《九天应元雷声普化天尊玉枢宝忏》

With reverence, I, So-and-so, a minister holding office in the rite (a Daoist priest serving in the liturgy), bow my head and prostrate once more to present a memorial to the Supreme Sovereigns of the Three Pure Ones (Sanqing), the Most Exalted Perfected of the Ten Directions, the emperors of Shenxiao, the Eight August Sovereigns, and the Heavenly Worthy of Universal Transformation by the Thunderclap Responding to the Primordial of the Nine Heavens, together with the ministers, masters, envoys, chancellors, and other holy perfected of the Bureau of Responding to the Primordial of the Nine Heavens; the holy perfected and divine immortals who each attend to their duties in the Inner Court of the Jade Empyrean, the Central Bureau, the Eastern and Western Floriate Terraces, the Mysterious Lodges and Wondrous Pavilions, and the Four Bureaus and Six Courts; the Envoys of the Thunder Gate of the Nine Heavens, the officers of investigation and record, the officers of inspection, and the presiding deities of the Bureau of Seizing Surpluses, the Bureau of Accumulated Arrests, the Bureau of Hidden Injustices, the Bureau of Retribution, and the rest; True Lord Haoweng, Master of Thunder, Judge Mozhuan, the host of deities of the Thunder Ministry, and the true numina of the Three Realms. We respectfully invite all these deities to extend their compassion widely and to examine this petition with clear discernment.

The petitioner respectfully states: We have heard that the Heavenly Worthy of Primordial Beginning once, by means of crimson writs and jade characters, opened transformation and delivered beings in the Azure Empyrean, and that the Patriarch likewise, by means of phoenix seal-script and dragon chapters, proclaimed the teaching from Shenxiao. We reverently look up to the Great Saint of Steadfast Radiance of the Nine Heavens, the transformation body of the True King of Jade Purity—the Heavenly Worthy of Universal Transformation by the Thunderclap Responding to the Primordial of the Nine Heavens. The Heavenly Worthy divides his body across the ten directions and turns his mind upon the Three Realms, rescuing all beings from suffering and affliction and raising up those who have sunk into the lower world. The Thirty-Six Heavens all lie under the Heavenly Worthy’s sovereignty. Through one thousand five hundred kalpas he has constantly carried out compassionate instruction. So long as one sincerely recites the Heavenly Worthy’s name, every kind of wish can be fulfilled.

We further reflect that, through countless kalpas, we have accumulated worldly toil and karmic defilement. Greed, anger, delusion, and clinging attachment continually arise in our dealings with others, while faults such as killing, theft, and sexual misconduct appear at the very moment a thought is stirred. The many offenses of body and speech tend to be exacting toward others and indulgent toward ourselves. This defiled and impermanent body of ours bears boundless karmic obstacles; disputes over right and wrong spread as wide as the sea, and mutual opposition stands as hard to cross as a lofty mountain. If we do not rely on repentance and on proclaiming the Heavenly Worthy’s merit, how could we receive grace and obtain pardon?

We reverently look up to the Heavenly Worthy of Universal Transformation by the Thunderclap Responding to the Primordial of the Nine Heavens: you are the father of all beings and the teacher of the myriad spirits. We earnestly beg you to take pity on those who have lost the way, to discern clearly that our hearts turn back toward the Dao (the Way), and, not forgetting the vow you established in the Daluo Heaven, especially to accept the praises of us humble ones. We pray that you come from afar to the ritual altar, look down in compassion, examine us, and record our prayers. Your minister presumes upon Heaven’s majesty; my heart is fearful and urgent. With utmost sincerity I respectfully await your grace, and with a single thought of devotion I pay homage before the Heavenly Worthy.

The Celestial Worthy of Golden Countenance and Jade Form (in praise of the Celestial Worthy’s solemn and venerable image)

With utmost sincerity, taking refuge and offering homage (taking refuge and paying reverence with a perfectly sincere heart)

In the holy realm of Jade Clarity, the celestial palace of Clear Subtlety, within the Yuluo Xiao Terrace and above the pure vastness of the densely arrayed myriad phenomena, the Celestial Worthy of the Primordial Beginning manifests a sacred appearance endowed with form and possesses boundless divine powers. He proclaims the true and mysterious principle, dispelling attachment and obstruction concerning being, non-being, form, and emptiness, and he saves beings of every kind, no longer distinguishing the clever from the dull or the noble from the lowly. The Celestial Worthy’s wondrous functioning is hard to perceive, and the transformations of his numinous workings cannot be fathomed. Of great compassion and great vows, great holiness and great mercy, he widely saves innumerable beings: he is the Celestial Worthy of the Primordial Beginning.

With utmost sincerity, taking refuge and offering homage

In the holy realm of Upper Clarity, the celestial palace of Yuyu Heaven, within the Jasper Terrace of Purple Tenuity and above the Jade Capital of the Mysterious Metropolis, the Celestial Worthy of the Numinous Treasure receives the transmission of the Dao (the Way) from the Primordial Void Sovereign and transcends the root lineage of the Xina Jade Kingdom. His true and mysterious essence is wholly stored within a precious pearl as tiny as a grain of millet; in the Garden of the Fragrant Grove he repeatedly expounds the secret essentials. The Celestial Worthy’s wondrous De (Virtue/Power) is difficult to conceive, and his divine powers cannot be assessed. Of great compassion and great vows, great holiness and great mercy, he widely saves innumerable beings: he is the Celestial Worthy of the Numinous Treasure.

With utmost sincerity, taking refuge and offering homage

In the immortal realm of Great Clarity, the celestial palace of Great Scarlet Heaven, above the lofty, towering Golden Portal and within the remote and profound layers of the heavens, since descending to be born he has passed through innumerable kalpas and has expounded the orthodox teaching in twelve thousand heavenly realms. The secret essential words of five thousand characters unite the mysterious great Dao of the Three Powers—Heaven, Earth, and humanity; more than eighty times he manifests to teach, receiving and guiding beings of the six paths. The Celestial Worthy’s holy De is lofty, and his mysterious meritorious work is vast. Of great compassion and great vows, great holiness and great mercy, he widely saves innumerable beings: he is the Celestial Worthy Who Descended to Be Born.

Each person respectfully believes (each of those present reverently believes and accepts)

With utmost sincerity I take refuge in the Treasure of the Dao of the ten directions. May beings give rise to a mind of turning toward it and reverently worship all teachings of the Dao.

With utmost sincerity I take refuge in the Treasure of the Jing (scripture/classic) of the ten directions. May beings open wisdom in their hearts, comprehend the meaning of the scriptures, and receive, uphold, and recite the classics.

With utmost sincerity I take refuge in the Treasure of the Teachers of the ten directions. May beings universally turn toward the Treasure of the Teaching.

With utmost sincerity I take refuge in the Treasure of the Jing of the ten directions. May beings open wisdom in their hearts, comprehend the meaning of the scriptures, and receive, uphold, and recite the classics.

(In the final passage of the source, “the Teacher Treasure of the ten directions” is followed by “universally look up to the Treasure of the Teaching”; the wording appears disordered. The above follows the extant text in literal sequence.)

We sincerely take refuge in the Teacher-Treasure of the ten directions—the Celestial Worthies and deities of the ten directions—wishing that all sentient beings may ascend the Dharma bridge that leads to the true Dao (the Way), and that nothing may hinder them on the path of cultivation.

All those gathered in the ritual space worship and repent, each with a sincere heart, and conduct themselves according to the liturgical rites.

At this time, the Celestial Worthy of Universal Transformation by the Sound of Thunder, Responsive to the Primordial of the Nine Heavens—a revered Daoist deity who presides over thunder and promulgates the heavenly Dao—was in the Heaven of Jade Clarity (Yuqing), assembled with the Celestial Emperors of the ten directions upon the tiered terrace of Yufan, wrought of the seven treasures. The Thunder Master, the Hoary Elder, stepped forward out of the ranks to make his report, asking the Celestial Worthy to proclaim the essentials of cultivating the Dao.

Thereupon the Celestial Worthy sat upon the screen-throne of the nine phoenixes and cinnabar clouds—a seat adorned with phoenixes and patterns of roseate mist—holding a ruyi of golden light, a wish-fulfilling scepter, and expounded to the assembly the Jade Pivot Precious Scripture (Yushu Baojing). At the si hour, the Celestial Worthy said:

“In the age yet to come, if any sentient beings hear my name, they need only quiet the mind and contemplate in silence, reciting, ‘Celestial Worthy of Universal Transformation by the Sound of Thunder, Responsive to the Primordial of the Nine Heavens.’ Whether they recite it once, five times or seven, or hundreds and thousands of times, I shall manifest my form. I shall employ spiritual powers, reaching throughout the ten directions and moving through the Three Realms, so that all who call upon my name may obtain what they wish.

Throughout the ten directions and the Three Realms, the heavens and the lands, sun, moon, and stars, mountains, rivers, plants, and trees, together with birds, beasts, and the tiniest creeping insects, whether possessed of awareness or not; and among heavenly dragons, ghosts, and spirits—should they hear sentient beings calling upon my name, and should any defy it, they shall be beheaded and their hearts laid open, and reduced to fine dust.”

Now we disciples, so-and-so, having through countless kalpas received this grace and been taught and transformed life after life, can only regret our own foolishness and delusion and the grave offenses we have accumulated. How dare we fail to set forth our repentance? We sincerely pray for forgiveness and pardon. Following the teachings of the scripture, we strive to repent and examine ourselves, praying that our transgressions be extinguished, calamities withdraw, and blessings increase. May all that we seek be answered according to our hearts, and may we at last realize the holy Dao and attain the true fruit.

We earnestly beseech the Celestial Worthy, with a heart of great compassion and supreme holiness, as father of all beings and teacher of the myriad spirits, to send down the light of grace and look with favor upon the repentance we offer today, so that all we pray for may be fulfilled through spiritual response. We disciples, devout and reverent, worship with a single heart.

We sincerely entrust our lives and bow in worship:

The Unsurpassed King of Jade Clarity within the Palace of Response to the Primordial of the Nine Heavens, who transforms his form so as to fill the ten directions, and who, when proclaiming the teachings of the Dao, sits upright upon the nine phoenixes. We pray that stimulus and response may commune. We disciples, devout and reverent, worship with a single heart.

We sincerely entrust our lives and bow in worship.

The Unsurpassed Jade Clarity King of the Responsive Origin Bureau of the Nine Heavens can manifest in myriad forms and fill the ten directions. When expounding the methods of the Dao (the Way), he sits serenely upon the nine phoenixes. Above the Thirty-Six Heavens, you consult the precious registers and examine the jade scriptures. As early as one thousand five hundred kalpas ago, you already ranked among the supreme perfected and held the great authority of teaching and transformation. You hold a ruyi scepter of golden light and proclaim the Precious Scripture of the Jade Pivot. Those who defy this teaching are reduced to fine dust, and your commands are as swift as wind and fire. With a pure and still heart you spread a vast vow, and with the power of wisdom you subdue the host of demons. You preside over the Five Thunders, and the mind of your transforming work extends throughout the Three Realms. You are the father of all living beings and the teacher of the myriad spirits—both sagely luminous and compassionate, supremely honored and in accord with the Great Dao. You are the Celestial Worthy of Universal Transformation through the Sound of Thunder of the Nine Heavens Responsive Origin.

After each section of the invocation is recited, everyone performs one bow.

The ritual master, the faithful, and the others, with utmost sincerity, entrust body, Shen (spirit), and nature and life to Shenxiao (the divine bureau of thunder venerated in Daoism), and turn their hearts in complete devotion toward the Jade Bureau (the divine residence of the Celestial Worthy). They further declare: We disciples were born in ordinary mortal bodies, our minds and natures benighted, like walking corpses. Through many lifetimes down to this day, our offenses have piled up like mountains and spread as deep and vast as the sea.

In the mind there are three kinds of evil karma: greed, anger, and delusion. In the body there are three kinds of evil karma: killing, theft, and sexual misconduct. In speech there are four kinds of evil karma: frivolous and untrue talk, lying, sowing discord, and abusive speech.

We have also harbored evil thoughts and willfully done unwholesome deeds: offending Heaven and Earth, desecrating the sun and moon, slandering wind and rain, and exposing our naked bodies in offense against the stars; failing our rulers and teachers, defying and insulting our parents, deceiving friends, and arrogantly slighting kin and neighbors; slaughtering livestock and wasting grain; taking in with a heavy scale and giving out with a light measure, thereby cheating the sages and worthies; applying harsh punishments and cruelly harming birds and beasts; secretly engaging in licentiousness and theft, and aiding evil by spreading poison; fawning in every way upon the rich and noble, while oppressing and humiliating the weak and small. Such conduct has aroused the wrath of Heaven and Earth and earned the loathing of ghosts and spirits.

From this day forward, we disciples repent and acknowledge our faults, vowing to take refuge forever. We reverently pray that the Celestial Worthy widely extend compassion, specially pardon our offenses, comfort and shelter us, and grant us a path of life. We disciples, with utmost sincerity, knock our heads in homage, paying reverence and making confession before the Unsurpassed Orthodox True Three Treasures (the Dao, the Jing [scriptures], and the teachers venerated in Daoism).

When all have finished reciting the Nine Heavens Invocation, each performs one bow.

With utmost sincerity, we take refuge and pay homage.

We worship the Heavenly Worthy of Universal Transformation Whose Sound of Thunder Responds to the Origin of the Nine Heavens (Jiutian Yingyuan Leisheng Puhua Tianzun), the honored deity who presides over thunder and universally bestows teaching and transformation, with nine recitations and nine prostrations.

We who take part in this worship in accordance with the ritual form, with wholehearted sincerity and reverence, entrust our bodies, our minds and Shen (spirit), and our nature and life entirely to Shenxiao (the celestial realm of which Daoism speaks) and the Jade Bureau (Yufu, the immortal mansion where the Heavenly Worthy dwells), sincerely turning toward the Heavenly Worthy. We reflect once more that we disciples are all of ordinary mortal bodies, our bodies and minds dull and unawakened, like senseless walking corpses; from kalpa after kalpa down to the present, the offenses we have committed are as vast as mountains and seas.

At times we worry that the Five Phases (Wuxing: Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, and Water) are out of balance and that the Nine Luminaries (Jiuyao, nine kinds of stellar powers) move unfavorably; the year of birth encounters punishment and clash, and one’s fortunes again meet mutual conquest and contention, so that daily comings and goings are hampered and undertakings readily meet with danger. At times one lies long abed with illness, or stubborn ailments cling to the body; at times calamity is invited by sworn oaths and curses, or one is entangled by accumulated debts left unpaid. It may also be that enmities formed over the past three lifetimes continue, across many kalpas, in mutual retaliation.

At times, when we ourselves break ground and build, or when others alter a foundation that has been chosen, we offend the Earth Sovereigns of the Nine Layers (Jiulei Tuhuang, the deities who govern the soil). In addition, body and allotted life are affected by baleful influences, encountering inauspicious stellar deities such as the Official Talisman (Guanfu) and the Red Mouth (Chikou), as well as fierce spirits such as the Sword Edge (Jianfeng) and Feilian. Should the twenty-four deities and the one thousand two hundred divinities be in any way disturbed, quarrels may arise, and even lawsuits and imprisonment may be brought upon one.

From this day forward, we are willing to repent and acknowledge our offenses, and we vow forever to take refuge. We respectfully pray that the Heavenly Worthy broadly extend compassion, graciously deign to pardon our faults, soothe and protect us, and grant us the chance to live in peace and safety. With wholehearted sincerity and reverence we knock our heads in worship, giving thanks to the supreme, orthodox, and true Three Treasures (the Dao [the Way], the Jing [scripture/classic], and the Master).

The recitation of the Announcement of the Nine Heavens (Jiutian Gao) is complete. The assembly once more makes this vow: from this day forward we repent and acknowledge our offenses and forever take refuge; we respectfully pray that the Heavenly Worthy bestow compassion, pardon our faults, protect us in peace, and grant us a way to live. With wholehearted sincerity and reverence we knock our heads, ritually thanking the supreme, orthodox, and true Three Treasures.

When the assembly has finished reciting the Announcement of the Nine Heavens, each person performs one prostration.

With wholehearted sincerity and reverence, we entrust our lives and offer worship.

The Celestial Worthy of Universal Transformation by the Sound of Thunder, Responding to the Primordial of the Nine Heavens (the venerable deity who presides over thunder and carries out teaching and transformation): the assembly intones his name nine times in succession and performs nine prostrations. The ritual congregation sincerely takes refuge, entrusting body, Shen (spirit), and nature and life entirely to Shenxiao (one of the abodes of Daoism’s venerable deities), and pledges allegiance to the Jade Bureau (the divine bureau of the Thunder Ministry).

We call to mind once more that all of us disciples are of ordinary mortal bodies, benighted and defiled, like shells that can do nothing but walk. Having passed through many ages of tribulation down to this day, the sins we have committed are as numerous as mountains and seas. We have feared the demonic evils of heaven and the ghosts and monsters of earth, the essences of the mountains and the freaks of the stones, the baleful sprites among the Five Phases (Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, Water), and the demonic monsters and fierce deities of the Three Realms. We have also feared deaths and injuries provoked by temples and communal shrines, and the clinging entanglement of grievances and feuds. Birds and rats bring demonic evil; snakes and insects invite disaster; and there may be strange phenomena such as the hurling of bricks and tiles, or the sending of shadows and the transmission of sounds.

We may also suffer the spread of pestilence, with gu-poison and illness clinging to the body for a long time, or the malevolent forces left behind by the dead and the disasters stirred up by tombs. Marriages go awry, and the seeking of children is difficult; when we travel by water or by land, it is hard to escape the destined calamity. We may further meet with the slaughter of war, disasters of water and fire, harm from thieves and bandits, and famine and homeless wandering.

From this day forward, we repent and acknowledge our offenses, vowing to take refuge forever. We reverently pray that the Celestial Worthy universally bestow compassion, condescend to pardon our sins, soothe and shelter us, and grant us survival and preservation. With sincere hearts we bow our heads to the ground and ritually thank the supreme and unsurpassed Orthodox True Three Treasures, that is, the Dao (the Way), the Jing (scripture/classic), and the masters venerated in Daoism.

When the assembly has finished reciting the “Nine Heavens Proclamation,” each person performs one prostration.

With sincere hearts, we devote our lives and bow in worship.

The Celestial Worthy of Universal Transformation by the Sound of Thunder, Responding to the Primordial of the Nine Heavens is vast in compassion; may he condescend to pardon our sins, soothe and shelter us, and grant us survival and preservation. With sincere hearts we bow our heads to the ground and ritually thank the supreme and unsurpassed Orthodox True Three Treasures.

When the assembly has finished reciting the “Nine Heavens Proclamation,” each person performs one prostration.

With sincere hearts, we devote our lives and bow in worship.

The Heavenly Worthy of Universal Transformation by the Sound of Thunder, Respondent to the Prime of the Nine Heavens (the honored deity who commands the thunder and universally bestows teaching and transformation): the disciples chant this name nine times in succession and perform nine prostrations. We, your servants of the ritual assembly (the Daoist priests and devotees taking part in the rite), sincerely entrust body, Shen (spirit), and life-destiny to Shenxiao (the celestial realm spoken of in Daoism), and offer our sincerity to the Jade Bureau (the divine offices of the celestial realm).

Reflecting once more, we disciples were born as ordinary mortals. Our bodily substance is filthy and turbid, and we are like walking corpses without awareness. Having passed through many kalpa-ages down to this day, the offenses we have committed are piled as high as mountains and as deep and vast as the sea. Guilt and blessing, the length or brevity of life, favor or disgrace, flourishing or decline, wealth and stipend, profit and reputation, disputes over right and wrong, and the distinction between self and others—whether one hopes to study immortality and cultivate the Dao (the Way), or hopes to benefit the myriad beings and rescue the common people—each person has a petition of their own, and all wish that these hopes may be fulfilled and not come to nothing.

We are especially anxious that we have at times, without intending it, committed every kind of fault, accumulating them day by day, yet have never set them forth in repentance. Perhaps we have harmed sentient beings and injured lives of every kind; perhaps we have lost the true Dao and turned away from the orthodox Way, violating the precepts and the regulations of the teaching. Since these offenses have already been entered in the registers of life and death, life and death, calamity and blessing, are to be decided by the deities who preside over those registers.

From this day forward we repent and acknowledge our faults, and we vow to take refuge forever. We reverently pray that the Heavenly Worthies will broadly extend compassion, look down upon and pardon our faults, comfort and shelter us, and grant us survival and preservation. We, your servants, sincerely knock our heads and offer ritual thanks to the Unsurpassed, Orthodox, and True Three Treasures (the Dao, the Jing (scripture/classic), and the masters venerated in Daoism).

Buxu (the hymn of praise in Daoist ritual): once with each act of worship.

With sincere hearts we entrust our lives and pay homage to the Great Emperor of Longevity of the South Pole, the Heavenly Worthy of Primordial Sageliness Who Governs Heaven (the honored deity who presides over long life), and to the Great Emperor of Azure Flourishing of the East Pole, the Heavenly Worthy Taiyi (Great Unity) Who Saves from Suffering (the honored deity who delivers beings from hardship). We ask you to comfort and shelter us, and to grant us survival and preservation. We, your servants, sincerely knock our heads and offer ritual thanks to the Unsurpassed, Orthodox, and True Three Treasures.

Buxu: once with each act of worship.

With sincere hearts we entrust our lives and pay homage to the Great Emperor of Longevity of the South Pole, the Heavenly Worthy of Primordial Sageliness Who Governs Heaven; the Great Emperor of Azure Flourishing of the East Pole, the Heavenly Worthy Taiyi Who Saves from Suffering; the Elder Kehan of the Nine Heavens, the Heavenly Worthy of the Vermilion Mound Who Ferries Destinies (the honored deity who presides over the bureau of the Vermilion Mound and delivers the souls of the dead); the Great Emperor, Thunder Ancestor of the Nine Heavens, the Heavenly Worthy Who Removes Calamities and Aids Beings (the honored deity who commands thunder, dispels disasters, and succors the world); the Great Celestial Emperor Taiyi of the Jasper Palace, the Heavenly Worthy Who Protects and Regulates Kalpic Cycles (the honored deity who presides over kalpic fortunes and protects living beings); the Great Emperor of the Cavern Abyss of the Six Heavens, the Supreme Heavenly Worthy Taiyi Who Subdues Demons (the honored deity who quells demons and specters); the Sovereign Lord, Heavenly Lord of the Six Waves, the Heavenly Worthy Who Universally Bestows the Moistening Grace of the Teaching (the honored deity who universally dispenses the beneficence of the teachings); the Perfected Lord, Investigating Commissioner of the Nine Heavens, the Heavenly Worthy of Wondrous Transformation Who Responds to the Origin and Protects Destiny (the honored deity commissioned to tour and inspect, and to uphold the fortunes of the age); the Heavenly Worthy, Judicial Prefect of the Jade Bureau of Shenxiao (the honored deity who presides over the Jade Bureau of Shenxiao); the Palace Attendants, the Directors, the Supreme Ministers, and the Ministers of the Right of the Jade Bureau (offices and deities within the Jade Bureau); the Perfected Lords of the Commission of the Five Thunders; the Celestial Lord, Master of Thunder, the Hoary Elder; the Celestial Lord, Earl of Thunder, the Azure Emperor; and the secretaries of the Jade Pivot together with the immortal hosts of the official bureaus (the subordinate officers and immortal assemblies of the divine bureau of the Jade Pivot).

Homage is paid to the ministers and masters, the immortals and Perfected, of the Nine Heavens Responding-to-the-Origin Bureau (Jiutian Yingyuan Fu) seated in assembly, together with the divine generals and the official retinues of the various offices of the Thunder Department: the Thunder Lord Generals of the Nine Heavens, the Thunder Lord Generals of the Five Directions, the Cloud-and-Thunder Generals of the Eight Directions, the Envoys of the Thunder Gates of the Nine Heavens, the Fierce-Thunder Envoys (Manlei) of the Five Directions, the Commander Envoys of the Thunder Department, the officers charged with correction, recording, and impartial inspection, the grandees of the Office of Seizing Surpluses and the Office of Accumulated Arrests, the grandees of the Office of Hidden Wrongs and the Office of Retribution, the Judges Who Do Not Misreckon, and the rest of the official host of the Thunder Department, as well as the true immortals of the Thunder Department and the officials of each office.

When the homage is complete, everyone kneels at length, takes refuge, and makes confession.

We who uphold the teachings and cultivate practice sincerely entrust body, Shen (spirit), and life to Shenxiao (the celestial realm spoken of in Daoism), and offer our sincerity to the Jade Bureau (Yufu, the divine bureau of the heavens). We revere the Nine Chen (Jiuchen, the nine exalted deities of the celestial realm), who preside over the heavens, while the divine officials of each office assist Heaven and Earth in their work of transformation and nurture. Beings of the Three Realms come and go within this order, and the divinities of each department help to uphold the clarity of the orthodox Dao (the Way). Thunder is the crucial pivot through which the divinities exercise their authority and weigh the good and evil of human beings.

We reflect on our own ignorance. Lodged in the dusty world, we have not yet cut off greed, anger, and delusion; or else what the heart thinks, what the mouth says, and what is actually done do not agree with one another. We act as we please and know no shame. Some offenses we committed ourselves after seeing them with our own eyes and hearing them with our own ears; others arose first as a thought and were then instigated in others. All such karmic offenses we confess, one by one.

We respectfully pray that the Nine Heavens examine us with clarity, and that the holy Perfected compassionately extend their protection. May the statutes of the celestial Dao broadly bestow their grace, and may the rain of the law fall everywhere, a favor as vast as the ocean. Whether our offenses be great or small, we earnestly beg that they be washed away. May the three karmas of body, speech, and mind (action, words, and thought) be made pure, and may the six faculties of eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind (the six capacities of perception and cognition) likewise be pure, so that blessings reach all beings and beneficence extends throughout the ten directions. With sincere hearts we knock our heads and offer ritual thanks to the Unsurpassed Orthodox and True Three Treasures (the highest objects of veneration in Daoism).

Verse of the Unsurpassed Jade Clarity King: On Hearing the Scripture

Having heard the scripture (Jing), may all living beings enter deeply into the gate of the methods of the Dao, take refuge, and receive them with faith and reverent homage.

After hearing the scripture, may all living beings be cleared of every transgression, and may good thoughts grow without cease.

After hearing the scripture, may all living beings forever cut off deluded clinging and constantly return to the correct Dao (the Way).

I have heard that the Dao embraces Heaven and Earth, and that human beings and the myriad things alike are born by receiving the Qi (vital energy) of Yin-Yang. The arising of the myriad things depends upon compassion, and faults that have been committed may still be pardoned once a person examines them and awakens. Earlier we came forward to worship the Celestial Worthy, praising the sacred title of the Celestial Worthy, and with a single mind prayed that Heaven bestow its protection, laying our bodies upon the ground and sincerely taking refuge. We respectfully hope that the Great Holy Celestial Worthy, the compassionate Celestial Worthy, will pardon the faults of life after life and kalpa after kalpa, and bestow the Qi of the Five Thunders of Zhengyi (Orthodox Unity)—the Qi of Zhengyi Daoist methods, as Daoism speaks of it. With sincere hearts we pray, laying our bodies upon the ground and taking refuge in the Celestial Worthy. We respectfully hope that the Great Holy Celestial Worthy, the compassionate Celestial Worthy, will pardon the faults of life after life and kalpa after kalpa, and bestow the Qi of the Five Thunders of Zhengyi.

May all that we seek in our hearts be realized as the thought arises; may the matters we ask for be accomplished, the wishes we have reached through sympathetic response be answered, what we hope for be granted, and the calamities we pray to avert withdraw. May we, in this life and in lives to come, constantly meet with proper causes and conditions; may beings that possess awareness and the myriad things that do not together ascend the shore of the Dao (a metaphor for leaving delusion and moving toward attainment of the Way). We bow our heads to the ground and take refuge in the Limitless Great Dao.

The liturgical text preceding this point (“xianglai”): there should originally have been a dedication text here (ritual wording that turns the merit of scripture recitation and of rites of worship and repentance toward living beings or toward a particular wish), but the edition in the Zhonghua Daozang (Chinese Daoist Canon) does not include it. The content of the dedication text may be consulted in the Leiting Yushu Youzui Fachan (Ritual Repentance for the Pardoning of Offenses of the Jade Pivot of Thunder).