《金箓放生仪》

Above the Nine Pure Realms (the ninefold pure heavens) lies the realm of ultimate truth; within the Six Directions (above and below, and the four quarters), all things depend upon the grace of the Great Dao (the Way). With the true incense of Dao and De (Virtue/Power), we respectfully petition the distant celestial realms, offering sustenance to the exalted perfected of the Three Realms, the superior sages of the Tenfold Splendor, the sun, moon, and stars of all the heavens together with the host of the perfected, the Great Emperors of the Three Origins and the Three Officials, the Perfected Lords of the Four Saints of the Northern Pole, the Perfected Lords of the Five Masters of Lingbao, the Ancestral Celestial Master (Tianshi), Perfected Lord of Zhengyi (Orthodox Unity), the holy assemblies of the various offices of the Celestial Bureau of the Nine Heavens, the deities of the Five Marchmounts and the Five Mountains, the holy assemblies of the dark underworld, the Great Emperor of Fusang of the Water Bureau, and the sovereigns of the Three Realms and the Ten Directions.

We respectfully invite all the divine perfected: though they dwell in the realm of form, they are not bound by form, and they discern the circumstances hidden deep within the formless. May their divine light descend; may they turn their carriages back to the ritual altar, inspect this matter, and deliver all living beings.

Your servant reflects that when primordial Qi (vital energy) first divided, heaven, earth, and human beings took form, and the Dao runs through the transformations of all things. Living beings of every kind walk upon the earth, grow as grasses and trees, take flight, or hide in the waters. Each has its own form, ranged among the Three Powers of heaven, earth, and humanity. Although the bodily substance they receive differs, all possess the nature of Yin-Yang. All cling to life and fear death; all have hearts that seek benefit and avoid harm; all need water to drink and food to eat, and all hope for fullness and security. The myriad things arise from the ancestral Qi of the Primordial Beginning and were first generated through transformation from the true Jing (essence) of Taiji (Supreme Ultimate).

Yet people of the world turn against the heart of benevolence and, driven by worldly desire, act unrighteously. On land they set traps and spread nets to catch herds of beasts; in the water they catch fish. They shoot birds at rest and cast nets to hunt them, so that all perish together. To think of these small creatures meeting disaster though innocent truly stirs compassion.

Now, in careful obedience to the imperial command, we hold the solemn Jinlu Zhai (Golden Register Retreat, a Daoist Zhaijiao purification ritual), proclaim the norms of the Daoist teaching, and bring the rite of prayer for blessings to completion. Having received the mysterious grace, we again respectfully accept the sacred command and, through the liturgy of the retreat, redeem and save lives: we return living beings to the mountains and forests so that they may live at ease, and restore them to rivers and springs so that they may swim in peace. May they all enjoy the delight of life, and may the supreme grace thereby be made known.

We look up to the compassionate worthies of the Three Treasures and the superior saints of the Nine Pure Realms, that they may look down upon this sincere heart and see clearly the wish held deep within. May they recognize the sage ruler’s benevolence and virtue, as high as heaven and as deep as earth, so that the sovereign’s years may be lengthened; so that all beings may fly in the sky and leap and swim in the deeps; so that the state may long remain at peace; and so that the people of the world may together enter the Great Peace of benevolence, virtue, and long life. Bowing our heads, we take refuge in the boundless Great Dao.

All the many kinds of living beings in the water, on land, and in the air differ in bodily form, yet all are born by transformation from the primordial ancestral Qi (vital energy), the original Qi that is the source of all things. The karmic causes they created in past lives have, for reasons unknown, become knotted into all manner of habitual tendencies; in this life they are reborn as creatures of different kinds and each passes through its own course of life. Caught in nets and snares, they have incurred grievances and karmic debts. Now they are released back to the mountains, forests, waters, and marshes, and the kindness shown them is profound.

Doing good brings auspicious fortune, lengthens life, and spreads blessing throughout the world, so that all beings share in peace. Together with the assembly we praise this inconceivable merit.

With reverence it is said: Afflictions may be transformed into bodhi (awakening), and benevolence and grace widely bestowed; by wondrous power, too, what is rotten and foul may be transformed, so that profound De (Virtue/Power) benefits all things. Although beings receive different karmic recompense according to whether they are born from the womb, from the egg, from moisture, or by transformation, the pattern of birth, aging, sickness, and death is the same. Fortunate to have escaped the nets, they come to gather at the pure altar; having already turned toward the realm of non-birth (the state that transcends birth and death), they thereby also obtain life. They have received the grace of the Holy Lord who cherishes life, and they should move step by step from the presence of thought to the absence of thought, and together cross the deep and unfathomable pass of the Great Dao (the Way). They awaken to the wrong directions taken over many lives past, and come to know the joy of returning to true nature and finding a refuge. Following causes and conditions, they advance without cease and calmly arrive at the realm of awakening; yielding to what is natural, free and at ease, they roam, dwell, and feast in the land of blessing and joy. Forever released from the sufferings of bodies of scales, shells, and feathers, they are born into a place of peace, ease, and purity.

The kindness received must not be left unrequited; it should be repaid as in the tale of the pearl and the ring offered in gratitude. De is to be accumulated little by little, and upheld with a sincerity as firm as metal and stone. Bowing our heads, we take refuge in the boundless Great Dao.

The four classes of beings (womb-born, egg-born, moisture-born, and transformation-born) have long transmigrated, sunk in suffering; karmic force binds them like glue and lacquer, darkening their original nature. Now, fortunate to meet the light of grace and able to turn toward the other shore, they should turn the light of awareness back upon themselves and leave the path of delusion. May evil karma be cleared away, and the offenses of grievance dissolved; may they take refuge in the realm of good and draw near to benevolence and kindness. May all beings keep in mind this profound and boundless grace of De, unseen receive the protection of good fortune, and long enjoy peace.

Together with the assembly we praise this inconceivable merit.

Life Release

We respectfully hold that health, longevity, and the fulfillment of blessings and virtue arise from diligent cultivation accumulated generation after generation, and that compassion for beings which, though small, possess a spiritual nature has its root in the karmic conditions of their past lives. Sentient beings revolve amid the desires of the senses, passing through the cycle of rebirth across countless kalpas. There are hells and there is heaven, and beings of every kind proceed according to their own tendencies. Although there is no fixed and unchanging “sentient being” or “possessor of a lifespan,” the creatures that fly and those that swim in the depths are alike nourished by the transformative nurture of creation.

Now the Qi (vital energy) of the Dao (the Way) spreads widely, and numinous light shines downward. The Lord on High universally bestows favor like sweet rain falling from heaven and springs welling forth, and living beings receive the kindness that revives the body and allows life to continue. Birds soar among the clouds, and deep mountains and dense forests become their places of rest; fish swim freely in the rivers, the sea lies calm, and the waters run clear.

We have received the benevolence and virtue of the sagely sovereign, equal to Heaven, whose resolve to cherish life is most earnest. May the blessed merit and good fruits planted today endure for hundreds of millions of years and become a vast foundation; may the Nine Provinces of the world be like a land of joy in spring, and may the remote regions of the eight directions all become realms of longevity and peace. Let the Daoist assembly here present be devout and pure, and recite the Jing (scripture/classic) according to the ritual order.

Middle Chapter of the Numinous Writ

Dedication of Merit

We dedicate to all sentient beings the merit obtained from the release of living beings just performed, wishing that it become a boundless good cause. Relying on the Three Treasures of the Dao, the Jing, and the Master—the three fundamental supports revered in Daoism—to bear witness to this, we also pray that the perfected sages look down and observe.

We respectfully pray: may benevolence extend to grasses and trees, and may grace moisten insects and fish; between the heights and depths of the cosmos, may a wind of benevolence blow; within the four directions of heaven and earth, may the light of grace shine upon all. May every living being receive this grace, and may no one be left without a place to dwell. By this we repay the kindness of heaven and earth in generating the myriad things, and we widely bestow upon all the benevolence that transforms and nourishes the myriad beings. May every sentient life turn toward the true Dao.

For the sake of the causes and conditions set forth above, let all recite “Celestial Worthy of Myriad Longevity of the Mysterious Capital, Celestial Worthy of Great Peace Who Protects the Nation, Celestial Worthy Who Cherishes Life and Delivers Lives, Celestial Worthy of Boundless Blessed Life,” and praise their inconceivable merit.

Rite of Releasing Living Beings of the Golden Register Retreat