《玉皇宥罪锡福宝忏》

We ministers who hold offices of the registers, with reverent care burning incense, sincerely present this memorial: to the Lord of the Teaching who expounds the scriptures, the Celestial Worthy of Primordial Beginning (Yuanshi Tianzun; a revered deity of Daoism and the lord who transmits the scriptures and the teaching), the Celestial Worthy of Numinous Treasure (Lingbao Tianzun) who cradles and delivers the Jade Emperor, the Celestial Worthy of Descent and Birth who streams forth and unfolds the holy teaching, the Jade August Supreme Emperor (Yuhuang Shangdi), Most Venerable of the Myriad Heavens, the Celestial Worthy Holy Father, King of Radiant Majesty and Wondrous Joy, the Primordial Lady Holy Mother, Empress of Precious Moonlight, together with the innumerable holy perfected ones who open inquiry at the scripture convocation, and all the true immortals who attend upon the Jade Emperor.

We have respectfully heard that, in the secluded dwelling of the Mysterious Garden, the Celestial Worthy of Primordial Beginning ascended the luminous precious throne, while the Jade Emperor, who had manifested and come to meet him, set forth the course of his own cultivation in former days.

In former times there was a kingdom called Marvelous Joy. Its king was named Pure Virtue, and its queen was named Precious Moonlight. Worried that they had no heir to succeed to the throne, they ordered those of the gate of the Dao (the Way) to pray in every quarter. The prayers had already continued for half a year, yet they did not alter their original sincerity. They thereby moved the Supreme Lord of the Dao and all the Most Perfected (realized persons who have attained the Dao). Riding five-colored carriages and cradling an infant, they came forth. Light shone from every pore of the infant’s body, and the palaces were thereby transfigured. In answer to the queen’s earnest plea, the Perfected bestowed the crown prince, that he might inherit the throne. At birth the prince was already intelligent and spiritually extraordinary; when he grew up he was humane and kind. The people passed on songs and ballads praising him for causing the transforming influence of the Dao to spread through the world, and for bringing social customs into harmony and stability by the way of Wuwei (non-action).

Later he entrusted the kingdom to his ministers and entered the mountains to cultivate the supreme Dao. He also gathered herbs to treat illness, aiding the state and relieving the people. At first he realized the Golden Immortal (a profound attainment of the immortal Way); only afterward did he become the Jade Emperor. This experience was without precedent and is difficult to recount in full.

Through countless kalpas we have received his grace, and across successive lifetimes we have received his teaching. We only regret our own foolishness and delusion, and the grave offenses we have accumulated—how dare we fail to set forth our confession and beg forgiveness? Therefore, looking up to and following the teaching of the Jing (scripture/classic), we do our utmost to examine ourselves and repent, praying that obstacles and transgressions be removed, calamities averted, and blessings drawn near. We wish that the vows of our hearts may be perfectly fulfilled, and that we may at last realize sagehood and attain perfection.

Now, as we proclaim and practice the rite of repentance, we first pray that the true immortals descend. We hope to receive compassionate mercy, so that our supplications may be answered. We reverently wish that the whole world be as pure as lapis lazuli, that the immortal hosts gather, riding jade chariots resplendent in gold and azure and adorned in nine colors, and soar aloft beneath feathered canopies decorated with ten kinds of splendid patterns. The numinous wind sounds forth music in harmony with precious flowers; the precious flowers form canopies filling the sky. Luan birds cry long and phoenixes sing; dragons leap in play and qilin wheel about, all dancing together in the heavens. All the immortals descend to the human world, so that heavenly beings and mortals rejoice and celebrate together, and so that offenses may be extinguished. If these prayers can be fulfilled, we shall feel boundlessly honored.

I, together with such-and-such disciples, filled with reverence as we look up to the celestial majesty, respectfully await your descent. In awe and trepidation we knock our heads and bow again, concentrating our contemplation upon your honored countenance; surely we have already been visited by divine light. In accordance with the scriptural text we reverently recite the Verse Chapter Spoken by the Heavenly Lord of Lofty Void and Clear Brightness, in order to express our praise.

Lord of the Golden Portal and the Mysterious Vault—the sovereign who dwells in the celestial realm—Most High and Venerable Jade Emperor, your marvelous form stands supreme above all the heavens, and the light of your compassion illuminates the Three Realms. You are the True Sage and the teacher of the wondrous Dao (the Way), and the guide upon whom all beings in heaven and in the human world rely. Through the teaching-gate of the Great Vehicle you send down instruction, and by the Dao of True Unity you lead those who have lost their way. Your merit is as vast as empty space, and praise can never be exhausted.

Your servant So-and-so, charged with the Fulu (talismans and registers), leading the registered disciples who revere the Dao, So-and-so and the others, with sincere devotion bows twice and submits this memorial to the Supreme Sages of the Three Pure Ones (Sanqing), the Most Venerable Jade Emperor, the Imperial Father and the Imperial Mother, and all the supremely holy and supremely true spirits of the ten directions and the Three Realms.

We your servants have heard that sacred virtue is endless and inexhaustible, and cannot be recorded or praised in words; yet whenever the human heart is moved, one ought to extol it with all one’s strength. The Holy Venerable One clearly discerns the myriad things and knows all without exception, and is truly beyond compare. Great in mercy and great in compassion, we earnestly beg you to look down in pity and bestow your grace. Thus we your servants, following the scriptures (Jing), recount this sacred virtue, and wish, as our hearts are moved, to take refuge in all the true spirits of the ten directions and the Three Realms.

We your servants have heard that sacred virtue is endless and inexhaustible, and cannot be recorded or praised in words; yet whenever the human heart is moved, one ought to extol it with all one’s strength. The Holy Venerable One clearly discerns the myriad things and knows all without exception, and is truly beyond compare. Great in mercy and great in compassion, we earnestly beg you to look down in pity and bestow your grace. Thus we your servants, following the scriptures, recount this sacred virtue, and wish to take refuge as our hearts are moved. Even if one strains to name you by the “Ten Titles,” one can hardly praise to the full that ineffable honorific; even if one speaks out every one of the “Seventeen Lights,” how could one exhaust a radiance without bound or end? Call you “Heaven,” and Heaven itself is not enough to match your realm; call you the “Dao,” and yet the myriad things all issue forth from the Dao. Even were it proclaimed by the golden mouth, your sacred virtue could scarcely be told in full—how then could ordinary mortals of the dusty world know it completely? We your servants therefore, for the present, select words from the scriptures in order to praise this sacred virtue.

We earnestly beg the Holy Venerable One to protect and bless us: when the mouth declares a single good deed, all manner of good thoughts arise in the heart; when the voice praises the ten titles, the offenses recorded in the registers of names are all effaced. May hearts of humaneness, humility, and willing goodness grow accordingly, and may wisdom and eloquence gradually come to fulfillment; and may we, together with all living beings, realize the unsurpassed Dao.

Your servant and the disciples So-and-so and the others sincerely pray: when the mouth declares a single good deed, all manner of good thoughts arise in the heart; when the voice praises the ten titles, the offenses recorded in the registers of names are all effaced. May hearts of humaneness, humility, and willing goodness grow accordingly, and may wisdom and eloquence gradually come to fulfillment, and may we together with all living beings realize the unsurpassed Dao. Your servant and the disciples So-and-so and the others, with incomparably earnest hearts, on behalf of all deceased ancestors, living kindred, the beings of the human world, and the hidden souls in the long night, exhaust their devotion in taking refuge and offering reverent homage.

With the utmost sincerity of heart, we offer our lives in reverent homage to the Great Celestial Worthy, the Jade Emperor, High Emperor of the Mysterious Vault (Yuhuang Datianzun Xuanqiong Gao Shangdi, the Jade Emperor, Yuhuang Dadi).

With the utmost sincerity of heart, we offer our lives in reverent homage to the Great Celestial Worthy, the Jade Emperor, High Emperor of the Mysterious Vault. He puts forth the power of the six kinds of spiritual penetration. At this point the liturgy requires that each time the line “All respond: Great Celestial Worthy, Jade Emperor, High Emperor of the Mysterious Vault” is recited, the whole assembly answers aloud in unison, and each person makes one bow.

With the utmost sincerity of heart, we offer our lives in reverent homage to the Great Celestial Worthy, the Jade Emperor, High Emperor of the Mysterious Vault. In the White Jade Capital (Baiyu Jing, the palaces of the celestial realm), within the golden gate-towers, and in the mysterious gardens adorned with the seven treasures, he sits upon the precious throne of light in the Hall of Great Radiance and sends forth a vast radiance. He is the most honored among sages, pure beyond compare; jeweled light flames about his person, and his appearance is beautiful and majestic.

His wisdom is numinous, keen, and swift; his nature is loving and kind, benevolent, gentle, and humble. He has perfected merit and delivers living beings; he has relinquished cherished affections and attachments, seeks the Dao (the Way) with single-minded devotion, practices healing to cure illness and rescue beings, and widely employs expedient means that benefit the world. He spreads the teaching of the orthodox Dao, proclaims the merits of the divine spirits, protects the state and relieves the people, and cultivates himself through the practice of forbearance.

He sends forth a vast radiance and manifests a rare and supremely excellent appearance. He is the sovereign of the celestial vault who, through successive ages of great catastrophe, continues to be revered. What he sees and what he knows are of matchless subtlety, and no one can compare with him. He is still, clear, and luminous, profound and hard to fathom; he seems without form or trace, and yet he truly and everlastingly abides. He is the supreme sage and divine spirit, possessed of vast and boundless spiritual powers; he is a treasury of light, and a great person fully endowed with De (Virtue/Power).

He opens and transforms the two realms of heaven and humanity, and the way of his teaching has no end; with great mercy and great compassion he turns the wheel of the teaching (the propagation of the Dao and its methods). The mysterious principles he holds are deep and hard to fathom; they already existed before the great kalpas, they move and transform past and present, and they are honored as the supreme vehicle of the Dao. His majestic virtue is extraordinary and his merit immeasurable; he is pure and spontaneous, his divine clarity is steadfast, his numinous power is vast, and his renown reaches every place. However dark or hidden a place may be, his light shines through it, numinous, wondrous, and towering.

Through many kalpas he has taught the world. Possessed of great spiritual powers, he can divide his body and transform, appearing according to the conditions of each place, rescuing living beings, universally bestowing the teaching, and awakening their spiritual nature. His wisdom penetrates all and is hard to measure, and he manifests lights of many kinds: the light of great spiritual power, the light of great compassion, the light of great joy and relinquishment, the light of great forbearance, the light of great equality, the light of great gentleness, the light of great sovereign freedom, the light of great benefit, the light of great wish-fulfillment, the light of great wisdom, the light of great auspiciousness, the light of great liberation, the light of great refuge, the light of great merit, the light of great perfection, the light of great non-obstruction, and the light that none can overcome.

He is the True Ancient One of the celestial vault (the supreme and primordially ancient honored deity), wondrously perfect and pure; his wisdom and eloquence are without peer, and he occupies the most honored station of the ultimate Dao. He is the teacher of the Three Realms (the realm of desire, the realm of form, and the formless realm) and the ancestor of the Primordial Origin (Hunyuan); he is a holy sovereign whom none can surpass, and the compassionate father of beings of the four modes of birth (those born from the womb, from eggs, from moisture, and by transformation). He is the sage of the high heavens, supremely merciful and supremely benevolent. He perfectly possesses the ten honored titles and every kind of virtue, broadly delivering innumerable beings and freeing them from the suffering of birth and death.

We sincerely take refuge in and pay homage to the supreme and most exalted Taishang Miluo Heaven, the profound and true realm, the vast and remote purple-gold palaces, and the Taiwei Yuqing Palace (the celestial palace revered in Daoism). There abides the boundless and supreme Holy Worthy, whose radiance illuminates all, still, deep, and vast, unrestricted by any sect or outward form; his mysterious law encompasses the ten directions in their entirety. He is tranquil and luminous, constant and unchanging; the methods of the Dao (the Way) are vast without limit, and his spiritual powers are profound and far-reaching. He is the Jade Emperor, Great Celestial Worthy, High Emperor of the Mysterious Vault (the celestial sovereign revered in Daoism).

Your servant So-and-so, who holds office by the registers, a disciple who has received the Fulu (talismans and registers) and practices the Great Dao, respectfully salutes the Jade Emperor, Great Celestial Worthy, High Emperor of the Mysterious Vault. The Holy Worthy is boundless and supreme, his radiance illuminating all; still, deep, and vast, the mysterious law encompasses the ten directions; pure, still, and constant, the methods of the Dao are vast without limit, and his spiritual powers are profound and far-reaching.

Your servant So-and-so, who holds office by the registers, together with the disciples So-and-so and others who have received the Fulu and practice the Great Dao, bow once more with reverent and devout hearts and submit a memorial to the Celestial Worthies of the Three Pure Ones (Sanqing) of the Three Realms (the Three Pure Ones revered in Daoism and the heavens in which they dwell), the Jade Emperor, Supreme Emperor of Vast Heaven, the Imperial Father and Imperial Mother, the most holy and most true venerable deities, and all the True Governors of the Three Realms and the Ten Directions (the deities of every quarter).

We say with reverence: the key to accomplishing the Great Dao (the Way) and realizing the True Realm lies in committing few faults; the root cause of the passage from life toward death is often that one’s conduct has strayed from the proper path. Once human nature is given free rein, faults pile up until they stand as high as mountains; once the heart sincerely repents, karmic offenses can melt away like ice and snow meeting warmth.

Therefore, the teachings of the scriptures (Jing) clearly set forth the causes and conditions of sin and blessing, and make plain how one ought to face one’s own faults. How could we fail to give rise to a heart of repentance, and instead go on indulging our nature? Now, with earnest sincerity, we pray that the Holy Venerable will look upon us with compassion: may the Ten Evils (ten kinds of grave wrongdoing) and the Five Rebellions (five great offenses of rebellion and unfilial conduct) be dispelled through our kneeling prostrations; may the three karmas of body, speech, and mind (bodily action, speech, and thought), together with the six sense faculties (eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind), be purified through our chanting of the holy name.

We dare not conceal our faults. We wish to set forth every offense in open confession, praying to receive compassion and to be pardoned and absolved. May karmic offenses in their thousands of tangled strands be eliminated the moment they are confessed; may the faults accumulated through life after life and kalpa after kalpa be extinguished together before the Great Dao. From this time forward into the future, may we long remain persons free of fault, become one with the Dao, and realize the True Realm, so that the holy realm is no longer far away.

May those above—the Nine Mysteries and Seven Ancestors (an honorific for the ancestors of successive generations)—and those below—the Six Paths and Three Destinies of Suffering (the destinations of sentient beings in the cycle of rebirth, and the realms of suffering)—and indeed all sentient beings and the vast world, rely upon the vast grace of the Jade Emperor and together eliminate the grave offenses of distant kalpas. May beings commit fewer faults and incur fewer resentments, and do their utmost to become complete and good. We, together with the disciples So-and-so and others, pray with hearts of incomparable earnestness and, on behalf of deceased ancestors, living kin, all things of the human world, and the souls of the dead in the unseen realm, we together devote our hearts in devout refuge and worship.

With sincere hearts we take refuge and bow in worship to the Jade Emperor, Great Celestial Worthy, High Emperor of the Mysterious Vault (the Daoist honorific title of the Jade Emperor).

With sincere hearts we take refuge and bow in worship, praying that every person may understand the causes and conditions of sin and blessing.

In the rite of worship, after the words “Jade Emperor, Great Celestial Worthy, High Emperor of the Mysterious Vault” are intoned, the assembly responds in unison with the holy name, and each person performs one prostration.

May all these evil karmas be eliminated.

May the Five Rebellions and the Ten Evils all be eliminated.

May every evil karma be eliminated.

May we be able to eliminate evil thoughts, and believe in and follow this scripture.

May the boundless holy teaching continually receive the power to save beings and to uproot suffering.

May the Supreme Holy One, by a special act of grace, deliver us from the sufferings of hell.

May evil karmas as countless as dust and sand be extinguished as the heart desires.

May the offenses of distant kalpas all be eliminated.

May the sins of one’s fundamental nature, committed through ignorance and folly, be eliminated; may the sins committed when the mind is stained by the six dusts (the six objects of sensation: form, sound, scent, taste, touch, and mental objects) be eliminated; may the sins created through entanglement in the three karmas of body, speech, and mind be eliminated; may the sins committed through indulgence and willfulness be eliminated; may the evil karmas from which one has never awakened, as numerous as dust and sand, be eliminated together with the thoughts of the mind; may the sins accumulated through countless kalpas be eliminated.

May the sins of one’s fundamental nature, committed through ignorance and folly, be eliminated; may the sins committed when the mind is stained by the six dusts be eliminated; may the sins created through entanglement in the three karmas of body, speech, and mind be eliminated; may the sins committed through indulgence and willfulness be eliminated; may the sins committed without ever having awakened be eliminated; may the sins built up day by day and month by month be eliminated; may the sins of turning away from the Great Dao (the Way) and violating the truth be eliminated; may the sins of following deviant paths and abandoning the orthodox Dao be eliminated; may the sins created by every stirring of the mind and arising of a thought be eliminated.

May the sin of failing to be filial and respectful toward one’s parents be eliminated; may the sin of failing to revere the Three Treasures—the Dao, Jing (scripture/classic), and the Master, which Daoism venerates—be eliminated; may the sins of killing living beings and of theft be eliminated; may the sins of sexual misconduct and lying be eliminated; may the sins of obstinacy, violence, and wickedness be eliminated; may the sin of lacking a reverent heart be eliminated; may the sins committed by speaking words of slander be eliminated; may the sins committed by touching sacred objects with defiled hands be eliminated; may the sins committed by reciting scriptures while the mouth still bears the taint of meat and pungent foods be eliminated; may the sins committed by speaking idle worldly talk be eliminated; may the sins committed by laughing and jesting with one another and lacking a reverent heart be eliminated.

May the sins committed by speaking words of slander be eliminated; may the sins committed by touching sacred objects with defiled hands be eliminated; may the sins committed by reciting scriptures while the mouth still bears the taint of meat and pungent foods be eliminated; may the sins committed by speaking idle worldly talk be eliminated; may the sins committed by laughing and jesting with one another be eliminated.

May the sins committed when one falls into the three evil paths of hell, hungry ghosts, and animals, and when one is born in remote and foreign lands, be eliminated.

With the utmost sincerity we, your servants, take refuge and bow in worship: the Most High, the Unsurpassed Heaven of Miluo. There lies a true realm, mysterious and subtle; there stand the remote and towering Purple-Gold Palaces (celestial palaces of purple and gold); there is the Taiwei Jade Clarity Palace (a palace of the heavenly realm), dwelling in the holy realm of the limitless and supreme. Vast and empty, it sends forth light; secluded and profound, it belongs to no lineage. Its mysterious ordinances govern the ten directions; clear, pure, and still, it is the Dao of true constancy. Its spiritual powers are vast, without bound or limit. We bow in worship to the Great Celestial Worthy, the Jade Emperor, High Thearch of the Mysterious Vault (the Jade Emperor).

The minister So-and-so, charged with keeping the registers, and the disciples So-and-so who have received the Daoist registers, with hearts of utmost sincerity bow once more and submit this memorial to the Heavenly Worthies of the Three Pure Ones (Sanqing) of the Three Realms, the Jade Emperor of Vast Heaven, the Imperial Father and Imperial Mother, and all the divinities most holy and most true, praying that every true sovereign of the Three Worlds and the Ten Directions will look down and take notice.

We have heard that if obstructions are not cut off, the mind is veiled and sinks into dullness and confusion; once the obstructions are removed, the mind becomes open and clear. When the dark clouds disperse, the sun shines bright again; when the floating clouds scatter, the sky naturally reveals its radiance. If the obstructions have not yet been cleared away, how can one escape stubborn blindness? Only by removing the obstructions in the mind can lucidity be restored—just as, when the gloom disperses and the floating clouds scatter, the light of heaven naturally appears.

Our minds have not yet attained the clarity of the sun in heaven, and so we ought to remove obstructions like clouds and haze. We look upward, hoping that the holy and the true will extend their compassion and transmit the wondrous method of cutting off obstructions, so that all manner of stray thoughts will arise no more and the realm of pure stillness and truth will naturally manifest. Yet ordinary people are foolish and confused; they cannot cultivate according to this method, and constantly chase external things in the wake of their emotions—how then can they quiet the mind and gather the spirit? Thus they admit deviant thoughts from outside, disturbing the supreme Dao (the Way); they injure the root of spiritual nature and deplete their precious innate nature; they fall into the nets of the secular world and sink into the common stream. All kinds of demonic obstructions assail them together, and the true nature originally present within the mind is lost.

Without receiving the grace of being tempered and nurtured by the Dao and its methods, how could one succeed in cutting off obstructions? Following the mysterious scriptures (Jing), we repent and eliminate our faults, praying that every kind of obstruction be swept away. Therefore we respectfully set forth this declaration and earnestly beg the divinities for compassionate mercy. May we be granted the sword of wisdom with which to sever the obstructions of affliction; may the floating film upon the mind be swept away so that the sun of wisdom gives forth its light; may the dust, toil, and vexation be brushed aside so that the precious pearl within the mind grows lustrous and clear once more. May the ordinary body be purified and the fruit of the Dao brought to completion; may both those living in this world and the multitudes in the dark underworld recognize their perfectly luminous nature, never again revolve in the cycle of transmigration, and long enjoy freedom and ease.

Minister So-and-so and the disciples So-and-so hold earnest prayers in their hearts that words can hardly express in full. Together with their deceased ancestors, their living kin, all beings in the human world, and the souls of the dead in the long night of the underworld, they wish, with full sincerity and reverence, to take refuge and offer worship.

We devoutly take refuge and pay reverent homage to the Jade Emperor, the Great Celestial Worthy, Supreme Sovereign of the Mysterious Empyrean (the highest celestial emperor venerated in Daoism).

Each time one of the following vows is spoken, we recite the Celestial Worthy’s sacred name and each of us bows once:

May we not give rise to doubt, greed, or anger, nor arouse thoughts of lust, jealousy, and killing. May we not be drawn along by worldly emotions and distracting thoughts, nor be ensnared by dullness and affliction, the temptations of sound and form, disputes over right and wrong, hatred and craving, a discriminating mind, arrogance and contempt, and attachment. May we concentrate Shen (spirit) and quiet our contemplation, discipline body and mind, and make both inner and outer pure and upright. May body and mind be pure, so that we transcend every kind of calamity, behold the Celestial Worthy’s compassionate countenance, receive protection and deliverance, hear the mysterious and wondrous true teaching, personally uphold it and make offerings, never again suffer the misery of cyclic transmigration, sever the roots of bad habits, and have our names entered in the registers of the Mysterious Capital (the immortal realm of Daoist legend).

May no distracting thought arise, and may every clinging cease at once. May we abandon delusive thoughts, receive and uphold this Jing (scripture/classic), open our hearts wide, and be able to embrace and accept. May external evils be unable to disturb us, the fundamental true Dao (the Way) not be lost, and the root of our spiritual nature not decay; may we not fall into the mundane, not be bound by the secular world, and not be assailed by myriad demons. May we hear the true teaching, cast off long-accumulated habits, cultivate every kind of wondrous practice, and be fully endowed with the methods of liberation.

May we possess pure faith, understanding, thought, conduct, body, heart, intention, fruits of cultivation, and blessings, and also a heart of great kindness and great compassion. May we single-mindedly uphold the precepts, quietly realize the Great Dao, carefully safeguard the true Way, filially support our parents, and revere the Three Treasures (the Dao, the Jing, and the masters venerated in Daoism). May we give utmost loyalty to the sovereign, and refrain from killing and stealing, from sexual misconduct and jealousy, from anger and harboring hatred, and from arrogance and deceit.

With hearts of utmost sincerity, we take refuge and bow in worship before the Supreme Miluo Unsurpassed Heaven (the loftiest of all celestial realms). There lies the Realm of Wondrous Being and Mysterious Truth (a subtle and profoundly mysterious true realm), together with the distant, deep, and vast Purple-Gold Palaces (celestial palaces of purple and gold). The holy ones within the Taiwei Jade Clarity Palace (the celestial palace of Jade Clarity) are supreme and unsurpassed, radiant and immense, still and profound, beyond what words can exhaust. Their mysterious principles govern the ten directions and manifest the Great Dao (Dao, the Way) that is limpid, quiescent, true, and everlasting, and they possess spiritual powers vast and without bound. We worship the Jade Emperor, Great Celestial Worthy, Lofty Sovereign of the Mysterious Vault (the Jade Emperor).

The chant is raised:

The Jade Emperor cultivated and realized the Dao in Fragrant Adornment (the solemn realm in which the methods of the Dao are cultivated and realized), universally displayed spiritual powers, and sent forth seventeen rays of light. In order to teach and transform living beings and to remove and sever obstacles, the Jade Emperor widely proclaimed the “practice-gate of True Unity” (the method of cultivation that returns to the true Great Dao).

When “inconceivable merit” is chanted, pause briefly for a moment, and then continue the chant.

The minister so-and-so who holds office by the registers, and the disciples so-and-so and others who have received the registers and revere the Great Dao, once more bow with reverence and devotion, petitioning that the Great Dao be proclaimed.

When “inconceivable merit” is chanted, pause briefly for a moment, and then continue the chant.

The minister so-and-so who holds office by the registers, and the disciples so-and-so and others who have received the registers and revere the Great Dao, once more bow with reverence and devotion, petitioning the Celestial Worthies of the Three Pure Ones (Sanqing) of the Three Realms, the Jade Emperor Sovereign of Vast Heaven, the Imperial Father and the Imperial Mother, together with the most holy and most true deities of Heaven, Earth, Water, and Yang, and the True Sovereigns of the ten directions who hold the seals and discern with clarity.

We have respectfully heard that what is formless and nameless, supreme and unsurpassed, is called the Dao (the Way). How can living beings that possess form and appearance completely avoid calamity? Heaven and Earth themselves undergo decline and come to an end, and the sun and moon themselves grow dim and suffer eclipse. How much more is this so for human beings, each with an ordinary body, unable to escape the allotment of fate or transcend karmic conditions, and inevitably subject as well to the influence of the stars and the fortunes of the age.

Some people are allotted only a meager share of blessing, while the karmic burden of former lives weighs heavily upon them. The stars do not proceed in their favor, and the fortune of the times runs counter to their destiny. How can they be free of calamity, and how can they escape suffering? In lighter cases the calamities are floods, fires, and the harassment of thieves; in heavier cases they are illness and flight into exile, together with the many disasters spoken of as the “Six Extremes and Five Declines, the Seven Injuries and Eight Hardships, the Three Calamities and Four Baleful Forces, and the Nine Adversities and Ten Entanglements.” When calamity falls upon a state, the state cannot be at peace; when it falls upon a year, the year’s harvest cannot be abundant.

Faced with warfare, fire, flood, famine, and homeless wandering, those who follow the teachings ought to repent and offer prayers to avert misfortune, beseeching that disaster and adversity recede. We reverently wish that everyone may receive protection and that all calamities may be eliminated; that fated misfortune may be changed and the karmic conditions of the past dissolved; that baleful stars may withdraw and contrary fortunes turn toward peace. For the individual, may remaining calamities be removed and adversity laid to rest; and, extended to the myriad things of the world, may catastrophic trials be avoided and great disasters averted. May people dwell securely in the mundane world, and may whatever they undertake continually meet with good fortune; may they at last arrive at the realm of the Dao in which deliverance is attained, no longer troubled by calamity. May I myself be in good health, may all people be safe, and may Heaven and Earth long endure.

We ministers and disciples, so-and-so and the rest, pray with the most earnest hearts: on behalf of deceased ancestors, living kindred, all beings in the world, and the departed souls in the unseen realm, we pour forth sincere devotion, take refuge, and offer reverent homage.

With one heart we take refuge and pay homage to the Jade Emperor, Great Celestial Worthy, Exalted Sovereign of the Mysterious Empyrean (the Jade Emperor revered in Daoism).

For each of the lines that follow, the sacred title of the Celestial Worthy is intoned and one act of worship is offered. May suffering and affliction be healed, and may all people universally attain liberation. May the mountain spirits stand guard, and may fierce beasts withdraw of themselves. May wind and waves subside at once, so that one may reach the shore in safety. May all vicious thieves disperse of their own accord. May wrongful grievances be redressed, and liberation be gained at once. May every baleful spirit keep far away, and peace arise of itself. May no calamity whatsoever be able to draw near. May every grave illness be healed immediately.

May all evil ghosts and evil spirits disperse of themselves, and may curses and gu poison disperse of themselves. May all living beings ultimately attain deliverance and reach the farther shore of the Great Dao (the Way), no longer beset by calamity; may they preserve their lives, pass safely through disaster, sweep away every inauspicious thing, and see illness quickly healed.

May all evil ghosts and evil spirits disperse of themselves, and may curses and gu poison disperse of themselves. May all living beings ultimately attain deliverance and reach the farther shore of the Great Dao, no longer beset by calamity; may they preserve their lives, pass safely through disaster, and sweep away every inauspicious thing.

May every demonic obstruction perish of itself. May the disasters of war and armed strife, epidemic disease, flood and drought, insects and locusts, failed harvests, and famine be removed; may every malignant illness be removed, together with skin afflictions and swellings such as scabies, leprosy, abscesses, and carbuncles; may sorrow, grief, anguish, and the calamity of sudden cruel harm be removed, and with them the disasters of imprisonment, untimely death or self-harm, and injury by poison; may the disasters of harm by tigers, wolves, insects, and snakes, entanglement in grievances and debts, encounters with wicked people, being killed by another, being pushed from a cliff, and injury by baleful spirits and anomalous beings be removed; may the disasters of drowning and fire, slaughter by blade and weapon, and violent death before one’s allotted years are fulfilled be removed.

We, your servants, with utmost sincerity take refuge in and reverently honor the Supreme Boundless Heaven of the Most High (the highest celestial realm venerated in Daoism). There lies a mysterious true realm; seen from afar, its purple-gold celestial gate-towers rise on high. There stands the Jade Clarity Palace of Grand Tenuity, set in the holy realm of the Limitless and Supreme. Vast and open, it radiates light; still and profound, it cannot be measured by taking any thing as its root. Its mysterious law holds sway over the ten directions; clear, pure, and quiescent, it is the Dao of true constancy, its spiritual power vast and its reach deep and boundless. We, your servants, reverently honor the Great Celestial Worthy, the Jade Emperor, High Thearch of the Mysterious Vault (the honorific title of the Jade Emperor).

Your subject So-and-so, who holds office by the registers, together with the disciples So-and-so and others who have received the ritual registers (Fulu), carefully and solemnly once more presents this petition and prayer to the supreme sages of the Three Pure Ones (Sanqing), the most exalted Jade Emperor, the Imperial Father and Imperial Mother, and all the most holy and most true spirits throughout Heaven and Earth.

We have heard that only when blessings and virtue run deep does auspicious affinity come; only when good intentions accumulate to fullness may one hope to welcome good fortune. Only celestial beings can verify this principle, yet immortal disciples who cultivate the Way may also inherit it. Since we have neither accumulated sufficient merit in cultivating the true, nor in daily life possessed an adequate heart turned toward the Dao (the Way), how can we fail to pray that Heaven bestow its blessings? According to the wondrous scriptures (Jing), by reciting the classics one may cultivate merit. Having already taken refuge in them and held them in reverence, we also know something of the method of recitation and practice.

Sin and blessing each have their path: when karmic offenses are cleared away, one may receive the gift of blessing; calamity and auspiciousness each have their cause: when calamity disperses, auspiciousness can gather. Having already eliminated the offenses of the past, we trust that the calamities to come will also be stilled. We believe the supreme sages, in their compassion, will surely grant these sincere prayers. Therefore we reverently bow in worship, hoping to receive the grace that dispels disaster and resolves adversity. We burn incense and pray with sincere hearts, looking up to the Jade Emperor’s benevolent mercy.

We respectfully wish that the virtue and grace of the supreme sages be deep and vast, and that their favor be bestowed on all. May the wind of good fortune blow through the four directions, so that all beings obtain peace; may grace broadly moisten and nourish, so that the whole family may share in blessing and celebration. May the Five Blessings descend universally, so that the people all find ease and joy; may every kind of auspiciousness gather, so that descendants flourish and prosper. May all people of the world dwell in a realm of benevolence, goodness, and long life, long enjoying blessings that continue without end; though they remain in the dusty world, may they be as if abiding in a realm of mystery, clarity, and stillness.

Your subject So-and-so and the disciples So-and-so and others, filled with earnest prayer, wish, together with deceased ancestors, living kin, all beings of the world, and the souls of the dead in the long night of the netherworld, to incline their sincerity in taking refuge and to worship with devout reverence.

We sincerely take refuge and bow in worship to the Great Celestial Worthy, the Jade August, High Emperor of the Mysterious Vault (the Daoist honorific title for the Jade Emperor).

We respectfully take refuge and offer worship. Each of the lines that follow is, according to the rite described above, to be accompanied by one bow as the sacred titles are chanted in call and response.

May body and mind be at peace, joyful, and at ease, and may a fair reputation spread far and wide. May we have occasion to meet persons of high standing and the sovereign, and may our offices be advanced. May wealth and goods be ample, and clothing and food free from care. May blessings and felicity extend to our descendants and be handed down through the generations. May the calamities brought by the various baleful stars withdraw, and auspiciousness be sent down in their place. May all that we hope for in our hearts be fulfilled as we wish. May clothing and food be naturally abundant, and our descendants eminent and honored. May the words we speak be given weight, and may we be received with respect wherever we go. May we stand high and be held in reverence, so that our household flourishes and grows great. May auspicious prosperity thrive, and may disasters and obstacles not come to trouble us. May the foundation of our cultivation of the Way (Dao) be deep, good affinities having already been formed in the past. May we long ago have nurtured the root of cultivating the Dao and widely sown the good causes of merit and virtue. “Planting fields of blessing” means doing good, accumulating virtue, and cultivating the recompense of blessings. May whatever we pray for in our hearts be answered and brought to fulfillment. May the wondrous treasures of the immortal elixir be obtained as the heart desires.

We respectfully take refuge and offer worship to the Supreme Unsurpassed Heaven of Miluo, the highest celestial realm venerated in Daoism. May the foundation of cultivating the Dao be broad and firm, and fields of blessing be widely planted; may whatever we pray for in our hearts be answered; may the wondrous treasures of the immortal elixir be obtained as the heart desires.

We respectfully take refuge and offer worship to the Supreme Unsurpassed Heaven of Miluo. There lies a mysterious realm of the perfected: palaces of purple and gold, lofty, remote, and profound; and there stands the Taiwei Palace of Jade Clarity, where the supreme and unsurpassed holy perfected dwell. Heaven and earth are vast and radiate light; silent and boundless, their origin cannot be exhausted in words. The mysterious ordinances hold sway over the ten directions—pure, still, profound, and far-reaching, constant and unchanging—and numinous power is vast without limit. Homage is paid to the Great Celestial Worthy, the Jade Emperor, the Lofty Thearch of the Mysterious Empyrean, the honorific by which Daoism addresses the Jade Emperor.

Your servants So-and-so, who hold offices of the registers (Fulu, talismans and registers), together with the disciples So-and-so and others, who have received the registers and revere the Great Dao, respectfully submit this memorial with the utmost sincerity to the Celestial Worthies of the Three Pure Ones (Sanqing) of the Three Realms, the Jade Emperor Thearch of the Golden Portal, the Imperial Father and the Imperial Mother, and all the most holy and most perfected honored deities, the gods of Heaven, Earth, Water, and Yang, and every holy perfected being of the ten directions. We respectfully pray that, with vast compassion, you will clearly examine our memorial and graciously look down upon it.

We have respectfully heard that everyone has wishes, yet what they wish for is not the same; each person has a mind of their own, so how could their intentions be entirely alike? Those who have fallen into suffering wish to rise and be set free; those of humble station wish to become noble. We respectfully pray that all the holy perfected of the ten directions, with vast compassion, will clearly examine us and graciously look down upon us.

We respectfully hear and acknowledge this: there is no living being who does not harbor wishes; it is only that what each one seeks differs. Every person has a mind and intention of their own—how could complete uniformity be required? Those who have fallen into suffering wish to rise; those of humble station wish for eminence. The poor wish for wealth and sufficiency; the distressed wish for peace and ease. Some hope to cultivate the Dao (the Way) and attain realization; others devote themselves to relieving the common people and benefiting all things. Each has a pursuit of their own. If one says that a person has no wishes, must the heart indeed wait until those wishes are fulfilled before it can be set at ease?

Looking up to the compassionate and wondrous Dao, we pray that it may fulfill the respective wishes of all living beings. We therefore offer reverent prayers, relying on the deities to discern clearly and grant their assent. We humbly pray that Heaven look down and examine the feelings and circumstances of ordinary mortals, specially deign to hear our supplications, respond to our sincere appeal according to occasion and affinity, and bring what is sought into happy accord with our hopes. Whether for ourselves or for others, whether it concerns the unseen realm or the human world, may each person’s aspiration be realized, and may no wish be left unfulfilled.

We disciples, So-and-so and the others, filled with earnest entreaty, have carried our prayers to their utmost. Together with our ancestors who have passed away, our kindred still living in the world, all living beings of the dusty realm, and the departed souls in the long night of the unseen, we jointly pour forth our devout sincerity, take refuge, and offer reverent homage.

With utmost sincerity we entrust our lives and bow in worship to the Jade Emperor, Great Celestial Worthy, Lofty Thearch of the Mysterious Empyrean (Yuhuang Datianzun Xuanqiong Gaoshangdi; the Jade Emperor revered in Daoism).

Each of the following lines is to be chanted in the same manner as the foregoing, with one prostration performed for each line. May the people of the world sing with joy, and the state enjoy great peace. May living beings in the hells be reborn in the heavenly realms. May living beings in the Three Evil Paths (the three realms of suffering: the hells, hungry ghosts, and animals) all have their sufferings released at once. May the various teachings be universally proclaimed throughout the worlds of the ten directions. May divine light be broadly shed, illuminating the entire Dharma-realm. May the Six Ordinary and Four Holy (the six kinds of beings in the cycle of rebirth and the four realms of sages) universally receive the shelter of the Great Dao. May sages and worthies gather in joy, and the world flourish everywhere. May the state be settled in clarity and peace, and the people dwell in security and take delight in their livelihoods. May violent bandit troubles subside of themselves, and the borders know no further warfare. May, once the turns of fortune have shifted and the cycles of Qi (vital energy) have revolved, the orthodox Dao be put into practice. May all that is withered put forth branches and leaves anew. May living beings of brief lifespan all obtain long life. May beings of the Six Paths universally receive guidance and deliverance. May the Five Declines and Four Marks of all celestial beings and immortals (the signs of decay that appear when the blessed reward of celestial beings is about to be exhausted) be forever eliminated, and heavenly blessings increase without cease. May emperors, their ministers and subordinates, and the people of the world all enjoy the happiness of longevity in both the human realm and the heavens. May cultivators, even when the fleshly body perishes, attain the cultivational realization of release from the bodily shell—corpse-liberation (shijie) and ascent in transformation.

May all the demons dwell in peace in the heavens, far from the suffering of decline, such as the Five Signs of Decay and the Four Aspects, and may these afflictions be eliminated forever while their heavenly blessings increase.

May emperors, ministers, and common people alike enjoy the happiness of long life in both the human and heavenly realms.

May all beings, even when the form perishes, be freed from the bonds of the physical body and attain the way of "shedding the shell and release from the corpse" (shijie, the Daoist method of transcending bodily form and ascending as a realized being).

May all the demons dwell in the heavenly palaces, no longer suffering from strife and slaughter, each finding rest.

May all beings be freed from the suffering of the hells and gain the joy of the Pure Land.

May all hungry ghosts be fed to fullness, and no longer endure the torments of hunger and thirst.

May all animals be released from the suffering of the animal realm and gain the joy of wisdom.

With utmost sincerity, we take refuge in and bow before the Supreme Miluo Heaven of Highest Supremacy. It is a realm of subtle and profound truth, where the purple-gold palaces stretch vast and deep. There stands the Palace of Taiwei and Jade Purity, a sacred realm without limit and without superior. Its light spreads far and wide, its stillness is deep and free of attachment; its mysterious principles govern the ten directions, pure and profoundly quiet, the Dao of true constancy. Its divine powers are vast and boundless, and it is the Great Heavenly Worthy, the Jade Emperor, the Mysterious Vault, the Supreme Sovereign.

We, your ministers holding registers and offices, the undersigned, and disciples who have received registers and serve the Great Dao, the undersigned, respectfully and reverently memorialize once more to the Heavenly Worthies of the Three Pure Ones (Sanqing) and the Three Realms, the Jade Emperor, Sovereign of Vast Heaven, the Celestial Father and Celestial Mother, the most holy and most true venerable deities, together with the gods of heaven, earth, water, and sun, the sages of the ten directions, and all true spirits. We respectfully beseech you all, with vast compassion, to discern our sincere and earnest declaration.

We, your ministers, respectfully have heard: if one does not seek the Dao diligently, how can one attain the Dao? If one cultivates the true with perseverance, one will naturally become true. We respectfully invite all true spirits of the ten directions, with compassionate hearts, to discern our declaration.

We say with reverence: If one seeks the Dao (the Way) without diligence, how can one attain the Dao? If in ordinary life one has already accumulated the cultivation of the true, one may naturally cultivate and realize the true Dao. In the careful study of this scripture (Jing), what is most precious is the person who can persist in upholding it. All who recite this scripture may be called True Persons (zhenren); if they can comprehend its profound meaning, they will surely accomplish the way of the immortals. Since earnest supplication has already been made again and again, obstacles should be removed and calamities averted; one must go further in realization and enter the profound and mysterious realm. We therefore set forth our repentance and our thanks, praying that our wishes be brought to perfect fulfillment.

We reverently wish that the primordial Qi (vital energy) of the Dao descend universally, and that the blessings bestowed by Heaven grow ever more secure; that bodies sunk in perdition may be liberated, and scattered souls may rise again; that we may roam the sacred realms and hear the voices of immortals and sages expounding the teaching. May we abide amid five-colored auspicious clouds, the Shen (spirit) traveling to the farthest reaches of the eight directions, held in reverence by myriads of divinities, with every deity submitting in awe, the spirit hosts of the Three Realms standing guard, and the Celestial Emperors of the Five Directions coming forth to receive us; may we not lose the human body, and may we accomplish the true Dao. May these blessings extend upward to the state and its sovereign, and downward to the livelihood of the people, so that all may enter the gate of the Dao and together ascend the shore of liberation. We, ministers and disciples so-and-so, hold earnest prayers in our hearts too numerous to set forth in full, and we offer this devotion universally to deceased ancestors, living kin, all beings in the human world, and the departed souls in the netherworld, reverently taking refuge and worshipping with sincere faith.

We ministers, with sincere hearts, take refuge and worship the Jade Emperor, Great Celestial Worthy (Yuhuang Datianzun), praying to reach the other shore of the Dao. We ministers and disciples so-and-so hold earnest prayers in our hearts too numerous to set forth in full, and we offer this devotion universally to deceased ancestors, living kin, all beings in the human world, and the departed souls in the netherworld, reverently taking refuge and worshipping with sincere faith.

We ministers, with sincere hearts, take refuge and worship the Jade Emperor, Great Celestial Worthy, High Sovereign of the Mysterious Vault (Xuankong Gaoshangdi, an honorific title of the Jade Emperor).

Each of the following vows is chanted according to the rite set out above, with one act of worship for each sentence.

May all the people under Heaven be nourished by the Qi of the Dao.

May the wrinkles of the elderly fade away; may they receive deliverance and once more regain black silken hair and ruddy complexions.

May the young and children transform their frail appearances, so that their countenances become lustrous and fair.

May withered bones live again, and may sunken corpses and scattered souls reunite and recover bodily form.

May all beings be reborn in the great celestial palaces of the ten directions.

May all beings look up and pay homage to the Jade Emperor, and come before the Dao.

May all beings roam and take delight in the sacred realms, partake of immortal food, and listen to the teachings of the Dao.

May all beings practice according to the instruction, cultivate to become True Persons, and accomplish the Great Dao.

May multitudes of Jade Maidens, bearing banners and pennants, descend to receive all beings.

May all beings obtain the penetration of former lives (the spiritual power of knowing their own past existences) and revere the Great Dao.

May all beings cultivate and uphold the practice from one lifetime to the next, until they ascend the other shore of the Dao.

May the spirit-consciousness of all beings transfer to the pure land of clarity and purity, and be born by transformation within the lotus.

May I thoroughly comprehend the principle of life and death and go deep into the mountains and forests to cultivate the Way; may celestial demons and heterodox paths all be subdued; may I roam in freedom and at ease and become a sage in the human world; may Dao (the Way) and De (Virtue/Power), together with wisdom, increase without cease, becoming the same as the host of Perfected (Zhenren); may celestial blessings descend of themselves, making my allotted blessings ever more secure; may I myself transcend the Three Realms and endure together with the Great Dao; may I become a true immortal among the Nine Heavens.

May the Perfected of the celestial realm come before the mat, and the Jade Consorts come to brush and wipe the surface of the mat; may the myriad spirits array themselves in ranks, and the deities of the various heavens descend before the hall. May I become a sage in the human world; may Dao and De, together with wisdom, increase without cease, becoming the same as the host of Perfected; may celestial blessings descend of themselves, making my allotted blessings ever more secure; may I myself transcend the Three Realms and endure together with the Great Dao; may I become a true immortal among the Nine Heavens; may the Perfected of the celestial realm come before the mat, and the Jade Consorts come to brush and wipe the surface of the mat; may the myriad spirits array themselves in ranks, and the deities of the various heavens descend before the hall.

May the spirits of the Three Realms guard me on the left and the right, and the Five Emperors (the celestial emperors of the five directions revered in Daoism) come to welcome me; may I myself dwell amid five-colored auspicious clouds, shining with brilliant light; may I ascend into the celestial palaces, with the host of Perfected coming to welcome me; may I swiftly realize the unsurpassed wondrous Dao; may the Five Emperors assist and protect me and summon the assembled immortals; may the spirit officials obey my commands and set in motion the harmonizing of Yin-Yang; may a thousand numinous beings revere me and the myriad spirits stand in awe and submission; may the hundred evils give way and the host of demons be held in check; may I roam in freedom and at ease and endure together with the Great Dao.

May I realize a body of merit and De, so that all sentient beings receive its protection; may I realize a body of spiritual powers, so that all that is auspicious gathers and converges; may I realize a body of purity, so that the various kinds of evil karma cannot encroach; may I realize a body of majestic De, so that celestial demons and heterodox paths cannot exercise control; may I realize a body without equal, so that the Supreme Thearch offers praise from afar and the myriad spirits revere me; may I realize a body of firmness, so that fierce and evil calamities cannot inflict harm; may I realize a body of the majestic De of the Daoist Canon, so that celestial demons and heterodox paths cannot exercise control; may I realize a body without equal, so that the Supreme Thearch offers praise from afar and the myriad spirits revere me; may I realize a body of firmness, so that fierce and evil calamities cannot inflict harm; may I realize a body of the Daoist Canon, so that the words I speak cause ghosts and spirits to revere me; may I realize a body of compassion, so that beings of the Six Paths all benefit from its good deeds; may I realize a body of the Great Dao, so that wherever I go out or come in there is no fear.

May we attain the body of a skilled physician, and through good deeds and wondrous methods bring peace and happiness to all. May we attain a body of radiant light, ever sheltered and protected by the brilliance of the Imperial Lord. May we attain a body of perfect freedom, able by spiritual powers to roam the wondrous realms of the celestial palaces.

With reverent and sincere hearts we take refuge and bow in worship before the Most High Boundless Heaven of Miluo (the highest of all celestial realms). There lies the realm of wondrous existence and mysterious truth, where palaces of purple and gold stretch far and deep. Within the Jade Clarity Palace of Taiwei dwells the sage who is boundless and supreme. Heaven and earth open wide and give forth light; the myriad things are still, vast without limit, and their origin is hard to trace. The mysterious law holds sway over the ten directions; pure, still, and profound, it is precisely the Dao (the Way) of true constancy. He whose spiritual power is vast without bound is the Great Celestial Worthy, the Jade Emperor, High Emperor of the Mysterious Vault (the Jade Emperor).

We, the minister So-and-so who holds office by the registers, and the disciple So-and-so who has received the registers and reveres the Great Dao, together with the others, respectfully and earnestly petition the Celestial Worthies of the Three Realms of the Three Pure Ones (Sanqing), the Jade Emperor of Vast Heaven, the Imperial Father and the Imperial Mother, and all the sages most holy and most true, the deities of heaven, earth, water, and yang, the host of sages of the Dao and of De (Virtue/Power), the gods of the ten directions who respond to prayer, and all true spirits. We humbly ask that, with vast compassion, they incline their hearing and perceive the sincerity deep within our hearts.

We reverently pray that the Jade Emperor, by his merit and vast power, save and deliver all living beings. The offenses committed by us ordinary people run deep…… (At this point the original wording is repetitive and disordered, and its meaning cannot be fully discerned.) Once more we respectfully petition the Imperial Father and the Imperial Mother, all the sages most holy and most true, the deities of heaven, earth, water, and yang, the host of sages of the Dao and of De, the gods of the ten directions who respond to prayer, and all true spirits, that with vast compassion they incline their hearing and clearly perceive our prayer.

We respectfully pray: the merit of the Jade Emperor is vast and great, and he is able to save and deliver all living beings. We ordinary people, who bear sins upon our persons, know deep shame and are willing to take refuge in and rely upon your immense grace. We have already done our utmost to praise your merit, and we sincerely repent and acknowledge our offenses. We earnestly beg you to bestow compassion and specially pardon our sins.

May we understand the causes and conditions of sinful karma and blessed reward, and may every cause that creates obstruction be cut off. May life be protected, calamities dissolved, auspiciousness continued, and blessings gathered. May the wishes in our hearts be realized, and may the path of cultivation toward true attainment be successfully traveled. This is no accident; it is truly a cause for rejoicing. We must still rely upon your constant protection, so that our earnest prayers may be clearly perceived and answered. May every wish be granted and every request fulfilled. May the destiny of the nation long endure, the fortune of prosperity be opened anew, the state be at peace, and fierce and wicked enemies be pacified of themselves. May the Nine Darknesses (the depths of the underworld) dispel the darkness, and the long night see light again. May the Five Blessings descend, the people rejoice and sing in praise, our ancestors be delivered and ascend as immortals, and our families and kin enjoy long life and well-being. May wealth and goods be ample, and clothing and food free of care; may our descendants be eminent and honored, auspicious and flourishing. May good thoughts ever increase, the fruits of cultivating the Dao (the Way) come to completion, and be shared with all living beings, so that all alike receive the sacred grace.

We, your subjects and disciples, So-and-so and the others, pray with hearts earnest to the utmost. In awe and trepidation we knock our heads and bow twice, and with care we set forth these words:

How great is the supreme and unsurpassed Great Dao! The Dao has no ancestral lord to whom it may be compared; it is the root of the Supremely True. Upward, it delivers the deities of the many heavens; downward, it rescues the departed souls of the underworld. Above it there is no master or progenitor—there is only the Dao itself. The Cinnabar Terrace and the Purple Prefecture, the Golden Portal and the Jade Capital, are all dwelling places of immortals and perfected beings. The Dao secretly holds this subtle and wondrous method and widely bestows blessings upon living beings; it removes our many sinful karmas and adds to our longevity. The myriad spirits come forward to offer worship, and the demon kings escort and welcome. May merit flourish, and may our names be entered in the Yellow Register (the roster used in Daoist rites of prayer for blessings and deliverance of the dead). Through countless kalpas of calamity, may we still be made to endure for long.

Dedication of Merit

We now respectfully dedicate the boundless and supreme merit obtained from the worship and repentance offered above to the Celestial Worthy of the Primordial Beginning, the lord of the teaching who expounds the scriptures; to the Celestial Worthy of Numinous Treasure, who bears and escorts the Jade Emperor; and to the holy perfected ones who transmit, spread, and propagate the sacred teaching.

Dedication of Merit

The merit accumulated through the worship and repentance just performed is extraordinary and beyond all measure. With reverence we dedicate this merit in homage to the Lord of the Teaching who expounds the scripture, the Celestial Worthy of the Primordial Beginning; the Celestial Worthy of the Numinous Treasure, who bears and presents the Jade Emperor; the Celestial Worthy of Birth, who streams forth and spreads the sacred teaching; the Jade Emperor, Supreme Sovereign of the Myriad Heavens; the Celestial Worthy Holy Father, King of Radiant Solemnity and Wondrous Joy; the Primordial Lady Holy Mother, Empress of Precious Moonlight; together with the immeasurable perfected immortals who opened the inquiry at the scripture assembly, the gods of heaven, earth, water, and the yang realm, and the entire holy host.

We earnestly beseech you, in your compassion, to look down and bear witness, and we direct this merit solely so that these disciples may repent their faults, be freed from calamity, have their lives lengthened, and gather auspicious blessings. May the sincere hearts of ordinary mortals reach the celestial court and, by the mercy of the Supreme Sovereign, have their karmic obstructions removed. May the merit cultivated come to fulfillment, good fortune arrive in unbroken succession, blessings increase, and disasters be dispelled. May the ancestors of nine generations be liberated and ascend; may the whole household enjoy peace and health, body and mind be pure, and life in the world proceed smoothly and flourish. May all sentient beings accomplish the unsurpassed Dao (the Way). With utmost sincerity we invoke the Celestial Worthies of the responsive transformations of the Three Pure Ones (Sanqing) and the Celestial Worthy of Jade Light Universally Illuminating. The merit is immeasurable and inconceivable.