《洞玄灵宝道学科仪》

The Dongxuan Lingbao Daoxue Keyi (Keyi, liturgy) is divided into upper and lower fascicles. Its contents include rules concerning speech, instruction and study, abstinence from alcohol, the avoidance of meat and pungent foods, ritual vestments, purification and fasting, the recitation of scriptures (jing), rites at the altar, the presentation of memorials, and jiao offerings and invitations, as well as regulations regarding illness, parents, and funerals.

The “Chapter on Speech” that opens the upper fascicle states that those within the Daoist tradition should understand the importance of speech: the weight and urgency of one’s words, and whether they are good or evil, successful or mistaken, may all bring misfortune or blessed reward, and all of this is bound up with verbal karma (the deeds and consequences produced by speech). Those who leave the household to cultivate the Dao (the Way), whether Daoist priests or others……

The liturgical text says that those who cultivate the Dao (the Way) should understand the weight, lightness, urgency, and deliberation of speech, and should recognize that good words and ill words bring disaster or blessing. Such misfortune and good fortune often arise from verbal karma (the good and evil karma created by speech).

Those who have left household life, whether Daoist priests or nüguan (female Daoists), when speaking with senior and virtuous teachers in their lodgings or in the monastery and seeking instruction, should use a gentle tone and a humble manner, and listen attentively to their teachers’ views. If an opinion does not suit one’s wishes, or if the principle is not yet clear, one should wait until the teacher has finished speaking, and only then deliberate slowly and reach a decision. One must not disturb the community out of personal likes and dislikes, nor speak harshly or in a disordered tone. Even if there was originally no ill intent, one may still draw criticism from people both within and without, so that matters great and small all become difficult to carry through: in this way, one is criticized by both sides inside, and criticized by both sides outside as well.

When speaking with fellow cultivators, whether of similar age, or an elder addressing a younger person, or a younger person addressing an elder, one should remain calm and even-tempered, speak in a measured voice, and be sure to make the principle clear. Whether discussing the affairs of the community or personal matters, one must not on that account shout and rebuke, alarming people inside and outside; nor show disrespect to teachers or slight monastics and laypeople (those who have left the household and those who remain in it); still less may one insult parents, brothers, and clan kin.

Whether in one’s lodgings or among the disciples, whatever one says should concern proper matters: one may inquire into and discuss the methods of the Dao; the wise may seek further instruction from teachers, and one may also teach the ignorant, so that the wise become still more clear in understanding and the foolish gradually awaken. In this way, even if one converses all day, so long as it accords with principle, there is no fault.

When facing people of the outside world, the six classes of kin and other family members, and male and female guests, exchanging greetings, showing concern for their well-being, or discussing proper matters of secular life is all permissible. Beyond this, talk that does not accord with the methods of the Dao, even if worldly people enjoy discussing it, is unsuitable for those who have left the household; one should be careful and not say it.

To bring great disaster with a single sentence is called excessive speech of the highest grade; to bring humiliation with a single sentence is called excessive speech of the middle grade; to land oneself in difficulty with a single sentence is called excessive speech of the lowest grade. The words and writings left by worthies and sages from ancient times to the present fill the space between heaven and earth, yet people still feel they are not enough, take them as standards, and never grow weary of them. Therefore, good words are never too many, while evil words are too many however few they are. The ancient sages reflected before every time they opened their mouths, so that what they said could become classics (jing) and be preserved as norms for the people of the world; foolish people speak offhand and thereby bring disaster upon themselves, in the end harming their own persons. This is a most solemn admonition concerning speech.

Those who study and cultivate the methods of the Dao should know how to listen to instruction, to study, and to dedicate merit, and they must follow teachers who clearly understand the correct Dharma. If a teacher does not truly comprehend the methods of the Dao, this will instead harm the wisdom of the practitioner. Daoist priests and nüguan (female Daoist practitioners) who dwell within the gate of the Dao and resolve to seek mysterious awakening should keep far from seven kinds of craving: craving for social company, for wine and sensual pleasure, for fame and profit, for amusement, for song, dance, and artistic skills, for food and drink, and for city life.

After setting these cravings aside, they should also give rise to four aspirations to seek out an enlightened teacher: whether the road is near or far, whether the teacher is poor or rich, whether one is close to or distant from the teacher, and whether the teacher’s standing is high or low, they are willing in every case to seek an audience with an enlightened teacher. They must establish this resolve again and again—one thought, then two, until thought after thought it is never forgotten; one span of time, then two, until it is upheld over the long term. They should urge body and mind onward as the hungry and thirsty seek food and drink, inquiring into and requesting instruction in the mysterious principles; after hearing them, they should reflect with care, then put them into practice and seek realization. At the same time they should praise the merit of the methods of the Dao, so that the mysterious teaching may flourish and the two communities of practitioners within and outside the gate of the Dao—those who have left the household and lay devotees—do not fall into confusion and distress.

If the assembly of nüguan are timid and frail by nature, and there is no one in the monastery where they live who can give instruction, they should set out in groups of three, five, or more. Purifying the three karmas of body, speech, and mind—conduct, words, and thought—they should take with them a complete set of implements for cultivation, go to hear and receive the scriptural teachings, and draw near to a great master, going twice each day and then returning to their own lodging. If nearby there is a monastery where their original master, the teacher on whom they rely, resides, yet there is no monastery in which nüguan live, they should lodge near that master’s residence with households that are sincere, single-minded, and devoted to the Dao. Dwelling together in numbers, they should purify the three karmas, bring a full set of ritual implements, hear and receive the scriptural teachings, and draw near to the great master, going twice each day and then returning to their lodging.

They should also worship and recite morning and evening and, in accordance with this article of the Keyi (liturgy; Daoist ritual norms), teach and receive the meaning of the teaching, setting right body, speech, and mind and transmitting the doctrine at the proper times. They must not practice the Way in violation of the Keyi, lest they invite the ridicule and slander of people both within and outside the gate of the Dao and ruin the true and pure Dharma gate. Those who transgress will bring upon themselves harm, humiliation, and evil retribution; such conduct does not belong to pure cultivation. One should practice the Way according to conditions: if the two kinds of devotees come by one and the same condition, the great master should preside over the ritual for them together; if each comes by a different condition, they may be allowed to perform the ritual separately.

All who cultivate the Dao (the Way) ought to know that keeping the precepts can increase wisdom, steady the body, and clarify the mind, so that one is not harmed by drinking. Those who seek purity and stillness and devote themselves to practice, whether Daoist priests or nüguan (female Daoists), become disciples of the Daoist order as soon as they enter it. If they violate the precepts and spend their days sunk in drink, they commit an offense against the precepts.

Indulgence in drinking produces ten kinds of confusion. One fails to honor teachers and elders and does not respect the parents of others; one burdens fellow disciples and also implicates the wives and children of others; one quarrels with fellow students and falls out with the brothers of others; one offends the law of the state; one alienates friends; one falls from one’s mount; one meets with fire or drowning; one loses the way and goes astray; one suddenly loses concentration and wisdom; and one meets affairs with violence and loss of measure. These ten faults cause people both inside and outside the Daoist order, in the present or afterward, to fall into confusion of body and mind, like those afflicted with madness, unable to tell the seasons or to distinguish inner from outer. Both inner contemplation and outer contemplation are ruined, mind and Shen (spirit) fall into disorder, the three kinds of good conduct recede, and teaching and practice lose their support.

Those who drink commonly draw near three kinds of people: those who create evil karma, those who eat the blood and flesh of livestock, and those who slaughter living beings. They also commonly associate with five kinds of people: the unfilial who estrange their parents; those who indulge sexual desire and violate ritual propriety; those who squander the family estate until they have nowhere to turn; those who overstep the codes and precepts, break the law, and steal; and those who crave worldly pleasure and turn against the Daoist order. Day after day, month after month, and year after year, drinkers cannot gather in their thoughts and depart from the root of cultivating the Dao.

From this it can be seen that drinking brings six consequences of being kept at a distance: teachers and elders grow distant, parents grow distant, brothers grow distant, sisters grow distant, friends grow distant, and members of the Daoist order grow distant. All of these are retributions that appear in the present life, and they also concern one’s failure toward the karmic conditions of such precious teachings as the teacher, the Dao, the Jing (scripture/classic), and the precepts. The Daoist order should continually proclaim these precepts and admonish disciples not to draw near again to their former drinking companions and old associates. Only this is a higher path of practice, and only this counts as truly leaving the household.

If one is old or ill, medicine may be taken as circumstances require; but if one uses this as a pretext for excessive craving, the result is the same as the present-life retributions described above.

On Avoiding Pungent Vegetables

The precepts stipulate that all who cultivate the study of the Dao (the Way) should discipline themselves and purify the mind, and must not transgress the prohibitions. Neither Daoist priests nor female Daoists (nüguan) should freely eat the five pungent vegetables known as hunxin: Chinese chives, garlic, small garlic, scallions, and xie (a vegetable similar to the rakkyo, or Chinese onion).

These pungent vegetables bring four kinds of harm: they injure the five viscera, obstruct cultivation of the Dao, affect the community of practitioners within Daoism, and also affect people outside it. They further cause the practitioner to lose three capacities: one cannot ascend to the daochang (the place where Daoist rites are performed and cultivation is practiced), one cannot offer prayers upward to the deities, and one cannot teach and transform male and female believers.

One should therefore restrain the three activities of body, speech, and mind—bodily conduct, words, and thoughts—so that the mind does not dwell on these vegetables, the body does not pursue them, and the mouth does not consume them. Only then can one hope to commune with the deities, reach the daochang, and teach both men and women, bringing peace to the five viscera and purity to the breath of the mouth. Morning and evening one pays homage to the deities; one’s dwelling remains pure, still, and empty; where there is stimulus there is response, and the deities descend, thereby benefiting all.

On the Making of Ritual Vestments

The precepts stipulate that all who cultivate the study of the Dao should understand this: once one has entered the Dao, the inner mind must cast off worldly distractions; outwardly, one should……

The Daoist scriptures prescribe that those who cultivate the Dao (the Way) should understand this: once the body has entered the Dao, the mind must cast off worldly distractions, and outwardly one must also cut off worldly entanglements; inwardly one holds to the methods of the Dao, and outwardly one’s dress should likewise follow the proper regulations. Whether Daoist priests or female Daoists (nüguan, ordained women who have left the household), and whether they dwell in the mountains to cultivate or practice and teach the Dao among people, both inner and outer garments must be worn according to the rules.

A Daoist who has only just left the household and has not yet gradually received the inner registers (neilü, the ritual offices and the Fulu—talismans and registers—conferred by the Daoist tradition) must wear the outer immortal robe (xianhe, the ritual robe of a Daoist) and the ritual cape (fapei, the ceremonial garment worn over it) in a regulation number of strips, and should not wear a ritual cape of twenty-four strips. Only one who has received transmission of the Divine Incantations in Five Thousand Words is suited to wear a twenty-four-strip ritual cape, corresponding to the twenty-four solar terms.

A Daoist of twenty-five years or older who has received the methods of the Dongshen (Cavern of Spirit), Lingbao, Dadong, and the like should have an outer immortal robe of thirty-two strips, corresponding to the thirty-two heavens and symbolizing exalted stations in the celestial realm; the ritual cape should have twenty-eight strips, corresponding to the twenty-eight lunar mansions (the twenty-eight groups of constellations in the heavens) and symbolizing the spirits of the constellations, and a twenty-four-strip ritual cape may also be worn. The length of the clothing should follow the cultivator’s stature, with the hem falling one chi below the knee, and the color should take as its proper hue the yellow associated with the center. Those who cultivate higher methods may wear purple; those of lower ritual rank who belong to the lower seats may not wear purple.

The middle ritual shirt (the Daoist robe worn beneath the outer garment), whether with tubular sleeves or wide sleeves, should be made in yellow or in other pale, pure colors. The garment must have a broad collar, the left and right fronts overlapping downward so as to cover above the heart and to cover the undergarment by six cun. The inner ritual skirt may use other colors, darker or lighter; the inner layer may be a color other than yellow, while the outer layer should be yellow. If the robe or skirt bears decorative patterns, a pale color may be used as the outer layer. The hems of the skirts should all fall to the ankles.

When a female Daoist is qualified to wear superior ritual vestments, she may make the immortal robe of light purple gauze; the skirt must be deep yellow and must not be arbitrarily changed to some other pale color. Whether upper, middle, or lower garments, and whether the edging is on the inside or the outside, all should be bordered with wide cloth. One must not alter the dress regulations on one’s own initiative, or one will meet with criticism both within and beyond the Daoist community: one may be mocked by worldly people and also reproached by other cultivators. The scripture holds that this causes the true spirit to leave the body and deviant thoughts to arise, so that one cannot concentrate on guarding the mind within; the Three Corpses (sanshi, spirits that, in Daoist belief, lodge in the human body and obstruct cultivation) remain hidden and do not depart, the Infant (chizi, symbolizing the inner true spirit or one’s pure original nature) scatters and flies away, and in the end one is estranged from the Mysterious Chamber (xuanshi, the inner realm of Neidan, or internal alchemy, and of visualization), the bodily form is destroyed, and both life and name are extinguished.

If one can wear them according to the methods of the Dao year after year, then when the Dao is attained the Celestial Emperor will bestow a brocade cape of the nine radiances of Liluo, a kerchief of Danluo precious brilliance, a pendant of celestial treasure, and lion-patterned shoes. These are called the garments of flying immortals, given to reward those who have long accumulated merit and who have diligently and single-mindedly sought the Dao. Do not envy the official robes and caps of the world, and do not look down on Daoist ritual vestments. Worldly glory can never in the end spare a person from death; the kerchief and cape of the person of the Dao are made according to the statutes of the heavens, and by wearing them and cultivating the Dao one may ascend as an immortal and travel upon the void.

Anyone who studies Daoism should maintain a proper bearing and due etiquette, see through the matters that ought to be done, and keep their reputation and conduct from lapsing into worldly ways. Only then can they truly be said to have left the household. One who has left the household must first wear the headcloth and crown correctly, understand the ritual meanings they symbolize, and know when they should be worn and when they may be removed.

When Daoist priests and female Daoists (nüguan) cultivate the Dao (the Way) in daily life, they wear the Eryi jin, the Daoist headcloth symbolizing Heaven and Earth and Yin-Yang. This headcloth has two corners, which stand for Heaven and Earth. When ritual services are performed and one ascends the altar of the Sanlu (Three Registers) and the various Zhai (purification rites), one should wear the Yuanshi Yuanyou crown, the Far-Roaming Crown of the Primordial Beginning. One may also, according to ritual regulation, wear the crown over a light kudzu-fiber headcloth. Tradition holds that this is the attire of the Celestial Worthy of the Primordial Beginning (Yuanshi Tianzun); thus the celestial perfected and supreme sages sometimes wear the Jiude jin (the headcloth of the Nine Virtues, De) and sometimes the Qixing jin (the Seven Stars headcloth). The Seven Stars headcloth means that the crown and headcloth bear the pattern of the Seven Stars of the Northern Dipper; it is also called the Xuan guan (the Mysterious Crown). “Xuan” means Heaven, and the pattern of the seven stars likewise symbolizes the seven stars in Heaven.

Whether walking, lying down, sitting at ease, or resting, Daoist priests and female Daoists should ordinarily wear the headcloth and crown secured with a pin, reverently serving the spirits, and must not remove them at will, lest this be taken as slighting the two spirits Niwan and Xuanhua, deities associated with cultivation of the head. Only each morning, when the hair is combed, may they be briefly removed and placed on a clean cloth. Even when removed, they must be carefully kept. They must not be seen by outsiders, by men and women in general, or by anyone who does not share the same faith in cultivating the Dao, and still less may such people take them up and toy with them at will.

Carefully guarding the headcloth and crown brings five benefits. The first is that one oneself is held in respect; the second, that outsiders are spared incurring guilt through disrespect; the third, that one receives the praise of the true spirits; the fourth, that living beings give rise to wholesome thoughts; the fifth, that blessings and De both within and without increase. If they are not properly kept, if the headcloth and crown are slighted, and if outsiders are allowed to take them up and toy with them, five evil retributions follow. The first is that one is mocked by others; the second, that outsiders commit transgressions through disrespect; the third, that the true spirits punish one and the Qi (vital energy) of the Dao is lost; the fourth, that living beings no longer revere one; the fifth, that everyone, both within and without, incurs guilt on this account.

Daoist priests and female Daoists should all understand this and act with care, so that the five benefits arise and the five evil retributions are removed. When others are treated with respect, wholesome thoughts increase; when others are slighted, the roots of goodness wither. Such conduct can also lead worldly people to respect Daoism and not give rise to slander and mockery. For this reason one must be especially careful.

All who cultivate the Dao (the Way) should know how to respect the ritual vestments (fafu)—the clothing used in Daoist ritual and practice—worn upon entering the Dao, including the upper garment, the middle garment, and the lower garment, and must not neglect or slight them. Among those who have left the household life, whether male Daoist priests or female Daoists (nüguan), the upper garment and the hemp cape (hepi), the outer cloak worn by Daoists, are to be especially honored, for the Celestial Worthies (Tianzun) and the sages wear garments of this same kind. The middle garment and the lower skirt also help bring the ritual to completion; once the ritual vestments are put on, one may through them communicate and resonate with the realms above. For this reason, people of the world show reverence toward the ritual vestments, which differ from ordinary clothing; if contempt arises in the heart, one incurs guilt thereby.

Respect for the ritual vestments takes five forms. First, when they are not being worn, they should be stored in a chest or case and kept in a high, clean place. Second, once they have been put on, whether one sits, lies down, or rises, one must take care to keep them clean. Third, when they are temporarily removed, they must not be placed together with the clothing of laypeople. Fourth, even among fellow disciples of the same lineage who share the same aspirations, the ritual vestments must not be exchanged with one another. Fifth, they must not be lent to laypeople for uses contrary to proper rule. Even when the vestments are worn out and can no longer be worn, they should still be burned in a careful and clean manner. Those who violate these rules incur guilt on both sides.

Those who respect the ritual vestments receive five concrete blessings. First, because the vestments are honored, one need not bow in salutation to men and women of the outside world. Second, because the vestments are honored, men and women of the outside world will bow to such a person. Third, when one travels abroad, clothing and food are supplied and offered in good time. Fourth, inner cultivation is met by spontaneous reverence from without, and one thereby communicates with and moves the divinities. Fifth, when men and women of the outside world, as well as princes, dukes, and the Son of Heaven, hear of or see such a person, joy and respect arise in their hearts, and no ill will is born.

There are likewise five ways of slighting the ritual vestments. First, when they are not being worn, the garments are tossed carelessly into some out-of-the-way and filthy place. Second, after they have been put on, one leans and sits wherever one pleases, with no regard for cleanliness. Third, once removed, they are mixed together with ordinary lay clothing. Fourth, one freely lends the vestments to people who are neither of the same lineage nor of the same teaching, so that they may be exchanged and worn. Fifth, one lends them to laypeople for uses contrary to proper rule.

Those who slight the ritual vestments suffer five retributions. First, they are looked down upon and are no different from ordinary laypeople, and must instead humble themselves to seek favor from others. Second, they do not receive the bows and respect of the many. Third, whether dwelling at home or traveling, their clothing and food are not supplied in good time. Fourth, though they cultivate inwardly, they must still bow outwardly and beg of others, and they cannot communicate with or move the divinities. Fifth, when princes, dukes, the Son of Heaven, and others hear of or see them, trust and respect do not arise. Male and female Daoist practitioners should reflect on this carefully: respect the ritual vestments and do not treat them lightly, lest misfortune be brought upon oneself.

If the ritual vestments are already damaged beyond wearing, they should, on a removal day (churi)—a traditional term of day-selection for a day suited to clearing away the old—in the early morning after worship, be burned in a clean place, and men and women of the outside world should not be allowed to see this at will. If one wears the Three Robes of True Script (zhenwen sanyi), the three ritual garments bearing Daoist talismanic writing, then even when sleeping or resting the head must not be left bare, but should be covered with a cap or headcloth, and the body must not be exposed, but should remain clothed.

Daoist practitioners should understand that cultivating the Dao (the Way) begins in the time before Heaven and Earth had separated, when primordial Qi (vital energy) hung dense and undifferentiated, and takes the attainment of the Dao as its final destination. Practitioners must be delivered from eight kinds of hardship and suffering, accept the status of one who has left the household, and put on Daoist robes that symbolize the ritual statutes of the immortals, such as the immortal’s coarse robe, the ritual cape, and the three garments of the upper and lower orders. Each of these garments has its own symbolic meaning; the statutes are made manifest upon the body, and the practitioner is therefore held in respect.

Daoist priests and Daoist nuns receive the kindness of the sovereign, their parents, and their revered teachers. After obtaining the status of one who has left the household, they ought to support and provide for their teachers. Leaving the household frees a person from two kinds of bondage. The first is the interpersonal entanglement close at hand, including the complications brought by parents, husbands and wives, children, brothers and sisters, people of differing station, and kinship both within and beyond the family. These complications are themselves of two kinds: one is the tie that comes from joy and loving affection; the other is the distress caused by anger and coercion. Although the feelings differ as pleasure and pain, the nature of the bondage is the same.

The second is the deep and heavy karma formed through joint action, such as the karma jointly created by parents, husbands and wives, children, brothers and sisters, people of differing station, and relatives and friends. This too has two forms: one is joint action arising from affliction, in which some are willing and others are not; the other is joint action in which people delight in one another and respond in mutual accord. Although affliction and delight differ, the joint creation of karma is the same. To leave the household today is precisely to depart from these entanglements, vowing to cultivate with single-minded and arduous effort until the Dao is attained.

After attaining the Dao in the sanctuary, the practitioner will come forth again to teach and transform living beings. But if, before the Dao is realized, one turns away from the true teaching—even if only a single thought arises of taking off the Daoist robes and returning to secular life to enjoy its pleasures—three kinds of evil retribution will be incurred.

The first is suffering in one’s own person: appearance, lifespan, voice, and breath all become foul, and one is also loathed by others.

The second is to encounter every kind of violent misfortune, such as the calamities brought by the year, the month, the day, and the hour, and even to bear, in another’s place, the retribution for that person’s sinful karma.

The third is to contract grave illnesses such as crippling by wind and leprosy; if one bears children, the children may be deaf, blind, unable to speak, or maimed in their limbs. One may also be punished under the king’s law and put to death; after death one must suffer before the Three Officials, the divine offices that govern life and death, sin and blessing, and fall into the dark realms of the five colors and the nine layers. The scripture says that these instruments of suffering continue for an extremely long time; even if one meets the great kalpa of Heaven, Earth, wind, and water and is transferred elsewhere, one still suffers through the destruction of the new Heaven and Earth.

If parents, brothers, children, sisters, relatives, friends, and others—whether through one’s own longing, a longing shared with others, or longing in succession, or on account of food and drink, money and property, oppression, or bullying—induce those who have left the household to cast off the ritual robes, turn their backs on the Dao, and return to lay life, one should know that, through measureless kalpas, the roots of goodness in these people have already decayed, while the roots of evil have grown without cease. They destroy the Three Treasures of the Dao, the Jing (scripture), and the Master, and today they give rise to a mind of great evil, ruining the merit accumulated by the revered teacher as the field of blessing of the Three Treasures.

This person’s original vow to leave the household arose from faith; the present withdrawal of resolve arises from slandering the true Dao. Once the root of faith is destroyed, the fire of slander turns back and burns the person, so that these bitter retributions must be borne. The scripture therefore admonishes those within the Dao and those outside it: strive and cultivate diligently, and let each seek liberation.

Dwelling in the mountains to cultivate the Dao (the Way) is governed by ten rules. Daoism takes the instruction and transformation of people in the world as its fundamental purpose. The sages established regulations to guide those just beginning their practice to withdraw into the mountains and forests. Those who leave household life to cultivate the Dao, whether Daoist priests or nüguan (female Daoist priests), should live in the mountains, practice with a quiet mind, reduce their dealings with the secular world, settle and guard body and mind, and keep away from desire and disturbance. The rules of cultivation in the mountains differ from ordinary secular life.

One must not take charge of managing households or of instructing the common people. One must not associate with the powerful and eminent in pursuit of fame and profit. One must not practice deviant prohibitions and incantatory arts. One must not collect money from others in the name of healing or divination, and one should keep a distance from secular life. One must not share a bed or mat, nor sit or lie down together, with women of the secular world; if the other person is also someone of a different teaching who is cultivating in purity in the mountains, this restriction does not apply.

At dawn, noon, sunset, midnight, cockcrow, and similar hours, one should burn incense and light lamps, reverently worship the Celestial Worthies of the Ten Directions—the various Celestial Worthy deities honored in Daoism—repent of one’s faults, and dispel evil karma. Worship begins from the east. After noon one must not eat grain. Water, jade, zhi herbs, stone, pine wood, huangjing, yunying, Lingfei powder, goji, and the like are not classed as grain and are not bound by this restriction on the time of fasting. Huangjing, yunying, and the rest are medicines or materials for nourishing life mentioned in the Daoist tradition of ingestion.

When entering the mountains to gather herbs, one snaps the fingers once every three steps and gives a light cough every ten steps. Whenever the foot is lifted or set down, one should keep the Dao in mind, imagining divine beings among the cliffs or beside the path transmitting the arts of immortality, oneself practicing ingestion according to the methods received, and in the end ascending to heaven in broad daylight. If one has already gained a little, yet one’s cultivation is not yet complete, one should neither boast of oneself nor look down on those who have not yet reached that point. One should constantly remember the kindness of one’s parents in raising one, and never forget it.

These ten items are important standards for dwelling in the mountains and cultivating the Dao. As for the methods of ingestion and cultivation, they are set out separately in the relevant main text.

Those who cultivate the learning of the Dao (the Way) ought to understand how to nurture and care for themselves. Every part of the body has its methods of regulation and care. The head is regarded as the place where mysterious and subtle essence (Jing) and vital energy (Qi) gather. Combing the hair properly helps to preserve Jing and Qi so that they endure, and to keep illness from intruding.

Daoist priests and female Daoists (nüguan) who have left household life, whether inside or outside the monastery, should each prepare a clean comb and keep it stored in a box. Rising early in the morning after the cock crows, and before performing the ritual salutations, they face north and then turn toward the direction corresponding to their own natal destiny, wash both hands, and comb the hair. The comb should not be casually seen or borrowed by anyone who is not a fellow practitioner of the same school and the same Way.

After the hair has been combed, one should then perform the ritual salutations. If affairs are urgent, one may first perform the salutations and afterward wash the hands and comb the hair. When combing, one may pass the comb through the hair several times, so that the Qi and blood of the head flow freely without stagnation, and one should not comb to the point of pain. When the combing is finished, one should softly recite the incantation:

The Great Emperor (Taidi) diffuses numinous Qi (vital energy), and the Shen (spirits) of the Five Elders return to their stations within the body. The Shen of Mysterious Flowering (Xuanhua) in the Mud Pellet (Niwan), the deity who governs the head, can protect Jing (essence) and Qi and keep them abiding for a long time. The right hand restrains the moonlight and the left hand draws in the Jing of the sun, so that body and mind become pure and attuned to heaven, earth, and the four directions, and the hundred Shen all receive this grace.

If one fails to comb the hair when the time for combing has come, the Xuanhua Shen and the Niwan Shen will reproach the practitioner, judging that he has not applied himself with diligence. The Xuanhua Shen and the Niwan Shen are the two spirits referred to here. In daily life, four situations cause a person to harm himself: being like those bound by the toil of worldly affairs, who are unable to comb their hair; being like those severely ill and exhausted in body and mind, who are unable to comb; being like those whose fingers are maimed and cannot be used, who are unable to comb; and being like those who grow slack, fall back, and turn away from the methods of the Dao (the Way), who refuse to comb. Practitioners of the Dao should revere these two Shen and avoid these four faults.

A nüguan (a woman who has left household life to cultivate the Dao) must not imitate ordinary people, must not practice without adhering to proper norms, and must not act falsely. If she makes hair ornaments of gold, silver, copper, or iron and treats them as implements of cultivation, she will be disliked by both the Daoist and the lay communities; the offense is not another’s, but a disgrace she brings upon herself. The practitioner should revere the two Shen and avoid the four faults mentioned above.

After combing, any hair that has been combed out and not yet properly disposed of should be placed in a clean small vessel, kept for one to nine days, and then taken to a clean place and burned. It should not be left where members of the Daoist or lay communities might casually see it.

Chapter on Bathing (the title of the section that sets forth the rules concerning bathing).

According to the regulations of the Keyi (liturgy), those who cultivate the Dao (the Way) should understand that the substance of wisdom is originally without blemish, and that the mind of wisdom can discern and examine with clarity; what is called dust and defilement is acquired only because we possess a body. Those who leave household life to cultivate the Dao, whether Daoist priests or female Daoists (nüguan), if the mind follows external conditions and becomes covered with inner dust, should constantly wash their thoughts with “fashui” (ritual water). Since the body becomes soiled through contact with the outside world, one should frequently bathe in scented water.

There are four ways in which the body takes on external dust. First, when the body serves as a field of merit—an object of others’ offerings and a means of accumulating blessings for others—it becomes soiled with the dust of labor while the hall of purification is being repaired and maintained. Second, in rising, resting, and moving about through the six periods of day and night, one picks up the dust of nearby open ground. Third, when going out to keep an appointment or to perform rites, one becomes covered with dust along the way. Fourth, without distinguishing the clean from the filthy, wherever one sits, lies down, or stays, one may become stained with dust.

These circumstances cause those who cultivate the Dao to accumulate defilement day by day and month by month, so that the body is unclean from top to bottom. As a result, the inner and outer congregations—believers of differing status within Daoism—do not readily give rise to a mind of taking refuge; the deities of the four quarters and corners do not put forth their protective power; and the prayers and memorials that are offered receive no descent or response from the divinities.

One should follow what is recorded in the revered scripture of the Dongshen (Cavern of Spirit, one of the Three Caverns) and employ the “method of the five fragrances”: take qingmu incense, jinghua incense, lingling incense, orchid incense, and true sandalwood, proportion them according to actual circumstances, cut them fine, add water, and boil them until the fragrance is fully infused into the water; then both the inner and outer congregations inhale the fragrance and bathe. If cultivators find that suitable incense is not available at the time, they may substitute whatever incense can then be obtained.

Bathing is divided into general days and special days, and is also carried out separately for the inner and outer congregations. The special days are the tenth day of the first month, the eighth day of the second month, the sixth day of the third month, the fourth day of the fourth month, the first day of the fifth month, the twenty-seventh day of the sixth month, the fifteenth day of the seventh month, the twenty-second day of the eighth month, the twentieth day of the ninth month, the eighteenth day of the tenth month, the fifteenth day of the eleventh month, and the twelfth day of the twelfth month.

On the appointed day, if the mansion star on duty is the Eastern Well mansion (Dongjing xiu, the name of a lunar mansion), one should bathe in fragrant hot water so that the body feels light and refreshed and carries a pleasant scent, and one should pray for smooth fortune and long life. When bathing, first click the teeth three times, then silently recite the incantation:

“The four quarters are clear and bright; Heaven and Earth endure unchanging. With mysterious water wash away defilement and drive off ill fortune. Twin youths guard the doorway, and the seven numinous spirits dwell at peace within the chamber. With the water of the cloudy ford cleanse body and mind, so that the myriad Qi (vital energy) are harmonized and well. Within and without, all is settled and upright, protecting and blessing this body.”

Morning and evening bathing, as well as rinsing the mouth, may all follow this method. The bath chamber should be set on the inner side of the building, and every gap inside and outside must be tightly sealed, so that the person bathing cannot see the sun, moon, or stars. Even classmates and fellow practitioners must enter the bath chamber one after another and must not see one another.

If the master summons the inner and outer assemblies to bathe on the same day, two sealed rooms should be set up in the abbey, separated from each other so that neither voices nor the sound of washing water can be heard. On the eighth day of the twelfth month, at the close of each year, a larger quantity of aromatic ingredients should be boiled to prepare the bath water, with the temperature kept comfortable. The master first places a talisman (fu) into the fragrant water, then, according to the size of the rooms, arranges for men and women to bathe separately, each in their own chamber.

“Dispelling Impurity” (Jiehui pin) is the title of the section listed for this passage.

After Daoist priests and Daoist nuns (nüguan) leave household life to cultivate the Way, they must still travel and dwell among mountains, forests, and waters, and go among the people to teach and transform them. They therefore inevitably encounter five kinds of defilement, which cannot be avoided completely all at once: first, “defilement that befalls one unawares” (zitou hui); second, “defilement seen by chance” (oujian hui); third, “defilement sought by oneself” (ziqiu hui); fourth, “defilement of rank and position” (shiwei hui); and fifth, “defilement of shared dwelling” (jiaoju hui).

“Defilement that befalls one unawares” means that, while walking, dwelling, or resting, one suddenly meets a defiling situation one did not anticipate. For example, a rain of blood falls from the sky for no reason and stains the head, face, hands, feet, or clothing; or birds such as owls, crows, storks, and magpies, carrying part of a corpse, suddenly drop it from above before one’s eyes.

“Defilement seen by chance” means that, when entering the mountains to gather medicinal herbs or teaching the people, one happens upon a corpse on a winding path, or sees the dead, or indecent sexual conduct between men and women, amid the grass. None of these are things one deliberately goes to look at.

“Defilement sought by oneself” means that, because of ordinary social obligations, dealings over property, or kinship ties, one goes of one’s own accord to offer condolences at a bereaved household. No one compels one, and one is willing to go.

“Defilement of rank and position” means that one holds office or a position of power, and when a household is conducting a funeral, one must go to offer condolences because of relations of superior and subordinate or fear of others’ reproach, drawing near the place of mourning and seeing the corpse, even though one is truly unwilling in one’s heart.

“Defilement of shared dwelling” means that, while living at home, one sees women, as well as cattle, horses, donkeys, mules, pigs, sheep, dogs, and other animals, giving birth. One wishes in one’s heart to look, and one’s eyes actively look.

Whenever one encounters these defiling matters, it is not fitting to preside at once over Zhaijiao (purification ritual), petitions, and similar rites. One should take bamboo leaves, peach branches, and whatever aromatics can be found at that time and place, boil them in pure water into a decoction, pour it into a large basin, then draw a fu (talisman) and cast it into the basin. If the defilement encountered is relatively severe, one bathes; if relatively light, one washes and purifies oneself with the water. Before beginning to remove the defilement, one first clicks the teeth three times, then silently recites the incantation.

The four directions (east, south, west, and north) are clear and bright, and heaven and earth are thereby restored to their normal state. With Xuanshui (Mysterious Water, the water used for purification in Daoist ritual), defilement is washed away and the inauspicious is driven out. Twin youths guard the gateway, and the seven spirits settle the dwelling. Body and mind are bathed in Yunjin (the place where cloud Qi [vital energy] gathers, an image in the purification ritual), so that the myriad Qi come into harmony and well-being. Within and without, uprightness and purity can be maintained, protecting this body.

If a purification retreat and exposition of the teaching is to be held for the public, and one worries that some among the men and women coming from outside bear defilement on their persons, a large basin may be filled with fushui (talisman water) and placed before the main gate, so that those who enter wash their eyes and then go in to hear the teaching.

Zhongqing Pin (Chapter on Bells and Chimes)

The Keyi (liturgy) stipulates that those who cultivate the study of the Dao (the Way) should understand how to enter the realm of the Middle Way; if one can comprehend the Xinwang (Mind-King, the sovereign mind that governs body and mind), one will know that the myriad things arise from a single principle and are without difference.

If any among the men and women coming from outside bear defilement on their persons, a large basin should be filled with talisman water and placed before the main gate, so that those who enter wash their eyes and then go in to hear the teaching.

All who cultivate the study of the Dao (the Way) should understand that what they seek is the realm of the Middle Way, a state in accord with the true Dao. If one can awaken to one’s own mind—this “mind-king,” the subject that governs every thought of body and mind—then at the root there is no difference among people.

Those who leave the household to cultivate the Dao, such as Daoist priests and Daoist priestesses, practice various distinct methods before their fellow cultivators, and these fall roughly into five kinds: first, alchemical refinement and the management of livelihood; second, dispensing medicine to relieve others; third, undertaking constructive works and establishing merit; fourth, ingesting elixirs to cultivate the body; and fifth, using mindfulness and wisdom to deliver living beings.

When scriptures (Jing) are recited, purification rites (zhai) are held, Daoist methods are cultivated, and altars are set up to receive offerings, the absence of bells and chimes makes it impossible to alert and summon the divine officials. If each person conducts the rite separately, the timing is hard to keep uniform: some arrive late, and even those who come may not be properly assembled. Thus the Zhongyuan Jing (Scripture of the Middle Prime) says: “Through prolonged fasting and abstinence, one assembles at the Mysterious Capital; jade is sounded and the jasper bell is struck. The immortals of the Ten Flowers gather, and purple mist congeals into a palace.” Bells and chimes should be hung on the platform at the front left of the parish residence and struck at the appointed times. This not only reminds the assembly; it can also move the gods.

Each day at the six times—the six periods prescribed in Daoist ritual—the practitioner should fasten the sash, compose body and mind, ready the mallet, and strike correctly. One begins with a dense rhythm that gradually opens out, striking eight times in all, and then closes with dense strokes. Once the fire in the censer has been properly prepared, one strikes twelve times from dense to sparse, then twelve times from sparse to dense, then twelve times again from dense to sparse, and finally closes with two dense strokes. If gathering the assembly requires more time, the bell may be struck more slowly, but the prescribed hour must not be missed.

When the bell sounds on time, there are five benefits in not losing the hour: first, the assembly can gather at the proper time to practice the method; second, one can receive the pure rite at the proper time; third, wholesome thoughts can be aroused together; fourth, unwholesome thoughts can be stilled in good time; and fifth, each person can give rise to a good mind. Ceasing evil and practicing good do indeed depend on the reminder and aid of bells and chimes, yet in the end they still rest on applying the mind to cultivation. Within the six times, let every thought advance with vigor and go straight toward the ritual sanctuary; do not let the mind of the six times turn back and return to evil paths. These words are to be transmitted to later generations.

If the inner assembly and the outer assembly can make vows together, two conditions arise: one is jointly fulfilling each person’s own aspiration, and the other is jointly fulfilling the aspiration of the whole community. Whether something is composed alone or composed together by many, and whether it is heard alone or heard together by many, one should vigorously receive it, uphold it, and carry it out.

All who study the methods of the Dao (the Way) should know that cultivation follows different paths: some are carried out within the mind, and others are put into practice in concrete affairs. Yet whichever path one takes, purification, fasting, and stillness must come first. This is the root of establishing De (Virtue/Power) and the foundation for seeking the Dao.

Daoist priests and female Daoists (nüguan), whether they are reciting the Jing (scriptures), collating scriptural texts, writing Fulu (talismans and registers), compounding medicines, refining the Golden Elixir, calming the mind in visualization, visiting teachers to seek instruction, performing worship, receiving scriptural methods, relieving all beings, dispelling disasters and resolving misfortunes, or pursuing the attainment of perfection, should first observe purification and fasting. Purification and fasting are honored by the Most High (Taishang) and upheld by Lord Lao (Laojun); they are the foundation of cultivation upon which the holy perfected ones rely. The methods of purification are many, and practitioners should choose among them according to what they themselves cultivate.

These methods include the Audience Rite for Register Recipients (the court ritual performed by those who receive registers), the Audience Rite of the Five Thousand Characters (the court ritual performed according to the Daodejing), the Lingbao Audience Rite, the Shangqing Audience Rite, the Three Sovereigns Audience Rite, and the Fast of the Eight Emperors. There are also purification rites held according to the Three Primes (the Upper Prime on the fifteenth day of the first month, the Middle Prime on the fifteenth day of the seventh month, and the Lower Prime on the fifteenth day of the tenth month): the Upper Prime Fast is for compounding medicines and cultivating immortality, the Middle Prime Fast for cultivating the self and confessing faults, and the Lower Prime Fast for delivering the nine generations of ancestors.

In addition there are the Great Fast of the Three and Five, the Lower Prime Fast of the Thirty-Two Heavens, the Middle Prime Fast for Inviting the Seventy-Two Lords, and the Upper Prime Fast of the Six Directors. The Lingbao Golden Register Fast is used to deliver the souls of the dead on behalf of marquises and kings; the Yellow Register Fast to save the nine generations of ancestors together with one’s parents; the Fast of Illuminating the Perfected for self-cultivation; the Three Primes Fast for repenting faults; the Lingbao Fast of Spontaneity for responding to worldly affairs; the Mud and Soot Fast and the Fast of Purposive Instruction for healing illness; and the Lingbao Fast of the Five Refinements for Generating a Living Corpse for one’s own deliverance. There are also the Fast of the Five Thousand Characters, the Taiping Dongyuan Fast of the Five Kings, and others.

Those who study the Dao (the Way) should keep a vegetarian diet and stop only after they have attained the Dao; this is the most important matter in cultivation. Next, one may fast for a thousand days or for a hundred days, or regulate eating by the month or on festival days, taking coarse food and following a Daoist dietary regimen. One may also ingest Qi (vital energy), take medicinal substances, or practice embryonic feeding, a Daoist method of nourishing body and mind through a special dietary regimen, choosing whichever method suits one’s own capacity. All of these belong to the self-cultivation described above.

Whether of the inner assembly or the outer assembly, those who wish to dispel great calamities and the misfortunes of illness should jointly recommend a person of profound De (Virtue/Power) to serve as ritual master, and select five others as attendant officers to assist in the rite. At an open-air altar they perform the Great Rite of Confession, confessing offenses to the deities and seeking pardon. Those making confession assume the lange posture named in the original text, with hair unbound and mud smeared on the forehead, and they worship the Thirty-Two Heavens, the celestial deities venerated in Daoism. During the fast, the zi-wu memorials—petitions recited and presented at the zi and wu hours—must be submitted. If one prays with utmost sincerity, a response is sure to come, and the Mud-and-Charcoal Rite is then performed according to the instructions, a rite of confession and austerity carried out by smearing mud and treading charcoal.

In the Fast of the Five Kings, a fasting rite offered to the Five Kings, the fasting officers should be arranged according to the four seasons of spring, summer, autumn, and winter, and according to the months of the four seasons. The poor may gather twelve persons, while a great fast gathers one hundred and twenty. When the altar ground is narrow, worship may be performed outside the altar. When wealthy households hold an ordinary fast, or when upright Daoist priests cultivate and study in the mountains, they may arrange five, ten, twenty, fifty, or one hundred persons according to their means, and they need not worry that the number is small. They should wear such clothing as they are able to prepare and practice the Dao for three seven-day periods, that is, twenty-one days, or for one month. Those who are poor and of humble station act according to their strength and need not assemble a full five persons.

When the fast meal is offered, porridge is taken in the early morning and vegetarian food at noon. After noon one may drink ginger-honey water or clear tea, and nothing else is taken. When the fast is released, the food may be distributed to ten people, a hundred, or even a thousand; the more who receive it, the better.

Those who keep a long fast and observe the precepts practice the Dao each day at three times—early morning, noon, and sunset—and at these three times they expound and recite the Jing (scripture/classic). If a great calamity arises, or if one seeks deliverance from grave karmic offenses, one practices the Dao at six times—dawn, noon, sunset, the hour when people have settled for the night, midnight, and cockcrow—and expounds the Jing at three of these times.

Section on Reading and Recitation

The Keyi (liturgy) prescribes that all who study the Dao should understand focused visualization, concentrating the mind upon deities or the realm of the Dao, and the reading and recitation of scripture. The scriptures are precious and are to be carried and reverently kept on one’s person, just as a compassionate mother protects and watches over one. Daoist priests and female Daoists should advance with courageous diligence. Some may set aside documentary affairs and devote themselves wholly to recitation, beginning at cockcrow, practicing the Dao at the six times of the day and expounding the Jing at three times.

The passage states: All who cultivate the learning of the Dao (the Way) should understand how to visualize and recite the scriptures (Jing) in the mind. The treasure of the scriptures ever abides in the body, just as a compassionate mother does. Daoist priests and female Daoists (nüguan) should press forward with courageous vigor: they may set the written text aside and recite with concentrated attention, or they may hold the text and read it. The moment a single thought grasps the principle within it, one enters the gate of wisdom.

When reciting the scriptures, one may set aside a portion of the time, about one-eightieth or one-twentieth, to attend to external affairs and also to outward ritual propriety. Yet one must not on this account stray from the root or turn away from the teaching. One should constantly keep in mind the scripture as this “Mother of the Teaching” (jiaomu), knowing that it is the foundation of cultivating the Dao, and should also keep pure the three activities of body, speech, and mind, doing nothing that harms the mind of reverence. By reflecting deeply on the subtle principles of the scriptures and savoring their meaning, one obtains four kinds of wisdom. First, the scripture is the medicine of wisdom, able to cure the illness of frenzy that tends toward death. Second, the scripture is the lamp of wisdom, able to shine through and dispel the darkness of ignorance and delusion. Third, the scripture is the knife of wisdom, able to cut through the net of afflictions. Fourth, the scripture is the boat of wisdom, able to carry a person across the sea of birth and death.

Scriptures and teachings such as these can give birth to the Dharma-body (fashen, the pure body accomplished through cultivating the Dao), just as a compassionate mother in the world can bear and raise a child. A filial child always remembers the kindness of the mother who nurtured and held him, and we ought to do the same. Because of this “Mother of the Teaching,” we are able to bring forth the undefiled body (wuloushen, the pure body no longer disturbed by afflictions). We should therefore constantly cherish a mind of repaying that kindness and make offerings to the scriptures: install them in the hall, adorn them with precious treasures, offer incense, flowers, lamps, and candles, set out music, banners and streamers, and canopies, and serve the scriptures through offering and recitation, just as one serves one’s closest kin.

Chapter on Mutual Penalties in the Seated Zhai (Zuozhai Xiangfa Pin)

The passage states: All who cultivate the learning of the Dao should understand that it is precisely because of this “Mother of the Teaching” that we are able to bring forth the undefiled body. We should therefore constantly cherish a mind of repaying that kindness and make offerings to the scriptures: install them in the hall, adorn them with precious treasures, offer incense, flowers, lamps, and candles, set out music, banners and streamers, and canopies, and serve the scriptures through offering and recitation, just as one serves one’s closest kin.

Chapter on Mutual Penalties in the Seated Zhai (Zuozhai Xiangfa Pin)

A Daoist priest who cultivates the methods of the Dao (the Way) must understand and possess the corresponding ritual propriety and dignified bearing. When ascending the altar to practice the Dao, one should visualize Taishang (the honorific by which Daoism designates the supreme deity) as present before the eyes.

If Daoist priests and nüguan (female Daoist priests) are not yet familiar with the documents of the Keyi (liturgy), and their conduct does not accord with Daoist method, then once the ritual master has taken the high seat he should explain the relevant matters in due order, so that they grasp the principles involved. Errors and absurdities ought to be met with compassion; those who have not yet come to understand should be forgiven, admonished, and encouraged. One should neither grow angry nor mock them. If one can guide others skillfully toward understanding, restore order without harsh measures, and refrain from punishment, this is the manner of abundant De (Virtue).

Should anyone violate the methods of the Dao, fancying his own insight in the human world to be superior and himself incapable of error, and thereby grow negligent and contemptuous, the fault appears chiefly in four ways: he does not abide by the classics and the ordinances; he does not revere the ritual master; he slights and bullies the assembled officers of the same altar, the Daoist priests who take part in the Zhaijiao (purification ritual); and he slanders and ridicules them outside. Whoever breaches ritual decorum should be disciplined according to the particular case. If after punishment he still does not reform, he should be reported to the Three Treasures—the Dao, the Jing (scripture), and the Master—and made to withdraw from the Zhaijiao; his negligence and discourtesy must not be indulged. Should the jianzhai (the one charged with supervising the order of the Zhaijiao) share in that same negligence and disrespect, he too is to be punished.

If the ritual master himself is at fault, he should check the error, acknowledge the impropriety, and in person, before the assembled officers, seek repentance, resolving to set himself right anew. He must not take the occasion to continue in wrongdoing, nor suppose that the deities of the unseen realm will fail to know; such conduct does nothing to repair the fault, but only sinks him into deeper guilt. How can one fail to be cautious?

Altar Rites (the chapter that sets forth the ceremonial protocol of the altar).

Those who study the Dao (the Way) should understand that when the assembled officials—Daoist priests and others taking part in the rite—ascend the altar to receive the precepts, the inner and outer assemblies are to be ranged separately toward the four directions. Obeisance, kneeling and prostration, repentance, and petition must all observe the prescribed ritual forms.

When Daoist priests and nüguan (female Daoists) chant homage to the ten directions, the chant is to be divided into five phrases. As each preceding phrase is sung, the voice gradually rises; when the next phrase is reached, the voice is lowered and drawn out, while the breath is regulated so as to lead into the phrase that follows. At the words “We, your subjects, with utmost sincerity,” one draws in the hu tablet held in the hand, faces the direction being reverenced, and places the tablet before the heart. While chanting “we entrust our lives,” the tablet remains before the heart, and at “Wuji” (the Limitless) one pauses. Then, when the name of the direction being reverenced is chanted—for example, “the upper direction”—one raises the voice in proclamation and lets the hu tablet hang down. As the sound of the chant gradually falls, the body bows downward, and at last the tablet is brought back before the heart. Once “Wuji” has been fully sung, the tablet is lowered at once.

When the chant reaches “Taishang” (the Most High), the hu tablet is lowered; when it reaches “Lingbao Tianzun” (the Celestial Worthy of Numinous Treasure), the knees kneel to the ground; when it reaches the word “fan,” the head touches the ground, and the voice sinks with it and stops. The chanting should be quick, yet the movements of the hands and knees must not be slow. If the knees have already fallen while the voice has not yet arrived, or if voice and movement fail to agree, the ritual procedure is disorderly—a matter of negligence and a breach of propriety. In performing the rite one should click the teeth and concentrate in visualization, without haste. The clicking of the teeth must not be heard by those nearby, and every movement must conform to the norms of Keyi (liturgy).

The assembled officials should be reverent and solemn. Done in this way, above, the gods and spirits may be moved to descend; below, faith may arise in human hearts. One must not be remiss, or else one violates the Keyi as set down in explicit written rule.

End of the upper fascicle of the Dongxuan Lingbao Daoxue Keyi (Liturgical Regulations for the Study of the Dao of the Numinous Treasure of the Cavern of Mystery).

Lower fascicle of the Dongxuan Lingbao Daoxue Keyi

The Zhenren (Perfected) of Taiji (Supreme Ultimate) and Taixu (the Great Void)

The Chapter on Lighting the Lamps

The regulations of Keyi (liturgy) hold that all who cultivate the learning of the Dao (the Way) ought to understand the methods of making offerings. Lamp offerings are distinguished as morning and evening, and the lighting of lamps is further divided into the first kindling and the continuation of the flame. When Daoist priests and female officers light the lamps as daylight is about to fade, this is called “continuing the brightness”; when they light them after night has fallen, this is called “the brightness of the lamps.”

There are two modes of lamp offering: the general mode and the particular mode. The general mode means first lighting lamps before the thrones of the Treasure of the Dao and the Treasure of the Jing (scripture) that stand visible before one’s eyes, and then lighting lamps before the chamber of the Treasure of the Master, likewise visible before one’s eyes. On occasions that people have long held in esteem and that are revered in the methods of the Dao, lamps may be lit both inside and outside the house, in prayer for two kinds of blessing. The first is that, by the light of heaven, the eyes of the flesh become clear and the obstructions clouding one’s sight are removed. The second is that, by the light of heaven, a person can always see clearly wherever he or she goes.

The particular mode means that an individual lights lamps according to different names and directions. At the station of one’s natal destiny, three lamps are lit to illuminate the three hun souls; at the station of the year of one’s life course, seven lamps are lit to illuminate the seven po souls; at the station of the Taisui, one lamp is lit to illuminate the whole body; at the station of the great tomb, three lamps are lit, and at the station of the lesser tomb, five lamps are lit. Before the hall, seven lamps are lit to illuminate the seven ancestors; in the central courtyard, nine lamps are lit to illuminate the Nine Darknesses; flanking the gate, two lamps are lit to illuminate the dwelling; at the Earth Door, twenty-four lamps are lit to illuminate the twenty-four kinds of living Qi (vital energy); facing each of the eight directions, one lamp is lit to illuminate the Bagua (Eight Trigrams); on the four sides together with the center, nine lamps in all are lit to illuminate the Nine Palaces; facing the ten directions, ten lamps are lit to illuminate the ten directions; twenty-eight lamps are lit to illuminate the twenty-eight lunar lodges; thirty-two lamps are lit to illuminate the thirty-two heavens; and five further lamps are set respectively in the five directions to illuminate the Five Marchmounts. The total is one hundred and fifty-three lamps.

The rite of lighting lamps is solemn, and its merit is great. Upward it illuminates the heavens; downward it illuminates the earths, so that the eight directions and the nine nights all alike receive light. Those charged with tending the flames should apply themselves with earnest care, keeping the lamplight bright and clear throughout, neither allowing a lamp to go out nor letting it waver between brightness and dimness.

Before drinking water one should first recite an incantation. According to the Keyi (liturgy), those who cultivate the Dao ought to know that after midday they take no further food, though they may drink clear water. If thirst calls for water during any of the twelve double-hours of the day, or while incantations are being recited or prayers offered, water may also be drunk to ward off evil.

A Daoist priest or a female official first fills a cup with water, blows three breaths toward the cup, and then strikes the cup three times with an implement. The blowing and the striking are each done three times, after which the water is drunk. If several people are to drink, a larger vessel may be used instead.

The incantation may be: “Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth; the Qi (vital energy) of the Five Stars; the Jing (essence) of the Six Jia; the Three True Ones and the Heavenly Granary; turbid clouds ever full; the Yellow Writ and the Red Infant; guarding the center without collapse.” One may also recite: “Drinking water, one knows no hunger; life is lengthened and the body made full; evil is warded off.” Or again: “Qian, Yuan, Li, Zhen; divine water enters the belly, and the five viscera grow clear and bright.” When the recitation is finished, one may drink. Any one of these incantations may be chosen.

According to the regulations of Keyi (liturgy), all who study the methods of the Dao ought to understand the rules for submitting memorials and petitions. When a memorial is submitted, one may appeal to the resident deities—the spirits who govern the locality—and one may also appeal to the responsive deities—the spirits who answer prayers offered from the human world.

When the memorial is written, both paper and ink must be clean, and the handwriting must be neat and regular. One must not write carelessly or leave anything out, nor use damaged paper or scraps cut from a sheet. The wording should be plain and direct, without elaborate or ornate embellishment. One regulates the breath and concentrates Shen (spirit), so that mind and Qi (vital energy) are gathered into one. The paper is folded to the standard of eight fen.

On the memorial one writes, “Presented to the Three Heavenly Bureaus, that it may be heard” (submitted to the Three Heavenly Bureaus of the upper realm, that is, the celestial offices in charge of documents and the reporting of memorials), and then writes, “Departs and bows twice.” Three lines are written to each cun, and then one’s own surname is written. After the surname, three lines are left blank, and then the year and month and one’s own surname are written. In the center of the sheet one writes “Taiqing,” the characters two and a half cun long, or as much as three cun, and they must be upright and clear. Three blank lines are left at the end. If the blank space is not enough, the writing is continued on another sheet.

When a Libationer—the Daoist office that presides over Zhaijiao (purification ritual) and transmits the methods of the Dao—submits a memorial, the days wuchen and wuxu should be avoided, together with the taboo times indicated by jiji. After the memorial has been submitted, the draft should be put away and kept on one’s person. When these have accumulated to a full one hundred, one then writes a “memorial declaring merit” (a memorial reporting one’s accomplishments) and burns it. In handling them one must not be careless or defiling; otherwise one commits the offense of leaking the text of the memorial.

The rules for burning the memorial declaring merit are as follows; see the Taizhen Ke.

Explanation submitted in the memorial: Respectfully, and according to what the documents record, I, your servant So-and-so, in a certain year followed a certain master and received the conferral of “General of the Inner and Outer Parishes” (a Daoist ritual office, or a title of parish and method). I have ever since cultivated in accordance with the law, proclaimed the Qi (vital energy) of the Dao (the Way), summoned the True Officials, and rescued the common people.

The petitions, memorials, and announcement documents submitted upward over the years—all those not fit to be burned—have been registered, sealed in chests, arranged into scrolls, and bound and stored away. They have never been scattered about at will, nor given to others for casual use; nor have they been allowed to suffer damage from insects and rodents, seepage from damp, rot and decay, or loss. I have always acted in accordance with the ritual mandate and have not dared to transgress it. Now, following the Keyi (liturgy), I petition at the proper time that they be disposed of: from a certain year to the present there are in all a certain number of scrolls, which will be burned in a pure and quiet place, so that the smoke may ascend into the clouds, with the prayer that good fortune be welcomed and baleful disaster removed.

I respectfully invite two each of the Direct-Envoy Zhengyi (Orthodox Unity) Merit Officers, the Parish Administrators, the Tiger Guards, and the Five Hundred Generals of the Protocol Attendants beneath the Bell; twelve Colonels; five each of the Merit-Officer Recorders, the assisting minor clerks, and the Lads of Golden Light; and two each of the Memorial Division in the Clouds, the Inspecting Couriers, and the Attendant Envoys, to assemble, supervise, and verify this matter, to clear away the old materials long accumulated, and to receive the bright and fresh atmosphere. I beg that you pardon your servant’s dullness, shallowness, and failure to be thorough, and permit what is memorialized to be conveyed upward; and I beg that the persons concerned be spared the punishment of the “Cold Pool.” I respectfully ask the various officials to bear witness and to help bring this to completion. I shall record merit according to the Metropolitan Registers, and shall not betray the trust and the efficacious response conferred upon me. May the Most High bestow grace… Your servant So-and-so knocks his head and submits this memorial.

I ask the various officials to attend and supervise, and to decide whether the paper petitions are to be removed, carrying the matter out according to the rite ordinarily practiced.

“The Category of Invitation at the Jiao” indicates that what follows belongs to the section, within the jiao rite, for inviting and praying to the deities. The jiao rite is a kind of Daoist ceremony in which an altar is set up, rites are performed, and petitions are submitted upward in prayer and announcement.

The Keyi (liturgy) states that all who study the methods of the Dao (the Way) should understand how to seek benefit by establishing a jiao and offering petitions. A person has thoughts of the mind and also has a body. Because the body is formed of things other than oneself, and because one has not yet transcended the constraints of the Heavenly Dao, one must find ways to cultivate and seek aid; therefore a jiao ought to be established and petitions made.

Methods of practice are divided into inner and outer, and they also mix in the content of the Three Teachings—Daoism, Confucianism, and Buddhism. What is discussed here belongs to the methods of the mixed teachings: inwardly one must make a vow with a sincere heart, and outwardly one must carry out the practice diligently with the body. The jiao is a rite of petition, comprising ten kinds in all. Four of them are the Five Emperors Jiao, the Seven Stars Jiao, the Six Jia Jiao, and the Three Masters Jiao. These four jiao rites all petition the deities of Heaven. When the offerings are prepared, cleanliness is to be observed with particular care; both the fruit and the offering utensils should be ample and fresh. One must not purchase food that has been cooked by fire, nor use food that is untidy, unclean, prepared without a sincere heart, or unfit for the relief of suffering. If these requirements are violated, the celestial deities will not descend.

The remaining six are the Five Marchmounts Jiao, the Three Sovereigns Jiao, the Three Ones Jiao, the River Chart Jiao, the Dwelling Jiao, and the Three-Five Jiao, all of which petition the deities of Earth. The offerings must likewise be clean, plentiful, and fresh. One must not use food that is fire-cooked, untidy, unclean, lacking in sincerity, or not devoted to the relief of suffering. If the requirements are violated, the earthly deities will not descend.

When a jiao for the celestial deities or a jiao for the earthly deities is held, both the person who establishes the jiao and the ritual master must first observe fasting and bathe, purifying body and mind, and only then may the rite begin. After the winter solstice or the summer solstice, when a jiazi day is first encountered—a jiazi day in the reckoning of days by heavenly stems and earthly branches—the Upper Prime Jiazi Jiao is performed.

Daoist liturgy (Keyi) holds that those who cultivate the Dao (the Way) should cultivate themselves and seek deliverance, so as at last to return to the correct Dao, and should enter upon practice according to its proper stages. First of all, one must renounce every kind of improper craving. After Daoist priests and female officers leave the affectionate ties of secular life and enter the Daoist order, they should keep the order’s prohibitions firmly in mind, vow to renounce all these faults together, and devote themselves single-mindedly to practice in the sanctuary of the Dao.

The cravings that ought to be renounced are, in broad outline, of eighteen kinds. None of these faults is caused by other people; each is something by which one brings ruin upon oneself. They are sexual misconduct; secretly harming others; drinking alcohol; indolence and slighting; rebelling against one’s parents; rebelling against one’s teachers; injuring living beings; killing living beings; making use of the flesh of living beings; eating the flesh of living beings; cultivating the five pungent plants (in Daoist precepts, usually such pungent vegetables as scallion, garlic, Chinese leek, Chinese onion, and asafetida); making use of the five pungent plants; eating the five pungent plants; relieving oneself while facing north; removing one’s headcloth and cap before the two assemblies (the communities within and outside the Daoist order); slighting the sun, moon, and stars; carrying out punishments on the eight seasonal festivals (the important festivals of the year); and, on the first day of the month, giving way to anger and reviling others.

These faults are great taboos of both heaven and the human world. They are scrutinized and recorded by the Three Officials (in Daoism, the Official of Heaven, the Official of Earth, and the Official of Water), and they count as grave offenses. Committing them has two consequences. One is harm to oneself in this present life, drawing down evil retribution before one’s eyes. The other is harm to the inner mind, so that in the life to come one falls into the evil paths. They also set the three hun souls against one another and throw the seven po souls into disorder, causing the womb spirit (the deity that protects the embryonic origin) to turn away in aversion. When the Three Officials send down evil retribution, nightmares beset mind and Shen (spirit), and malign specters intrude upon the Vermilion Palace (here referring to the dwelling place of mind and spirit); Jing (essence) and Qi (vital energy) are scattered and lost, and Shen grows distracted and confused.

If you can cast off thoughts of desire, you have the endowment needed to become an immortal. You should preserve and nurture your true nature, observe purification and self-restraint, and not commit these faults. Whether walking, pausing, sitting, or rising, you should maintain correct and dignified comportment. Looking upward, repent on behalf of seven generations of ancestors and of your parents for the offenses created by the three karmas of body, speech, and mind (bodily action, speech, and mental intention). Looking downward, repent as well for your own boundless offenses. May it be that, once these karmic offenses have been extinguished, you are freed from slighting fifteen kinds of people: among the outer assembly, the noble, the wealthy, ordinary people, the sick, and those of low station; among the inner assembly, teachers, those who surpass you, those whose capacity falls short of yours, the elderly, the young, and those of your own age, together with those of the upper seat, the middle seat, and the lower seat, and those who are ill.

If one slights others in the heart, one will slight them while walking, slight them while pausing, and do the same while sitting and rising. Those who cultivate the Dao should strive to practice the supreme Dao, vowing to leave behind the karmic conditions formed by slighting and instead to form the karmic conditions of being held in respect. Only then can one obtain the power of the Dao, the methods of the Dao, the practice of the Dao, and the resources of the Dao (the support needed for cultivation) and, according to one’s own capacity, help the communities within and outside the order, so that they fall into neither poverty nor hardship, whether in the life of the Dao or in secular life. May all together further one another’s cultivation, return alike to Wuwei (non-action), equality, and purity, and at last realize the supreme Dao.

Daoism holds that those who cultivate the Dao (the Way) should, according to their own ability, contribute as they are able to the benefit of the Daoist community. Whether monastics who have left household life to cultivate the Dao or lay practitioners who cultivate while remaining at home, none should fall into poverty and hardship within the Daoist community, nor should they fall into poverty and hardship in secular life. They should help one another in cultivation, together pursue Wuwei (non-action), bring people to equality and purity, and thereby realize the supreme Dao.

Those who cultivate the Dao should know that, when the divine pillow is made, thirty-two kinds of medicinal substances are to be placed inside it. Twenty-four of them correspond to the twenty-four solar terms, and the other eight poisonous substances correspond to the eight winds (the winds of the eight directions). On the fifth day of the fifth lunar month, or the seventh day of the seventh lunar month, cypress wood may be taken from the mountain forests to make the pillow. The pillow is one chi and two cun long and four cun high; its interior is left hollow, with a capacity of one dou and two sheng. The lid is made from the red heart of the cypress wood, four fen thick. It should be made to fit tightly, yet remain easy to open and close. Three rows of holes are then drilled in the lid, forty-nine in each row, one hundred and forty-seven in all, each hole large enough to admit a single grain of millet.

The medicinal substances used are as follows: xiongqiong (Sichuan lovage), danggui (Chinese angelica), baizhi (Dahurian angelica), and xinyi (magnolia bud); duheng (wild asarum), kuandonghua (coltsfoot flower), gaoben, and xiongqiongmu; shujiao (Sichuan pepper), gui (cassia), ganjiang (dried ginger), and fangfeng; renshen (ginseng), jiegeng (platycodon root), baiwei, and roucongrong (cistanche); feilian, baishi (cypress seed), yiyiren (Job’s tears), and baimu (white wood); mulan (magnolia), henghua, qinjiao (Qin pepper), and lianwu; and jingshi (also called dujingshi). These twenty-four medicinal substances correspond to the twenty-four solar terms.

Eight poisonous medicinal substances are also added: wutou (aconite), fuzi (aconite lateral root), lilu (veratrum), zaojia (gleditsia pod), yushi (a toxic mineral), mangcao, banxia (pinellia), and xixin (asarum).

Of each of the thirty-two substances above, one liang is taken. The eight poisonous substances are placed first at the bottom inside the pillow, and the twenty-four substances are then placed on top of them and packed firm. The pillow is covered with a cloth bag and wrapped in a further bag woven of reeds; the reed bag is removed only when one sleeps. The scripture (jing) states that if one uses it regularly as a pillow for one hundred days, the complexion becomes lustrous; after a full year, illnesses and wind disorders are all cured, and the body gives off a fragrance; after a full four years, white hair turns black, teeth that have fallen out grow again, and the ears and eyes become keen.

The scripture (Jing) says that those who cultivate the study of the Dao (the Way) ought to understand the method of “mirror-gazing.” If one wishes by this means to behold one’s own appearance, one may leave a small window, remain in the dark while facing the light, close the eyes for a time, and concentrate on one’s own face. At first everything before the eyes is blurred and nothing can be seen; after a period of practice, vision gradually clears, and one is able to see one’s own features, bright and distinct. Dawn, when the sky grows light, and the time before sunset are most suitable for practice. When the sunlight is at its strongest, one should close the doors and windows a little; looking into the mirror in relatively strong light, one sees nothing at all. Do not gaze into a mirror beneath a flame; the firelight should be kept farther away. If one opens the eyes and looks directly at the form in the mirror, this should be done in a bright place; if one closes the eyes and quietly contemplates one’s own face, one should remain in the dark, facing the light, and then visualize the image.

The essentials of mirror-gazing are to lie at rest in quiet thought, with a concentrated and reverent mind and with body and mind settled. After a short while, it is said, a reddish-yellow light rises from the forehead and illuminates the room. In the hazy state between waking and sleep, one sees one’s own face appear within the light and gazes upon it face to face; after a moment, the image disappears. Upon waking one gazes into the mirror again, and when preparing for sleep one likewise contemplates quietly by this method. The scripture says that if one practices in this way every night, one will be able to see one’s own image constantly.

Sometimes the practitioner sees two faces confronting each other, or sees another person beside one’s own image; one may also, while sitting, lying down, or on the verge of sleep, encounter spirit lads (Shen) and jade maidens of fifteen or sixteen, dressed in splendid garments. At such a time one should bow to them twice. Some also hear voices beside them and know in advance the good and ill fortune of the world; others seem able to see the west side of a wall from its east side, or dream at night of gazing into a mirror, or draw the light back into the body in order to view the five viscera inwardly. All of these are extraordinary phenomena that the scripture lists as possibly appearing in the practice of mirror-gazing.

Mirror-gazing must also be arranged according to the method of “establishing the gauge from the jia beginning”: one uses a bright mirror nine cun across, and its surface must be free of stains or flaws; the mirror is set straight so that, on both left and right, it stands one chi and five cun from the eyes and level with them, and beneath it is placed a basin filled with water freshly drawn from a well. For mirror-gazing at night, the flame of a hemp-oil lamp is suitable.

When the practitioner sees one’s own image divide, one should kowtow and kneel long before it, and say: “I and you were originally one body; now my form has divided from yours. May we accompany each other for ten thousand years, ever following one another, the body never declining, and remain together for a long time.” The scripture further says that, facing the bright mirror, one first sees one’s own appearance, and afterward may see all manner of things and hear people speaking; in the practice of the bright-mirror method, three lads and nine women attend—the lads six chi tall, the women five chi tall. The officials and officers in the retinue of the Lord of the Bright Mirror number one hundred and twenty in all, and they dwell in Guanyang Palace; the lads within the two eyes can, by the light of Jing (essence), see phenomena and foreknow good and ill fortune.

In former times there was a Daoist priest who polished mirrors for ordinary people, charging only six or seven coins each time. He had no other arts; merely by daubing and wiping with medicinal substances, he could make a mirror bright and enable it to display the transformations of divided form.

If a person is intelligent and wise, that person can foresee events ten thousand years in the future and can also bring people face to face with the gods of the various heavens. If one cultivates this Dao (the Way) and obtains the secret instructions of the method, all the divine immortals will come forth, and the Daoist priest will thereby attain the Dao. A Daoist priest dwelling in a stone chamber should constantly hang a bright mirror nine inches in size behind the back, in order to drive off and ward away every kind of evil. The hundred ghosts and old things that have become spirits, even if they can change their forms, cannot alter the images they cast in the mirror. As soon as their shapes are seen appearing in the mirror, they vanish at once and can no longer haunt or harm people.

The Nine-Jointed Staff

The Keyi (liturgy) stipulates that all who cultivate the learning of the Dao ought to understand the nine-jointed staff, a ritual staff divided into nine joints. It is used to support the elderly and to aid those in peril, and each joint has its own name, which one must not fail to know.

The first joint is named the Taihuang Star, the second the Yinghuo Star, the third the Jiao Star, the fourth the Heng Star, the fifth the Zhang Star, the sixth the Yingshi Star, the seventh the Zhen Star, the eighth the Dongjing Star, and the ninth the Ju Star. The corresponding star name is to be carved on each joint of the staff.

A Daoist priest who has not yet reached the age of forty and has not yet received from a master the transmission of the Jing (scriptures) and methods is called “without rank” and may not carry the nine-jointed staff. If illness requires the support of a staff, one may carry a staff to help in treating the illness; yet whenever one is at the master’s side, one may not carry a staff at all.

The Method of Making the Divine Sword

The Dongxuan Lingbao Daoxue Keyi (the Keyi, or liturgy, for the study of the Dao in the Dongxuan Lingbao tradition) stipulates that anyone who cultivates the study of the Dao should know how to make the sword used in the “Great Sword Method.” One first observes a purification fast for one hundred days, then commissions a craftsman to choose either the gengshen day of the seventh month or the xinyou day of the eighth month and to forge a finely made, keen sword from the best iron.

The sword ring is two cun and six fen in diameter, the hilt one chi, one cun, and seven fen long, and the blade two chi, four cun, and seven fen long, so that the whole sword measures three chi and nine cun in all. The body of the sword is one cun and four fen wide and three and a half fen thick. Over nine cun at the tip, edges are formed on both left and right, and a sword ring is fitted at the head of the sword. On the left and right faces the characters “nine blades” (jiuren) are engraved, and on the spine the characters “nine si” (jiusi). All the characters are cut downward from the spine, following the blade, and are cut somewhat more deeply along the sword ring. If the writing is engraved and inlaid in gold and silver, it will be clearer still.

At the center of the sword ring there is a further raised part, shaped like a small half-ring. Inside the ring a wood-grain pattern is engraved: the character “sun” (ri) on the left, the character “moon” (yue) together with its rays on the right, and, around the outer circle, the outline of the solar disk as well.

To distinguish the sword’s left and right and its inner and outer sides, one first faces south on the second day of the first month, with the spine upward and the edge downward. Left and right are then told by east and west: the east is left and the west is right; the east is outer and the west is inner. Double edges are set over the nine cun at the tip, and characters are engraved upright there. Between the double edges the upper, inner, and outer faces are distinguished, and on each face three characters “ding” are engraved, beginning from the head of the sword at the two edges, with about three cun between each character and the heads of the characters turned toward the tip. Every place where characters are cut must lie one and a half cun down from the hilt.

This sword should regularly be kept on the bed, placed between the toilet articles and the bedding, so that it does not leave one’s person, and is used to protect oneself. It can both drive off evil demons and the myriad spirits and illuminate and examine the “five forms” (wuxing, five kinds of bodily forms or images of things). Upheld according to the classics (Jing), it can bring one to the realm of the flying immortals. Here the sword takes the place of the human body in carrying out the method.

This sword is sometimes called the “Shadow-Dividing Sword” and sometimes the “Spirit-Brandishing Sword.” “Gan” is its style-name and “Liangfei” its name. When lying down to sleep, one regularly offers an invocation, calling the sword by the name “Liangfei” and the style-name “Gan,” and silently recites: “Divine metal, radiant and numinous, set the hundred Jing (essences) to work; grant me long life, let the myriad evils do no harm, though heaven and earth overturn one another.” The prayer should be recited in secret at the center of the sword ring.

The characters on the spine are engraved from above downward, toward the tip; the writing should be evenly arranged and cut as far as the meeting of the double edges. On the left face the stars of the Dipper and the character “ji” are engraved; in the spaces left blank the forms of the characters run downward along the hilt, cut to where the double edges meet. On the right face the Dipper stars and the character “ji” are likewise engraved; in the blank spaces the character forms face the spine, run downward along the hilt, and are cut to the meeting of the double edges. The star characters must be clear and evenly spread across the middle of the sword’s body, and must not be cut on the edge. Every star shape is to be engraved as a circle, like a small ring; one must not also cut into the solid iron at the center of the sword ring. On the outside it is wrapped in a qingnang (a blue cloth bag). The engraved star shapes should resemble the ring patterns used for a screen: the outside is ring-shaped, while the inside is filled solid. The raised ornament in the sword ring must be firm, in the shape of a small half-ring. The decoration of the hilt may follow personal preference. The blade is two chi, four cun, and seven fen long, the hilt two cun and seven fen long, and over nine cun at the tip edges are made on both sides; the spine is three fen thick, and the blade one cun and four fen wide.

Ritual Protocols for the Toilet and for Urination and Defecation

The scripture says that those who cultivate the Dao (the Way) should know how to cultivate themselves and should treat their ritual vestments with reverence. Until ordinary excretion has been brought to an end, everyone must use a toilet. Daoist priests and female officers should first build a latrine, sealed tightly all around with mud, and keep both its interior and its surroundings clean, lest others mock them because the facilities are cramped and crude.

When going to the toilet, one first removes the upper garment outside, then goes to the door and recites the incantation: “De (Virtue/Power) Spirit of the Left, De Spirit of the Right, Earth Director of Destiny, Lady of the Azure, please strike my name from the register of the dead and let me enter the gate of life.” Only then does one enter. This honors the deities to whom the ritual vestments are dedicated, cultivates one’s own conduct, and keeps the vestments from being stained by filth. Clean water and a cloth should be kept ready beside the toilet door, so that one washes thoroughly before putting the ritual vestments back on.

If one is out in the wilds, the incantation is: “Lady of the Forests and Wilds, Lady of the Forests and Wilds, please strike so-and-so’s name from the register of the dead and let him enter the gate of life.”

When urinating, one recites: “Long Beard, Long Beard, let me enter the golden hall and the jade portal; grant me long life and great age, that I may live a hundred years, a thousand years, ever in your company.”

Dispelling Nightmares

The scripture says that the perfected of antiquity did not dream when they slept, and on waking they had no cares. Those whose cultivation of the mind is not yet pure find that the six consciousnesses (eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind) readily follow external conditions. By day the heart and Shen (spirit) are thrown into turmoil, and nightmares are thereby drawn in.

If Daoist priests, female officers, or other men and women meet with a nightmare, they should kneel erect, face north, and report to the Most High Lord of the Great Dao (a revered deity of Daoism), recounting what occurred in the dream and praying that the inauspicious be turned to the auspicious and calamity to blessing, while silently reciting the incantation:

The Jade Maiden of Supreme Truth (the goddess who upholds and protects the true Dao [the Way]) attends the Zhenren (Perfected Person) and guards the hun and po souls; the Golden Lads of the Three Palaces (youths of the celestial palaces) come to guard the gate of life. They turn evil thoughts into good thoughts and report good deeds upward to the sun, moon, and stars. May I attain long life, riding the rosy glow of dawn and driving the clouds and Qi (vital energy). When the incantation has been recited, swallow the saliva seven times, tap the teeth seven times, then lay the head back on the pillow and continue to sleep. In this way, malign and evil influences will disperse, and calamity can turn into blessing.

If in a dream one meets with misfortune, or dreams of something out of the ordinary, one must be careful and not tell others. Not speaking of it is auspicious; talking about it may invite danger. Neither discussing it nor speaking of it, one can long remain free of trouble.

Section on Parents

The liturgical text (Keyi) says: All who cultivate the Dao should know that Heaven, Earth, and Yin-Yang endow human beings with life, while parents enable them to be born. Once one has set out on the path of cultivation, one must understand how to revere and love one’s parents. Those who leave the household to cultivate the Dao, such as Daoist priests and female officiants, entrust body and mind to the Dao and live somewhat apart from secular life; yet in supporting their parents they should be even more attentive than ordinary people.

If they live far away, they should send greetings regularly through the four seasons; if they live nearby, they should visit around the first day of each month. In cold and heat, warmth and chill alike, they should inquire after and care for them at the proper times. If they find that brothers and sisters at home live in hardship and cannot support the parents, the renunciant should learn what the parents need and suitably economize on daily personal expenses in order to provide for them, and must not put the money meant for their support to other uses that violate proper rules.

If brothers and sisters, aunts, uncles, or other relatives in the family are able to care for the parents, the case above does not apply. If a renunciant, out of compassion, wishes to assist relatives beyond the rules of leaving the household, even when this is permitted, the money must not be used for matters contrary to Daoist regulation. Nor, on this account, may one share bed and mat or eat at the same table with parents, brothers and sisters, and relatives of the inner and outer family; and when the ritual robes are removed, one must not remain together with laypeople.

If the parents fall ill, out of filial reverence and loving affection one should spare no toil, do one’s utmost to seek physicians and medicine, and tend them morning and evening, and must not be stingy toward the parents who gave one birth. One’s parents in the present life have become kin through causes and conditions, and so should be repaid with due propriety. The kindness of parents in raising one to adulthood must be kept firmly in mind.

Section on Old Age and Illness

The precepts of the Daoist tradition state that all who cultivate and study the methods of the Dao (the Way) should understand that the circumstances of this life and the life they have received arise from the influence of various causes and conditions and of habitual tendencies, and that the fruits and retributions they now realize and undergo likewise come from these causes and conditions. Such cause and effect is not divided into fixed stages of morning, midday, and evening, nor do good and ill fortune have any predetermined measure.

If Daoist priests and female officers suffer from illnesses both internal and external and bear pain of greater or lesser severity, so that they cannot calmly examine these causes, conditions, and retributions, cannot benefit themselves through the Dao they cultivate, and cannot go out to teach and help others; if their ordinary food, drink, and clothing are unprovided for, they are constantly tormented by the suffering of illness, and their kin are also unable to care for them, then they should rely on two kinds of people: the six persons of external affinity close at hand, and the six persons of internal affinity within the Daoist community.

The six persons of external affinity are locally respected persons of virtue and standing, locally wealthy and honored persons, local persons who revere the Dao and have faith in it, one’s own parents, one’s own brothers, and one’s own sisters. The six persons of internal affinity within the Daoist community are the teachers who transmitted the Dao, fellow disciples who received instruction together, friends who cultivate together, friends who walk the same path, Daoist friends who dwell in the same place but differ in seniority, and friends whose aspirations accord.

When these twelve kinds of kin and friends, internal and external, encounter elderly or ailing members of the Daoist community, they should give rise to five vows: that members of the Daoist community not suffer the pain of being alone and unsupported, not suffer the pain of fright and panic, not suffer the pain of hunger and cold, not suffer the pain of envying others and lacking the means of support, and not suffer the pain of losing protection and falling into hardship.

After giving rise to these vows, they should also do their utmost to provide six kinds of offerings: lodging, bedding and mats, clothing and food, incense and lamps, everyday utensils such as bottles and jars, and persons to attend and care for them, each according to their own capacity. What is meant by “according to one’s portion” is doing one’s best in light of one’s own wealth and circumstances.

One should know that those who give such aid, before they have attained the Dao, will, as they relinquish one body and receive another through the turning of past, present, and future, obtain five fruits of exemption from suffering: exemption from being alone and unsupported, from fright and panic, from the press of hunger and cold, from envy and want, and from the suffering of losing protection and falling into hardship.

When the sick receive these offerings, they too, according to their strength, whether walking, standing, sitting, or lying down, should give rise to twelve kinds of grateful and humble hearts, remembering with gratitude the Celestial Worthies, the Perfected, the immortals, high Heaven, the deep Earth, and the sun and moon, as well as persons of virtue and standing, the wealthy and honored, those who revere the Dao and have faith in it, their own parents, brothers, and sisters. What is called “humility” is a reminder not to take the care of others for granted.

The sick should further reflect that, as they make use of this lodging, bedding, and the rest, the suffering of illness gradually subsides and the cultivating power of body, speech, and mind is restored. Morning and evening they should contemplate, offer praise, and pay reverence, using the merit thus gained to repay those who previously helped them and extending it to all who share a bond of conditions, wishing that all may be far from the suffering of illness and bring the methods of the Dao to fulfillment.

All who take part in cultivation, whether of internal or external affinity, should continue to carry this out without omission or alteration. Whether one person, two, or many, all should hold a heart of compassion, so that everyone may receive offerings and care. If someone is cultivating among the Daoist assembly yet, because of old age or illness, cannot personally receive offerings or take part in such affairs as attending rites, the six persons of internal affinity should, each according to their capacity, care for them in their stead.

Chapter on Extinction and Deliverance

The codes of the precepts state that all who cultivate the Dao (the Way) should understand that the path of cultivation has a distinction between the far and the near: the far can transcend the Three Realms—the Realm of Desire, the Realm of Form, and the Formless Realm—while the near can prolong life and benefit one’s years. Daoist priests and nüguan (female Daoists) alike come to cultivate the Dao through the accumulation of merit and De (Virtue/Power). They receive, uphold, and wear the Three Caverns, the general designation for Daoist scriptures and methods, and their standing may be compared with that of the Five Sacred Peaks. The crowns that Daoist priests wear, together with the robes and the headcloth and brown garments (Daoist attire) that they put on, are made according to the principles of Heaven and Earth and of Yin-Yang, and are used to practice the arts of long life and to study the orthodox Dao. Some, after the shedding of the physical form, quietly become immortals; others, when their lifespan comes to an end, become ghost officials.

Thus tradition tells that after the Yellow Emperor Xuanyuan ascended to Heaven, he left behind a precious sword and dark-colored traces; and when the people of Gaoqiu opened the coffin, the remains had already flown up into the heavens. This shows that the dharma-body of the cultivator—the bodily manifestation attained through cultivating the Dao—is of great importance, and that matters of life and death must not be neglected. If a cultivator has not yet reached the full completion of the immortal rank, yet is about to pass away because the allotted span of life has come, then at the end one should bathe and comb the person, dress them properly in crown and robes, and prepare to send them, according to ritual, to ascend to Heaven; there is no need to call back the soul.

One should also prepare a clean bamboo kui, a mat-like container woven of bamboo, spread a clean mat upon it, move the remains into it, and cover them with a light, soft coverlet. The staff is placed on the left and the spirit sword on the right, and clean grass is spread on both sides of the bamboo kui. Disciples of the two classes, those inside the gate and those outside the gate, sit on the left, while secular relatives and friends, men and women, sit on the right; if the deceased is a nüguan, a curtain is used to separate them. Grief is expressed first, and only afterward does one weep at the proper times. Before the coffin another place is set apart, where a casket holding the external fulu (talismans and registers)—Daoist documents of talismans and registers—is placed.

There is, in addition, another regulation: the three registers, that is, the three kinds of Daoist documents of talismans and registers, are sealed and conveyed into a stone chamber or a deep cave. Goods to accompany the burial should also be prepared in full, including aromatic medicines, clothing and ornaments, brush and inkstone, kerchiefs and handkerchiefs, and utensils for washing, together with the various ritual implements; yet one must not be extravagant or lavish, and gold, silver, and valuables are not to be used. For the place opened for burial there are two choices: one in the mountains and forests, and the other in a high, remote, pure, and quiet place.

Chapter on the Mourning Attire of Teachers and Disciples

Daoist regulations stipulate that all who cultivate the Dao (the Way) should understand this: once one has entered the gate of the Dao, the relationship between master and disciple is of the greatest importance. The ultimate aim of cultivating the Dao is to transcend life and death; yet, speaking in terms of principle, when the master relinquishes this body and receives a new one, he or she must still undergo the suffering of the transformations of birth and death.

Daoist priests, nüguan (female Daoists), and disciples within the master’s household, when mourning the master, are to change into white caps and robes, weep according to the rites, and abstain from salty and sour foods for seven times seven days—forty-nine days. Afterward they bathe; when a full one hundred days have passed, they resume the Daoist cap and wear pale yellow clothing, observing mourning inwardly for three years. Disciples outside the gate (those who do not formally reside in the master’s household) mourn the master with somewhat lighter rites: they change into white caps and robes, weep at the appointed times, and abstain from salty and sour foods for three times seven days—twenty-one days. Afterward they bathe and resume the Daoist cap, observing mourning inwardly for three years. Among external-learning disciples (those engaged in other studies), those whose relationship is relatively close follow the rites for disciples outside the gate; those whose relationship is more distant need only abstain from salty and sour foods for three days. These regulations are meant to show the weight of honoring the master, which must not be treated lightly.

If in secular life the master has no heir to succeed to the family estate, only the disciples bear the responsibility of attending the end of life and conducting the memorial rites. The disciples should assist one another and prepare banners, flowers, cloths, washing articles, incense, and the ritual objects used for offerings. In accordance with Daoist ritual they install the master’s spirit tablet and spirit seat, and in a suitable place they establish a zhai (purification observance) for the memorial offerings. Ordinarily the zhai and memorial rites are maintained for one hundred days. If the master enters the stone chamber (the place where Daoists inter or seclude the remains) only after the forty-nine days, one should wait until seven days after entry into the chamber before bathing and resuming the Daoist cap and ordinary dress.

If the master weeps for a disciple, he or she abstains from salty and sour foods for seven days. After the disciple has entered the chamber, the master continues to observe mourning in the heart but need not change clothing, because the number of disciples may be greater or smaller and it is impossible to establish a separate mourning protocol for each. When those of shared aspiration, those of the same lineage and the same method, and friends come to take their leave, they need only alter their caps and robes slightly. When the ordinary rite of entering the chamber has concluded, one item of the mourning arrangement is removed. If the funeral rites are held in one’s own abbey (guan, the monastery where Daoist priests reside and cultivate), musical performance and other activities involving sound should cease, and offerings should be maintained for one hundred days.

The Ritual Protocol for Mourning Parents

The regulations state: When friends come to take their leave, they need only alter their caps and robes slightly. When the ordinary rite of entering the chamber has concluded, one item of the mourning arrangement is removed. If the funeral rites are held in one’s own abbey, musical performance and other activities involving sound should cease, and offerings should be maintained for one hundred days.

The Ritual Protocol for Mourning Parents

Those who cultivate the Dao (the Way) should understand that leaving the household and withdrawing from secular life does not mean one may forget the profound kindness of parents who nurtured and raised a person and enabled that person to grow. Therefore, when Daoist priests and nüguan (female Daoists) encounter the death of relatives, they should also express mourning according to the closeness or distance of kinship, and must not be wholly without sorrow.

During the year in which Daoist priests and female Daoists mourn grandparents, they may not keep vigil in the room where the body is laid out; they may weep in grief for five days, and they may not receive condolences. When uncles or brothers die, the funeral rites for grandparents are likewise followed: one weeps for five days, and if burial has not yet taken place within those five days, mourning may still continue. Toward juniors such as a daughter-in-law, one must not weep in mourning. When the funeral rites are over, one bathes and resumes ordinary appearance, but must not wear secular mourning dress. To violate these rules counts as losing the Dao, and the offense is heavier than the liturgical articles listed above.

If those who have died are one’s own parents, one may weep in mourning and fully express one’s sorrow. After mourning has lasted one hundred days, one resumes the headcloth and cap and Daoist robes, and changes to pale yellow clothing; inwardly one observes mourning for three years and weeps no more. When mourning for parents has ended, one bathes and resumes ordinary appearance, but must not wear secular mourning dress. To violate these rules likewise counts as losing the Dao, and the offense is heavier than the liturgical articles listed above.

Whether near or far, when a senior of the same lineage dies, a spirit tablet and an offering mat should be set up, and the period of mourning is observed according to the ritual grades of xiaogong for five months and sima for three months. When someone dies with whom one once traveled in the four directions and worked together, one may also take part in the funeral. After the body has been placed in the coffin, one may go to pay a condolence visit, expressing distress and grief, but must not weep in mourning. Daoist regulations provide that secular mourning visits are not performed; yet, since one lives amid the exchanges of worldly human feeling, one cannot refuse them altogether. This is the Keyi (liturgy) that the Lingbao established for relations in the world.

The Chapter on Merit in the Pursuit of Blessings (the chapter on merit in performing memorial rites for the deceased and praying for the recompense of blessings)

The Ke (liturgical code) states that all who cultivate the study of the Dao should understand how to express remembrance after the ancestral master has passed away. Whether they are disciples within the tradition, disciples outside it, or persons performing rites to transfer merit and blessings for the dead, they follow one and the same set of rules, though their means are sometimes insufficient. From the day they receive the ancestral master’s instruction, disciples should keep vigil in zhai (purification abstinence), commemorating the ancestral master for five or six days. If the sponsor of the zhai has already done all he can and his resources are exhausted, he should still perform the commemorative zhai at least three times.

When one hundred days have passed since the ancestral master’s death, the Wulian Shengshi Zhai (Retreat of the Five Refinements for Generating the Corpse, a zhai rite for transferring merit to the deceased) should be held, with abstinence observed for three days and three nights. The rite is set up near the building where the remains are placed; if that building is nearby, it may also be held in a Daoist abbey. When a full year is reached, on the anniversary of the ancestral master’s death, the Huanglu Zhai (Yellow Register Retreat, a Daoist zhai rite for praying for blessings and delivering the dead) should be held; if the household is poor, the more abbreviated Lingbin Zhai (Numinous Guest Retreat) may be performed. On the corresponding death-day of each month as well, one should cultivate the zhai according to one’s own means.

This is done in order to repay the ancestral master’s kindness in transmitting wisdom, the honored master’s kindness in providing clothing and food, the ancestral master’s kindness in sheltering and supporting one, and the honored master’s kindness in guiding one to leave secular life and cultivate the Dao. Disciples who cultivate the Dao while living at home should, at the ancestral master’s death, grieve in remembrance and, through meritorious deeds and good conduct, transfer blessings to him. They must not remain calmly unmoved; otherwise they are regarded as unfilial and may incur four kinds of evil retribution: disciples who have already passed away abandon them, disciples of the present generation forsake them, and disciples yet to come also abandon them. Everyone should be careful and attentive, so that disciples of three generations may all commemorate the ancestral master and guide and deliver one another. This must be taken as a warning.

Property and goods at miedu (cessation and deliverance)

All who cultivate the learning of the Dao (the Way) ought to understand how to cultivate the self and nurture the mind. When one’s dwelling is pure, still, empty, and luminous, one is called an immortal household.

If a Daoist priest or a nüguan (female Daoist priest), for the needs of cultivating merit, for the needs of daily provisions, or through articles obtained in the course of practice, temporarily places such things in his or her own room or elsewhere and then dies before they can be put to use, the scriptures (Jing) left behind, the objects for securing the abbey (implements used to guard and protect the Daoist monastery), the memorial documents and discourses, and the various classics should be distributed to the disciples within the lineage, the attendants who serve in the quarters, and the other persons concerned. Even if there is only a single article, it is to be handled in this way. After the gifts have all been given, every remaining item belongs to the changzhu of this abbey (property held in common by the Daoist monastery).

Such conduct has merit in three respects: it enables everyone within this abbey to receive blessings generation after generation; it enables people inside and outside Daoist abbeys in other places to receive blessings generation after generation; and it enables the master and kin of three generations to receive blessings generation after generation. The officers of the order who are charged with affairs, together with the disciples dwelling in common, should personally inventory and register the goods, neither omitting anything nor growing negligent. Otherwise, articles originally meant to accumulate blessings will instead become the source of karmic offense for those inside and outside the abbey and for the master’s three generations.

If the deceased master made arrangements while still alive, one follows the documents left by the deceased master. If the deceased did not belong to this abbey, then whether the place of residence was near or far, whatever was brought to the place of death is likewise handled by this abbey as circumstances require, and the abbey bears the related burial costs for incense, lamp oil, and the like; other matters are dealt with according to the provisions above. If the deceased came from more than a thousand li away, the matter is handled by the changzhu abbey of a nearby religious community.