《上清太一金阙玉玺金真纪》

People of the secular world are fond of the arts of the Dao, yet they begin late and their learning is shallow. They still do not understand the root of the Great Dao, nor have they left ordinary life behind. Faults in the human world are many, and the offenses people commit are of more than one kind. Some have spoken words contrary to the good Way; others have altered their vows. All of this is heard by the exalted gods on high. One must never again commit crimes that violate life, do evil, and act in rebellion. If one repeatedly incurs the ten faults, Heaven and Earth will grant no pardon. Bodily death is clear proof of the punishment, and there is then no remedy.

The cultivation of the Great Dao of the Supreme Numinous has many subtle and profound aspects. Among them, the killing of the six domestic animals and other living beings is strictly forbidden. If one cannot change the heart and correct one’s conduct, even cultivating the Dao brings no benefit. It is like water and fire meeting: they are incompatible with each other. Those who observe the precepts and thereby gain benefit may ascend to Heaven in broad daylight; those who violate the precepts sink, after death, into the Nine Springs.

The Lingbao Guanzhong Jing (Scripture of the Numinous Treasure in the Tube) says that one should especially value the Eight Nodes—the four seasonal beginnings, the two equinoxes, the two solstices, and related solar-term days. Zhao Boxuan calls the Eight Nodes the critical passes of life and death. The Jiusu Yuzhuan Jing (Scripture of the Jade Transmission of the Nine Simplicities) says that the day of the Autumn Judgment is the day when gods of high and low rank assemble to determine life and death. The ancients fixed the autumn equinox as the day of the Autumn Judgment because, on that day, the Perfected of the Nine Heavens and Eight Earths, together with the divine sovereigns and supreme venerables and others, gather and, over three days and three nights, jointly decide the lifespans of all the people. Those present are many, and the spirits are especially exalted.

At each of the Eight Nodes, the perfected officials throughout Heaven and Earth assemble. For three days and three nights before and after the festival, each returns to the region under their charge. Daoists who have only begun to study the Dao should, on these days, ingest the Talisman of Immortal Life, the Talisman of Ascending to Heaven, and the Talisman for Removing Faults. The talismanic script is transmitted orally by the teacher and should not be written down and passed on. It must be kept strictly secret and must not be divulged.

The Fulu (talismans and registers) above should be taken on the days of the Eight Nodes: facing north, place the talisman at the center and then swallow it.

This is the “Taiyi Talisman for Expelling Transgressions” (Taiyi chuguo fu). It should be taken together with the immortal talisman on the eight nodal days—Beginning of Spring, Spring Equinox, Beginning of Summer, Summer Solstice, Beginning of Autumn, Autumn Equinox, Beginning of Winter, and Winter Solstice. One first takes the immortal talisman, then this talisman. When consecrating the talisman, strike the bell three times and offer this prayer:

The heavens above are bright, and the earth below is clear; the Taiyi talisman guards long life. Divine youths attend at one’s side, refining and nurturing the body, so that skin and flesh grow firm and bone and flesh grow light. One’s lifespan has no end, and one may behold an age of Great Peace; one pays homage to the True Lord and ascends into the heavenly court. Swiftly, swiftly, in accordance with the statutes and ordinances.

“Chifu” (敕符) means to pronounce a command over the talisman so that it takes effect. “Jiji ru lüling” (急急如律令) is a common imperative formula that closes Daoist talismanic incantations, expressing the plea that the request be fulfilled at once.

The Scripture of the Mysterious Cavern of Pure Numinosity (Suling Xuandong Jing) says: The Supreme Sovereign Emperor-Lord (the highest emperor-lord of the celestial realms) ascends to the Abode of Clear Numinosity and the gate-towers of the Great Void. The lords of Cinnabar City, the Purple Terrace, Changmian, and the Jade Towers assemble at the Observatory of Taiwei. The Emperor-Lord opens the gates of the Nine Heavens and invites the True Sovereigns of the Nine Heavens; he also summons the Three Elder Lords of the Most High, the various Perfected of the North Pole, and the great deities of the Eight Seas; and he further commands those among the famous mountains of the Five Marchmounts who have attained the Dao and become immortals to come forward. The many numinous worthies gather together in the Hall of Liaoyang to deliberate the faults and blessings of the people of the world, to record every kind of good and ill fortune, and also to examine whether cultivators of the Dao are diligent or have grown negligent, noting the year, month, and day of the faults they have committed, together with the good and evil in their practice. According to the departments, jurisdictions, and roots to which each belongs, they establish penal regulations, determine the circumstances of life and death, and deliver copies of the regulations to the Controller of Destinies (the divine office that governs a person’s lifespan and life and death), to be written into the Yellow Fascicles.

Even the most minute faults and meritorious virtues are entered in the Registers of Cinnabar Sincerity (the registers that record faults and blessings). Evil deeds concealed in secret, and small merits unknown to others, are all distinguished and recorded clearly, one by one.

The practitioner should, at midnight, go out into the courtyard, face north, remove the headcloth, bow twice, and then kneel at length, reporting to the Most High Heavenly Worthy of the North Pole (the worthy deity of the northern celestial realm), requesting pardon for one’s own faults, and wearing the Talisman for the Removal of Faults (a Fulu, talismans and registers, used to pray that faults be eliminated). After the talisman has been put on, one may state one’s case and make petitions as one wishes, and then vow: “May the Most High Emperor remove my name from the registers of the dead and transfer the documents to the Three Officials (the deities who preside over the affairs of Heaven, Earth, and Water), so that my name may be entered in the records of the immortals. I, so-and-so, bow and request the jade tablet, wishing for long life and enduring vision, to penetrate the true Dao and come into resonance with the spirits.”

When these words are finished, one knocks the head four times and bows twice, then returns to the quiet chamber (the place of still seclusion for practice). One must reproach oneself profoundly and concentrate on visualizing the deities of the Three Origins. When one reports to the Most High at the present time, one should likewise proceed in this way. If this is done three times, the name will be entered in the registers of the immortals, and the faults will also be removed. The Three Origins refer to the three deities in the Mud Pellet, the Crimson Palace, and the Dantian (energy center). One visualizes the three deities of the Three Origins, then reports to the Heavenly Worthy and requests pardon, personally setting forth one’s own circumstances, so that what is sought will certainly reach the hearing of Heaven. Related statements appear repeatedly in the original text. When the autumn equinox arrives, only after three such reports are the registers of life fixed, and the name removed from the registers of death.

The Central Scripture on Thoroughly Fathoming the Cyan Registers of Destiny (Dongda Mingqing Zhongjing) further says: Those who delight in the Dao and devote their thoughts wholly to the Dao should regularly, at night, apply the mind to visualizing Heaven and Earth, and should also cherish and nurture the myriad beings. In action one must not harm the spirits; in speech one must not harm the myriad beings. Heaven and Earth are all contained within oneself as well. The master’s oratory (the quiet chamber in which the cultivator dwells) is likewise a part of oneself, and for this reason the sage is able to know what is outside from what is within.

If one wishes to examine oneself and reform one’s faults, one need not necessarily be in the courtyard, nor need one necessarily enter the quiet chamber. One should observe the origins of affairs and scrutinize one’s own conduct; this is the method of cultivation. The Northern Asterism (the Pole Star, which here also refers to the divine form within) likewise exists within the human body. So long as one settles alone into stillness in one’s dwelling, burns incense, and visualizes according to the method, one’s thoughts and contemplations can tend toward the auspicious and the good. If the various desires and the turbid Qi (vital energy) in the heart have not been cleared away, then even if one remains in the quiet chamber through the whole night, there will be no benefit.

Long ago there was a Lord Pei who cultivated himself in the empty stillness of the mountains, devoting his mind to contemplation. After one year of practice, he faintly beheld the forms of Shen (spirit). After two years, the Five Emperors, Lords of the Sun—the directional emperor-lords associated with the sun—appeared riding the sunlight and manifested beside him. After three years, he conversed and laughed with the Five Emperors, Lords of the Sun throughout the day. After five years of practice, the Five Emperors, Lords of the Sun, together with Lord Pei, rode in a carriage drawn by flying dragons and traveled east to the Sun Cavern in the eastern heavens, the Fusang Palace on Mengchang Mound, and the City of the Eight Extremes. They ascended the Terrace of Luminous Perfection and sat in the Hall of the Sparse Grove. The Five Emperors, Lords of the Sun, bestowed on Lord Pei the Chapters for Directing the Spirits and the Talismans of the Nine Realms, and had him eat the solar syrup of azure Jing (essence) and drink the mysterious richness of cloud-jade. Thereafter Lord Pei roamed every day with the Five Emperors, Lords of the Sun. This is what is called the Dao (the Way) of Racing to the Sun. Thus, anyone who would practice the method of absorbing solar Jing and following the Five Emperors, Lords of the Sun, cannot fail to cultivate this Dao-method.

The Middle Chapter of the Hidden Book of the Essential Dao says: “If you wish to become a Perfected Person, you should visualize the Lord of the Sun, imagining yourself driving dragons and riding phoenixes, borne on the cloud Qi (vital energy) of heaven, traveling east through the Sparse Grove, and at last entering the Emperor’s Gate. Concentrate your mind in contemplation, and you will grasp the essential Dao. There is no need to trouble yourself with memorials to the azure heavens; of yourself you will be enrolled among the offices of the Perfected in the numinous realm.”

The method of becoming a Zhenren (Perfected) is as follows. Each night one gazes at the moon and, facing it, sets body and mind aright, holds the breath nine times, and then swallows the moonlight nine times. One visualizes the moonlight entering the mouth and then swallows it. Next one visualizes the Lady of the Green Emperor coming from within the moonlight to one’s side, on the left; the Lady of the Red Emperor on the right; the Lady of the White Emperor behind; the Lady of the Black Emperor above the left hand; and the Lady of the Yellow Emperor above the right hand. When the five ladies have all arrived, one further visualizes the cloud chariot of flowing bells, drawn by ten dragons, coming from within the moonlight to stand before one. The five ladies board the chariot together and race toward the moon.

If one wishes to ascend to Heaven, one visualizes the Great Person of the Moon driving flying dragons and riding in one’s own cloud chariot of flowing bells, traveling west to the Six Ridges and then entering the Imperial Hall. With concentrated visualization, one can see oneself attending court before the Celestial Emperor. By day one faces the sun with undivided attention and visualizes the Five Emperor Lords within the sun; by night one faces the moon with undivided attention and visualizes the five ladies within the moon. If one can remain purely sincere and single-minded, the spirits within the sun and moon will appear together. When a beginner cultivates, the forms of the Five Numina manifest, bestow scriptures (Jing), and grant zhi herbs, enabling the practitioner to overawe the host of spirits, command jade maidens and jade lads, and rank among the Four Perfected. Therefore, when receiving the Taiyi Sumi Jinquan (Golden Certificate of the Supreme Unity’s Unadorned Secret), one should face north and make four bows, paying homage in turn to the Four Perfected, who are stationed in the east, west, south, and north.

The Zhenren who has received the scriptures holds the Divine Tiger talisman, used to subdue the severe evil gods within the Six Heavens and the evil Jing (essence) that flows into the human body, and holds the bells of flowing gold, used to summon the assembled Perfected. When holding the True Staff, one should likewise pay respects according to the four directions of east, west, south, and north.

The Zhenren (Perfected Person) who receives the writ—the one to whom the scriptures and methods are transmitted—makes use of the Divine Tiger talisman, a Fulu (talismans and registers) for summoning spirits and subduing evil, in order to restrain the influx of evil Jing (essence) governed by the Stern Six Heavens. One sounds the bell of flowing gold to summon the host of Zhenren and, holding the staff of blue plumes, patrols among the Nine Palaces. All these rites depend on utterly sincere and subtle visualization, so as to resonate in response with the Heart of Heaven in the dark and unseen. Only then will the spirits descend to protect the body and enable one to ascend to the court of the Thearch.

When a Daoist is cultivating in a sealed chamber and the sun and moon are obscured so that they cannot be seen, one need only visualize the sun and moon in the mind; there is no need to wait until they are seen with one’s own eyes. When refined thought reaches single-minded concentration and the mind does not wander, one can commune with the Dao (the Way). First, visualize the five stars above the body, and at the same time visualize the sun and moon.

The above is the Dragon-Secret Tiger Talisman. A Daoist must wear it when entering the mountains, and must also wear it when going elsewhere. Unless one is a Daoist of Taiyi (Great Unity), one may not wear it without authorization. The above is the “Shengling Yijiu You” talisman, to be taken on the seventh day of the seventh month. One who wears this talisman must not eat the six domestic animals; if one has eaten the six domestic animals, one cannot take this talisman. This talisman is said to have been obtained by the Jiuzhen Daoist Pei Chuhe in the You Shi Mountains: the Lord of the Nine Numina transmitted it to him at the third watch. Those who wish for long life take the jia talisman every day; over time they can ascend into the mysterious realm and come to know the Great Dao. The above is the talisman for prolonging life and eliminating the hundred illnesses; one is to be swallowed each day. The above is the Talisman of Attained Manifestation; one is to be taken each day while cultivating the body. Those who wish for long life take one talisman for eliminating the hundred illnesses each day. The above is the Talisman of Attained Manifestation; one is to be taken each day while cultivating the body. Those who wish for long life take one talisman each day. If this is maintained for a long time, one can ascend into the mysterious realm and come to know the Great Dao, and can also manifest the bodily form and foresee what is to come.