《玄帝灯仪》

The divine manifestations of this deity are inexhaustible, and the deity dwells always in the Golden Palace (immortal palace) of the Mysterious Capital. Yet the original true body remains unmoving, having been born into the royal palace of the Kingdom of Pure Joy. This deity can gather the myriad things into a single body, and can also cause one spirit (Shen) to manifest as ten thousand realms. The deity's numinous powers are subtle and profound, and the radiance of the Great Dao (the Way) they embody is complete. Above, they connect with the mysterious realm before chaos divided; below, they govern the two lunar lodges of Void and Rooftop (the northern constellations). They steady the foundations of the earth and truly nourish the primordial Qi (vital energy) of heaven and earth. They hold the changes of the four seasons and oversee the fundamental force by which all things move: the One Qi (the primordial source of the cosmos in Daoist thought).

The deity purifies the universe and steadies Heaven and Earth. Their De (Virtue) stands as high as the many heavens, and their merit has endured through countless kalpas. The worlds of the ten directions rely on their divine transformations, and the Nine Empyreans look to their true majesty. They broadly rescue living beings, and their kindness is so vast that words cannot exhaust it. Their merit extends to all things, yet once accomplished, they claim no credit. Their sacred virtue is unsurpassed, and the winds of their true Dao flow without limit. Even if the full strength of mortal talent were spent, it could not adequately record their virtue.

Now, [name], who has long revered this deity's teachings and received their grace for many years, sets out incense and lamps and presents wine and fruit. Through the light of this lamp, we reach the realm of constant harmony beyond the Forbidden Heights (a Daoist sacred realm), and we continue to illuminate the Palace of Celestial Unity and True Celebration (the dwelling place of the divine and perfected). Respectfully we offer this precious lamp, and humbly beseech the deity to extend their gracious favor, to descend for a while in a chariot of flying clouds, and to accept this humble libation, slight as water gathered from roadside puddles. We await the light of the divine and perfected, bowing low to pray for a responding descent. Our hearts are filled with awe and unease as we respectfully present this memorial. We kowtow and take refuge, offering our sincere praise.

Invocation of the Sacred Titles

With one heart, all of us take refuge in the Perfected Lord of the Northern Pole, Zhenwu, Suppressor of Heaven, the Mysterious Celestial Sovereign, together with all the immortals and spirit officials (Daoist deities and celestial functionaries).

I have heard that the kalpa-cycle is nearing its end and the allotted age has run its course, yet the remaining calamities have not been dispelled; a new cycle has only just begun, and the old accumulated defilements still linger. People still cling to shallow and corrupted customs and have not returned to simplicity. Thus the Six Heavens (in Daoism, the forces of malevolent spirits) watch for openings, and the Nine Ugly Ones (in Daoism, fierce and baleful spirits) seize the moment to stir up disorder. They originally intended to harm the wicked, but they have also implicated the good. Resentful qi has gathered in the human world, and its poison rises straight to Heaven. Were it not for the compassion of the great Dao, how could one receive the aid of the Highest Perfected Ones (a Daoist honorific for exalted divine beings)?

Reflecting on the multitudes of common people suffering harm from all manner of demons and malign forces, Yuanshi (the Celestial Venerable of the Primordial Beginning) issued a talismanic decree, and the Perfected Venerables acted in obedience to this command. This situation did not arise in a single morning or evening, and so the rite must be carried out with diligence for seven days and seven nights. Humans and ghosts are thereby separated, and Chonghli (a legendary deity) sets each in its proper place. The grace of the divine powers will endure forever throughout the kalpa-cycles.

Now, I, so-and-so, extol the merit and virtue of the Celestial Venerable of the Primordial Beginning, reverently set out pure offerings, and respectfully beseech the divinities of Heaven to lend their ear. With reverent sincerity I express my devotion, and with a single mind I take refuge in the Supreme Emperor of the Mysterious Heaven, Pacifier of Heaven of the Northern Pole, Zhenwu (the Perfected Warrior, Emperor Zhenwu). I humbly wish that the precious lamps may radiate their brilliance and illuminate the region of Xuanxiao (an ancient stellar mansion); may the orchid-scented oil sustain the flame and shine upon the Palace of Tianyi (a Daoist stellar palace). I beseech the immortals' processions to descend from afar, and their cloud-chariots to arrive in the human world.

I pray for a hundredfold blessings and the removal of a thousand calamities; may life be extended in the registers of the living in the Southern Palace, and may offenses be struck from the ledger of sins in the Northern Bureau. May those who study the Dao awaken to the wonder of the formless, and may those who cultivate perfection obtain the methods of concealment and transformation. May disasters and obstacles not intrude, may spirit-demons and baleful qi all be dispersed, may the hundred divinities stand guard, and may all things be known in advance.

Bowing my head in refuge, I sincerely offer this praise:

Xuanyuan (an honorific for the Dao) is the most venerable among all wonders. Without speaking, it imparts teaching, and its spiritual subtlety cannot be fathomed.

Only you, Xuanyuan—the primordial origin of the Dao (the Way)—are the honored lord of the many mysterious ways. You do not speak, yet you are able to teach and transform the myriad things; your divine subtlety is vast, and no one can exhaust it. Through countless long ages you have been profound and immense, seeming to exist and yet hard to grasp. You make the mind empty and still and the body full, draw in your sharp edge, and dwell among ordinary people; you open the work by which heaven and earth transform and nurture life, and you disperse the still-undivided state of primal simplicity into the myriad beings.

You passed through six million years and manifested eighty-two bodily forms. By yielding you are able to remain whole; by bending you are able to straighten. Dwelling in the low places, you are instead filled; covering over what is old, you allow the new to appear. You support the weak and rescue those in distress, restore the dying to life, and enable ordinary people to reach attainment. You perform meritorious works yet do not claim them as your own, and therefore your De (Virtue/Power) remains forever firm and constant. May you appear once more and eternally garrison the heavens of the north; above, punish the signs of rebellion; below, sweep away the Qi (vital energy) of demons and deviance. You send forth Fulu (talismans and registers)—in Daoist ritual arts, the talismanic writings and documents used to convey divine commands, expel evil, and protect the body—and patrol heaven and earth; the generals of Jia and Geng, divine generals charged with standing guard, assist and protect at your side. You range throughout the six directions of heaven, earth, and the four quarters, and universally protect all living beings. May demons and ghosts be destroyed forever, and may the Qi of the Dao—the generative energy by which the Dao gives birth and transformation—long endure.

We of the assembly, with sincere hearts, entrust our lives to the Perfected Lord Zhenwu, Supreme Emperor of the Dark Heaven, who garrisons the heavens of the North Pole, and to all immortals and spirit officers.

This servant has heard that when the host of stars encircles the Pole Star, the nobility of the North Pole is revealed, and that when all numbers begin from “one,” one knows that “one” is the beginning of number. If the practice of merit and the conduct of De were not both complete, how could one occupy the foremost place and become the honored lord? We revere the Supreme Perfected Xuanwu, who forever holds the honored station of the north. Xuanyuan brought forth ten kinds of titles by transformation; Lord Lao has always manifested through “forced names,” names provisionally established merely so that one might speak of him. Zhenwu is lodged in the name-registers of the many heavens, and also appears in transformation in response to the time.

Divine merit is illustrious, and sagely De is vast. Wishing to praise the True Honored One, we have offered our sincerity to its limit. Now a certain person reverently clears the courtyard, fasts and bathes so as to purify body and mind, lifts the gaze and bows in homage to the Dark Heaven, earnestly sets forth the wish of the heart, and with a single mind entrusts life to the Numinously Responsive Perfected Lord Who Protects the Sage. We earnestly beg the Perfected Lord to bestow auspicious signs of good, so that disaster scatters like incense ash; to shine with light through Quanqu, the realm of the unseen, and to remit the grievous karma and the adversarial reckonings within the Ninefold Darkness, the depths of the underworld; to make Luofeng, the legendary ghostly mansion of the shades, bright and open throughout, and to pardon the faults of the ancestors through seven generations.

May relatives who have passed away in recent generations, together with the ancestors, ascend to the perfected and be freed from suffering; may the household be filial and affectionate, and the world loyal and worthy; may a thousand disasters disperse together, and ten thousand blessings all descend. The assembly knocks the head and takes refuge, and with reverent sincerity offers this praise:

The Divine Lord of the Mysterious Heaven of the Northern Pole is profound and subtle, hard to fathom. He can work countless transformations and is the numinous perfected one within Xuanwu (the northern deity venerated in Daoism). May every household be filled with filial piety and mutual affection, and may the world abound in people who are loyal and good; may every calamity disperse at once, and may all blessings descend. We kowtow and take refuge, offering praise with devout hearts:

The Divine Lord of the Mysterious Heaven of the Northern Pole is profound and subtle, hard to fathom. He can work countless transformations and is the numinous perfected one of Xuanwu. He mounts to Heaven and descends to Earth, driving the thunder and racing through the clouds and Qi (vital energy). His ceremonial retinue numbers as many as ten million and sweeps away demonic and deviant Qi. The Lord of Thunder, the Mother of Lightning, jade maidens, and generals attend him on either side; ghosts and spirits are subdued, and dragons and tigers withdraw and hide. His majestic power guards the Five Sacred Peaks (the Eastern Peak, Mount Tai; the Southern Peak, Mount Heng; the Western Peak, Mount Hua; the Northern Peak, Mount Heng; and the Central Peak, Mount Song), and the host of divinities all obey his commands. Bells and drums sound together as he tours between Heaven and Earth, seizing rebellious ghosts and monsters, destroying and cutting down the demonic multitudes, rooting out evil and upholding the orthodox Dao (the Way), so that the Qi of the Dao (the primal energy of the Dao) may long endure.

We of the assembly, with sincere hearts, entrust our lives and take refuge in the Perfected Lord, Zhenwu, Supreme Emperor of the Mysterious Heaven who guards Heaven at the Northern Pole, together with all immortals and Lingguan (divine officers in Daoism who serve the deities and carry out their duties).

I have heard that the Minister of Jade Vacuity and the incarnate form of the Golden Portal—titles indicating the venerable and sacred identity of the Mysterious Emperor (Xuandi)—abides freely in a realm without form or trace, and wanders at ease through the distinct domains inhabited by sages and ordinary people. At times he departs and becomes lord of the ten heavens; at times he descends into the human world and becomes the teacher of emperors through the ages. Thus he has repeatedly manifested as Lord Lao (Laojun), and has also appeared under the name of Xuanwu, the Dark Warrior. The forms he displays may differ, yet his original divine body is without distinction.

He embraces yin Qi (vital energy) and nourishes yang Qi, and, treading the tortoise and the serpent, manifests wondrous efficacy. Guarding the north and presiding over the Yin-Yang transformations of south and north, he becomes the power that commands the Heavenly Gang (Tiangang). His Dao (the Way) and De (Virtue/Power) are unfathomably profound, and his achievements cannot be recorded one by one. Thus, on earth, he possesses the realm of Great Harmony (Taihe), sufficient to serve as a reliance for martial force; in heaven, he dwells in the positions of Ren and Gui, and only the Mysterious Emperor can bestow protection of this kind. His merit is boundless and difficult to praise in full.

Now a certain person has swept and purified the dwelling and solemnly established a ritual seat—the altar ground on which Daoist Keyi (liturgy) is performed—gazing upward toward the celestial region of the Xu and Wei asterisms and, with sincere heart, hastening toward the heavenly court of the North Pole. We earnestly beg the Mysterious Emperor to lower his ceremonial retinue for a time and briefly halt his divine carriage, to accept these pure offerings, and to examine this sincerity, like that of the jackal and the otter requiting their origin. We beg the Mysterious Emperor to pity this earnest heart and clearly discern this plain and pure prayer. With undivided mind we entrust our lives to the Perfected Lord of Numinous Response and Holy Aid (Lingying Yousheng Zhenjun), an honorific title of the Great Emperor Xuanwu.

We pray that auspicious signs may rise like the flame of the golden-ram lamp, and that fortunate light may shine upon the flame of the bronze-duck incense burner; that below, deep and heavy darkness may be dispelled, and above, the realm of the Limitless (Wuji) may be reached. Both the dead and the living receive grace, and young and old in the household alike obtain protection. The residence is bright and the household gates are filled with joy; disasters do not arise and calamities do not occur, while the family estate grows daily in wealth and prosperity. May I myself receive the Five Blessings, and may my kindred remain far from the six kinds of extreme misfortune. All grace comes from the Supreme Sage, and everyone relies upon his blessings. We knock our heads to the ground, take refuge, and devoutly offer praise:

The Dark Emperor is a deity born from the transformation of the Qi (vital energy) of Supreme Yin, in whom the essences of water and fire are condensed. In heaven he corresponds to the lunar mansions Xu and Wei; in the human world he appears in the united form of turtle and snake. His divine majesty extends throughout heaven, earth, and the four directions and overawes the myriad spirits. However dark or hidden a place may be, he can perceive it, and the prayers of all living beings are fulfilled.

When the cycles of kalpic fortune change, the Dark Emperor cuts away demons and evil, rescues living beings, and brings peace to household and realm. As the disasters of the final age draw to an end and demonic Qi spreads abroad, the Lord on High issues a decree. The holy deity then descends into the human world, sets forth the orthodox Dao (the Way), sweeps away baleful spirits, and puts an end to the calamities of war, so that moral teaching reaches the people and the restoration of the state is assisted.

Should any petty ghosts dare to harass living beings, they will all be utterly destroyed and never allowed to remain. Once the filth of violence and evil has dispersed, the Qi of the orthodox Way endures for a long time.

Reciting the scripture, transforming offerings, and transferring merit: To recite the scripture is to chant the text of the Jing (scripture/classic); to transform offerings is to burn paper money and other presented sacrificial gifts; to transfer merit is to pray that the merit of recitation and offering be directed to all living beings or to a particular recipient.