《上清道宝经》Vol. 4

Use thirty feet of blue cloth as an object of sworn covenant. The Purple Writ of the Numinous Book records that thirty-two feet of purple brocade serves as proof of a pledge made to the gods of the Ten Directions, and can deliver the souls of the dead from the Long Night. Yellow Su

To receive the jade talisman of the Three-Day Youth—a token believed in Daoism to be bestowed by the gods—prepare white silk, one foot for each year, and use it to swear an oath to the Nine Heavens. The Golden Root of the Purple Book

Mysterious Oath

Use thirty feet of blue cloth as an object of sworn covenant. The Purple Writ of the Numinous Book

Heavenly Kitchen

See Contemplating the Body with Wisdom.

Perfected One of the Nine Palaces

Countless beings can naturally partake of the food in the Heavenly Kitchen and, from then on, never again undergo birth and death.

Master Anqi

Master Anqi met a goddess and was filled with admiration. The goddess laid out abundant wine, fruit, and food, and host and guest feasted together for half a day. The Divine Elixir of the Great Clarity

Perfected One of Highest Clarity

Traveling east through the mulberry forest, he arrived at the capital of the Immortal Metropolis of the Nine Elders. He ate stone marrow and golden essence, and then ceased fasting for seven years. Record of the Deeds of the Three Lords of the Three Heavens of Highest Clarity

Commanding the Six Dings

A numinous youth is ordered to serve as a guard.

Queen Mother

The Queen Mother ordered the immortal youth guarding her left to prepare the cloud reins, and the jade maiden attending her right to ready the wind carriage. On the first day of the first month of the fifth year of the August Sovereign, the holy beings from all regions gathered at the Vermilion Palace and Purple Hall of the Jade Gate. The Celestial Worthy revealed a golden form. That day, the Queen Mother laid out ten thousand kinds of food and set out vessels and dining tables adorned with the Seven Treasures. Records and Traditions of the Supreme Purple Book

Lower Heaven of the North

The Kingdom of Guanghan produces non-glutinous rice. Its people have fair skin and a pearl called “Yanshu” within their bodies. Placed at the bottom of a pot, it gives off light like fire, just like a Mani jewel. When its light is directed onto rice, the rice cooks. People from all four directions come here to eat together. The Three Sovereigns

Three Hundred and Sixty Thousand Miles East of Mount Sumeru

There is a kingdom called Chunhe where people eat only once every three years. The rice produced by its rice roots grows to three feet long, and the people of the kingdom are six feet tall. One day there is equal to three years in the outside world; the people there eat three meals of cooked non-glutinous rice each day. The Cavernous Abyss

Azure Essential Lord

If cultivators wish to absorb the essences of the sun and moon, they should eat bamboo shoots regularly. Bamboo shoots are embryonic things nurtured by the sun’s essence, also known as “Great Sun Honey.” The Great Cavern: Filling and Dwelling in the Realm of Empty Space says that the “apricot” can be eaten to attain long life. The Great Cavern: Filling and Giving Life to the Five Viscera, Part One calls it “the fragrant flower of sweet wine,” which is honey.

The Azure Youth of Fangzhu establishes the dark purple seal.

If cultivators wish to absorb the essences of the sun and moon, they should eat bamboo shoots regularly. Bamboo shoots are embryonic things nurtured by the sun’s essence, also known as “Great Sun Honey.”

The Great Cavern: Filling and Giving Life to the Five Viscera, Part One says, “the fragrant flower of sweet wine”—that is, honey.

End of Volume Four of the Scripture of the Dao Treasures of Highest Clarity.

Scripture of the Dao Treasures of Highest Clarity, Volume Five

Chapter Ten: The Cycles of Time

The Celestial Worthies of the Ten Directions understand everything that has happened in the past as clearly as objects in the palm of their hand. The Dao is the root of all things. They know what will happen in the future as clearly as if they saw it before their eyes.

The meaning of the heavenly text “Five Unions”: beneath the feet of the Celestial Worthies, the great law for saving human beings and all living creatures is opened. Its teachings spread widely, and its grace reaches the Ten Directions.

A great city measures four hundred thousand li from east to west and from north to south. It is filled with mustard seeds, and the heap of seeds also measures four hundred thousand li on each side. Every three years, a celestial being uses a flying garment to brush away one mustard seed. The time it takes to remove all the seeds is called one kalpa. The Three Sovereigns uses terms drawn from places such as Hu, Yue, Man, and Yi to explain the duration of a kalpa.

One complete cycle of the formation and destruction of Heaven and Earth is called a kalpa. The True One, Spontaneously So says: There is a mountain of stone four hundred li in circumference. Every hundred years, a celestial being brushes away a little of it with a fine cloth. Only when the mountain has been worn away does this vast span of time count as one kalpa.

The Perfected One of Supreme Oneness and Orthodox Unity, Master of the Three Heavens, Zhang Daoling, says: A kalpa is like an empty city, four hundred li around and forty li high, filled with mustard seeds. A flying celestial being takes away one seed every hundred years. The kalpa ends only when all the seeds have been removed.

When the qi of Heaven reaches Great Yin, it has reached its limit; when the qi of Earth reaches Great Yang, it too has reached its end.

When Yang Qi is stirred into turmoil, it flows counter to its proper course; when Yin Qi grows excessive, it erodes. The disordering of Yin and Yang and their mutual erosion are called a “Minor Kalpa.” When Heaven has completed 9,900 circuits, Yang erosion occurs; when Earth has completed 9,300 revolutions, Yin rebellion occurs. The ruin and inversion of Heaven and Earth are called a “Major Kalpa.” Only after Heaven and Earth have endured for nine years will they meet the Perfected Ones.

The Later Sage, the Lord Mother

Some dream of dark clouds and of the sun and moon passing through their bodies and gestating within them. Others dream of a dragon named Wei spouting water into a ritual vessel.

Chronicle of the Dao Lords of the Nine Mysteries

Those who obtain the Lingbao Scripture:

Some dream of Daoist adepts, immortals, cloud chariots, jeweled canopies, dragons, and phoenixes. Some dream of ascending to an immortal realm, where they see the dwellings of sages and celestial officials, as well as pearls and jades among the Seven Treasures. Some dream of going up to Heaven and seeing the Heavenly King and the Lord Emperor.

When you have a bad dream, recite:

“Spirit Master of the Yellow Watchtower, General of the Purple Gate, take up your axes and battle-axes, and shake your bells. Banish danger and baleful influences; turn ill omens into auspicious ones, and let no barrier divide life from death.”

When you have a good dream:

After waking, rub your eyes with your hands twenty-one times and click your teeth twenty-one times. Then pray: “Supreme, most refined essence; cinnabar spirits of the Three Emperors; radiant and clear Crimson Palace—respond to auspiciousness and reveal the truth. Gentle souls of the Three Primordial Ones; Emperor of Heaven, grant me the scriptures. May all I encounter be harmonious, and may I ascend to the immortal realm of Highest Clarity. May I remain ever in the company of the Jade Perfected and meet together in the Purple Court.”

Provisions, Chapter Eleven

The Master of the Great Rite

One should establish halls and palaces, houses and gardens, bathing pools, curtains, and seats, adorned with carvings in the Seven Treasures. Burn precious incense of every kind and scatter flowers of every variety.

The Retribution of Deeds

The Observable in Stillness and Movement

Clothing, too, has its own prescribed forms.

Crowns of the High Virtue of the Holy Ones of the Heavens

These are woven from jade in patterns of white clouds; some are also made from clouds in seven colors.

Essence and Qi of the Nine Lights

Flying Dawn Treasure Crown

This is the crown worn by the Supreme Immortal Lord Radiant Origin.

Blue Dawn Jade Crown

This is the crown worn by the Supreme Lord of Heaven, Lesser Yang.

Wandering Adept’s Treasure Crown

This is the crown worn by the Supreme Immortal Lord Great White Pure Vastness.

A crown that reaches Heaven, and a skirt of dark-cloud brocade.

The Supreme High Immortal Lord of Original Splendor and Abundant Singleness was named Beizhi and styled Tingyuan. He wore ceremonial robes and a crown of precious jade essence.

The Supreme High Immortal Lord of the Treasured Soul and Po-soul was named Xuan’gu and styled Wuzhong. He wore a crown and a skirt of dark-cloud brocade, with a crown of precious jade that reached to Heaven.

The Supreme High Spirit-Penetrating Immortal Lad was named Lingqi and wore the Threefold Mystery Treasure Crown.

The Supreme High Sun Lord wore a crown. The Eastern King of Wen Shi, the Immortal Lord of Golden Radiance, and the others all wore the Great Crown of Supporting Splendor and Dimmed Rosy Clouds. (See Chronicle of the Three Heavenly Lords.)

The Dao Lord wore the Crown of Nine Virtues. The Supreme High Immortal Lord Bestowed by the Three Heavens wore the Hibiscus Dawn Crown. (See Record of the Daily Life of the Left Immortal Lord of the Supreme Ultimate.)

In the Jade Officials’ Palace of Highest Clarity, the Eastern Pole Jade Perfect Emperor Lord wore the Crown of Nine Qi that Penetrates Jing.

The Lofty and Holy Supreme High Lord of the Great Dao wore the Crown of Mustu’s Hundred Transformations. (See Scripture of Returning to Heaven’s Nine Heavens.)

The Perfected of Jade Capital wore the Crown of Penetrating Yang and Jade Dawn. The Perfected of Cinnabar Spirit and Lesser Yang wore the Crown of Penetrating Light.

The Primordial Lady of Purple Plain wore the Crown of the Perfect Dawn and Infant. She combed her hair into a three-cornered topknot, with the rest falling loose to her waist. Seated upright above the vast emptiness, her figure was always enveloped by a crown of purple clouds.

The Feathered Crown of Precious Jade and Supporting Dawn was worn by the Three Primordial Ladies of Great Simplicity.

The Elder of Great Perfection wore the Crown of the Three Treasures, Boundless as the Limit of Heaven.

The Perfected of the Primordial Purple Heaven wore a vermilion brocade robe and a crown of green clouds.

The Lord of Mount Tai in the East wore the Azure-Bi Crown of Seven Measures; the Lord of Mount Heng in the South wore the Crown of Nine Cinnabar Suns; the Lord of Mount Song in the Center wore the Yellow Jade Crown of Great Mystery; and the Lord of Mount Hua in the West wore the Crown of the Nine Currents of the Primordial Beginning.

The Lord of Mount Heng in the North wears a crown that symbolizes the deep Yin energy.

The Venerable Elder of Mount Qingcheng wears a crown that covers the sky.

The Heir of Mount Heng in the South wears a crown of the Morning Star.

The Jade Youth of the Three Heavens wears a cavern-heaven jade crown formed from the jeweled radiance of three floral patterns.

The Seventy-Four Transformations of Highest Clarity says: “Head coverings can connect one with the spirits. Some take mountains and forests as their model; others imitate the sun and moon. Their shapes may be square or round, and their sizes vary. All are determined according to the wearer’s rank.”

A crown made of seven tiers of piled pearls and jade is worn by the Primordial Father of the Nine Heavens. Golden Roots of the Purple Book

The Merit Officer of Orthodox Unity wears a vermilion crown. Book of the Silken Script

Immortals have high topknots, their fine, close-set hair like clouds. Book of the Silken Script

The Jade Youth of the Supreme God, the Imperial Pivot, combs his hair into a flying-cloud horn-shaped topknot, its shape like a flying cloud and its sides rising high.

The Plain-Clad Lady of Central Yellow, a deity of the Supreme God, combs her hair into a drooping-cloud topknot, shaped like a cloud hanging down.

The Heavenly King of Primordial Beginning wears a shoulder sash woven from nine-colored silk gauze, a crimson skirt, and a green-flowered sash. Golden Book of the Supreme Ultimate

A cloak embroidered in red brocade is worn by the Duke Who Bestows Immortality of the Three Heavens of the Supreme One. Record of the Daily Life of Lord Zuo of the Supreme Ultimate

The Great Lord of the Blue Youth wears a shoulder sash patterned with flying blue-green feathers and dragons. Purple Script of the Numinous Book

A phoenix-patterned brocade shoulder sash. Feathers of the Duke of the Supreme Ultimate Who Flies

A shoulder sash embroidered with floral patterns in nine-colored brocade. Inner Biography of the Perfected One of the Primordial Supreme

A purple shoulder sash embroidered with feathers. Inner Biography of Lord Mao

Shoulder sashes of blue-jade brocade, crimson-jade brocade, and plain-jade brocade; a dark king’s brocade cloak; a yellow-jade brocade shoulder sash; and a shoulder sash of blue-flowered jade brocade.

Dan medicine brocade capes, white jade four-dragon brocade capes, dark jade nine-patterned brocade capes, and yellow cloud mountain-patterned brocade capes are all ritual garments worn by Daoist immortals.

Three divine youths served him. They were about sixteen, with dignified features and the appearance of handsome young scholars. This account appears in Questions Asked of the Immortal Lord.

Devote oneself wholeheartedly to cultivating the mysterious tradition—the fundamental teachings esteemed in Daoism—and take the Ten Good Deeds as the standards for practice. Through cultivation, one rises from the ordinary human realm to the realm of the sage.

The Southern Pole King, the True Red Emperor Lord, wore a scarlet gauze ritual robe. This account appears in The Six Jia of the Numinous Flight.

Cultivate the Way of Seven Cycles and Seven Transformations, a method of practice involving seven stages of transformation and change.

The August Sovereign Purple Dawn Lord bestowed ritual robes and flying-immortal feather insignia—symbols of ascent to immortality—upon his disciple. This account appears in The Highest Clarity.

The August Sovereign Master wore a seven-colored crown of Purple Origin and Purple Frost.

The Most High Dark Maiden of the Purple Chamber wore a bright-moon pearl.

At the side of the High August Emperor of the Golden Tower stood the Immortal Mother on his left and the Immortal Lord on his right, supporting him. He held a divine bell and wore a golden clapper at his waist, a metal bell used in Daoist rites. He chanted the Wondrous Chapter of the Seven Transformations of the Grotto of Perfection. This account appears in The Golden Slips and Jade Characters of the Great Subtlety Emperor Lord.

Cultivating the Way of the Elder of the Nine Heavens brings the purple celestial carriage.

The practitioner wore the flying-immortal robe of the grotto, with a jade-green skirt and a pair of blue pendants, and was girded with a golden talisman and a jade bell.

The Emperor of the Nine Heavens commanded the Dark Maiden to sing: “Flying Brahma passes above the Phoenix Grove; a pure breeze stirs the jade bell.”

The True Maiden of the Nine Heavens wore a seven-colored crown of radiant clouds and held a purple book and a golden ritual implement.

The High Jade Emperor wore a robe adorned with jade patterns, bright light, and flying-cloud designs. This account appears in The Seventy-Four Transformations of the Highest Clarity.

The Dark Mother of the Nine Heavens wore a nine-colored garment called a zhu, made of embroidered frost gauze glowing with blue divine light, and adorned with radiance in twelve colors.

The Primordial Heavenly King wore a robe of flying forest frost pearls. The Jade Youths of the Three Heavens wore seven-transformation brocade robes in blue and yellow. This account appears in The Seventy-Four Transformations.

The Vermilion Radiance Robe: the Lord of the Eastern Peak and the Lord of the Southern Peak both wore this robe.

The Red Frost Robe: this account appears in The Inner Biography of Lord Mao.

The True Earl in Charge of Prohibitions, the Jade Lord of the Supreme Emperor.

Riding a carriage adorned with the Sun and Moon, wearing a tiger-patterned ritual robe, ascending a deep and lofty mountain, entering a hall surrounded by the radiant forms of feathered immortals, and washing robes and ceremonial garments in the pool of the Imperial River.

Kinds and quantities of immortal garments

The silks and fabrics worn by celestial officials are as plentiful as the stores in a high official’s treasury.

The Perfected One of Jade Radiance wears a robe of dark-cloud brocade. The Father of the Eastern King is the clear Yang qi and chief of the myriad spirits; he wears a vermilion robe in five colors. The garments worn by the Jade Maiden of Great Harmony and Mysterious Radiance are likewise abundant as the fabrics stored in an official treasury.

The skirt of blue silk gauze is worn by the Supreme Immortal, Lord Shaoyang of Heaven. The skirt of dark-cloud brocade is worn by the Supreme Immortal Yuanhua Yudan. The single skirt embroidered with crimson patterns is worn by the Supreme Immortal, Lord of the Southern Pole, Jewel Soul and Radiant Po. The Jade Perfected Lord, Azure Emperor, wears a flowing skirt of emerald gauze. The Heavenly King of Primordial Beginning wears six mountain fire-jade pendants at his waist.

There are also a flowing feather skirt patterned with green dragons and phoenixes, a flowing feather skirt of vermilion blossoms and phoenixes, and a flowing flower-patterned feather skirt of black plumes and dragons. The jade bell is called the Bell of Morning Radiance and Bright Moon; there are also pendants made of six mountain fire-jade. The Supreme One said: “The Perfected Officials of the Ten Directions who serve the scriptures, along with the duty officers of the Five Emperors, are all to have Golden Radiance youths hold jade tablets and recite before me.”

The office of Shengxuan Lingyang oversees the ritual kitchens. Its officials hold tablets, stand reverently on either side of the doorway, and prepare the ritual offerings with care.

The High and Lofty Jade Emperor wears the Vermilion Emperor’s Jade Insignia. The Great Perfected Elder wears a nine-colored feather insignia of radiant clouds, woven from heavenly silk. The Jade Perfected Lord, Azure Emperor, wears a flowing-gold phoenix insignia at his waist. There are also the Purple Insignia with Vermilion Patterns, the Tiger-Counting Jade Talisman, and the Emperor’s Seal.

A seal printed on the palms of both hands can at once transform into wings, allowing one to fly lightly through the air. Book of the Luminous Way (Langshu)

The Lord of the Eastern Peak’s Seal of Penetrating Yang Light; the Lord of the Southern Peak’s Seal of Night Light and Heavenly Reality; the Seal of Harmonious Yang of the Ancestral Lords of the Peaks; the Lord of the Western Peak’s Seal of Long-Lasting Fluids and Awakening to Reality; the Seal of the Three Courts of the Qingcheng Literati of the Lord of the Northern Peak.

The Mysterious Mother of the Nine Heavens, a wondrous goddess of the Nine Heavens, wears a purple silk sash with tassels.

The Heavenly Emperor of the Upper True Ones of Purple Tenuity, Lord Jade Clarity, sent the Eightfold Radiance Jade Carriage to welcome the Sage Lord, escorting him to the Pure Palace and bestowing upon him precious elixirs and weighty jade treasures. Record of the Successive Generations of the Lord of the Nine Mysteries, the Posterior Sage (Housheng Jiuxuan Daojun Lieji)

The inscription on the seal of Laozi, the Elder of the Heavenly Gate:

If one keeps the Great Spirit-Penetrating Official Seal in one’s heart, one can communicate with the One of Heaven and the Eight Extremities. Within the Great Clarity (Taiqing Zhong)

The Flowing-Gold Phoenix Seal. Record of the Original Register of the Worthy (Haoshi Yuanlu)

The residual Qi of a person’s hun and po souls can transform into dragons and tigers. They guard the place where the person lives, lying hidden beneath their clothes and shoes. Within the Nine Realities (Jiuzhen Zhong)

Five-Colored Shoes; Nine-Colored Shoes; Five-Colored Lion Shoes; Golden Reality, Jade Radiance, Divine Heavy Phoenix Crow.

Section Twelve: Dwellings

The Phoenix Seal. Record of the Original Register of the Worthy (Haoshi Yuanlu)

The residual Qi of a person’s hun and po souls can transform into dragons and tigers. They guard the place where the person lives, lying hidden beneath their clothes and shoes. Within the Nine Realities (Jiuzhen Zhong)

Five-Colored Shoes; Nine-Colored Shoes; Five-Colored Lion Shoes; Golden Reality, Jade Radiance, Divine Heavy Phoenix Crow.

Section Twelve: Dwellings

Mount Kunlun has nine tiers of golden walls, where the immortals govern and dwell.

Mount Tianshou has a many-tiered city adorned with the Seven Treasures. Within the city stands a Seven-Treasure Hall, above which rises a lofty Seven-Treasure Terrace with ninety thousand levels. The city’s circumference is 240,000 li, and it is 34,000 li high; the terrace rises a further 36,000 li above the city walls. The city contains towers, terraces, and viewing pavilions, where the gods of the heavens burn incense and sweep. The Great Sacred and Venerable Gods, and the perfected beings who cultivate the mysteries of the Way, circle the city in procession, bowing and serving. Wondrous jade maidens walk around the city, while the assembled gods of the Mysterious Origin encircle it; divine dragons and vermilion phoenixes also fly around it. Inner Chapters of the Mysterious Marvel (Xuanmiao Neipian)

The Heavenly Pond City of the Shānlu Kingdom.

On every side it is a thousand li wide. Above the city stand five golden platforms, twelve jade towers, palaces formed from flowing light, and high terraces of emerald green.

The Purple Tenuity Platform at the Center of Heaven governs the opening of the gates to the Ninefold Abyss—the depths of the underworld—and rescues the dead who are trapped in the long night.

The Primordial Mystery Platform in the Heaven of Emptiness and Nothingness, Transcending the Balance governs the opening and closing of Heaven and Earth and the order of their movements. It commands the Supreme Dao in the remotest reaches of the eight directions, and also includes the Platform of the Nine Nights.

The Jade Capital’s Nine-Tiered Platform in the Heaven of Emptiness, Bright Hall, and Radiant Splendor governs the rites by which perfected beings who fly through the heavens come to pay homage.

The Cavernous Order in the Heaven of Dragon Transformation and Brahmā’s Crossing commands the Supreme Dao in the remotest reaches of the eight directions, and also includes the Platform of the Nine Nights.

The Jade Capital’s Nine-Tiered Platform in the Heaven of Emptiness, Bright Hall, and Radiant Splendor governs the rites by which perfected beings who fly through the heavens come to pay homage.

The Purple Platform of the Southern Sun Upper Palace in the Heaven of Dragon Transformation and Brahmā’s Crossing governs the records that weigh the merits and achievements of those who have attained the Dao.

The Platform of True Measure in the Heaven of Primordial Thought and River You governs the registers of the dead who have been delivered, and commands those who have received new life.

The Kunlun Dark Garden Platform and the Platform of Hearing the Wind are places where immortals dwell.

The Lord of the Great Dao, Most High, once ascended the Platform of Lofty Gifts. In the Chamber of Nine Turns are enshrined the divine seats of the Lord of the Nine Mysteries, Later Sage of the Golden Gate, and the Lord of the Azure Youth, Chief Minister. Only after three months of fasting and purification may one face the two lords and bow in homage. Golden Truth and Jade Radiance

The Most High Platform of the Dark Mystery of the Six Directions preserves ancient textual copies of the wondrous scriptures of the Dharma Wheel.

The Three Primordial Registers of Immortal Qi of the Exalted and Utmost Perfected and the Hidden Characters of the Nine Spirits are books preserved in the Square Platform of the Western Sands. The Purple Writings in Plain Silk of the Three Primordial Ones are secret books kept within the Three Primordial Platform. The Flying-Heaven Registers of the Purple Tenuity Dark Palace are inscribed on the Platform of the Morning Lamp. The Flying-Heaven Central Text of Primordial Mystery and Empty Space, the Jade Measure of the Three Primordial Ones, and the Inscribed Text of the Primordial King, together with the Primordial True Golden Book preserved on the Platform of the Morning Lamp, the Hidden Writings of the Highest Heaven of the Nine Heavens, and the Mother’s Book of the Nine Heavens, are all associated with the Platform of Phoenix Birth. The Rare Scripture of the Three Primordial Ones

The Way of the Seven Transmissions of the August Sovereign: Its vermilion slips and purple texts are kept secret in the jade chamber and golden hall of the Purple-Heaven Dark Platform. Purple Dawn of the Upper Clarity; the purple phoenix platform of Phoenix Birth in the empty expanse.

The jade palaces of Qionghua rise high into the Taiwei Enclosure, while sacred phoenixes pass through the spirit realms in all eight directions. The northern windows open onto the Gate of Heaven, where the Most High Jade Dawn proclaims sacred verses. — Instructions in the Qu Su Verses

The Heavenly Treasure Terrace towers majestically, blazing with light so brilliant it seems the sun itself is turning.

The dark-blue and violet Mysterious Terrace.

— Seventy-Four Transformations of the Highest Clarity

A lofty terrace built of the Seven Treasures stretches for ninety thousand li.

— Inner Chapters on the Mysterious and Subtle

The sovereign received a book from the August Heaven Emperor. Its tablets were made of red jade, and its characters were carved in yellow jade. It was placed in the Green Palace and sealed away in the Violet Pavilion. — The Three Sovereigns

The Immortal Lord of Golden Radiance, the Eastern King of the Jade Clarity Wen Shi, was called the Jade Emperor. The two Dao Lords commanded the Three Heavenly Lords, Bai Cheng and Qin Sheng, to ascend the Dragon Terrace and enter a secluded chamber. You must resolve to cultivate, so that your body may ascend; uphold the Way of the Great Mystery and await the freedom to walk in the Violet Court. Heaven recognizes those endowed with the talent for immortality, and their names are then engraved in the Golden Pavilion. — Scripture of the Great Cavern of Perfected Truth

On Mount Guishan stands a lofty tower, passed down tier by tier, with twelve levels of jade halls.

Morning clouds rise high, shimmering with splendor; essence and Qi flow, making the Violet Pavilion shine. — From the Record of Origins

The Golden Tower in the Heaven of Great Clarity. — Scripture of the Great Cavern of Perfected Truth

On Mount Guishan stands a lofty tower, passed down tier by tier, with twelve levels of jade halls.

Morning clouds rise high, shimmering with splendor; essence and Qi flow, making the Violet Pavilion shine. — From the Record of Origins

The Golden Radiance Tower in the Heaven of Great Clarity is where the perfected immortals who have received jade registers gather.

Within the sun stands a tower of gold.

Scrolls are kept inside the tower, sealed with gold and jade, and measuring three cun wide.

In the Heaven of August Extension, atop the long tower of the Mysterious Capital, the laws and measures governing the movement of Heaven and Earth were established. This tower also oversees the summoning of the perfected immortals and great spirits from the ten directions. — Inner Sounds of the Heavens

In the Heaven Veiled by Primordial Polarity, a nine-bend river flows through Dragon Mountain. The long tower on its bank is where the Celestial Emperor travels to admire the view, observing below and gazing above.

In the world of the North Pole’s Leaping Worthies stands the Cave-Spirit Abbey, fifty li across, with golden characters carved on all four sides. The abbey was originally dark on every side. The Celestial Worthy smiled, and five-colored rays issued from his mouth, lighting the entire land and making it clear on every side, as if illuminated by sunlight. Everyone in the land rejoiced. — The Numinous Book on Deliverance and Life

The Violet Void Pavilion and Cinnabar Chamber, listed among the places where kings receive grave retribution, are numinous and wondrous halls in the Heaven of Vermilion Fire.

The Upper Violet Tenuity Lodge in the Heaven of Jade Perfection is where guilt and blessing are judged, and life and death determined.

The Empty Violet Hall’s Elixir Chamber of the Heavenly King Chongbao is a dwelling of divine spirits in the Vermilion Fire Heaven. In the Jade Perfection Heaven stands the Purple Tenuity Upper Hall, where blessings and transgressions are judged and life and death are determined.

In the Heaven of He Tong stands the Observatory of the Nine Spirits, which governs the great limits of life and death between Heaven and Earth. In the Heaven of Wen Ju stands the Hall of Purple Yang, which governs the energies of wind and clouds. In the Heaven of the Seven Luminaries, Moyi, stands the Observatory of the Northern Spirit. It opens the eight kinds of celestial books within caves and subdues the myriad demons in the celestial court.

In the Unsurpassed Heaven of Constant Fusion stands the Purple Tenuity Upper Palace and its Observatory of the Open Intestines, which weighs the merits of those who have attained the Way. In the Heaven of Dragon Transformation and Brahma Crossing stands the Purple Tenuity Observatory of Great Spirit, which governs those who are able to ascend.

The Lord of Longevity at the Southern Pole once visited the Observatory of Pure Spirit in the Golden Grotto of the West. There he met the Queen Mother of the Nine Spirits and the Lord of the Three Origins of Great Simplicity, and received the Primordial Register of Turtle Mountain and Clear Purity Transformations.

The Lord of the Great Dao said, “The Heavenly King of Primordial Beginning sent me to seek this method in secret. I wish to transmit the supreme teaching to the Upper Observatory of the Numinous Capital; it appears only once every forty thousand kalpas.” This passage appears in Essential Explications of the Supreme True Writ.

In the Yuanming era, the Heavenly King of Primordial Beginning transmitted the teaching beneath the Hall of Great Firmament, in the chamber of the Bright Clouds, and revealed it to the Jade Youths of the Three Heavens.

In the Hall of Open Violet Void, the ritual drum resounds throughout the Great Darkness.

The High Lord Jade Emperor said, “It rises forth from the deep Ninefold Mystery Terrace and ascends the celestial stairs of music. Carrying the token of trust, it meets the perfected ones of the ten directions and chants to the youth of the Eastern Sea. The energies of the four quarters and eight directions gather; the wind of mysterious transformation blows upon the Terrace of Lang. From the Hall of Western Florescence, it becomes naturally bright, and the mind joins with the Palace of Vast Cold.” This verse appears in Songs and Formulae of Curved Purity.

The primordial Qi begins to gather, and the three lights—the sun, moon, and stars—thereupon shine forth. The energies of the three colors, blue, yellow, and white, coalesce, establishing the Three Officials of the Upper Origin: first, the Purple Tenuity Official of Seven Treasures in the Mysterious Capital of Primordial Yang; second, the Left Official of the Great Ultimate of Primordial Yellow in the Great Mysterious Capital; and third, the Right Official of the Great Ultimate of Pure White in the Great Mysterious Cavern. Their halls are the Chamber of Jade Florescence, the Purple Chamber, the Green Chamber, and the Cinnabar Chamber.

The Heavenly Emperor, the Supreme Lord, rules…

On Mount Jade Capital, the Golden City and Jade Towers (palaces built of jade) and the palaces of the Seven Treasures lie above the various heavens, deep and still. This account was transmitted by the Supreme Perfected Ones.

The Jade Scenic Terrace in Phoenix City, the Book of Lang, and the Lord Emperor of the Great Heaven

The Lord Emperor of the Great Heaven ordered his emissary to lead the assembled spirits in repairing their armor and sharpening their weapons. They waved the wheel inscribed with jade characters, and then the imperial carriage arrived at Cloud City. There, golden clouds illuminated the grotto-heaven, revealing a jade city, the Seven Treasures, and a forest of jade trees within its eight gates.

The Golden Transmission of Shangqing, the Jade Scenic Terrace in Phoenix City, the Book of Lang, and the Lord Emperor of the Great Heaven

The Lord Emperor of the Great Heaven ordered his emissary to lead the assembled spirits in repairing their armor and sharpening their weapons. They waved the wheel inscribed with jade characters, and then the imperial carriage arrived at Cloud City. There, golden clouds illuminated the grotto-heaven, revealing a jade city, the Seven Treasures, and a forest of jade trees within its eight gates.

The Golden Tower Palace of Shangqing

The palace has four gates. On the left stands the Golden Tower, with golden pillars and a roof of purple clouds. Its tower is inscribed with the names of those who have ascended directly to the realms of immortals. On the right stands the Jade Tower, with jade pillars and a roof of green clouds. Its tower is inscribed with the names of the Highest Great Perfected Ones, revered deities in Daoism. Both towers rise nine thousand zhang. Beneath them, a Azure Dragon and a White Tiger guard the left and right sides. The surviving text concerning celestial beasts and the name Jubei is too damaged to interpret with confidence.

Golden Terrace, the Seven Treasures, and the Purple Tower on Mount Zhong

These are places formed from the condensation of primordial Qi, governed by the Lord Emperor of Heaven.

The Jade Emperor

The Jade Emperor keeps the jade scriptures in the Tower of Cloud Radiance and the Chamber of Jade Rosy Clouds. The Supreme Perfected One, the Great Elder, oversees them, while the Jade Youth of Mysterious Radiance serves him. The scriptures are transmitted to only three people every seven hundred years.

The Flying Heavenly Spirit King

The Flying Heavenly Spirit King rides on wings to the Jade Tower, where four ministers stand in attendance beside the luminous wheel. He harmonizes the transformations of the myriad things and, from above, observes and judges matters concerning all living beings.

The Northern Mysterious Tower of He Tong Heaven

It governs the Qi of Heaven and Earth and holds authority over the beginnings of their rise, decline, and transformation.

The Jade Tower of the Mysterious Capital in Seven Luminaries Moyi Heaven

It governs flight, brings light to the Great Being World, and sends down the numinous Qi of nature.

The Golden Tower of Tai’an Huangya Heaven

It establishes the order of the cycles that have operated since Heaven and Earth first opened.

The Vermilion Mound Tower in Shihuang Xiaomang Heaven

The Langshu says, “Driving a carriage beyond the nine heavens.” (The original sentence is brief, and its precise meaning is unclear.)

Orchid Tower

The peaks spread out in level ridges, presenting a wondrous sight. On the numinous mountain stands a jade pavilion, where the Most High (a Daoist title for the supreme deity or a revered god) wields his brush to compose wondrous poems.

This scripture is kept hidden in the Great You Palace above the nine heavens. Within the palace are purple halls lit by golden radiance, jade chambers built from precious stone, and canopies of flying silk formed by nature itself. There are jade tables and golden beds. The Jade Dawn youths attend on the left, holding incense burners; the Golden Radiance fairies scatter fragrant smoke on the right. The Grand Consort stands before them, while jade maidens attend behind. Purple canopies like rosy clouds shelter the palace halls and pavilions.

The Golden True Light

After fasting and practicing for three years, the Grand Lord of the Azure Youth ascended to the Golden Palace of Shangqing, the Highest Clarity Heaven. Within the palace were four Heavenly Emperors, while the Lord of Great Peace dwelt in his own chamber. To either side of the chamber stood the Jade Terrace of the Great Void and the Hall of Dongzhen, along with the Level Jade Chamber and the Inner Golden Radiance. There were fifty thousand attendants and immortals.

The Four Heavenly Emperor Lords of the Golden Palace

The Sage Lord dwells at the rear, with the Jade Terrace of the Great Void and the Hall of Red-Gem Jade on either side. The Numinous Writ in Purple Script records these details.

Secret Essentials for Practicing the Numinous Writ in Purple Script

Practitioners go to the Purple Tenuity Upper Office in the Cold Numinous Hall of the Jade Capital of Great Mystery in Shangqing. Wearing the Feather Robe of Heavenly Treasure, used in Daoist rites, they pay their respects to the Celestial Worthy of Primordial Beginning and ask to receive the Five Chapters of the Red Script, the True Writ. The celestial guides lead the assembled immortals into the Hall of Jade Treasure with Golden Kui of the Great Void; the Realized Ones of Nine Radiances also enter the Great Void.

Jade Countenance

Jade Countenance is the Most High’s Bright Hall, where the talismanic registers and name lists of those who have attained the Dao are kept.

Within the Heaven of Great Peace and Imperial Cliffs

The Hall of Blessings in the Southern Palace oversees the ranks and positions of those who fly through the heavens and attain the Dao. This is recorded in the Inner Sounds.

The Hall of Flowing Depths and Origin Cavern Heaven’s Chinese Parasol Grove

This hall governs the measure of the floods as they spread across the four quarters and then recede.

The Jade Emperor ordered the Heavenly Emperor Lord Fangwei to array the myriad spirits between the chambers and pavilions, and to scatter flowers and fragrance across the steps of the Jade Palace. The Inner Sounds also record that the Hall of Flowing Depths and Origin Cavern Heaven’s Chinese Parasol Grove governs the measure of the floods as they spread across the four quarters and then recede. The Jade Emperor…

The Emperor of Mingfang arrays the myriad spirits among the palace corridors and galleries, and scatters the fragrance of flowers through the jade halls. He sets out grand music like the Celestial Jun, whose wondrous sounds resound across the Eight Seas. He also circulates through the Chamber of Eight Jades to hold a banquet, and holds a winding banquet in the Hall of Nine Forests. (Jingxuan of the Cavernous Vista)

The Nine-Tiered Terrace

Dao and De

The Jade Terrace of Xiyou: It extends a hundred li in every direction and is where the Great Emperor governs. (The Great Cavern)

Mingzhen: The name of a high terrace in one of the Nine Heavens. It shines brilliantly above the Nine Skies. When it rises above the earth for three days, it is called “Mingzhen, the Day-Phoenix Rising.”

Dragon Mountain: The name of a high terrace in the Heaven of Jade Clarity.

Golden Chamber: Located above the Bright Rosy Clouds; the Nine Gates lie within the Jade Gate Tower. These places are all dwellings of Taiwei, the Jade Halls of the Celestial Emperor.

In the Heaven of Jade Clarity stand three jade platforms with gate passages, at its southwestern corner. One is called the Winter Gate, also known as the Celestial Chart or the Celestial Gate. It is the portal through which the living beings of the Nine Lands pass, and the pivot by which they open, close, and turn. Above the three gates stand jade platforms that serve as passageways for the immortals.

First Celestial Gate: Vermilion Gate and Jade Tower

Above the gate are nine tiers of jade terraces, rising 1,200 zhang. Purple clouds cover their summits, while flashing lightning illuminates the corridors and galleries. The Jade Morning of the Great Void surveys this place from the emptiness. Shangming wears a Flying Morning Jade Crown, adorned with five-colored designs, and carries a long sword and jade pendants at his waist. On the terrace, flowing rosy clouds illuminate the halls, while the sun and moon brighten the chambers. Three hundred immortals of the Perfected Ones serve there. A jade register on the terrace records the jade names of the Supreme Sovereign, the Perfected High Emperor, and the roster of the Perfected Ones of the Later Sage; the Jade Morning supervises and keeps it.

Second Celestial Gate: Vermilion Gate and Jade Tower of the Celestial Chart

Above the gate are six tiers of jade terraces, rising 900 zhang. Azure clouds cover them, and a cinnabar sun courses among them. The Supreme Upright Perfected Jade Officer is named Xu Tuber. He wears a Dark Morning Crown and a ceremonial robe patterned in nine colors. On the Jade Kui Terrace where he dwells, cinnabar radiance and a purple canopy envelop the halls; a hundred-blend incense rises naturally in the courtyard. Three hundred Perfected Ones serve him. A golden register on the terrace holds golden tablets, jade peaches, and twelve chapters of purple-phoenix cinnabar writings.

The Vermilion Gate and Jade Towers of the Third Heavenly Pass (the vermilion gate and jade palace towers within the third tier of the Heavenly Pass)

The Heavenly Pass has three tiers of jade platforms, rising six hundred zhang high. In the courtyard, an aroma like purple clouds rises of its own accord. Each of the Perfected Ones who serve there has three hundred attendants. On the platform stands a golden lattice, upon which rest golden tablets, jade peaches, and a purple phoenix elixir document recording twelve chapters.

The Vermilion Gate and Jade Towers of the Third Heavenly Pass

The Heavenly Pass has three tiers of jade platforms, rising six hundred zhang high. Purple clouds cover them, while the radiance of the sun and moon illuminates the palace walls. The Grand Emperor’s Inspector of the Perfected, the Jade Registrar, is named Wuchangsheng. He wears a Yuanjin crown and bears a seven-colored insignia, guarding the summit of Jade Kui. In the hall, the fragrance of a hundred harmonies arises naturally, and light appears of its own accord, illuminating the buildings. Three hundred Perfected Immortals serve him. The platform houses three hundred scrolls of the Precious Scripture of Great Clarity, as well as registers recording the cultivation of the Perfected and the names of those who study the Way and seek to become immortals.

“Coming and Going of the Ten Thousand Perfected”

The Dongyuan Terrace in the Seven Treasures, Flowing Rosy Clouds, and Peaceful Nurturing Heaven of the Supreme Jade Capital

This place governs the radiance of auspicious clouds in the heavens.

“Precepts on the Original Nature of the Seven Luminaries”

The Palace of Radiant Splendor in the Heaven of the Great Beginning

Nine forms of primordial Qi arise within the palace. The mists roil and transform, becoming crimson clouds of nine colors. Those who enter the mists change in appearance; those who dwell within them can transform in countless ways.

The Palace of Ten Thousand Splendors in the Small Abode of Jade Perfection Heaven

This place is governed by the Jade Lord and holds the Emperor’s precious scriptures and the secret canonical texts of Jade Clarity.

The Grand Fangwan of the Small Abode Palace

This is the official title of Yuying Yuyi Chen.

The Palace of the Yellow Elder of Yuanhua

This is the jade hall where the Primordial Beginning gathers his guests. It is located at the Office of the Cavern of Cinnabar Spirit, on the Southern Mount Huo in the Heaven of Scarlet Radiance. It holds the Emperor’s precious scriptures and the secret canonical texts of Jade Clarity.

“Twenty-Four Lives”

The Hall of Ninefold Spiritual Blessing in the Vermilion Palace of Southern Mound

This place provides food and drink that arise naturally and preserves spiritual texts that can prolong life and preserve one’s allotted years.

The Celestial Inspector and Marshal of the Immortal Bureau of the Thirty-One Heavens

Jade youths, jade maidens, and divine immortals pay court at the Purple Tenuity Palace three times each month and erase names from the registers of the underworld.

“Daily Record of the Ninefold Darkness”

The Upper Palace of Golden Splendor in the Heaven of He Tong

This place governs the registers of human life and death.

The Palace of Long Life in the Southern Half of the Heaven of Great Ultimate Obscurity.