《金箓解坛仪》

The ritual proceeds according to the prescribed rite.

Ritual masters, perform the visualization as the rite requires (concentrate and contemplate as the ceremony demands).

Please recite the divine incantation.

In the East there are nine kinds of primordial Qi (vital energy), presiding over the azure heaven. Between the azure auroras and the dense ramparts stands an elder. He has overall charge of the charts, registers, and rolls of names, commands the primordial Qi, and superintends the immortals.

The South is the cinnabar heaven, where the Red Emperor dwells in the Jade Hall. In the midst of heaven there is a great deity titled the Red Sovereign. Above, crimson Qi rises and mists and rosy clouds flow, while the radiance of three kinds of primordial Qi flourishes. The divine immortals come at command and assemble in correspondence with the Qi of the Great Yang.

The West is the white heaven, where the White Emperor dwells at the Seven Gates. The golden numen shines with light, and a splendid aura spreads abroad. White stone rises lofty, and seven kinds of primordial Qi mingle together. In heaven there is the great deity, the Sovereign Elder of First Birth, who has overall charge of the Qi of the lungs and oversees the inspection of the affairs of the Nine Heavens; he examines and confirms the charts, registers, and rolls of names, and dispatches and summons the higher immortals.

The North is the mysterious heaven, where five kinds of primordial Qi revolve without ceasing. In the midst of heaven are the Black Emperor and the Twin Sovereigns of Grand Tenuity, who command the talismanic mandates and refine and nurture the Qi of the Eight Powers. Clad in azure feathered robes and garments patterned with dragons and phoenixes, he, by command of the Supreme Emperor, dispatches the immortal perfected to the jade steps.

The Center holds command over the myriad spirits and belongs to the primordial Qi of the yellow heaven. The Five Elders of First Birth and the exalted venerable of the Central Yellow command the primordial Qi, inspect the immortal perfected, and lead all the immortals; they hold the mysterious charts and registers and the jade tablets, hasten the circulation of primordial Qi, and cause the deities to proceed together to the jade steps.

The Center holds command over the myriad spirits and belongs to the primordial Qi of the yellow heaven. The Five Elders of First Birth and the exalted venerable of the Central Yellow command the primordial Qi, inspect the immortal perfected, and lead all the immortals; they hold the mysterious charts and registers and the jade tablets, hasten the circulation of primordial Qi, and make this known universally to the myriad deities.

Strike the ritual drum twenty-four times.

The Most High Lord Lao of the Three Qi (vital energy)—Mystery, Origin, and Beginning—of the Unsurpassed Three Heavens (the supreme deity venerated in Daoism) summons the Three-and-Five Merit Officers within my body (divine clerks charged with transmitting documents), the emissaries of the offices of the left and right, the dragon-mounted relay officers of the left and right who bear incense, the Golden Lads who attend the incense, the Jade Maidens who convey words and scatter flowers, and the direct talisman-officers of the Five Emperors together with the incense officials on duty for the day, thirty-six of each, to come forth all together. Once they have come forth, all must set their robes and caps in order, dress with solemn dignity, and keep their sashes and hat-tassels properly arranged.

Please announce to the earth deity of the place where the mysterious altar stands, and to the spirits of this region: I now intend to dissolve the altar and disperse the seats (to conclude the altar rite and withdraw the ceremonial places), to offer words of sincerity, and to report the merit of this ritual service. My reverent mind and earnest feeling have all been written, item by item, in the documents. May the Utmost True Qi of the Supreme Dao (the Way)—the supreme and pure Qi of the Dao—together with the auspicious light of Lingbao, descend and flow into our bodies, so that the sincerity I report may swiftly ascend and reach directly before the throne of the Upper Sages of the Three Pure Ones (Sanqing) of the Utmost True Limitless Great Dao, and of the Jade Emperor, Most Venerable Sovereign of the Golden Portal of Vast Heaven.

Please announce the ritual rank (in the rite, the declaration of the identity and title of the one who performs it).

We, your servants of the established rank, So-and-so and others, now burn incense, take refuge in body, Shen (spirit), and life-destiny, and turn toward the Natural, Utmost True, and Limitless Great Dao of Supreme Lingbao of the Ten Directions. I have heard that the Three Registers set forth the precepts and the Keyi (liturgy), before the Upper Sages of the Three Pure Ones of the Daoist teaching and the Jade Emperor, Most Venerable Sovereign of the Golden Portal of Vast Heaven……

Please announce the ritual rank.

We, your servants of the established rank, So-and-so and others, now burn incense, take refuge in body, Shen, and life-destiny, and turn toward the Natural, Utmost True, and Limitless Great Dao of Supreme Lingbao of the Ten Directions. I have heard that the Three Registers display the liturgical precepts, and the Five Chapters establish the regulations. The guiding purpose of the Daoist teaching thereby flourishes and is spread abroad, and the mysterious teaching is widely propagated. The ritual altar is built according to the patterns of Heaven and the configuration of Earth; the deities of Yin-Yang are summoned, and Fulu (talismans and registers) are used to guard and pacify it. A thousand perfected immortals descend, and ten thousand numinous sages arrive before the altar. The sincerity of the purification fast and the sworn covenant ascends to the high heavens, and divine perfected beings likewise come down to the ritual seats upon numinous carriages. We pray that Heaven grant protection and lasting peace, gather blessings and virtue, and prolong good fortune.

Now the prayers have been fulfilled, and the morning cultivation service has also come to an end. We are about to dissolve the altar and disperse the seats. First we state our faults and express our intentions, reverently praying that auspiciousness descend and protect the peace of the state and the ancestral temples. The golden dragon raises the seal-script (in the rite, the sacred power, symbolized by the golden dragon and the like, that transmits memorials), marking the perfect completion of the merit of the Jiao rite; the jade weft-stars stream with light (auspicious stellar signs display their radiance), sending down vast and profound blessings. The sincerity that has been reported has already moved the powers above and ascended, reaching directly before the throne of the Utmost True Limitless Great Dao.

Worship toward the four directions.

Confession.

We of the ritual assembly, with sincere hearts, take refuge in body, Shen, and life-destiny, and turn toward the Celestial Worthy of Supreme Lingbao of the Limitless Great Dao of the Ten Directions. We reverently hope that the Celestial Worthy, in vast compassion, will send down profound grace and universally bestow great favor.

Worship toward the four directions.

Confession.

We of the ritual assembly sincerely take refuge in body, Shen (spirit), and nature and life, turning toward the boundless and limitless Great Dao (the Way) of the ten directions and the Most High Celestial Worthy of Numinous Treasure. We respectfully pray that the Celestial Worthy broadly bestow compassion and universally send down grace. Today is the time to dismantle the altar, disperse the assembly, and bring the Zhaijiao (purification ritual) to a close; we burn incense and worship the holy perfected.

I have heard that the teachings of the Jing (scripture/classic) were transmitted from the Jade Bureau, and that the Mysterious Numen thereby opened the rites for dispelling calamity and resolving adversity; the teaching sets forth the golden statutes and jade regulations, and the Celestial Palace of the Purple Pole likewise permits people to pray and offer rites of blessing and aversion. We respectfully carry out Heaven’s mandate and perform the Golden Register Zhaijiao (a Daoist ritual for seeking blessings and dispelling calamity), widely gathering auspicious fortune and felicity, establishing the purification altar, and proclaiming the mysterious principles. We fear that, in welcoming and sending off the deities, the rite may have fallen short of proper form, and we also fear that, in visualizing the deities, we may not have accorded with sincere and devoted practice. Now that the time for dispersing the assembly has come, we therefore respectfully pray that our faults be pardoned. We respectfully ask the Four Offices and the Five Emperors to forgive our errors, and we also pray that the Nine Bureaus and the Three Officials broadly bestow the grace of washing away blemishes and eliminating transgressions.

May the merit of the ritual be perfectly complete and its good fruits fully realized, enduring long without decline; may every prayer be fulfilled, and may our earnest sincerity reach the hearing of Heaven. We of the ritual assembly sincerely prostrate ourselves and offer thanks in homage to the Unsurpassed Orthodox and True Three Treasures (the Dao, the Jing, and the Master).

Three Invitations, Three Salutations, Raising the True Writs, and Re-announcing Ritual Rank: these are prompts of the Keyi (liturgy) within the rite, indicating that one proceeds in sequence through three invitations, three acts of worship, the recitation of the True Writs, and a further announcement of ritual rank.

Minister of the Appropriate Ritual Rank, Surnamed So-and-so: this refers to the minister (Daoist priest) who holds the corresponding ritual rank; here “so-and-so” is left blank, to be filled in with the priest’s surname.

With sincere reverence, I, the servant of appointed rank, So-and-so, submit this memorial to the Celestial Worthy of Primordial Beginning of the Supreme Limitless Great Dao (Dao, the Way), the Supreme Lord of the Dao, the Supreme Lord Lao, the Unsurpassed Mysterious Elders and the Celestial Worthies of the Numinous Treasure of the Ten Directions, together with the great sages who have attained the Dao, the lords and elders of supreme perfection, the Venerable Scriptures of the Thirty-Six Divisions, the Great Ritual Master of the Mysterious Center, the Great Ritual Masters of the Three Heavens, the Supreme Minister and the Supreme Chancellor, the Supreme Guardian and the Supreme Tutor, the Four Masters and the Five Emperors, the stellar palaces and the Dipper Bureau, the host of perfected beings of the River of Heaven, the officials of the Three Realms, and all spirits.

We, your servants, are fortunate to have received the causal conditions of the past and to have respectfully encountered this sagely and enlightened age. The morning-audience cultivation and worship have now been completed, and the rite of memorial and response has likewise come to an end. Gathering this good affinity, we respectfully pray for the imperial house: may the destiny of the realm extend far and wide, and may sacred virtue grow daily more illustrious; may the emperor enjoy the longevity symbolized by the asterisms Ji and Yi, and may the empress remain firm and enduring as hills and ridges; may the princes of the imperial clan serve as a bulwark of the state, and may the blessed fortune of the heir apparent continue without cease; may the chief ministers be worthy and effective, and may the people dwell in peace and be content in their livelihoods. We reverently pray that the emperor’s intentions may ascend to the heavenly court and that auspicious omens may descend upon the human world; that fair portents may continually appear within the capital, and that the ancestral temple and the altars of soil and grain may accord with the configuration of great auspiciousness.

In accordance with the regulations of the Keyi (liturgy), we have established a pure ritual altar, bearing tokens of faith to express our sincerity, the layout of the altar grounds modeled upon Heaven and Earth. After six audiences of worship and the performance of the Dao, the assembly turns with one heart toward the true Dao. May merit be brought to fulfillment, and may the spirits of the various heavens each return to their proper stations. The ritual offices we have assumed in the ceremony, the dance rites we have performed, and all the spirits who have served at the altar have conveyed the summons, guarded the purification retreat, and established merit. We respectfully report their accomplishments, present our sincerity, and, in accordance with ritual statute, request that they be granted promotion and reward, earnestly begging compassionate approval. All memorials are hereby to be read aloud and submitted.

The memorial is read aloud.

The dispatch for the return of the generals is presented (a ritual document used in the ceremony to summon and send back the divine generals).

The documents are burned.

The Twelve Vows are recited.

The deities are held in contemplative visualization and incense is offered (contemplative visualization is a mode of cultivation in which, through mental concentration, the deities are made to appear within the mind).

Messengers of the Incense Office, Lords of the Dragon and Tiger on the left and right, and all the numinous officers who attend the incense, we ask you to convey this: the prayer we previously offered for the dismissal of the altar—we earnestly beg compassionate approval. All memorials are hereby to be read aloud and submitted.

The memorial is read aloud.

The dispatch for the return of the generals is presented.

The documents are burned.

The Twelve Vows are recited.

The deities are held in contemplative visualization and incense is offered.

Emissaries of the Incense Office, Dragon and Tiger Lords of the left and right, and all the numinous officers who tend the incense fire: may the place where I earlier dissolved the altar and dispersed the assembly of itself bring forth auspicious things of immortals and spirits—golden liquor, cinnabar and azure, and the blossoms of the magic mushroom—and may the hundred spirits and the host of Perfected Ones from every quarter gather before the incense burner here. I respectfully pray that the immortal lads and jade maidens of the ten directions come to receive and guide them, and that, by smoke as fragrant as orchids, they convey the sincere heart I have already declared, so that it may swiftly and directly reach the presence of the Most True and Limitless Great Dao (Dao, the Way), the exalted sages of the Three Pure Ones (Sanqing), and the Most Venerable of Vast Heaven, the Jade Emperor, Supreme Thearch of the Golden Portal.

Hymn on Leaving the Hall

After descending from the altar, stand outside the main gate.

Taking Leave of the Three Treasures

The morning cultivation has ended, and the memorials presented and the responses given are now complete. The Great Dao takes emptiness and non-being as its root, and its grace extends over all the world. May the rivers and mountains of the realm long endure, and may the sovereign’s lifespan equal Heaven. All bow their heads together and take leave of the Treasure of the Dao of the ten directions (the Dao revered in Daoism).

The golden lads present good deeds, and the jade maidens report merit. Names and titles are entered on golden tablets, and the scriptures (Jing, scripture/classic) are treasured in the precious repository. May the imperial throne be secure, and may blessings and felicity gather in the capital. All bow their heads together and take leave of the Treasure of the Scriptures of the ten directions (the classics revered in Daoism).

□ The sound of the bells ceases, and the smoke in the incense burner disperses. The ritual master returns to Taiqing (the pure and tranquil immortal realm spoken of in Daoism), and blessings spread through household and realm. The mysterious manner of the Dao is widely transmitted, and the teaching of the Dao flourishes and is carried out. All bow their heads together and take leave of the Treasure of the Masters of the ten directions (the lineage of masters revered in Daoism).

May all living beings do no evil and practice good; may they not be bound by karmic conditions, and may they always live in a peaceful and flourishing age. Sentient beings and all lives possessed of awareness may together realize entry into the realm of Wuwei (non-action). All bow their heads together and take leave of the Treasure of the Masters of the ten directions.

May all living beings do no evil and practice good; may they not be bound by karmic conditions, and may they always live in a peaceful and flourishing age. Sentient beings and all lives possessed of awareness may together realize entry into the realm of Wuwei. All bow their heads together and take leave of the host of sages of the ten directions.

The Ritual Procedures Previously Performed

Lead the assembled ranks to the Hall of Silence and offer thanks to the master.