《上阳子金丹大要仙派》

The Immortal Lineage

Primordial Laozi of Taiji (the Supreme Ultimate)

At the first beginning of Taiji, the Heavenly Emperor of Wondrous Non-Being brought forth the “Three,” that is, the three Qi (vital energy) of Mystery, Origin, and Beginning (Xuan, Yuan, and Shi)—the three primordial breaths that constitute the cosmos. Of these, the Qi of Beginning transformed and gave birth to the Primordial Laozi. From then on, the Primordial Laozi has often descended to be born into the world, riding upon the Qi of Mystery.

Celestial Master (Tianshi) of the Myriad Methods

His line of transmission also includes Guda Xiansheng, Yuhuazi, Dachengzi, Guangchengzi, Suiyingzi, Chijingzi, Lutuzi, Wuchengzi, Yinshouzi, Zhenxingzi, Xizezi, Guyi Xiansheng, Jian Keng, and Shang Rong.

Although the Primordial Laozi has incarnated age after age to save people, no clear account of a birth was ever made manifest. In the reign of Yangjia, the eighteenth king of the Shang dynasty, he lodged as an embryo in the womb of the Jade Maiden of Mystery and Marvel. Only after eighty-one years, in the time of Wuding, was he born. He is said to have been born in a gengchen year, on the fifteenth day of the second month, at the mao hour. Pointing to a plum tree, he took “Li” as his surname.

The Latter Sage, Most High Lord Lao of Mysterious Origin. The Great Emperor of the Purple Prefecture of Donghua, who assists the Origin and establishes the Ultimate. Imperial Lord Zhongli Quan, Zhengyang, who opens enlightenment and transmits the Dao (the Way). Imperial Lord Lü Yan, Chunyang, who awakens, transforms, and faithfully protects. Imperial Lord Liu Cao, Haichan, who magnifies the Dao and purely protects. Imperial Lord Wang Zhe, Chongyang, who opens transformation in Quanzhen (Complete Perfection). Perfected Lord Ma Yu, Danyang, who embraces the One in Wuwei (non-action). Perfected Lord Tan Chuduan, Changzhen, of clouds and waters, who harbors De (Virtue/Power). Perfected Lord Liu Chuxuan, Changsheng, who assists transformation and illumines De. Perfected Lord Qiu Chuji, Changchun, who expounds the Dao and presides over the teaching. Perfected Lord Hao Datong, Guangning, who penetrates the Mysterious and Great Antiquity. Perfected Lord Wang Chuyi, Yuyang, who embodies the Mysterious and saves widely. Perfected Lord Sun Bu’er, Qingjing, profound in chastity and compliant in De. The Perfected Song Youdao, Lord of the Yellow Chamber, Piyun, radiant in De. The Perfected Li Jue of the Great Void, who dwells in the True, Twin Jade.

What is listed above are the immortals and patriarchs of the immortal lineage, together with their honorific titles. The titles under the names of Zhongli Quan, Lü Yan, Liu Cao, and others express the reverence Daoism accords their merit in transmitting the Dao and the station they attained in cultivation.

Patriarch Ziqiongzi Zhang Mo, courtesy name Junfan; Yuanduzi Zhao Youqin; Shangyangzi Chen Zhixu.

Liturgy for the Birthday Celebration of the Two Immortals Zhong and Lü

Beginning of the Ritual Service: Purification by Sprinkling and the Offering of Incense

Respectfully it is heard: the season falls in the fourth month, and the weather of early summer is clear, refreshing, and gently warm; the hexagram image has been filled with six yang lines, and this is precisely the season of the pure Qian hexagram (symbolizing yang Qi (vital energy) in pure abundance, centered and upright). On this day of the holy masters’ birth, we express the sincerity of later generations through the rite of court congratulation. The assembly of pure cultivators chants the invitation in unison and offers incense and fresh flowers.

Raising incense and flowers, we respectfully invite three times.

We respectfully bow and invite:

The Primordial Ancestor of the Dao (the Way), the Most High Lord Lao—the prior sage and immortal master who attained the Dao in the Three Teachings;

Celestial Worthy of Literary Beginning, Master Yin;

Perfected Yin of Great Harmony;

Perfected Du of the Taiji (Supreme Ultimate);

Perfected Peng of Exalted Clarity;

Perfected Song of Great Clarity;

Perfected Feng of the Western Marchmount;

Perfected Yao of the Mysterious Continent;

Perfected Zhou of the Eight Purities;

Perfected Yin of Grand Tenuity;

Perfected Wang of the Yellow Court;

Immortal Minister Li of the Western Marchmount;

The Elder, Lord on the River;

Perfected An Qisheng;

Perfected Ma Mingsheng;

Perfected Yin Changsheng;

Perfected Xu the Attendant;

Perfected Wei Boyang;

Perfected Liu Jinbi;

Great Ritual Master of the Three Heavens;

Great Ritual Master of the Mysterious Center;

Perfected Wang of the Left Mystery;

Perfected Zhao of the Right Mystery;

Immortal Elder Ge of the Taiji;

Chief Immortal Grand Scribe of the Nine Provinces;

the eleven Perfected Lords Wu and Huang.

We respectfully invite all the immortal perfected to descend, with compassionate hearts, upon the jiao altar (the altar ground where Daoist sacrificial rites are performed).

We respectfully bow and invite:

Patriarch, Great Emperor of the Purple Prefecture of Eastern Florescence, Who Assists the Primordial and Establishes the Ultimate;

Sovereign Lord Zhongli Zhengyang, Who Opens Enlightenment, Transmits the Dao, and Bequeaths the Teaching;

Sovereign Lord Chunyang, Who Expounds the Orthodox, Admonishes and Transforms, and Grants Trustworthy Protection;

Sovereign Lord Haichan, Who Illumines Awakening, Magnifies the Dao, and Purely Protects;

Sovereign Lord Chongyang of Quanzhen (Complete Perfection), Who Opens Transformation and Assists the Ultimate.

We respectfully invite all the immortal perfected to descend, with compassionate hearts, upon the jiao altar.

We respectfully bow and invite:

Patriarch, Perfected Lord Danyang, Who Embraces the One, Abides in Wuwei (non-action), and Universally Transforms.

True Lord Changzhen of clouds and waters, who concentrates Shen (spirit), abides in mysterious stillness, and accumulates De (Virtue/Power); True Lord Changsheng, who assists transformation, reveres the ancestral mystery, and illuminates De; and the divinity Changchun, who expounds the Dao (the Way) and brings De to completion.

We respectfully and reverently invite the Patriarch, True Lord Danyang, who embraces the One, practices Wuwei (non-action), and universally transforms; True Lord Changzhen of clouds and waters, who concentrates Shen, abides in mysterious stillness, and accumulates De; True Lord Changsheng, who assists transformation, reveres the ancestral mystery, and illuminates De; True Lord Changchun, who expounds the Dao, perfects De, transforms by divine power, and responds with luminous clarity; True Lord Guangning, who penetrates mystery, the wondrous ultimate, and great antiquity; True Lord Yuyang, who embodies mystery, extends vast compassion, and universally delivers; and Primordial Lady Qingjing, profound and steadfast, of mysterious emptiness, who accords with transformation.

We respectfully invite all the immortal perfected, in their compassion, to descend upon the altar of the ritual service, the altar ground on which Daoism performs the Zhaijiao (purification ritual).

We respectfully and reverently invite Perfected Ziyang of Tiantai, Awakening to the True; Perfected Cuixuan Yaolin; Perfected Zixian Daoguang; Perfected Cuixu Niwan; and Perfected Ziqing of Hainan.

We respectfully invite all the immortal perfected, in their compassion, to descend upon the altar of the Zhaijiao.

We respectfully and reverently invite Ancestral Master Lord Huangfang, Perfected Song Piyun; Perfected Li Taixu; Perfected Zhang Ziqiong; Transmitting Master Perfected Zhao Yuandu; and Transmitting Master Perfected Liu Guyun, together with all sages from antiquity to the present who have cultivated and sought the Dao, attained the Dao, and become immortals.

We respectfully invite all the immortal perfected, in their compassion, to descend upon the altar of the Zhaijiao.

We now respectfully set forth before all the immortal perfected the intent of our prayer. Graced by your presence, we earnestly ask that you remain for a time within the altar and accept the homage of our devotion. Today is the auspicious birthday of Perfected Chunyang, and with sincere hearts we come to offer our congratulations.

Candlelight is a single point of numinous clarity. Such light has ever been present, in ancient times and now; it can reach the worlds of the ten directions, and it thoroughly illumines both the dark unseen realm and the human world. Those who do not understand the principle within it suppose that candlelight is merely fire passed along from firewood. Those who understand know that it manifests the numinous clarity and wisdom of original nature. Candlelight gives rise, in a dark chamber, to a heart of watchful awakening, so that one knows what is to be held in reverence and awe, and then turns the light back upon oneself and looks inward. It also leads one to believe that the road to heaven may be ascended, and that one may transcend the ordinary realm and enter the sacred realm.

We bow once more and reverently present the candles offered in celebration of long life.

The ritual begins.

Incense arose at the very beginning of high antiquity, standing forth upright like a single stick of incense. How could it be that only after the Three Sovereigns, and only after passing through many generations, its fragrance came to be handed down? The dull-witted, though they have noses, cannot discern the meaning within it; those of profound cultivation, upon smelling the fragrance, can distinguish the clear from the turbid. Just as when the sagely master pinches up a bit of earth, fragrance spreads wherever he goes—this fragrance is by nature hard to put into words, and can only reluctantly be named “Dao and De” (the Way and Virtue/Power). Everyone can benefit from it.

With a double obeisance, offer up the incense in celebration of long life.

Among teas there are the sparrow tongues picked in early spring and the spears and banners picked at the Grain Rain; both are names for the shapes of the tea buds. Infused with water boiling in bubbles as fine as a crab’s eyes, the tea foam floats on the bowl like white blossoms; boiled with spring water as clear and cold as Dragon Spring, an immortal breeze seems to lead one to the fairy realm of Penglai.

Lu Tong once bowed and offered tea, presenting it as incense for the celebration of long life.

There is early-spring sparrow-tongue tea, and there is Grain Rain spear-and-banner tea. Infused with hot water, white tea foam floats upon the bowl; boiled with clear, cold spring water, an immortal breeze seems to lead one to Penglai. The Tang poet Lu Tong, after drinking six bowls of tea, felt that he had come through to the immortal spirits; Chan Master Zhaozhou used a single bowl of tea to lead people to awaken to Buddha-nature. Tea can rouse those sunk in drowsiness, so that the benighted cultivator of immortality suddenly understands.

With a double obeisance, offer up the tea.

Wine is like sweet dew sent down from heaven and a sweet spring welling up from the earth, rich and mellow in flavor, like clarified butter. After it is drunk, the mind and Shen (spirit) often remain lucid and do not sink into drunkenness. If one can grasp the principle in the “dregs” of which the sage spoke, one may return from what has form to the formless. A single mouthful of wine seems able to drink up all the water of the West River, so that the countenance does not age; three cups suffice to penetrate the Great Dao, so that the body given to cultivation long endures.

With a double obeisance, offer up the wine in celebration of long life.

The Ritual Service

Recite the Mind-Seal Scripture (Xinyin Jing), the scripture of merit in thirty chapters.

A congratulatory memorial has been prepared, to be reverently submitted with kneeling obeisance.

Memorial of Congratulation to Patriarch Zhongli

I, So-and-so, a disciple of the Great Dao, on this fifteenth day of the present month, respectfully encounter the birthday of Patriarch Zhongli, Imperial Lord Zhengyang (Upright Yang). In advance, on this the fourteenth day, the disciple respectfully presents this memorial in reverent congratulation.

Exalted is the Dao (the Way), and precious is De (Virtue/Power); you are a patriarch revered through all ages. On this birthday of Patriarch Zhongli Zhengyang, the Imperial Lord—one of the Daoist patriarchs—which falls together with the full moon, the bright moon hangs high in heaven and auspicious Qi (vital energy) fills the human world. I respectfully kneel and bow, offering congratulations to the Patriarch.

The Patriarch comes from the primal source and existed before Heaven and Earth. Taking Qian and Kun as cauldron and furnace, he refined the water of Kan and returned it to the fire of Li; taking the crow and the rabbit—symbols of the sun and moon—as medicinal ingredients, he subdued the dragon and the tiger, the mutually conjoining Yin-Yang Qi of Neidan (internal alchemy) cultivation. The Patriarch’s Dao transcends Taiji (the Supreme Ultimate), bestows grace upon all living beings, endures through countless kalpas, and enables every person to be delivered.

After Patriarchs Chunyang, Haichan, Chongyang, and others transmitted the lineage in succession, the sages of every generation passed it from mind to mind; since Patriarchs Danyang, Changchun, Ziyang, and others continued to spread it, they have become patriarchs for the many. The Patriarch’s merits cannot be fully told in words; his benevolence and De equal the creative work of Heaven and Earth.

My capacity is ordinary and I have not yet awakened, yet my heart sincerely turns toward the Dao. Fortunately I have received the Master’s instruction: the Mysterious Female—what Daoists call the root of Heaven and Earth, and also the crucial gateway in cultivation—is the foundation of Heaven and Earth; the elixir texts explain in detail that Jing (essence) and Qi are the root of Yin-Yang transformation. The Divine Water of the Flowery Pool, a Neidan term for the fluids, or Jing and Qi, of cultivation, is called the Metal of Qian; the Flowing Pearl of the Earthen Cauldron, a Neidan term for the refined essence condensed in the furnace and cauldron, is called the Mercury of Wood. The joining of the two bowstrings means the union of the two powers of Yin and Yang; ten months of gestation is a metaphor for the Neidan gradually being conceived and brought to maturity within the body. What matters most in cultivation is grasping the wondrous working of a single instant; what is hardest is holding the true root, keeping clarity and stillness, and responding as things require.

What is more, the supreme treasure of the Prime Scripture is exceedingly perilous to speak of, and the male tiger is ruthless and hard to control, so I am deeply afraid of this. On this occasion of offering congratulations, I also set forth the dangers and difficulties of cultivation, and earnestly beg the Patriarch, in compassion, to take pity on this humble person and grant me the expedient means to settle myself and practice the Dao, so that when I enter stillness to cultivate I am not disturbed by demonic obstacles.

The years of the immortals are long, and they need not await the congratulations of ordinary people; I only hope that in time to come my merit and practice will be fulfilled, relying entirely on the Master’s teaching and fashioning. I also wish that worthy persons of aspiration in the future may all understand the great Dao, and that those who are confused, foolish, and speak falsely to deceive may repent and give rise to faith. May curds and cream gather into rivers, may ghee be poured upon the crown of the head, may the soil all turn to jasper, and may the earth be everywhere spread with gold.

I presume to report this to the Master, anxious and uneasy. I have respectfully prepared this memorial to offer congratulations and make my report. Your disciple, in sincere awe and sincere joy, knocks his head and bows again, and hereby sets forth these words.

A disciple of the Gate of the Dao (the Way), So-and-so, on the fourteenth day of this month reverently encounters the birthday of the ancestral master, the Imperial Lord of Pure Yang (that is, Lü Dongbin), and respectfully prepares a congratulatory memorial, offering court homage with reverence.

The above is respectfully declared with a double bow at the beginning of the festival.

A disciple of the Gate of the Dao, So-and-so, respectfully submits this congratulatory memorial.

A disciple of the Gate of the Dao, So-and-so, on the fourteenth day of this month reverently encounters the birthday of the ancestral master, the Imperial Lord of Pure Yang, and respectfully prepares a congratulatory memorial, offering court homage with reverence.

It is now the Pure Yang Festival, the festival commemorating Lü Dongbin, and tonight the moon will come to fullness ahead of its time. Heaven and Earth gather primordial Qi (vital energy), and the work of cultivation has likewise been accumulated over many years. The cosmos trembles at this, and immortals and mortals alike come to offer wishes for long life. I respectfully knock my head to the ground and bow twice, looking up in reverence to the Ancestral Master, the Emperor Lord of Pure Yang Who Expounds the Orthodox, Admonishes and Transforms, and Trustworthily Protects—that is, Lü Dongbin. His Dao (the Way) and De (Virtue/Power) are lofty and wondrous, handed down through the ages, and auspicious Qi gathers the host of spirits.

He observes his own heart within and his own bodily form without, and thereby comes to understand the secret of preserving the body. He both examines the apertures of what has form and realizes the subtlety of what has no form, and in the end all of this returns to the “gate of the myriad wonders.” He draws the purest portion from the source of the waters, refines it into the Golden Elixir (Jindan), and early on brought his cultivation to success.

He conceals the green serpent in his sleeve and, passing Lake Dongting, chants aloud. Before the Yellow Crane Tower he lives in seclusion between the market streets and the mountain cliffs, playing the flute for his own delight. In a spirit of play he wields Yin-Yang, and once transformed himself into an immortal maiden; in order to accomplish the great work he came several times to Mount Hua. Riding a green ox, he entered the grotto-heavens, and mounted on a white deer he crossed the vast sea. He realized the station of Emperor Lord, and his achievements run through past and present. He broadly transmitted the true meaning of the Dao and of De, and his lineage of the Dao spread from the south to the north.

You wish to save the people of the world, yet the world does not recognize you; I wish to seek an audience with you, yet I have never had the opportunity. I do not understand where the intent of the Mysterious Female—the root, in Daoist cultivation, that generates and nurtures the myriad things—comes to rest. Fortunately I met a true teacher who transmitted the methods of the Dao and bound us in the covenant of master and disciple. Only then did I realize that the Dao cannot be made manifest by words alone, and that the essential instructions of cultivation lie in transmission from heart to heart.

In cultivation one should first obtain eight liang of Qian gold—an alchemical term for the yang medicine, or yang Qi—and clarify the relation of host and guest; then circulate half a jin of wood mercury—an alchemical term for the yin medicine, or yin Qi—so that Yin and Yang are matched. Refine them together into a single mass, guard and nourish it for ten months, and quietly listen for the dragon’s chant and the tiger’s roar—the sounds of yin and yang Qi moving within the body—and do not let the water run dry or the fire grow cold.

Having cultivated to this point, I feel both fear and helpless confusion, so anxious that I cannot even attend to eating. If I might receive your compassion and be granted a drink of the daogui—a small amount of numinous medicine or elixir—so as to revive this weak and broken body and enable me to know well the firing times, the knack of mastering the fire in alchemy, then though I have nothing with which to repay you, I can only rely upon your merciful heart that saves the living and aids the world.

Now I am fortunate to meet a flourishing age, and glad to encounter an auspicious day. I make bold to set forth my sincere heart and bow from afar to the immortal. I trust that you, dwelling in the heavenly realm and presiding over the office of inspection and correction, will also look down with pity on this later student. Even without relying on the prayers of the human world, I still wish to pour out my feelings to you. I hope you will secretly support this ordinary person, so that I may soon gather the medicines. Let me obtain the supreme treasure of the first essence—the earliest and most important medicine in cultivation—with no error either within or without, and refine and nurture the one Qi of the Prior Heaven, so that cultivation may reach completion from beginning to end. Thereafter there will be no further demonic obstructions, and the heart-mind will be able to shine forth clearly.

Once the resolve is fixed, one ought to cultivate at once—who would be unwilling? So long as an expedient means of settling oneself and cultivating is found, the matter is easily brought to success. May worthy and good persons of superior capacity all come to understand the ultimate Dao. The same as the foregoing text.

This attestation and prayer text have now been reverently read aloud in full.

Disciple of the Great Dao (Dao, the Way) So-and-so, on the fourteenth day of this month, reverently celebrates the birthday of the Patriarch, the Imperial Lord of Pure Yang (Chunyang Dijun, Lü Dongbin), and on the fifteenth day reverently celebrates the birthday of the Patriarch, the Imperial Lord of Correct Yang (Zhengyang Dijun, Zhongli Quan). Incense and candles were respectfully prepared, and on the fourteenth a memorial was written and submitted together in congratulatory audience; it has now been read aloud in full.

Graciously granted the verification and the covenant oath by the lofty immortals and the assembled sages, we respectfully offer spirit money and, taking refuge with all our hearts, give thanks. We pray that those who study the Dao be guarded from disturbance by demonic obstacles, and that the cultivation of immortality be blessed with affinity and hope. We beg compassionate pity, and hidden protection in times of peril. May they, after entering the chamber to cultivate, bring merit and practice to completion and master the firing times without error; may they soon cast off the mortal frame and exchange their bones, undergo spiritual transformation and ascend, and take their place in the ranks of the immortals.

We further pray that worthy superior adepts may all understand the Great Dao, and that those who are confused and foolish, who speak falsely and practice deceit, may also repent and give rise to faith. May cream and curds gather into rivers, and ghee—regarded in antiquity as a precious essential substance—pour into body and mind; may the great earth turn to jasper, and gold be spread over all the ground.

We venture to report to our honored teachers that the memorial text has been read aloud in full.

Respectfully preparing this memorial, we kowtow and present it to the Primordial Ancestor of the Dao, the Most High Lord Lao (Taishang Laojun); to the former sage immortal teachers who attained the Dao in the Three Teachings; and to the Celestial Worthy of the Beginning of Scripture, Master Yin (Wenshi Tianzun).

The order of the spirit positions is to be written according to the preceding document, with nothing added or removed.

Text for Sending Off the Deities

Previously, with sincere feeling, I presumed to set forth what was in my heart, looking up to you for forgiveness and guidance. I earnestly begged the immortal to stoop and descend into the human world, so that for a time I stood in awe and alarm, at a loss for what to do. Now you return to the immortal realm of Peng Island (the legendary immortal mountains in the sea). Reluctant to part, I respectfully see you off. When the moment of reverent farewell comes, and I think how shallow my De (Virtue/Power) is and how humble my dwelling, I feel all the more ashamed.

I have heard that one who cultivates the Dao (the Way), walking alone and sitting alone, may still have his name reach the ears of emperors, and that lines of verse which no one understands and no one knows will nevertheless spread among ministers and nobles. How much can a mortal’s vision comprehend? If only a single Golden Elixir is refined, life can be fixed in place and one may live long without growing old. This meeting, I suppose, is also a matter of destined affinity, and there are words in my heart I wish to confide to you. All under heaven seek this path of cultivating the Dao, yet its mysteries are not easy to understand. Even if one hastens to begin cultivation, it is still too late; and who in the world can truly accomplish it?

You have already transcended the three thousand realms of the dusty world. In former days you bestowed the methods of the Dao upon Zhang Seng, and now you have also promised to take me wandering with you in the Land of the Five Emperors (the realm where immortals dwell). I hope you will take pity on me, this mortal. Please do not say that ordinary people are thin in fate and without blessing. I earnestly beg you to bestow upon this poor scholar a single “elixir of bone renewal” (in the cultivation of Daoist Neidan (internal alchemy), the elixir that symbolizes casting off the mortal frame and exchanging the bones, transcending the ordinary and entering sagehood). The Zhenren (Perfected Person) has already roamed in Yuqing (one of the realms of the Three Pure Ones (Sanqing)), a long sword laid across the banks of the twin waters. After you, sir, have departed, you will surely not easily grow old, dwelling in Daluo Heaven (a Daoist immortal realm).

You come and go without shadow or trace, and you keep the registers of the immortals’ names in heaven. Your voice cannot be heard and your form cannot be seen, yet you serve the Jade Emperor and return to Taiqing (the pure and tranquil immortal realm of which Daoism speaks). My words are presumptuous, and in my heart I feel deep unease. With a single devoted mind I respectfully bid you farewell.