reverence, we bow to the Celestial Worthy of the Unfathomable Hidden Source (the honored deity whose source is profound and beyond measure).

With utmost sincerity and reverence, we bow to the Celestial Worthy of Wondrous Joy and Universal Deliverance (the honored deity who saves beings everywhere through wondrous joy).

With utmost sincerity and reverence, we bow to the Celestial Worthy of Profound Clarity and Great Transformation (the honored deity who widely spreads teachings through the profound and illuminating Way).

With utmost sincerity and reverence, we bow to the Celestial Worthy Who Illumines All with Sage Wisdom (the honored deity who shines upon all beings with sage wisdom).

With utmost sincerity and reverence, we bow to the Celestial Worthy of Hidden Mystery and Wuwei.

With utmost sincerity and reverence, we bow to the Celestial Worthy of the Unfathomable Hidden Source.

With utmost sincerity and reverence, we bow to the Celestial Worthy of Wondrous Joy and Universal Deliverance.

With utmost sincerity and reverence, we bow to the Celestial Worthy of Profound Clarity and Great Transformation.

With utmost sincerity and reverence, we bow to the Celestial Worthy Who Illumines All through Wuwei (the honored deity who protects all beings through the Way of non-action).

With utmost sincerity and reverence, we bow to the Celestial Worthy of Mysterious Insight and Ten Thousand Transformations (the honored deity who understands the mysterious principle and responds to myriad changes).

With utmost sincerity and reverence, we bow to the Celestial Worthy Who Delivers People According to Their Merits (the honored deity who saves beings in accordance with their deeds and cultivation).

With utmost sincerity and reverence, we bow to the Celestial Worthy Who Protects the Body with the Bagua (Eight Trigrams) (the honored deity who safeguards body and mind through the power of the Eight Trigrams).

With utmost sincerity and reverence, we bow to the Celestial Worthy Taiyi Who Saves from Suffering (the honored deity in the Taiyi tradition who relieves suffering and hardship).

With utmost sincerity and reverence, we bow to the Celestial Worthy Who Grants Longevity and Preserves Life (the honored deity who protects longevity and safeguards life).

With utmost sincerity and reverence, we bow to the Celestial Worthy of Universal Compassion Who Protects the Nation (the honored deity who safeguards the nation through boundless compassion).

With utmost sincerity and reverence, we bow to the Celestial Worthy of Freedom and Joy (the honored deity who enables beings to live freely and at peace).

With utmost sincerity and reverence, we bow to the Celestial Worthy Who Grants Rebirth According to One’s Vows (the honored deity who helps beings be reborn in accordance with their wishes).

With utmost sincerity and reverence, we bow to the Celestial Worthy of Boundless Expanse (the honored deity whose vastness has no limits).

Reverent homage to the Celestial Worthy of Merit as Vast as the Sea (symbolizing a Celestial Worthy whose merit is deep and boundless as the sea).

Reverent homage to the Perfected One of Equal Radiance (a revered Daoist deity).

Reverent homage to the Perfected One of Turning the Wheel (a revered Daoist deity).

Reverent homage to the Celestial Worthy of Great Compassion.

Reverent homage to the Celestial Worthy of Merit as Vast as the Sea.

Reverent homage to the Perfected One of Equal Radiance.

Reverent homage to the Perfected One of Turning the Wheel.

Reverent homage to the Perfected One of Great Compassion who Saves from Suffering.

Reverent homage to the Perfected One of Great Mercy who Removes Sin.

The officiant leading today’s repentance rite and all those gathered here together take refuge in and look up to the supreme Lingbao Celestial Worthy above, as well as all the revered deities and perfected sages, the celestial gods and immortals, the great Dragon Gods and Earth Gods, and all the Perfected Ones, true practitioners, and youths. They extend throughout the ten directions (the four cardinal directions, the four intermediate directions, above, and below), filling the realm of the mysterious void; all are true sages who manifest and make themselves known.

May the power of the Great Dao, Wuwei (non-action), merit, and the inconceivable bring about the elimination, through the merit of today’s bowing and repentance, of all the karmic offenses accumulated by the person leading this repentance, whose name is [name], from beginningless and immeasurable kalpas (ages so remote they cannot be counted or traced) up to this very day, through having failed to praise the many good conditions they encountered. From this day onward, whenever I hear of or witness any good conditions, may I rejoice in them and praise them, and devote myself all the more to extolling and practicing good deeds, ultimately attaining accomplishment and universally saving living beings.

May my nine generations of ancestors and seven generations of forebears, parents from every lifetime, masters and teachers who transmitted the teachings, fellow practitioners and Dharma kin, those who shared my religious household, and my uncles, brothers, and their families—those who have passed away—praise good conditions all the more, practice diligently, ultimately accomplish the Dao, and save living beings everywhere. May these departed ancestors and relatives also be freed from the entanglement of karmic obstacles and have their afflictions dispelled forever.

May the merit of repentance extend everywhere and adorn the world, bringing peace to the state and calm to its borders. May even the beings in the three evil realms of hell, hungry ghosts, and animals receive its wondrous, mysterious grace and ultimately reach the far shore of liberation.

One bow.

The Taishang Repentance of Compassionate Daoist Rites for Dispelling Calamities in the Ninefold Darkness, Scroll Nine.

All those attending the ritual assembly at the Daoist sanctuary gathered their thoughts in sincere devotion and looked up toward the Compassionate Worthy, the revered deity of compassion, as he spoke: “By proclaiming and establishing merit, one will receive blessings in return.” The leader of the repentance rite clasped his hands and knelt upright, respectfully listening to the scripture.

Venerable Puji asked: “The various ways the Compassionate Worthy has taught for accumulating merit are meant to guide living beings and teach them to cultivate. Yet living beings have limited strength and often find these practices difficult to carry out. What levels of practice should cultivation be divided into?”

With utmost sincerity and reverence, I bow before the Celestial Worthy of Jade Purity Who Bestows Blessings.

With utmost sincerity and reverence, I bow before the Celestial Worthy Who Hears the Cries and Rescues from Suffering.

With utmost sincerity and reverence, I bow before the Celestial Worthy of the True Sovereign of the Cavern of Spirit.

With utmost sincerity and reverence, I bow before the Celestial Worthy Who Gives Rise to Thoughts of Great Radiance. I bow low before the compassionate and revered deity, and respectfully pay homage to the True Sage.

With utmost sincerity and reverence, I bow before the Celestial Worthy of Jade Purity Who Bestows Blessings, the Celestial Worthy Who Hears the Cries and Rescues from Suffering, and the Celestial Worthy of the True Sovereign of the Cavern of Spirit.

With utmost sincerity and reverence, I bow before the Celestial Worthy Whose Radiance Shines Ever On, the Celestial Worthy Whose Dharma Body Is Complete, the Celestial Worthy Shrouded in Floating Purple Clouds, the Celestial Worthy Whose Profound Wisdom Shines Afar, the Celestial Worthy Whose Still and Serene Being Embodies the Mystery, the Celestial Worthy Who Manifests a Form of Majesty, the Celestial Worthy Who Comes to Aid Beings in Accord with Their Circumstances and Appeals, the Celestial Worthy Who Transcends Life and Death, the Celestial Worthy of Light, the Celestial Worthy of Dao Qi, the Great Primordial Celestial Worthy, the Celestial Worthy of the Image of Light, the Celestial Worthy Who Attests to the Dao, the Celestial Worthy of Blessings and Longevity, the Celestial Worthy of Clear Responses, the Celestial Worthy of the North Pole, the Supreme Celestial Worthy, the Celestial Worthy of the Inner Name of the True Grade, and the Celestial Worthy of Joy in Simple Affinity.

With utmost sincerity and reverence, I bow before the Celestial Worthy of Clear Responses, the Celestial Worthy of the North Pole, the Supreme Celestial Worthy, the Celestial Worthy of the Inner Name of the True Grade, the Celestial Worthy of Joy in Simple Affinity, the Celestial Worthy Taiyi Who Rescues from Suffering, the Celestial Worthy Who Protects Life and Grants Longevity, the Celestial Worthy of Universal Compassion Who Protects the Nation, the Celestial Worthy of Ease and Joy, the Celestial Worthy Who Guides the Departed to Rebirth in Accord with Their Wishes, and the Boundless Celestial Worthy.

With utmost reverence, we pay homage to the Celestial Worthy of Vast Merit, renowned for merit as boundless as the sea.

With utmost reverence, we pay homage to the Perfected One of Universal Aid, who saves all living beings.

With utmost reverence, we pay homage to the Perfected One of Universal Compassion, who extends loving-kindness far and wide.

With utmost reverence, we pay homage to the Perfected One of Great Compassion, who rescues those in suffering.

With utmost reverence, we pay homage to the Perfected One of Great Mercy, who helps living beings dispel their karmic offenses.

The penitents who have gathered at today’s ritual site—the person leading the penitential rite and praying for a particular purpose—and all those present respectfully beseech the Supreme Lingbao Celestial Worthy below, together with the assembled divine lords, sacred perfected beings, celestial and terrestrial immortals, immortals of the Five Sacred Peaks, Perfected Ones, and attendants. May all the true sages who extend throughout the ten directions and fill the realm of the dark void respond as one and protect all living beings. May every prayer made by the penitent, So-and-so, for such-and-such a matter be fulfilled as wished and brought to completion through the merit of repentance. May the sick recover and calamities pass; may those who died long ago be reborn, and those who died recently find release. May the living benefit, and may all their wishes be successfully fulfilled.

We further vow that the four forms of birth and six paths—all kinds of life and beings within the cycle of rebirth—may receive grace. May the spirits dwelling in plants and trees, along with lonely ghosts and stranded souls, also rise together toward the Great Dao through this wholesome connection. One bow.

Section Two: The Rite of Repaying Kindness Through Merits Transferred.

Everyone assembled in the ritual hall today should be sincere and attentive, humbly praying that the revered deities, in their compassion, bestow boundless merit and protect all people everywhere. We will now explain the principles of cultivating merit for the deceased, repaying kindness, and the workings of cause and effect. The presiding penitent, a certain person, holds reverence in his heart. Listen carefully to what the scripture says:

When a person is born, Heaven and Earth become the outward signs of their life, and their body carries the Qi of Yin-Yang. They are nurtured in their mother’s womb, while the length of their life is set by Heaven’s decree. The Heavenly Emperor summons the youths who oversee the span of life to inspect the human world and examine each person’s offenses and merits, as well as the fortunes, misfortunes, and lifespans of men and women. These youths report every three days, submit a memorial every seven days, and compile their records every hundred days, without pausing for even a moment. If someone does good and earns merit, the youths of the heavens, together with the officials who oversee life spans and records of merit and fault, will extend that person’s life and avert calamity. But if someone commits offenses and accumulates evil, the heavenly emperors and the demons of the Six Heavens will seize the person’s soul and send it to the Three Officials, who govern the realms of Heaven, Earth, and Water, to take possession of its consciousness. To die before one’s allotted years is the result of wrongdoing; to live until one’s years are complete is the reward for accumulated goodness.

Anyone who wishes to extend life and avert calamity must understand that the authority over the allotted span of life belongs to the Earth Office, which governs the underworld. The heavenly emperors consult the registers, investigate, and determine life and death. Officials of the Three Realms and youths who inspect people’s life spans then take in their spirits and souls, causing the breath of life to cease.

If someone is afflicted by illness, confined to bed, gravely ill, and near death, their family and relatives may establish a ritual hall according to their means, recite scriptures, and perform rites of repentance, without any limit on the number of recitations. Before the heavenly deities and saints, the family should repent for the offenses the sick person committed in this life and pray that their spirit and soul be released, their life prolonged, and their illness cured. If the person has indeed reached the end of their allotted life, the family should still seek to save them by widely performing meritorious deeds, accumulating blessings and dedicating them to the departed soul so that it may suffer no more. In this way, the living may also be spared calamity and fear. From the first seventh day after death through the third anniversary, and on other days of remembrance, incense and lamps should be offered without fail, morning and evening.

This is because the youths who inspect people’s life spans monitor and report their offenses and merits. Those who do good and accumulate De may enter the Gate of Life, with blessings extending to their descendants; the souls of the departed, too, can avoid lingering in hell and enduring the consequences of their offenses. This is like the situation of people caught up in a lawsuit whose case has not yet been resolved, and resembles the condition of those who have recently died. There are also two spirits of good and evil who descend to the human world every ten days to inspect households. Those who do good and accumulate blessings are recommended by the good spirit and enabled to ascend to Heaven. Those who do not do good are recorded and taken away by the evil spirit, plunging them into a dark and confined place, where their families endure much fear and calamity.

When these hardships arise, people may worship before images of the deities in a temple or at home, recite the deities’ sacred names, and establish a purification rite to cultivate the Dao. Through merit, they can remove and redeem offenses, freeing the deceased, enrolling them among the immortals, and bringing them to a realm of ease and freedom. All these practices of cultivating merit for the deceased and repaying kindness are among the most important and praiseworthy acts of merit arising from cause and effect.

If a good man or good woman paints or fashions images of the deities, builds a hall for them, and vows to worship them sincerely and widely encourage others to do good, their merit is beyond measure. Whenever anyone gives rise to a single good thought amid the many ways of goodness, makes a single good vow, and acts with a heart of gratitude, this is a wholesome result, and its merit is beyond measure.

The principles of the world are indeed so profound as to be beyond comprehension. If anyone gives rise to a single thought of goodness amid the various methods, makes a vow, and holds a heart of gratitude, this is called a wholesome result. The merit involved is beyond comprehension.

The assembly gathered at today’s sacred site is as the scripture says: the Compassionate Venerable One (a compassionate deity) widely proclaims this method of accumulating merit to all living beings, showing them the path out of the sufferings of birth and death. The merit of this is beyond comprehension.

If the repentance officiant’s (the person who leads the repentance rite and performs prostrations on others’ behalf) ancestors of nine and seven generations, parents, uncles, aunts, brothers, the officiant themselves, or any other relatives remain in the realms of hell, hungry ghosts, or animals, and have not yet received rites for the deceased (scripture recitation and repentance prostrations offered to the dead in prayer for their liberation), nor practiced the way of repaying kindness, they should now worship with focused reverence and invoke the True Sages. May this merit extend everywhere to the living and the dead, so that all may attain liberation. Today, as this repentance text is recited and bowed to in prayer for peace and in rites for the deceased, the worshippers prostrate themselves fully, make their vows with single-minded devotion, bow before the Compassionate Venerable One, and respectfully pay homage to the True Sages.

With single-minded reverence, pay homage:

Heavenly Venerable One of Jade Clarity, who bestows blessings.

Heavenly Venerable One who hears the cries and relieves suffering.

Heavenly Venerable One of the True Sovereign and the Grotto of Spirit.

Heavenly Venerable One who beholds the Dharma Realm everywhere.

Heavenly Venerable One of wondrous light, serene and still.

Heavenly Venerable One of the awe-inspiring radiance of nine colors.

Heavenly Venerable One who hears the cries and relieves suffering.

Heavenly Venerable One of the True Sovereign and the Grotto of Spirit.

Heavenly Venerable One who beholds the Dharma Realm everywhere.

Heavenly Venerable One of wondrous light, serene and still.

Heavenly Venerable One of the awe-inspiring radiance of nine colors.

Heavenly Venerable One who provides the means to leave suffering behind.

Heavenly Venerable One who grants blessings wherever beings may dwell.

Heavenly Venerable One who protects souls and lets them pass without hindrance.

Heavenly Venerable One who turns the power of the Dharma according to one’s heart.

Heavenly Venerable One of True Emptiness.

Heavenly Venerable One of Great Truth.

Heavenly Venerable One who transforms and delivers living beings.

Heavenly Venerable One of awe-inspiring spirit and power.

Heavenly Venerable One of the True Order.

Heavenly Venerable One of profound subtlety.

Heavenly Venerable One of precious secrets.

With one mind, sincerely and reverently, we pay homage to the Venerable Heavenly Lord of the Void Emperor.

With one mind, sincerely and reverently, we pay homage to the Venerable Heavenly Lord of Compassionate Response and Primordial Harmony.

With one mind, sincerely and reverently, we pay homage to the Venerable Heavenly Lord of Compassionate Virtue, Who Rescues from Calamity.

With one mind, sincerely and reverently, we pay homage to the Venerable Heavenly Lord of Vast Deliverance and Cinnabar Radiance.

With one mind, sincerely and reverently, we pay homage to the Venerable Heavenly Lord Who Preserves Life and Protects Destiny.

With one mind, sincerely and reverently, we pay homage to the Venerable Heavenly Lord Taiyi, Who Rescues from Suffering, a principal deity who rescues the suffering and delivers the dead.

With one mind, sincerely and reverently, we pay homage to the Venerable Heavenly Lord of Universal Compassion, Who Protects the Nation.

With one mind, sincerely and reverently, we pay homage to the Venerable Heavenly Lord of Freedom and Joy.

With one mind, sincerely and reverently, we pay homage to the Venerable Heavenly Lord Who Grants Rebirth According to One’s Wishes, a deity who protects the dead and enables them to be reborn as they wish.

With one mind, sincerely and reverently, we pay homage to the Venerable Heavenly Lord of Boundless Reach.

With one mind, sincerely and reverently, we pay homage to the Venerable Heavenly Lord of an Ocean of Merit.

With one mind, sincerely and reverently, we pay homage to the Perfected One Who Dispels Afflictions Through the Dharma.

With one mind, sincerely and reverently, we pay homage to the Perfected One of Precious Radiance.

With one mind, sincerely and reverently, we pay homage to the Greatly Compassionate Perfected One Who Rescues from Suffering.

With one mind, sincerely and reverently, we pay homage to the Greatly Merciful Perfected One Who Removes Sin.

Today, the officiant leading the penitential liturgy and all those gathered together take refuge in the supreme Lingbao Heavenly Worthy below, along with all the Venerable Deities, holy Perfected Ones, Great Perfected Ones, true adepts who cultivate wondrous practices, great youths, and all the holy Perfected Ones throughout the ten directions, filling the deep void, whether hidden or manifest. May these holy Perfected Ones, through their loving light, compassionate power, the power of the Dao’s teachings, and the power of their rites, shine throughout the world below and the nine prisons of the netherworld at Luofeng, those shadowy realms where the souls of the dead are confined. May the nine generations of ancestors and seven generations of descendants of the penitent, [name], along with their teachers, parents, uncles, brothers, and all their family, if they are suffering in the Three Evil Paths—hell, the realm of hungry ghosts, or the realm of animals—and have not yet been reborn, whether they died long ago or recently, through the merit of today’s sincere repentance, be freed together from suffering, whatever the weight of their sins, and take refuge in the Great Dao. Perform one bow.

“Account of the Teaching’s Transmission,” Part Three.

Today, all those gathered at the sacred altar should each still their minds, take refuge, and repent. With reverence, face the compassionate deity and explain how the teachings save beings and have been passed down among them. The person leading the repentance should quiet their mind and listen attentively as the principles set out in the scripture are proclaimed.

The Celestial Worthy of Primordial Beginning transformed the One Qi into three Qi, dividing them into three heavens. From this, the realms of the Three Pure Ones (Sanqing) appeared, and the treasured scriptures of the Three Caverns (Dongzhen, Dongxuan, and Dongshen) flowed forth. The “Three Vehicles” are three kinds of teaching. They coalesced from the subtle, soaring Qi and naturally took form as scriptures, becoming jade characters and golden writings, dragon scripts and phoenix seals. These scriptures are vast in scope, radiating light in all directions, and serve to teach the heavens and circulate in the world. Through the Five Kalpas, the Dharma wheel has continued to turn.

Even when the workings of Heaven and Earth come to an end, the teachings of the Three Caverns will not perish. They will continue to open the way to salvation, guiding beings in the human and heavenly realms, and benefiting the Three Realms and the ten directions. Puji said, “When did the teachings of the Three Caverns reach the world? Did they arrive all at once, or were they transmitted at different times?”

The Compassionate Venerable said: At the beginning of each kalpa, or vast cosmic cycle, the teachings of the Cavern of Perfection (Dongzhen) descended to the human world. People possessed virtue and lived at ease in emptiness, stillness, and Wuwei (non-action). They all honored the Orthodox Way and the truth, and so they lived long and did not die. Later, the teachings of the Cavern of Mystery (Dongxuan) descended in their turn, but the simple and honest customs had already declined. People’s hearts grew increasingly shallow; they lost their sense of right and duty and turned away from Virtue. Later still, the teachings of the Cavern of Spirit (Dongshen) descended. People became more and more restless, no longer honoring the Great Dao. They abandoned the true Way for falsehood, and their lives grew short.

When the teachings of the Three Caverns (Dongzhen, Dongxuan, and Dongshen) were no longer put into practice, people’s cleverness and worldly knowledge flourished. Humans and ghosts mingled, the course of the age grew frantic, and people could not live to a hundred. They were constantly reminded of life’s impermanence, while living beings continued to sink into suffering. I was born into the world again and proclaimed the teachings of the Three Caverns, spreading their guidance among people, adapting to the conditions of each age and upholding the scriptures and teachings.

I also manifested in the form of the Holy Ancestor, came into the human world to save living beings, and proclaimed the precepts. People of every land and lineage, whether sages or ordinary beings, throughout the ten directions could all receive instruction and salvation. The wondrous teachings of the Three Caverns spread through the human world, urging living beings to practice diligently. Those burdened by grave sins who remain lost in evil paths and refuse to believe, listening only to false doctrines and a disorderly host of demonic spirits, will waste their bodies and minds in vain and ultimately fall into hell. All who believe in the Great Teachings of the Three Caverns can enter the Hall of Blessings. Some ascend in flight by day; others vanish through corpse liberation, the Daoist transformation in which the body is shed and one becomes an immortal. Though their names and traces remain in the world, they have secretly entered the hidden realms, beyond the recognition of ordinary people.

The Compassionate Venerable said again: After I withdraw from the world, demonic teachings will gradually flourish. People will die young; war, disasters of flood and fire, and disease will follow one another. Their wealth will be exhausted, yet they will use what remains to serve evil spirits and fraudulent practices. Falsehood and disorder will multiply, and shallow, deceitful customs will prevail. Living beings will suffer hunger, cold, and hardship; fathers and sons will be separated and driven from their homes, yet they will never awaken. Thinking again of how you have sunk through kalpa after kalpa, I speak these important words to guide those who are ignorant and confused.

The purpose of the scriptures is to guide living beings: to help people understand the source of life, the causes and conditions of former lives, the retribution of sin and blessing, the fortunes and misfortunes of good and evil, the thresholds of life and death, and the path to liberation. In this way, they may turn from evil toward good, preserve their lives, seek longevity and Wuwei, and return to the Great Dao. Those who protect the scriptures and teachings will receive blessings; those who practice them will be protected by the divine powers.

The holy ones of the heavens, perfected beings of wondrous practice, spirits, and immortals always hope that people will cultivate diligently, burn incense, and repent. Then benevolent spirits will protect them, and the assembled sages will look upon them with care. If someone is bound by sin and beset both within and without, evil spirits will seize the opportunity to harm them, bringing illness and all kinds of suffering: floods and fires, weapons and warfare, poisonous insects and fierce beasts, fetters and imprisonment. Such a person will find it difficult to escape. If one cares only for outward adornment, grooming the face, clothes, hands, and feet, but does not know to cleanse the roots of sin and wrongdoing within the heart, is that not foolish and deluded? Just as the face, hands, feet, and clothes become clean only through diligent washing, so too should people cleanse their bodies and minds.

The Perfected One of Taiji (the Supreme Ultimate) said: When the Heavenly Worthy was in the Fragrant World of the Heaven of Blessings and Virtue, gathering the immortals of the heavens to teach the Dharma, he thought of the Perfected One of Universal Deliverance. He then summoned fearlessness and great compassion, asking on behalf of living beings about the causes and conditions for attaining deliverance, and proclaiming the names of the venerable ones. At that time, the earth shone with the purple-gold of the finest metal, and jeweled flowers fell from the sky. Fragrant incense and precious treasures filled the heavens and spread before the sacred assembly, too numerous to count. You living beings should have faith, devote yourselves to spreading my teachings, and not allow external demons to disturb the realm of the Dao that you protect.

After hearing these words, the Perfected One of Universal Deliverance and the assembled beings of the heavens wept in remembrance. Grief caught in their throats, as though they had lost their parents. They prayed that the Compassionate Venerable would continually instruct and guide them, so that they might awaken and attain the supreme Dao.

Then the Perfected One of Universal Deliverance said to the assembled immortals and sages of the heavens: In the lands of the ten directions, whether in cities, villages, or quiet places in the mountains and forests, if there are upper-class seekers diligently studying the path to immortality, or members of the gentry who sincerely turn toward the Dao, and they can protect the scriptures and penitential rites, bow in worship and recite the names of the venerable ones’ manifestations, or copy the scriptures on fine paper with good ink, bind them with silk cords into pure volumes, and preserve them carefully; if they also urge their countrymen to bow and make offerings as though standing before the venerable ones in person, and tirelessly circulate and proclaim the teachings day and night, so that those who have not heard them may hear, and those who have not seen them may see—then those who practice according to the teachings will be protected by the immortals of the heavens, immortal boys and jade maidens, and the ten divisions of mighty spirits, the various kinds of guardian deities. Such people will enjoy lasting peace and happiness and receive good outcomes as they wish. This power is inconceivable and boundless as the sky; it cannot be fully described.

Today, all those gathered at this sacred assembly: the names and virtues of the venerable ones proclaimed in the scripture are inconceivable. May all living beings, whether they have already undergone suffering or have yet to bear its consequences, find liberation.

Today, I, the presider of this penitential rite, bow and recite this text in prayer for peace and to aid the departed. Prostrating with all five limbs touching the ground, I make my vow with single-minded devotion, bowing before the Compassionate Venerable and reverently paying homage to the true sages.

Reverently bow to the Celestial Worthy of Bestowing Blessings in the Jade Clarity, praying for blessings to descend.

Reverently bow to the Celestial Worthy Who Hears the Cries and Rescues from Suffering, praying that he hear the cries of all beings and come to their aid.

Reverently bow to the Celestial Worthy of the True Sovereign of the Cavern Spirit.

Reverently bow to the Celestial Worthy Who Harmonizes the Spirits and Benefits All Things, praying that the spirits be in harmony and all things receive benefit.

Reverently bow to the Celestial Worthy Who Realizes the Myriad Virtues, praising his realization and complete possession of every kind of virtue.

Reverently bow to the Celestial Worthy Who Gazes into the Boundless Depths, praising his profound and limitless insight.

Reverently bow to the Celestial Worthy Who Perfects the Myriad Practices, praising the perfection of his cultivation and spiritual accomplishments.

Reverently bow to the Celestial Worthy Who Realizes the Myriad Virtues.

Reverently bow to the Celestial Worthy Who Gazes into the Boundless Depths.

Reverently bow to the Celestial Worthy Who Perfects the Myriad Practices.

Reverently bow to the Celestial Worthy Who Measures the Primordial Yang.

Reverently bow to the Celestial Worthy Who Expounds the Dharma and Transforms All, praising him for proclaiming the Dao’s teachings and guiding all beings.

Reverently bow to the Celestial Worthy Who Uses the Six Supernatural Powers to Relieve Suffering, praying that he use his spiritual powers to rescue those in distress.

Reverently bow to the Celestial Worthy of the True Intention.

Reverently bow to the Celestial Worthy of the Purple Mansion.

Reverently bow to the Celestial Worthy of Roaming and Dwelling.

Reverently bow to the Celestial Worthy of the Lotus Flower.

Reverently bow to the Celestial Worthy of Silent Contemplation.

Reverently bow to the Celestial Worthy of the Lofty Perfected.

Reverently bow to the Celestial Worthy of the Mysterious Palace.

Reverently bow to the Unimpeded Celestial Worthy, praising his freedom from obstruction.

Reverently bow to the Celestial Worthy Who Nourishes All through Wuwei (non-action), praying that through the Dao of non-action he nourish all beings.

Reverently bow to the Celestial Worthy Who Ferries All Across in a Boat, praying that he carry all beings across the sea of suffering like a vessel.

Reverently bow to the Celestial Worthy of the Light of Perfect Virtue.

Reverently bow to the Taiyi Celestial Worthy Who Rescues from Suffering, praying that he deliver those in distress.

Reverently bow to the Celestial Worthy Who Preserves Life and Protects Destiny, praying for longevity and protection of life.

Reverently bow to the Celestial Worthy of Freedom and Joy, praying for ease and happiness.

Reverently bow to the Celestial Worthy Who Guides Beings to Rebirth According to Their Wishes, praying that all beings be reborn in a good place according to their wishes.

Reverently bow to the Celestial Worthy of Universal Compassion Who Protects the Nation, praying that compassion safeguard the country.

Reverently bow to the Taiyi Celestial Worthy Who Rescues from Suffering.

Reverently bow to the Celestial Worthy Who Preserves Life and Protects Destiny.

Reverently bow to the Celestial Worthy of Freedom and Joy.

Reverently bow to the Celestial Worthy Who Guides Beings to Rebirth According to Their Wishes.

Reverently bow to the Celestial Worthy of Universal Compassion Who Protects the Nation.

Reverently bow to the Celestial Worthy of the Boundless.

Reverently bow to the Celestial Worthy Whose Merits and Virtues Are Like an Ocean, praising the vastness of his merits and virtues.

Reverently bow to the Perfected One Who Aids All, praying that he bring universal relief to all beings.

With sincere hearts and reverence, we bow before the Perfected One Who Universally Saves Living Beings.

With sincere hearts and reverence, we bow before the Greatly Compassionate Perfected One Who Rescues Those in Suffering.

With sincere hearts and reverence, we bow before the Greatly Merciful Perfected One Who Removes the Burden of Sin.

Today, the presiding officiant and all those gathered together pray to the Supreme Heavenly Worthy of Numinous Treasure below, and to all the revered gods and holy Perfected Ones, the High Immortals of the Golden Palace, the Holy Emperors of the Jade Capital, the Dragon Gods and Earth Gods, the local Perfected Officials, the Immortal Lords of the heavens, the assembled immortals of the grotto-heavens, and all the holy Perfected Ones who manifest throughout the ten directions and fill the hidden, mysterious realms. By their inconceivable divine power and immeasurable merit, may they protect the presiding officiant, a certain person, and receive this penitential text, recited in memory of that person’s deceased relatives.

May these holy Perfected Ones deliver the presiding officiant’s nine generations of ancestors and seven generations of forebears, as well as all deceased relatives, near and far, parents, six kinds of kin, and dependents. Through the merit of this repentance, may they be reborn in the Land of Ultimate Bliss, no longer lingering in the Three Paths of suffering—the hells, the realm of hungry ghosts, and the realm of animals—and no longer enduring the Five Sufferings, the many forms of hardship. May the close and distant relatives, and all kin and relations by marriage who are living in this world, enjoy lasting peace and happiness and be forever free from suffering and distress.

May those who have come in response to prayers for relief, to settle debts of requital, under the pull of karmic force, or through illness, all receive the power of repentance and take refuge in the Great Dao forever. Bow once.

Chapter Four: “Signs of Manifestation and Verification.”

All those gathered at today’s Daoist altar should each focus their minds, bow in reverence and take refuge, look up to the compassionate Celestial Worthy, and sincerely practice the method of repentance, bearing witness to and bringing to light the karmic conditions involved. The presiding officiant, So-and-so, stills the mind and spirit, kneels upright on the ground, and listens attentively to the scripture.

The Dao arose and unfolded from the One Qi, dividing into the Three Powers (Heaven, Earth, and humanity). It then appeared under different names in response to changing worldly circumstances, manifesting different titles according to the occasion. It pervades the entire Dharma Realm in numbers as countless as the grains of dust. There are also perfected beings who have practiced for a long time and dwell above the heavens; their number, too, cannot be counted.

If a good man or good woman naturally awakens the aspiration to follow the Dao, and holds Daoist rites day and night on behalf of the ruler, empresses and consorts, nobles, all the people of the realm, the Nine Ancestors and Seven Generations of kin, teachers, parents, themselves and all their dependents, and even beings in the Three Paths of Suffering, the Five Torments, the Eight Difficulties, and the Nine Depths—burning incense, scattering flowers, lighting lamps, bowing in reverence, and reciting the Celestial Worthy’s sacred name—then the Celestial Worthies of the Ten Directions and countless holy beings will come together to witness and protect them, and record their merit in the heavens. The practitioners themselves will enjoy long lives and abundant blessings; calamities will be dispelled and karmic offenses diminished. The country will be stable and its people at peace. Retribution in the Three Paths of Suffering will cease, the torment of the Five Torments will end, and all beings who have sunk into suffering will find liberation.

At this time, the Perfected One of the Supreme Ultimate said to Xuanyanzi, “You should regularly uphold this scripture and spread the honored name of the Celestial Worthy, making it widely known throughout the ten directions. Let men and women everywhere copy and enshrine it, and bow and recite it with utmost sincerity. In this way, the Ten Flower Perfected Ones, the Vajra Guardians, the Five Emperors of the Three Realms, and all numinous powers will be moved to come and protect the realm and its people. If sacred images are established in various places, the merit will be beyond measure.

“If male officials in their Dharma bodies and female officials in their Dharma bodies (specific designations in the scripture) wish for peace in the realm, they may quiet their minds and silently recite the honored name of the Celestial Worthy on the first, middle, and last days of each month; the Ten Days of Abstinence; the Three Primordial Festivals; the Eight Seasonal Festivals; their birth-year day; the Gengshen day; and the time of the year-end assembly (specific days for Daoist purification, prayers for blessings, or sacrifices). At such times, the Celestial Worthy will respond to their invocation, and immortals will come to guide them, welcomed by cloud-riding cranes.

“If you praise and extol this teaching, encourage people to receive and uphold this sacred scripture, bow and recite it, and honor its sacred images, the merit will truly be inconceivable.

“If any being sees the Compassionate Worthy’s responsive title (the title under which the Compassionate Worthy appears or answers) yet gives rise to disbelief, treats the Dharma treasure with contempt, or doubts and slanders the sacred text, you should know that this person has been sunk in the lower realms of ghosts since remote kalpas, enduring every kind of suffering and taking on many different forms before finally being reborn as a human. Ignorant and deluded, obstructed at every turn and unable to understand reason, this person has also sown evil causes, and so cannot give rise to faith and reverence.

“If any being hears this repentance rite—even a single sentence or verse—or sees a single sacred image or title, or performs a single bow or prostration, and thereby gives rise to faith, you should know that in a former life this person entered the jeweled city and heard the wondrous teaching in person, and also entered the treasure storehouse and read and recited the scriptures. Reborn now, this person’s faith and devotion have grown stronger.

“If someone at first sees this repentance rite and holds it in reverence, but later regrets it, ceases to bow and recite it, and becomes lax and contemptuous, you should know that although this person has attained a human body, the karmic consequences of having once taken other forms have not yet been exhausted. When this life ends, this person will again fall into the evil paths, endure ten thousand kalpas of suffering, and find no release.”

At this time, after the Perfected One of Taiji (one of the Daoist immortals) had finished transmitting the scriptures and teachings, Xuan (the person receiving the teaching) bowed with his head to the ground in gratitude. The Perfected One of Taiji then personally transmitted the names of the Seven Responding and Manifesting Heavenly Venerables (revered deities who manifest in response to the needs of sentient beings to save and deliver them). He instructed Xuan to aid the living and deliver the dead for the sake of all beings, and to make these names known to them so that everyone could bow and recite them, without neglecting to follow the sacred teachings.

The repentance leader (the person who presides over the repentance rite and vows to repent) at today’s altar bows before this repentance text on account of a particular matter. Prostrating with all five parts of the body touching the ground, he concentrates on making his vow, bows before the compassionate and revered deities, and respectfully venerates the true sages.

With sincere reverence, I bow: Heavenly Venerable Responding and Manifesting by Name.

With sincere reverence, I bow: Heavenly Venerable Who Universally Attains the Way.

With sincere reverence, I bow: Heavenly Venerable of Boundless Wisdom.

With sincere reverence, I bow: Heavenly Venerable of Constant Wuwei (non-action).

With sincere reverence, I bow: Heavenly Venerable Filling the Void.

With sincere reverence, I bow: Heavenly Venerable of Constant Purity and Stillness.

With sincere reverence, I bow: Heavenly Venerable Who Responds to Each Circumstance.

The repentance leader and assembly at today’s altar look up and beseech the supreme Lingbao Seven Named Responding and Manifesting Heavenly Venerables of the ten directions to join in bestowing their benevolent power and protecting all beings, so that the wish of the repentance leader, so-and-so, may be fulfilled, and that their offenses and the retribution they incur may both be released. We also beseech all the Responding and Manifesting Heavenly Venerables in the world to join in bestowing their benevolent power and protecting all beings, so that the wish of the repentance leader, so-and-so, may be fulfilled, and that their offenses and the retribution they incur may both be released.

We further pray that all the repentance leader’s living family members may be safe and prosper, free from obstruction and calamity, with disasters dispelled; that they may be intelligent and perceptive, profound and subtle in virtue, and complete in the merit of their cultivation; that their official careers and studies may progress and succeed, their achievements be outstanding, and the blessings of favor and good fortune be renewed without end; that peace prevail within and beyond the household, with young and old, high and low, each keeping their proper place; that warfare cease, the weather be favorable, their lives be long, and their names be entered in the registers of the immortals. May one portion given yield ten thousandfold blessings, enduring without end; may they forever escape sinking into misery, life after life. May their descendants continue from generation to generation and endure for ages. May all sentient beings reach the far shore of the Dao and liberation.

Bow once.

This was spoken by the Immortal Lord Ge Xuan.

The Most High Lord Lao said: “These Celestial Venerables of the Ten Directions were all born when the Celestial Worthy of the Primordial Beginning responded to the Qi of the Great Dao. They dwell throughout the Ten Directions, bringing stability and protection to lands and teaching living beings. In response to the karmic conditions of living beings, they manifest in many forms and transform without end. As the cycles of tribulation unfold, they appear at times and withdraw at others, teaching and saving living beings throughout the Ten Directions, so that their blessings reach all the heavens.

“If Daoist men and women, male and female devotees, can bring forth kind intentions for their ruler, parents, spouses and children, themselves and their relatives, their seven ancestors and nine generations of forebears, and all living beings throughout the world and below the earth, then, according to their means, they may fashion or paint sacred images from gold, silver, pearls, jade, tiles, stone, bronze, iron, and other materials. They should place these images throughout the Ten Directions and across the land; pay reverence and make offerings; establish Daoist temples; guide and transform people; practice the Dao and recite scriptures; scatter flowers and light lamps; repent and make vows; and observe precepts and fasts. In this way, the living will find peace and ease, the dead will ascend to heaven, and blessings beyond measure will be gained.

“If a ruler encounters calamity—if the sun and moon grow dim or are obscured, the stars follow irregular courses, floods and droughts fall out of balance, epidemics spread among the people, or war breaks out on every side—then ten thousand two hundred lamps should be set up in a numinous temple, at a mysterious altar, or in the courtyards of a palace. Arrange them in ten tiers, with two hundred lamps on each tier, and open the gates in all eight directions, so that the arrangement is complete within and without and its light shines unobstructed. Day and night, worship and repent within the circle of lamps, scatter flowers and burn incense, and devote yourselves to the one thousand one hundred and seventy numinous images of the Ten Directions, reciting their names. Hold a grand Zhaijiao purification ritual, release living creatures and give alms, set up a hundred lofty altars, and expound the wondrous Mahayana scriptures of the Three Caverns—the three great divisions of the Daoist canon.

“By these means, the land will be secure and the world at peace. If dukes, lords, local officials, or common people encounter calamities of any kind, they too should diligently perform these rites. Then the living will prosper, their ancestors will ascend to heaven and escape the suffering of hell, light will reach them through the long darkness, and they will enjoy boundless blessings from generation to generation and for a long time partake of the blessings of Wuwei (non-action).

“For the lamp offering, one may also arrange one thousand two hundred lamps, or set up a great jeweled wheel with ten thousand two hundred lamps placed upon it. Altars may also be established and rites performed in different localities. Dukes and lords may use one thousand lamps, and ordinary people one hundred; all should follow this method. At night, keep the lamps burning without interruption; in the daytime, they may be extinguished. On the day the rites conclude, hold a generous purification feast, establish a ritual space, praise the deities, and report the merit to the heavens. The blessings gained in this way are immeasurable and too numerous to recount.

“Then the Perfected Ones of the Ten Directions and all the disciples present bowed together in reverence, praised this method, and withdrew.”

Today in the ritual hall, the presiding penitent—the person leading the penitential rite—should listen with full attention to what the Immortal Lord Ge Xuan, a revered Daoist immortal, has said:

After receiving this scripture, I established this penitential rite and passed it on to my fellow practitioners. I also arranged for it to spread throughout the world, so that people everywhere could use it to find relief in times of distress. Later, I saw the mountain gods and the spirits dwelling in trees and stones come forth to protect us. People, sheltered by the Dao, then passed this rite down in turn, so that it could widely aid all living beings.

For example, King Linghe fell ill and remained sick for nearly a hundred days, with his life hanging by a thread. The crown prince, empress, and consorts wept day and night, but could think of no remedy. A person who had taken the form of a Daoist priest appeared, claiming to be an emanation of the Celestial Worthy. He said that the Celestial Worthy’s merit and virtue were beyond comprehension and could save the king’s life. The king then summoned the male and female ritual officials, represented in the ceremony by their ritual forms, along with all the pure assembly. In the great hall of the palace they held a purification ritual and performed the Daoist liturgy: they burned incense, scattered flowers, lit lamps, bowed in reverence, chanted the sacred title of the Celestial Worthy, and vowed to repent, praying for the king’s recovery. In less than ten days, the Perfected One Who Delivers from Calamity descended and revealed the way to salvation to the king, rescuing him from mortal danger. The king recovered and resumed his throne. The affairs of the court returned to normal, and the ministers and officials came to offer congratulations and wish the realm long life. Perform one bow.

In another case, the state of Xiangji was surrounded by bandits for sixty days. The people suffered from hardship and scarcity, and did not know what to do. A minister reported to the king that the sacred title of the Celestial Worthy possessed a great and wondrous power beyond comprehension. The king therefore summoned the male and female ritual officials, established a ritual altar, burned incense, performed the liturgy, and bowed while chanting the sacred title of the Celestial Worthy. The assembly practiced with devotion for three days and three nights without pause. Then the generals of the Five Heavens descended with their troops and encircled the kingdom to protect it, turning danger into safety. The bandits immediately scattered and never rebelled again.

Another worthy man went out to sea to gather medicinal herbs. Suddenly, violent winds and waves struck, and the sea was thrown into turmoil. He called upon the names of the assembled sages. The Perfected One Who Relieves Suffering then dispatched the Dragon Kings of the Nine Seas and the Messengers of the Eight Winds to calm the waves, enabling him to reach the opposite shore safely.

A woman was once in labor, her life hanging by a thread. Her family hurriedly invoked the name of this holy deity, and she soon received a response: both mother and child were safe.

Some people were deluded and tormented by tiger spirits or flood dragons. Others repeatedly heard music and singing in the middle of the night and saw dragons and phoenixes transform and appear in their homes. They then established a ritual altar and bowed before the scriptures and repentance rites, whereupon all manner of spirits and demons vanished.

There were also disturbances caused by flood dragons. In some homes, music and singing were repeatedly heard in the middle of the night, and dragons and phoenixes were seen appearing in changing forms. The people then established a ritual altar and bowed before the scriptures and repentance rites, and all manner of spirits and demons vanished.

One man’s abdomen swelled as large as a drum. He drank nearly three shi of water each day, yet medicines failed to cure him over seven years.

One woman ate several handfuls of poisonous plants each day and often suffered pain in her abdomen. She too burned incense, made offerings, and bowed before the scriptures and repentance rites. Those tormented by spirits, as well as those who fell ill from eating aquatic plants, could all recover by bowing before this rite of repentance. Its miraculous efficacy takes many forms; only a few examples have been given here. Men and women, you may test it with sincere hearts. As you bow before this text of repentance at the ritual altar today, may the power of repentance enable you ultimately to attain the holy fruit. May the Compassionate Venerable One’s forms be complete, and may all the teachings transmitted be equal, with none ranked above another.

May the four classes of practitioners throughout the world—whatever groups this term denotes in different scriptural traditions—and all living beings be purified. May they take refuge in the Dharma-body of the Three Treasures, and in the great compassionate beings of the Golden Gate and Jade Capital, the Purple Tenuity Upper Palace, and the Cold-Spirit Cinnabar Hall; in the unsurpassed Dharma King, the perfected immortals who preside over the repentance liturgy, the Jade Boys and Jade Maidens, and all the immortals. May they draw upon their sacred power to save every living being throughout the earthly world, so that all may leave suffering, attain liberation, comprehend the Way of Wuwei (non-action), and together realize the Dao.

Bow once.

Taishang Cibei Daochang Xiaozai Jiuyou Chan, Scroll Ten