《太上洞渊神咒经》Vol. 2

In the water are ghostly spirits whose water smells of fish. Drinking it causes discord and poverty in the household. Ghost soldiers surround homes, cling to their doorways, and spread out in every direction. They specifically harm the young children and the elderly, causing many deaths. All these calamities are caused by such spirits. From now on, you must leave. If you do not, the Resentful Li will kill you. Even the Ghost King will not escape punishment: his head will be smashed into eighty-six pieces.

The Dao also says: There are another two hundred thousand Red-Rope Ghosts, personally commanded by the Ghost King, who leads four hundred and ninety thousand female ghosts. They come in spring to harm men, in autumn to harm women, in winter to prey on young children, and in summer to harm the elderly. By day they hide in the water; at dusk they spy on people’s homes. At times they also harm livestock such as cattle and horses, spreading calamity, poverty, and illness. The sickness is difficult to cure and may go on taking lives. Leave at once. If you do not, each of your heads will be smashed into twelve pieces, and the Ghost King will be exterminated.

The Dao also says: During the ten-day cycle beginning with Jiazi, there are thirty thousand White Xia Ghosts, whose king is named Chidu. They roam throughout the world, spreading seventy-eight kinds of incurable disease. They make people run about in a frenzy and babble incoherently, and cause diarrhea, sores, and swellings. People die with blood coming from their mouths and their vital energy in disarray. Crows and magpies circling a home are a sign that these spirits are at work. They cause people throughout the world to die suddenly, for reasons unknown, and make both men and women prone to severe illness. From now on, you Ghost Kings must restrain and take away your ghost soldiers. If you do not leave, you will die, your heads smashed into thirty-eight pieces.

The Dao also says: In the year Jiaxu, there are Red-Wall Ghosts, each eighty zhang tall, with a host of four billion nine hundred million ghosts gathered into a single mass. They can transform into enormous fish, seven zhang, two chi, and three cun long. They can also transform into a million flying birds that roam throughout the world, spreading baleful energy that causes sudden death. They also provoke war, bring people to punishment and imprisonment, stir up quarrels and accusations, and make illness break out in every household. These are the workings of the Resentful Zhu Ghost King. You must immediately restrain and take away your ghost soldiers. From now on…

You were previously ordered to withdraw ten thousand li. If you still refuse to leave, your heads will be smashed into thirty pieces.

The Dao says: In a Jiawu year, there was a kind of yellow ox demon whose king was named Chishi. He commanded the Red-Headed Crows and had ninety million followers. These demons entered people’s homes and seized their family members. If you still refuse to leave, your heads will be smashed into thirty pieces.

The Dao says: In a Jiawu year, there was a kind of yellow ox demon whose king was named Chishi. He commanded the Red-Headed Crows and had ninety million followers. These demons entered people’s homes, seized young children and the elderly, and brought every kind of illness, especially severe illness. The calamities caused by the Earth Lord (a spirit associated with the land and construction) also claimed to be Li Ziao. Li Ziao had more brothers than could be counted; they came in bands to harm people, causing untimely deaths. From now on, you must flee elsewhere at once. If you do not leave, and harm people by making them ill and causing their deaths, bringing quarrels into the household, and ruining the harvests and silkworm crop, you will be executed. Demon King Chishi, your head will be smashed into ten thousand pieces.

The Dao says: In a Jiashen year, there were two demon kings named Meng Tian and Wang Jian. Each commanded thirty thousand red demons, roaming throughout the world. They provoked people to fight and grow angry, and brought on severe diarrhea, facial swelling and paralysis, chest tightness and vomiting, and distress above and below. They also made young children cry out in fright, brought lawsuits and disputes upon households, even entangling them in criminal cases, and caused every kind of illness, poverty and hardship, children who could not be raised to adulthood, poor harvests and silkworm yields, and unfulfilled wishes. All these things were the work of the demon kings Wang Jian and the others. From now on, if Meng Tian, Wang Jian, and the others fail to restrain their demon troops, your troops will be annihilated, and the demon kings’ heads will be smashed into eighty pieces.

These passages from the Scripture of the Divine Incantations of the Most High Cavernous Abyss say that, during the jiǎxū year, a king of demons and the demon troops of five kingdoms—Song, Zhao, Yan, Wei, and Lu—led by their dead generals, each commanded thirty-six thousand demons. They ranged through the Shu-Han region, abducted women, children, and the elderly, and afflicted people with forty-six kinds of illness. The scripture names the demon king Huainanzi Fan, along with Bai Gong, Han She, Song Xian, and Wang Shan, and orders them to restrain their subordinates: from this moment on, if they continue sending demon troops to kill people instead of leaving, their heads will be shattered as punishment.

The scripture then refers to demonic disturbances during the jiǎyín year, names these demon kings again, and orders them to control their subordinates and stop harming people.

It also says that, during the jiǎyín year, thirty-nine thousand demons were present. Their king was named Jūliúbù, and each commanded eight hundred thousand demons, who brought down sixteen thousand kinds of illnesses that were difficult to cure. The scripture also attributes to these demons such calamities as people suffering injustice and having nowhere to live, invasions by neighboring states, and evil spirits breaking into homes. It therefore commands the demon kings to rein in their troops; if they do not withdraw, Heaven will strike them down without mercy. The passage ends with “Execute this command with all haste, in accordance with the statutes,” a formulaic incantation expressing that the order must be carried out immediately.

The final passage says that, when the world is in turmoil, floods are imminent, and the people are suffering, Daoist methods should be used to instruct the ignorant. It warns the demon kings and others to restrain their subordinates and not allow the people of the world to die needlessly from illness. The latter part of the original mentions “receiving the Dao to transform the ignorant” and the “Three Caverns” (Sanqing); here, “Three Caverns” is a classification term for Daoist scriptures.

The Dao says: When the world is in great disorder and floods are imminent, and the people are suffering, people should uphold the Dao’s teachings and use them to guide the ignorant. When the Ghost Kings and others see you upholding the scriptures and teachings of the Three Caverns (Dongzhen, Dongxuan, and Dongshen) and following the instructions of the Daoist masters, they will come of their own accord to protect you and will not dare to harm you. As long as Daoist practitioners diligently cultivate and uphold the teachings of the Supreme Clarity’s Mysterious Center, the hundred ghosts will not dare approach people. Those who uphold the teachings of Samadhi will naturally be able to become immortals; those who uphold the teachings of guidance and transformation will bring the Demon Kings to submit of their own accord; those who uphold the Great Expulsion Scripture will receive help from heavenly beings; those who uphold the teachings of the Boundless Chapters will be able to see the Perfected Lords with their own eyes; those who receive an immortal’s prediction of their attainment will be visited and protected by immortals; and those who uphold the Scripture of the Yellow Court will have the Most High descend in person. These are the essential teachings of the scriptures of the Three Caverns.

Daoist practitioners are the worthy among men and women. Anyone who upholds this scripture can heal people wherever they go; no illness will be beyond their power to cure, and the Ghost Kings will submit of their own accord. If any still refuse to submit, the strongman Huang Ying will cut them down one by one.

The Dao says: There are many evil people in the world, and that is why these wicked ghosts roam about, savagely killing people. From now on, the Ghost Kings will respect any man or woman who upholds the scriptures and teachings of the Three Caverns and will not dare harm them. Everyone should also make offerings to them. If anyone insults a master of the Three Caverns’ teachings, the Ghost Kings will cause that person’s head to split into eighteen pieces. Anyone who deceives or insults a master with words, or plots to harm or rob them, will be punished: their family line and descendants will be wiped out, and their ancestors for seven generations will sink forever into the dark realm. This is a command personally issued by the Most High. Hasten, in accordance with the statutes!

The Dao says: From now on, whenever anyone falls ill, you thirty-two Demon Kings—Mingjiu and the others—listen: your allotted time is over! You and your subordinates must no longer spread poison or harm the people. This is an oral command. Hasten, in accordance with the statutes!

The Dao declares: From today onward, whenever anyone falls ill, within three days the thirty-two demon kings, along with evil spirits such as Wuju, must all obey this command: withdraw your troops at once. Do not spread poison or harm and kill people in the world. If you still refuse to leave, send eighty million Red Attendant Officers—divine officials of the celestial realm—down from above the Ninth Heaven, led by the Most High Perfect Lord, to destroy you with the divine troops. Quickly seize and confine these ghosts, and make their ghost troops surrender of their own accord, so that the living may be safe and all under Heaven at peace. Why have you still not departed? Otherwise, the demon kings’ heads will be smashed into ninety pieces.

The Dao declares: Nine hundred and fifty thousand lesser ghosts have come to harm people. If a person of deep blessings and De, or a Daoist who upholds and recites the incantations of the Three Caverns—the incantations of Daoism’s Three Caverns scriptural teachings—comes to recite them for someone, the ghost kings and others must assist, obey the commands of the strongmen, and drive away these lesser ghost bandits. They must also pacify and identify the ghosts in the household, including the spirits of the well and stove, ghosts connected with relatives by blood or marriage, and all other kinds of ghosts. The souls of the dead lying hidden in the home, ghosts who have come from elsewhere, and unoffered ghosts in the household must all be seized one by one and sent to the Northern Prison of Tianyi for judgment. If you still disobey my command, the heads of you great demon kings will be smashed into eighty pieces.

The Dao declares: From today onward, whenever a person falls ill, it is the mischief of you lesser ghost kings. From now on, whenever a man or woman becomes ill and a Daoist comes to recite scripture and provide aid, you must immediately retreat ten thousand li away and let the patient recover on their own; then I will grant you promotion. If the patient does not recover, you lesser ghost kings will be cut into ten thousand pieces. Whenever a man or woman becomes ill and a Daoist comes to recite scripture and provide aid, you must immediately retreat ten thousand li away and let the patient recover on their own. If you cannot do so, you will be cut into ten thousand pieces, with no pardon. Carry out the Most High’s oral edict at once.

The Dao declares: From now on, whenever someone falls ill, it is the work of plague ghosts. The great demon kings have failed to restrain them diligently, allowing the lesser ghosts to harm people. From now on, the great demon kings and the lesser kings must hasten to assist the celestial spirits. Wherever a Daoist recites this passage of scripture, the patient must recover, and disputes and lawsuits must also resolve of their own accord. If the patient still does not recover, the ghost kings and the others will be cut into ten thousand pieces, with no pardon. Carry out the Most High’s oral edict at once.

The Dao says: There are many people in the world who do evil. In the Renwu year, when Daoist priests went into the mountains to cultivate, people instead competed to mock them. When the great flood came, they still did not know what to do, even with death upon them. How lamentable, how lamentable! The sages can perceive disasters before they appear, so they prepared in advance the essential teachings of the Three Caverns (Dongzhen, Dongxuan, and Dongshen), an important part of the Daoist scriptures, to warn the people. Those who do not adopt, accept, or put these teachings into practice will sink with the current like people caught in a torrent of mud. How tragic, how tragic! The Most High, a revered Daoist deity, feels great compassion for all beings in the ten directions.

The Dao says: From now on, whenever someone suddenly falls ill, becomes embroiled in a lawsuit, or faces disputes and accusations, people will say it was caused by the ghosts of Lord Deng and Liu Douyu. These beings will also come to kill the people. The Celestial Emperor has sent General Red Thunder, leading an army of 280,000 soldiers, to destroy them. Great Ghost Kings and the others, from now on, quickly take charge of the lesser ghosts under your command and drive them ten thousand li away. If they still refuse to leave and continue to harm the people, or keep the sick from recovering, you too will face death. Withdraw far away at once and carry out the Most High’s oral command.

The Dao says: From now on, if 800,000 lesser ghosts are harming people, and even one person holds and recites this sacred incantation scripture, when a Daoist priest comes to treat the sick, you lesser Ghost Kings and Great Demon Kings must all come to help. Urge the lesser ghosts to leave at once and allow the sick to recover. If the lesser ghosts still refuse to leave and the patient’s condition becomes critical, they will be destroyed. Carry out the Most High’s oral command at once.

The Dao says: From now on, if 490,000 evil people do not understand the Daoist teachings and refuse to believe them even after hearing them, then 300,000 Red Killing Ghosts will come to destroy them. If even one among them holds faith in their heart, beings from Heaven will come to guide and instruct them.

The Dao says: From now on, if 490,000 evil people do not understand the Daoist teachings and refuse to believe them even after hearing them, then 300,000 Red Killing Ghosts will come to destroy them. If even one among them holds faith in their heart, beings from Heaven will come to instruct them. Also, when 8,000 plague ghosts enter a home and prepare to take someone’s life, if a Daoist priest comes to help, those lesser ghosts will be destroyed.

The Dao declares: Evil people do not believe in the Daoist teachings, and so there are many ignorant people in the world. Now there are people who believe in the scriptures and accept the Three Caverns (the three categories of Daoist scriptures and lineages); they have come from Heaven. From this day forward, whenever a sick person fails to recover after prolonged treatment, it is because the Great Demon Kings and others have neglected their duties. Immediately take into custody the ghosts under your command. You must at once carry out the oral command of the Most High.

The Dao declares: From this day forward, Daoist priests who follow the Way of the Three Caverns must first recite this divine incantation for all living beings. If anyone falls ill, and the heavenly gods, Demon Kings, and others do not come to help where the illness has struck, you will be put to death.

The Dao declares: People in the world are beset by plague demons. Their situation is perilous, their illness severe, and their lives hang by a thread. From this day forward, wherever a Daoist priest treats the sick, the Great Demon Kings and others must immediately make the patient well. If the patient recovers, you will be promoted; if the patient does not recover, you will be put to death.

The Dao declares: People in the world are beset by plague demons. Their situation is perilous, their illness severe, and their lives hang by a thread. From this day forward, wherever a Daoist priest treats the sick, the Great Demon Kings and others must immediately make the patient well. If the patient recovers, you will be promoted; if the patient does not recover, you will be put to death.

The Dao declares: You Daoist priests must hurry to help all who suffer calamity. I will send thirty thousand heavenly soldiers and strongmen to assist you. From this day forward, wherever Daoist priests save people, heavenly soldiers and strongmen will protect and aid them, so that the sick recover of their own accord. When the patient recovers, the heavenly gods, Demon Kings, and others will be promoted; if the patient does not recover, you will be put to death. You must at once carry out the oral command of the Most High.

End of Scroll Six of the Scripture of Divine Incantations from the Cavernal Abyss of the Most High. Scroll Seven: “Chapter on Beheading Demons.”

The Dao says: From now until the third through ninth months of the Renwu year, plague demons will kill among the people, and three out of every ten will die. This will be an age of warfare. The Six Yi—an ancient term for peoples living beyond China’s borders—will suffer death; the teachings of the śramaṇas, or Buddhist monks, will change; the Dao’s vital energy (Dao Qi) will grow ever more abundant; and the Three Caverns, the three major divisions of Daoist scriptures, will spread through the Central Plain. The movements of the sun and moon will fall into disorder, the people will be worn down by hardship, and every household will suffer deaths.

If anyone upholds the scriptures of the Three Caverns and passes their teachings on to others, then when someone falls ill, reciting and transmitting the scriptures will bring aid from the scripture spirits, and the sick person will recover. From now on, wherever this scripture is recited and transmitted, I will send strong warriors from the ten directions to instruct the plague demons and all evil spirits, making them cease their mischief. The sick will then be spared and recover without harm. Those imprisoned or subjected to punishment will also be freed of their own accord. If they do not receive this protection, the Demon King will punish them first and show no mercy.

The Dao says: After the year Jiashu, there will appear thirty-six million three-legged ghosts, each nine zhang tall and carrying a red staff. They will enter people’s homes and spread sixty-two kinds of disease, killing the wicked. These ghosts are called Quyin. Each Quyin commands three hundred and sixty vertical-eyed ghosts, all with red eyes. Some ride the wind and clouds, bent on taking human lives; they also suddenly kill domestic animals.

There are also twelve hundred green plague ghosts, along with eighty million plague ghosts who are like brothers and sisters. These male and female ghosts number as many as nine hundred million each day. They enter people’s homes and spy on young children, causing people to die suddenly.

There is also a kind of two-headed ghost called Dangjin. Savage and cruel, it often fills the people with fear, and they fall ill as a result. These ghosts recklessly eat people’s chickens and pretend to be great deities, deceiving the ignorant. The ignorant believe them and kill domestic animals as offerings. The ghosts thereby get their way, and offering sacrifices gradually becomes a custom. When they do not receive offerings, the ghosts make people sick.

From now on, for all who practice this scripture, I will send thirty-nine thousand celestial soldiers to admonish these ghosts to disperse and go a thousand li away. If they still refuse to leave, the Great Demon Kings of the Three Days and the Lords of the Ten Directions—the deities who govern the ten directions—will cut them into ten thousand pieces, without mercy.

The Dao says: In the Renwu year, thirty-six kinds of great demons had already appeared. Some were called “Black-Head Ran,” others “Red Canopy,” and another was called “Aju.” Each commanded thirty-nine thousand demons. Carrying white staffs and demon-slaying swords seven feet long, they broke into people’s homes, deliberately took lives, caused one hundred and twenty kinds of illness, and killed those who did evil. In addition, sixty kinds of baleful qi entered the human body, causing sudden death.

From now on, whenever such illnesses occur, the patient can recover if a Three Caverns ritual master (a Daoist who knows the Three Caverns scriptures and practices) recites the scriptures, performs the Way, and carries out the rites. If these demonic forces still refuse to withdraw and submit, continuing to make people ill or harm them, or causing legal cases to drag on without resolution, the Great Brahma King and the other heavenly deities, together with the principal gods of the ten directions, will punish them severely and show no mercy.

The Dao says: In the Renwu year, thirty-seven thousand Red Crows had already spread thirty-nine thousand kinds of disease, using them to kill evildoers. There were also another eighty-two kinds of disease, all harmful to evildoers. When people contracted these illnesses, if a ritual master who upheld the Three Caverns (Dongzhen, Dongxuan, and Dongshen) scriptures recited the scriptures and performed the Dao, the sick would recover.

As the ritual master recites the scriptures and performs the Dao, the kings of the thirty-six Brahma Heavens will come to protect everyone, and the armies of plague demons will naturally disperse. If they still refuse to withdraw, I will send the mighty warriors of the Three Heavens and a hundred thousand Red Ones to capture and destroy the plague demons. Since Daoist practitioners uphold the methods of the Three Caverns, they should quickly guide the people into the Dao; the heavenly gods will rejoice as well. If you cause someone to lose the desire to do good, Heaven and humanity will punish you, and you will never again attain a human body, let alone become an immortal. From now on, wherever a ritual master treats the sick, the heavenly beings will come to help and protect them.

The Jade Maidens of the Three Heavens were to lead fifty million people down to the world below and travel with Magu, a female immortal, on Mount Duyang. Passing the Five Sacred Peaks, they saw people throughout the land falling ill and dying, with the dead numbering more than one. The Mysterious Maiden, a female immortal, exclaimed, “The calamity is so grave that the people are nearly all dead. How can we save them?” Grief-stricken, they sighed together, then went to the Mysterious Capital and reported everything in detail to the Most High, a revered Daoist deity.

The Most High said, “Go down to the human world and teach the people to uphold the scriptures of the Three Caverns. These scriptures can help living beings overcome every kind of calamity. If you can travel to different places and teach the scriptures, inspiring people to honor and trust them, then when they face illness or lawsuits, recite the scriptures for them. After a night of recitation, the dead will come back to life, and lawsuits will settle themselves. From now on, wherever a ritual master saves people, I will send heavenly beings to guide and assist them, and the plague demons will naturally depart.”

The Dao says: These three women accumulated great blessings in their former lives. They have now become holy women who teach and transform all living beings, and are great deities revered throughout the ten directions. Each day they can transform themselves a hundred times, and none can equal them. In later generations, whoever hears or sees the name “These Three Women” will also receive their aid. If anyone falls ill or becomes embroiled in a lawsuit, they need only recite this scripture repeatedly, and the great deities of the ten directions will come in person to help, preventing calamity. If you can teach and transform the people of the world, Heaven will naturally know.

The Dao says: This has been happening since the Gengchen year. If anyone falls ill or becomes embroiled in a lawsuit, they need only recite this scripture repeatedly, and the great deities of the ten directions will come in person to help, preventing calamity. If you can teach and transform the people of the world, Heaven will naturally know.

The Dao says: Since the Gengchen year, there have been ninety billion Black-Killing Ghosts—ghost deities who commit violence and harm people. Their leaders stand six zhang tall, and each commands eighty-four thousand lesser ghosts and red-headed pestilence ghosts, who spy on the human world from every direction. The ghosts are called Yingnü. All have red eyes and roam everywhere, breaking into people’s homes, seizing young children, causing every kind of illness, and taking lives. From now on, wherever a ritual master repeatedly recites this scripture to heal the sick, the pestilence ghosts must immediately retreat a thousand li. If they still do not leave, the Great Deities of the Three Heavens will admonish them. If they remain, mighty warriors will bind them, and no mercy will be shown.

The Dao says: In the third and tenth months of the Renwu year, there were 120,000 Red-Heaven Pestilence Ghosts, each commanding 39,000 mighty warrior troops. There were also 700,000 Black-Tailed Ghosts, called Sheshe, who commanded 86,000 ghosts and descended from Heaven to kill the wicked. From now on, when an acute illness strikes, if a Daoist priest recites the scripture in accordance with the rites and treats the sick, these ghosts will be subdued and bound. If they still do not leave, the mighty warriors of the Three Heavens will surely slay them; moments later, the mighty warriors of the Nine Heavens will slay them as well, showing no mercy.

The Dao says: From now on, eight hundred thousand three-legged ghosts and twelve-headed plague demons will emerge to harm people, causing seventy-nine kinds of illness. Wherever a ritual master who practices the methods of the Three Caverns (Dongzhen, Dongxuan, and Dongshen) performs a Daoist ritual, these ghosts will naturally be subdued by beings from the celestial realm. If they still refuse to leave, the Three Heavens’ warriors will surely slay them, showing no mercy.

The Dao says: In the ninth month of the xinsi year, thirty million red-eyed ghosts, named Jiaozi, will appear. Each ghost will lead four billion nine hundred million lesser ghosts to harm people. Anyone afflicted with this illness should quickly summon a Three Caverns ritual master. Once the master enters the house and performs a Daoist ritual, the ghosts will depart on their own. If they still refuse to leave, nine hundred thousand celestial soldiers and warriors will slay them one by one, showing no mercy.

The Dao says: In the jiawu year, eighty million lesser mound ghosts will appear. Quickly summon a Three Caverns ritual master. Once the master enters the house, the ghosts will depart on their own. If they still refuse to leave, nine hundred thousand celestial soldiers and warriors will slay them one by one, showing no mercy.

The Dao says: In the jiawu year, eighty million lesser mound ghosts named Redheads will appear. Each ghost will lead eight hundred thousand others into the human realm to spread ninety kinds of illness. These illnesses will afflict wicked people, causing symptoms such as bodily swelling and sores or ulcers. From now on, wherever a ritual master treats the sick, these ghosts will submit and flee swiftly to a place ten thousand li away. If they still refuse to leave, the Three Heavens’ warriors will surely slay you, not sparing a single one. Daoist priests who use ritual methods to aid the people can also cause these ghosts to depart on their own.

The Dao says: From the gengchen year through the ninth and tenth months of the renwu year, many people will fall ill. At that time, there will be nine hundred and thirty thousand yellow-bodied ghosts named Bailong, each commanding one hundred and twenty thousand ghost kings, who will descend and make people sick. From now on, wherever a ritual master recites scripture, these ghosts will depart. If they still refuse to leave, the celestial soldiers and warriors, together with the great armies of the Three Heavens, will come and slay them, and the Demon King of the Nine Heavens will punish them. Wherever a ritual master recites scripture, these ghosts will depart. If they still refuse to leave, the celestial soldiers and warriors, together with the great armies of the Three Heavens, will come and slay them, and the Demon King of the Nine Heavens will punish them.

The Dao teaches that from now on, in years of the Xinsi and Renwu cycles, ninety-six kinds of harmful ghosts and monsters will appear. Each village will have 460,000 Yellow Jaundice Ghosts—the ghosts that, according to the scripture, cause people to contract jaundice. Once they enter a village, they will make people vomit blood, suffer diarrhea, contract cholera, die suddenly, or feel pain in the heart. They will also cause people to develop jaundice and painful, obstructed throats, sometimes even leading to death.

If a ritual master who practices in accordance with the rites recites scriptures and performs rituals to save the people, the Great Gods of the Three Heavens will order these ghosts and monsters to leave and drive them ten thousand li away. If any still refuse to go, their heads will split into sixteen pieces. The Great Soldiers of the Three Heavens and the Mighty Warriors of the Nine Heavens will show them no mercy. Using ritual arts, Daoist priests will instruct and admonish the ghosts and monsters, urging them to leave the human world.

The Dao says: Since the Later Han dynasty, five powerful and malevolent ghosts have appeared. They are named Wang Jian, Bai Qi, Han Zhang, Le Yang, and Chu Kuang. There are also 39,000 ghost beings, including Hao Jing, Nüwa, and Zhurong, each commanding 800 million ghosts. These ghosts have accompanied successive emperors and their ministers since Fuxi’s time. The chief among the great ghosts commands 120,000. The lesser ghosts under heaven attach themselves to human households to seek food, and serve as soldiers for the ghost kings, harassing the people and making them suffer.

These ghosts spy on households everywhere, abduct men and women, and bring on illness, calamity, quarrels, lawsuits, floods, and fires. They gather in mobs and cause trouble, unjustly harming good people and making the innocent fall ill and die. They deceive and alienate family members, harass the Kitchen Lord, who oversees a household’s food and hearth fire, and disturb the household gods. They make everything in the home difficult to accomplish and bring sudden illnesses and pains of every kind. Riding the wind and mounting sparrows, they conjure up illusory and uncanny apparitions. Such incidents have occurred repeatedly of late.

Now Zhengyi Merit Officers, who convey orders and conduct official business in Daoism, the Great Brightness Envoys, and the Spirit-Inspecting Envoys are being dispatched. Each commands 900 million iron-faced mounted officers, armed with great halberds and other weapons for slaying ghosts. Also dispatched are 490,000 powerful and robust warriors of the Most High. Together they shall descend to search out and seize the ghosts of deceased generals within this nation, as well as all demons, malign spirits, and inauspicious beings. Any who come to harm people are to be captured and killed one by one, so that the evil ghosts in the homes are completely eradicated. The ghost kings and their ranks must exert themselves to bind the evil ghosts in order. If even one ghost refuses to leave, it must be slain without mercy. This command is to be carried out at once.

The Dao says: The search for and slaying of these evil ghosts throughout the nation’s territory is undertaken to clear the homes of malign spirits. The ghost kings and their ranks must exert themselves to bind them in order. If even one ghost refuses to leave, it must be slain without mercy. This command is to be carried out at once.

The Dao says: In the realm there are powerful ghost lords, such as Deng Ai, Zhong Shiji, Zhao Shan, Wang Mang, Li Ao, Du Zhou, Liu Douwu, Wang Li, Xiahou Ying, Jiang Gongyan, Ye Gongli of Nanyang, Xia Tanzhi, Xiao He, Shentu Bo, Han Xin, Tian Jin, Liang Hong, Gao Pei, Sun Wen, Sima Jiong, and Liu Yuanda. These great ghosts rule over people in the world. Some people worship Emperor Wu and King Wen, making offerings to them from generation to generation, so that their shrines have endured without interruption. Each ghost lord commands troops and horses, wreaking havoc throughout the world and causing people to fall ill or even die. Year after year and month after month, they bring every kind of illness.

People may feel heaviness in their limbs, suffer chills and fever or diarrhea, or develop swelling, ascites, or a dark illness. They may also have headaches or eye pain, heat in the chest and back, jaundice, coughing, or an obstructed throat. Any of these illnesses may prove fatal.

The Dao says: These ghost lords were once generals or held important positions. After they died, people built shrines to them and made offerings without ceasing. It is said that hundreds of ghosts now cling to them, gathering in great numbers and waiting for a chance to harm the people. They bring disasters involving water and fire, disputes and slander, lawsuits, and all manner of calamities; they may even cause sudden death, claiming many lives. This has been going on for a long time. Now the Red Lu Great Prohibition Army—the divine troops spoken of in the scripture—is being sent here. Their bodies are ten thousand zhang tall, and they command eight hundred thousand troops; each soldier in turn commands three hundred million followers. They are coming to seize these ghost kings. Once captured, they will be beheaded without mercy.

The Dao declares: From now on, wherever a Three Caverns master of the Dao (a Daoist adept versed in the scriptures and methods of the Three Caverns) recites the scriptures or helps people, ninety trillion divine troops must be sent to guard that household and all who live there. If anyone falls ill or becomes entangled in a lawsuit or imprisonment, they must be freed from their troubles one by one, recover from their illness, and suffer no further calamity. On the day when people are no longer afflicted by calamity, the king of ghosts will be promoted. If an illness does not heal, or anyone remains in danger, then the heads of the great demon king Mao Di and the others must split into ninety pieces.

The Dao declares: From now on, wherever anyone is ill, or anyone recites this scripture of divine incantations, four hundred thousand Strongmen of Harmony and three hundred and sixty thousand Officials of Many Tongues must be sent to resolve the calamities of the household where the sick person lives and of prisoners caught up in the penal system. They must counsel the family, ancestors, and parents, as well as those inside or outside the household connected with the calamity. Whether sacrifices have been made or not, they must investigate each case and deal with it properly, bringing the matter to a complete close.

Also send the spirits who administer prisons and punishments, including Gao Yao, the Divine Lord who oversees the wooden cangues and ropes used in punishment, the twelve Order Officials, eight hundred and ninety thousand commanders, and officials at every rank—from the Three Dukes and Nine Ministers to senior and junior court officers—as the authorities in the ten directions. They must immediately open the prison gates and release those held captive. They must change their hearts, make peace with one another, bring joy to the ruler of the present age, and secure the prisoners’ release. In this way, the dead will be promoted and leave the Three Paths—the realms of suffering as hell beings, hungry ghosts, and animals—to join the ranks of Daoist spirits. There they will roam freely and act through Wuwei (non-action), while protecting the living, healing illnesses, and resolving all troubles. From now on, I and the king of ghosts jointly decree this matter. If an illness still does not heal, then the heads of the great demon king Li Hong and the others must split into three thousand five hundred pieces.

The Dao says: Tell the Great Demon King Furen that a living person is now ill and suffering. Their limbs and body are unwell, their throat is blocked, their head aches and their vision blurs. Their chest and back burn with pain, their hands and feet cannot move, and their five organs feel as though they are being scorched. Their breath surges, bringing anguish to their heart; their spirit is dispirited, and they are sunk in gloom. They cannot keep their eyes open, have no desire to eat or drink, and only want to vomit. Neither sleep nor waking brings them peace, and in their dreams they are always pursuing the dead. Their body is weak inside and out, and their life may be hard to preserve; the day of death is drawing near. I now make this sincere report: the sick person’s suffering is truly pitiful. I am sending the Great Slaying Marquis King and eight billion troops to inspect the underworld and seize its ghost soldiers.

What ghost is making someone in this household ill? If it is one of the living person’s grandparents, they should not be causing trouble. If they are not among those to whom offerings are made, they have their own proper place. If they are the local or stove gods, their offerings have their appointed seasons; if they are household ghosts, they should not harm people either. The world is now peaceful and secure, so ghosts may not come of their own accord. If old malign influences remain in the house, if calamities come from any of the four directions, or if there are any evil ghosts, including those of mountains, forests, ponds, and marshes, seize them one by one and escort them to the hell of the Three Heavens. Let the Ghost Statutes and Lady Qing’s edict deal with them according to law. They must not return to make good people suddenly fall ill.

From now on, ghosts may not come of their own accord. If old malign influences remain in the house, if calamities come from any of the four directions, or if there are any evil ghosts, including those of mountains, forests, ponds, and marshes, seize them one by one and escort them to the hell of the Three Heavens. Punish them under the Ghost Statutes and Lady Qing’s edict, and forbid them to return and make good people suddenly fall ill. Seize your ghost soldiers at once. If the sick person does not recover, and the matter remains unresolved, the Great Demon King will have you cut to pieces, and there will be no mercy.

The scripture says that during the year beginning with the Jiazi cycle, eight hundred thousand Red Plague Ghosts will kill the people. Three hundred and sixty thousand Black Ghost Kings, each commanding one hundred and twenty thousand Six Barbarians Ghosts, will enter people’s homes. They will bring chills and fever, swelling in the limbs, and redness and heat throughout the body; they will also cause children and women in childbirth to die suddenly. The Three Dukes, having governed poorly, will be punished for it themselves. The realm will be in turmoil, floods and droughts will be out of balance, and wicked ghosts will seize people everywhere. The ruler too will fall ill. If he handles matters unjustly, wrongs the innocent, and punishes people excessively, the people will cry out to Heaven. The Heavenly Emperor, enraged, will send thirty thousand black-faced little ghosts to kill. Anyone seeking protection from these ghosts should receive and uphold the true scriptures of the Three Caverns (the Daoist scriptures of the Three Caverns). If someone receives a General’s Register (a Daoist register of divine generals and protective talismans), the ghosts will not dare to kill others at will.

The scripture also says that if someone in a household falls ill, or someone becomes entangled in a criminal case, faces danger, and fears death, the family should first establish this purification ritual (a Daoist Zhaijiao rite). The ritual may have three, five, ten, or eight participants. Their names should be carefully recorded. In a clean room, prepare incense, lamps, and offerings to the Three Treasures (the Dao, the scriptures, and the masters), then invite Daoist masters of the Three Caverns. Among them, choose someone perceptive and learned, able to lead the rite clearly. This master and the head of the household should chant the Daoist scriptures together. Two elevated seats should also be arranged. One person on an elevated seat should praise the sacred names and pray on behalf of the household; the other Daoist priests should circle in turn. The master on the seat should hold the ritual text for the “Pacing the Void” chant, leading the singing and responses, while those below circle slowly. The participants look up at the sky and listen for the great sounds coming from among the clouds.

If they hear a clear, far-reaching voice, as though it came from the Palace of Mysterious Splendor (a celestial palace in Daoist belief), that is the song of the heavenly beings.

The scripture says: If the family of someone who is ill recites this scripture, the great demon kings and little ghost kings must all swear that from now on, whenever people hold a purification rite and perform the Dao, praying for a sick person’s recovery, they will make troubles disappear—even when the illness is severe and the case also involves litigation, punishment, imprisonment, and torture. They must summon the various ghosts to confront one another, determine which ghost is causing the harm, and drive it out at once, so that the sick person naturally recovers, the legal case is settled, and every wish is fulfilled. Afterward, the great and little ghosts must be transferred elsewhere.

If, from now on, a legal case remains unresolved or an illness does not improve, the great demon kings and little ghost kings must be executed and driven away. If they still cannot bring the case to a close or restore the sick person to health, they will be executed, without pardon.

The scripture also says: In the year jiǎxū, 3,900 white crows descended into the human world to spread disease, and those who died of it were all wicked people. Men and women, young and old, across the country died suddenly as epidemics spread and as many as eighty kinds of illness appeared. The deceased of ancient times—Meng Da, Ma Yuan, Li Qing, Wang Feng, Yan Zhen, Zuo Qiu, the Thief, the Fish Father, Hua Yuanji, Cheng Hong, and others—each commanded millions of ghosts. They were charged with spreading red dysentery, a kind of dysentery, among the people, weakening their vital energy and disturbing their households. The ghosts encamped at people’s doorways, harmed the young in their homes, and made family members fear one another. They also kept officials from advancing, drained household wealth, caused quarrels for no reason, brought misfortune in all matters, and led to repeated punishments and imprisonment. Fields and silkworms yielded nothing, and every kind of wish went unfulfilled.

All this happened because the ghost kings failed to restrain their subordinates and let the ghosts run wild, bringing such suffering upon the living. From now on, every ghost king must keep their ghost soldiers in check and forbid them from acting with cruelty or causing harm. They must also bring an end to the living’s legal cases and ease or cure their illnesses. Once the sick person improves, the ghosts must be promoted and depart. If the sick person does not recover, the ghosts must be executed, their heads smashed into eighty-six pieces.

The Dao says: In a year belonging to the Jia-Shen decade (a ten-day cycle of the sexagenary calendar beginning with Jia-Shen), a great calamity will occur. Floodwaters will surge in from the northwest, disease will spread, and the people will die; eight or nine out of every ten will scarcely escape. The Three Thousand and others will migrate above. If an illness cannot be cured, you will face the most extreme punishment: your heads will be hacked into eighty-six pieces.

The Dao says: In a year belonging to the Jia-Shen decade, a great calamity will occur. Floodwaters will surge in from the northwest, disease will spread, and the people will die; eight or nine out of every ten will scarcely escape. Thirty-nine million Red Demons—red plague spirits—will come specifically to make people ill. The sick will turn yellow, and women and children should not go near them. At that time, rulers who believed in and upheld the scriptures were often saved. Pestilential Qi will fill the air, and thirty-nine million kinds of illness will take lives. Thousands upon thousands of people will flee into the mountains. The people will find no peace as weapons and plague spirits kill at will. Heaven will send seven hundred thousand Red Soldiers, celestial troops carrying bronze halberds, to slay evil spirits and remove every calamity from the world. If the Three-Day Great Demon Kings have wrongfully killed anyone, these Great Demon Kings, the Wuwan, and the rest must be slain, without sparing a single one. Order them to depart at once, ten thousand li away. Carry this out urgently in accordance with the statutes.

The Dao says: There are many wicked people in the world. Heaven sends mighty warriors to execute them, but good and evil must first be investigated. There are so many celestial troops—how are they to be dealt with? Order them to depart at once, ten thousand li away. Carry this out urgently in accordance with the statutes.

The Dao says: There are many wicked people in the world. Heaven sends mighty warriors to execute them, but good and evil must first be investigated. There are so many celestial troops—how can they be stopped? Only when Daoist masters save people by reciting the scriptures in turn can they keep them alive and prevent them from being killed. From now on, whenever anyone in the land falls ill or a prisoner is caught up in the courts and facing punishment, Daoist masters who submit petitions in prayer, recite the scriptures in turn, and carry out healing rites on their behalf must be aided in their work by the Great Demon Kings and the Lesser Ghost Kings, so that the sick recover and the matter is settled.

If someone’s illness does not improve, a grievance remains unresolved, or disputes and quarrels continue without end, the Great Ghost Yizhen and the others must cut that person into ten thousand pieces, sparing no one. Carry this out urgently in accordance with the statutes orally transmitted by the Most High.

The Grand Supreme Dao Ancestor said: “The chief gate spirits who guard the main entrance, the lesser gate spirits who guard the side entrance, Yiwen who guards the inner door, Wanlun who guards the rear door, Yanjing who guards the kitchen door, Shigong who guards the roads, and all the various spirits inside and outside the house, as well as the forces that bring calamity upon a dwelling, the departed souls of men and women who died away from home, and the souls of those harmed by water, fire, metal, or wood—all of you must each restrain yourselves. Which ghosts, then, are causing the living to fall ill and face mortal danger?”

The Grand Supreme dispatched countless mighty warriors and Red Soldiers—divine troops from Heaven—to seize the ghosts. They were to bind them with ropes and strike them down with the Zhongdao, then hand them over to Pixie, a deity who suppresses evil, and send them to the Northern Prison of Tianyi, Heaven’s prison. Because some might be wrongly accused, he therefore issued an order to all the people under Heaven: Whenever someone in a household falls ill, the spirits must release that person at once and obey the law, so the sick may recover and humans and spirits may each remain in their proper place. If they still refuse to leave, the patient will be unable to recover. Great Demon King, know this: whenever someone in a household falls ill, you must release that person immediately, so the patient may recover and humans and ghosts may live in peace. If you still refuse to let go, the Great Demon King, the lesser Ghost Kings, and the rest will be dismembered and their bodies shattered, with no mercy shown. All of this is an order personally issued by the Grand Supreme. Do not delay; carry it out at once in accordance with the law.

The Grand Supreme Dao Ancestor said: “Epidemics now sweep through the world, and people often die of virulent diseases. From this day forward, I make a solemn pact with the Demon Kings Xia Yin, Wuwan, Wuyan, Chibo, Hongqiu, and the others: There are many illnesses in the world today, and those who have sinned do not even know they are dying, much less how to save themselves. I will command the masters of the Three Caverns, who transmit the scriptures and methods of the Three Caverns, to teach the ignorant. Even if only one person among the people believes, the men and women serving in the official ranks must proclaim and recite this incantation in the world. Among the people, they should establish purification rites and expound the Dao, carrying out rites, giving alms, and sitting in quiet contemplation during six periods over the course of a day and a night.

“Wherever these activities take place, you Ghost Kings must help teach the people and must not let illness afflict them. After the sick recover, do not let any evil spirits return to trouble them. If you follow my words in every detail, you may rise in rank. If you disobey my commands, your heads will split into ten pieces, with no mercy shown. All of this is a decree personally proclaimed by the Grand Supreme.”

The scripture says: During the cyclical period of the Jiawu year, demons such as the Six Yi, Di, Liao, Qiang, and Hu often run rampant, spreading sixteen thousand kinds of disease and using illness to kill evildoers. The calamities are severe, and the world knows no peace. The people face danger and plague, and many women die as a result. Deng Ai is among them. All this is to be carried out in accordance with the ordinances personally proclaimed by the Most High.

The scripture also says: During the cyclical period of the Jiawu year, these demons run rampant, spreading sixteen thousand kinds of disease and causing people to die of plague. The calamities are grave, the people are in distress, and many women die. The ghost kings Deng Ai and Liu Dou-Wu will also arrive and spread twelve kinds of dysentery. The Earth Lord will harm people, the divine dragon will ascend to Heaven, and great floods will follow; the Qi of the Five Phases will cease to flow in its proper course. Demonic raiders will injure the people, who will often die suddenly and for unnatural reasons.

From this day forward, the Most High, together with the Great Demon King, the Thirty-Six Kings, Xun Gu, and the other twelve thousand ghost lords, commands you: Whenever a household’s men or women fall ill, drive away their afflictions so that lawsuits and disputes may subside and the people live in peace. If you disobey this command, you will first be beheaded and your bodies cut into ten thousand pieces, without pardon. All this is to be carried out in accordance with the ordinances recorded in the Nüqing Shao Book, a document of celestial law in Daoism, and personally proclaimed by the Most High.

The scripture further says: When one great cycle gives way to another, ghost soldiers run wild and cause disorder. From this day forward, whenever men or women throughout the world suffer from long-lasting or worsening illness, are troubled by evil ghosts or household gods, or are harmed by the various malevolent spirits of the mountains and forests, they must all be made well; none may be allowed to die without cause. If, from this day forward, you still deliberately cause people to die unjustly or before their time, the Great Demon King and the Lesser Ghost Kings will behead each of the demons responsible and cut their bodies into ten thousand pieces, punishing them for the wrong that brought about this injustice. This is an order personally issued by the Most High, and no pardon will be granted. The demons concerned are all to be arrested in accordance with the ghost laws and brought before the Northern Prison of Tianyi for punishment. Hasten, hasten, in accordance with the laws and ordinances!

The Dao says: From now on, eight hundred thousand three-legged ghosts and twelve-headed plague demons will emerge to harm people, bringing on seventy-nine kinds of illness. If the sick can invite a master of the Three Caverns, versed in the Daoist scriptures and methods of the Three Caverns, to perform the Dao, these ghosts will naturally be taken away by the heavenly beings. If they still refuse to leave, the Three-Day Mighty Warriors, guardian generals in Daoism, will surely slay them.

The Dao says: In the Three Realms, the Great Demon King commands thirty-six lesser kings, each of whom in turn commands four billion eight hundred million kings. They also have countless troops and roam unchecked throughout the world. The Great Demon King and the others once swore an oath with me: when governing the people, they must not kill the innocent indiscriminately or harm those without guilt. If they break this oath and bring calamity and decline upon themselves, they will become harmful spirits and injure people.

From now on, whenever people in the world face sudden illness, lawsuits, or danger, the ghost kings and the others must go to them one by one, watch over them, help increase their blessings, and resolve disputes and quarrels, so that the rulers of the state, their ministers, and all the evil ghosts may be pleased. They must bring recovery from illness and an end to lawsuits, harmony within families, peace throughout the world, abundant harvests, and joy for rulers and people. The ghost troops must submit of their own accord, leaving people free of illness and pain and allowing their wishes to be fulfilled. When they accomplish these things, the ghost kings and the others will be promoted, and the heavenly beings will all rejoice.

If you cause wind and rain to fall out of balance, harvests to fail, the people to live in unrest, the ruler of the state to act tyrannically, lawsuits to remain unresolved, or illnesses to go uncured, then you Great Demon Kings, together with your consorts, the hundred billion ghost kings, and the others, will all be slain.

End of Scroll Seven of the Scripture of Divine Spells from the Cavernous Abyss of the Most High.

Scroll Eight of the Scripture of Divine Spells from the Cavernous Abyss of the Most High: “Summoning Ghosts”

The Dao says: In the Three Realms, few people believe in and uphold the scriptures. Thus, there are few worthy people, while evil people often gather and multiply. If anyone believes in the Daoist teachings and honors the scriptures, heavenly messengers will descend to welcome them. When the calamity of the jia-shen year arrives, they will welcome Daoist practitioners in Heaven. If they do not welcome those who are guilty...

The Dao says: Among the Three Realms, few truly believe in the scriptures. Thus, the worthy are scarce, while the wicked gather and multiply. Anyone who believes in the Daoist teachings and reverently upholds the scriptures has come from Heaven to the human world. When the calamity of the jia-shen year arrives, Heaven will welcome Daoist priests, but sinners will not be welcomed, because they do not believe in the Daoist teachings. In the ren-wu and geng-chen years, plague demons and the ravages of war will claim many lives, leaving few survivors under Heaven. When disease spreads, if a Three Caverns ritual master—one versed in the Daoist scriptures and methods of the Three Caverns—recites the scriptures and performs the rites in a place, the Celestial Worthy will summon the great gods of the Ten Directions. The sick will recover, and legal disputes will settle on their own. Those who refuse to heed the commands will first be punished by the Demon King.

The Dao says: In the xin-si year, a demon called Duluo will appear. It will be three zhang tall, with long, upright eyes, a wide, horizontal mouth, and ears six cun long. Carrying an iron staff, it will roam among humans and strike down the wicked. Besides calamities of plague and legal disputes, there will be sixty-nine thousand demons. Some will take the form of giant crows. Wherever these crows pass, people will fall ill and die soon after, beyond the reach of treatment. By the ren-chen year, the people will face great hardship; in the jia-shen year, they will all die. If the state’s ritual masters can provide healing and recite the scriptures and perform the rites for the people, the Three Thousand Celestial Soldiers—heavenly troops and generals in Daoist mythology—will come to protect them from harm. Daoist priests will also teach the people, guiding them to receive and uphold the scriptures of the Three Caverns.

As the jia-shen year draws near, demon soldiers will kill the people. Heaven will send four hundred and ninety thousand warrior spirits called Wu Xuan to patrol the realm. Wherever a Three Caverns ritual master recites the scriptures, the celestial troops will take up their posts one by one, provided the Three-Five ritual method is performed, keeping evil spirits at bay and driving them far away. The troops will also help Daoist priests spread their teachings, so that the ignorant may turn toward the right path. Whether they are kings and emperors, regional governors and high officials, magistrates and other nobles, or poor and humble people, all who uphold the scriptures of the Three Caverns will one day receive great blessings. These blessings will extend to their descendants, unbroken for generations. They will also be born among the heavenly beings, often encounter sages, and never again live in poverty; emperors and kings will entrust them with important roles, and they will assist their rulers.

The Dao teaches: In this evil world, good people find it hard to survive. If there are noble or virtuous people today, they have come down from Heaven into the world. Why do I say this? Those who do evil do not honor the Great Dao and do not understand the scriptures. Even if they are reborn as human beings, it is only because they accumulated a little merit in a previous life. That is why they become nobles and possess wealth in this life. Yet they do not understand Daoist texts and have no connection to the Daoist arts; they remain people burdened by sin. I know, too, that worldly rank and splendor are like morning dew, which dries up as soon as the sun rises. Wealth and status do not last; people soon die. It is better to cultivate the path to immortality: after enduring ten thousand kalpas, one will still not fall.

The Dao teaches: Daoist priests guide the people, teaching them to follow the Three Caverns (Dongzhen, Dongxuan, and Dongshen), and before long they can ascend to Heaven. If someone falls ill or faces a lawsuit, reciting the scriptures will bring great good fortune; wherever they go, plague demons will naturally perish. Everyone should do their utmost to encourage one another.

The Dao teaches: Beginning in the Wuyin year, a great red-nosed demon appeared, named Fuzi. It was nine feet tall, with three faces and one eye. Another demon had two heads on a single body and stood three feet tall; each head had red eyes. There was also a demon named Daye, with three heads on one body, seven feet tall. They traveled in swarms, carrying white blades and roaming the world, snatching children and wandering among the clouds. They bore a red, swollen miasma that made people suffer chills and fever, cough up blood, feel bloated in the heart and abdomen, breathe irregularly, and endure pain and injury in the ribs. At that time, if a Daoist master versed in the Three Caverns came to recite the scriptures, the sick would recover and lawsuits would settle on their own. If the illness still did not improve, the demon king would be punished first.

The Dao teaches: From now until the Gengchen year, there will be thirty-six thousand evil demons, led by a demon named Tianchi, with thirty thousand followers. They will roam unchecked through the world, bringing wrongful harm to people. If the illness still does not improve, the demon king will be punished first.

The Dao says: From now until the Gengchen year, there will be thirty-six thousand evil ghosts called “Heavenly Pool Ghosts.” They will have thirty thousand followers and will often cause disorder among the people, wrongfully killing the good. In the Renwu year, another three thousand nine hundred red-headed ghosts, called “Big-Headed Ghosts,” will descend into the human world and kill. Wars and disasters will follow one another, and people will find it difficult to live in peace. Calamities will rise in all four directions, and the Six Yi—a general ancient term for peoples living beyond the borders—will die in great numbers. The methods of Daoism will flourish, while the gates of the secular world decline. By the Jiashen year, the people will be wiped out. If you wish to know how to escape disaster, only Daoists who uphold the Three Caverns—the three categories of Daoist scriptures—and honor their teachers and the scriptures can gain the protection of the heavenly gods, ascend to heaven, and be welcomed by the heavenly beings.

The Dao says: In the Renwu year, the world will be in turmoil and the people will suffer; the Six Yi will invade one another. The people will have no peace, and men and women will flee from place to place. The region of Shu and Han will be struck by great upheaval, and people will die suddenly. Daoists who enter the mountains to cultivate the methods of the Three Caverns will be able to meet the True Lords, the immortals revered in Daoism. The True Lords are not far away; they will be present in the Renchen years. From now on, a killing calamity will descend from Heaven, and the foolish will struggle to escape it. Daoists will be able to save them and preserve their lives.

The Dao says: In the Renwu year, there will be eighty thousand lowly ghosts called “Great Dawn Ghosts.” They will stand three chi and six cun tall, number three hundred and ninety billion in all, and carry red wooden staffs. They will roam only among the people, killing the wicked. There will also be white crows as large as cartwheels, arriving by the thousands and tens of thousands. They will enter people’s homes and kill the children there. Some people will see them with their own eyes. Great fish will also die in the water, and anyone who eats them will die; deer will die in the mountains and fields, and anyone who eats them will also die. If Daoists uphold this scripture and teach the people, the heavenly beings will not harm them.

The Dao says: The world’s vital energy is nearing its end. Before long, floods will come, and neither men nor women will be able to escape. Only those who uphold the Three Caverns will preserve their lives. From now on, if Daoists help others in times of hardship, such as lawsuits or illness, four hundred thousand heavenly jade maidens—divine beings of the heavens—will descend to assist them and keep people from calamity. Daoists should diligently teach the people.

The Most High says: A great calamity is about to come. Most people are ignorant and do not know that disaster is near. If Daoists read this Jing (scripture) first, they should quickly teach the people and guide them into the Three Caverns (Dongzhen, Dongxuan, and Dongshen), the Daoist system of scriptural classifications and practice. Those who enter the Dao of the Three Caverns will be welcomed by divine beings from Heaven. The words of the sages do not fail.

The Most High says: A great calamity is near. People will undergo upheaval, and Heaven and Earth will be made anew. Daoists should teach the people. What difference is there between those who refuse this teaching and the six kinds of domestic animals? The Most High cares for you and holds you in compassion. But what can be done? Living beings cling to worldly things and are blinded by ignorance. They do not seek liberation of their own accord; they hold fast to delusion until death. What can be done for them? Therefore, quickly summon the great gods of the ten directions and the Daoist priests of the Three Caverns to teach the ignorant and help them understand the scriptural teachings. This merit is immeasurable. If Daoists withdraw into the mountains and devote themselves only to quiet cultivation, without teaching the people, they will have no blessing or De (Virtue/Power).

The Most High says: Daoists who seek only their own transcendence should enter a famous mountain to practice. Those who wish to save others should remain among the people and teach the ignorant, helping them attain liberation. If Daoists withdraw into remote and secluded mountains, the people cannot see them or seek their guidance and support. Even when people have a heart inclined toward the Dao (the Way), no one will guide them. Therefore, a wise Daoist need not necessarily live in the mountains.

The Most High says: Those who are not masters of the Three Caverns must not read this Jing freely. Why? Because it records divine incantations capable of destroying ghosts and demons and governing the people, as well as the names of all the great demon kings.

The Most High Dao Ancestor said: “Unless you are a Three Caverns ritual master, versed in the Daoist scriptures of the Three Caverns and holding the corresponding ritual office, you must not read this scripture without authorization. Why? The divine incantations in it can drive out and destroy demons and ghosts and heal the people; the book also records the names of various great demon kings. Those who receive and uphold this scripture and its teachings should first ensure their own deliverance, and store each copy of the scripture in its own case.

If someone faces a lawsuit or imprisonment, or suffers from a serious illness that will not respond to treatment, you may establish a purification retreat for him lasting one day and one night. I will summon all the ghosts for you and question them one by one; once the patient has recovered, I will release them. You Daoist priests must diligently guide the people. When a priest who receives and upholds the scripture and its teachings heals someone, the great demon kings, lesser ghost kings, and others will help him as well. After the patient recovers, you will be promoted; I will never break my promise. From this day forward, I make a solemn pact with you and with the great demon kings and the others.”

The Most High Dao Ancestor continued: “Beginning in the jiachen year, 360,000 black ghosts will descend to the human world and spread diseases such as red dysentery. The ghosts’ descendants will come out at night to harm people. The ghosts of the Six Yi—a term this scripture uses for ghosts from foreign regions—will gather in groups, often taking the forms of women or old people. They will enter people’s homes, abduct young children, and cause livestock to die suddenly. The state will neglect the people, leaving them displaced, while ministers and petty officials will wrongfully kill and injure them. At that time, ghost troops will bring calamity and disease.

You Daoist priests need only establish an altar, perform the ritual, and recite the scripture for one day and one night. I will then dispatch 360,000 divine troops from the Three Heavens to aid the people and summon ghosts from every direction for questioning: which kind of ghost is making people ill? They will be examined one by one, so that good and evil are clearly distinguished. The divine troops will behead those who do evil, wipe out their followers, and eradicate their kind, showing no mercy. This order must be carried out without delay, in accordance with the Most High’s spoken decree.”

The Dao says: In the mountains and forests there is a demon called “Xuanzidu,” who commands a host of 20,900,000 demons. They often cause sudden death and illness, harm children and the elderly, and break into people’s homes, frightening their chickens, dogs, and children. There are also 39,000 “Red Headcloth Demons,” who wear red cloths on their heads. They break into homes and seize people’s livestock. In addition, there are 800,000 “Green Insect Demons,” each three chi and six cun tall. They often wield celestial fire to burn down houses, bringing lawsuits and quarrels upon people.

There is also a kind of “Great Fortune Green Demon,” three zhang tall. They number 490,000 and carry red rods with which they beat people to death by the thousands. They dare not approach good people who have faith in the Dao and its teachings. But evil people who lack righteousness, take life and defy the Dao, fail to honor their parents, deceive Daoist priests, or abuse masters and disciples will face severe punishment and be sent to hell after death. Some may be beset by illness and suffer one disaster after another, enduring indescribable pain. Daoist priests cannot treat them; even if they try to save them, it is useless.

The Dao also says: Evil people who do not respect their masters or follow the Dao’s teachings, who falsely accuse Daoist priests, secretly abuse their masters, or call them by name, commit grave offenses. They will be dragged into the “Red Sand Hell,” where they will endure countless kalpas without ever escaping. After leaving hell, they will be reborn as field-guarding crows, spending the whole year in the water and protecting vast fields belonging to others. Some people, while alive, suffer illness and hardship, unending pain, failed harvests of their fields and silkworms, setbacks in their endeavors, and the ridicule of others. These are the consequences of having abused masters and disciples in a past life, with the retribution now falling upon them.

From now on, if anyone behaves in this way, even the Great Demon King will despise them. All who fail to respect masters and disciples or honor the Three Caverns of Daoist scripture—the Caverns of Perfection, Mystery, and Spirit—will be surrounded, bound, and slain by the Great Demon King, the lesser demon kings, and others, without mercy.

The Most High says: You Daoist practitioners who serve a master must be wholehearted and unwavering. If your intentions are constantly changing, you will bring suffering upon yourselves. Those who scorn or curse their masters, commit the grave offenses of the five rebellious acts and disobedience to parents, wrong the common people, seize others’ property by force, urge others to do evil, or use lawsuits to take people’s lives will all be seized by the great demon kings and lesser ghost kings of the Three Caverns scriptures. They will be imprisoned in the Three Heavens Hell and interrogated, their three hun and seven po (the body’s souls and spirits as understood in Daoism) put to the test. Women will have their fourteen po interrogated. They will endure every kind of torment, unable even to die. You Daoist practitioners and Daoist women must take this warning deeply to heart.

The Most High says: In a year of the Jia-yin cycle (a cycle used to mark years and days by the Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches), thirty-nine thousand people will face a great purge because they fail to honor their masters, falsely accuse and kill innocent people, and speak of Daoist practitioners by calling their masters by name. Be especially cautious about this.

The Most High also says: In a year of the Jia-yin cycle, thirty-nine thousand people will face a great purge because they fail to honor their masters and falsely accuse and harm people, causing wrongful deaths, and because they speak of Daoist practitioners by calling their masters by name. Such people will die in the great purge by weapons, flood, or fire. You Daoist practitioners and people of the world should wholeheartedly honor masters and disciples, receive the scriptures of the Three Caverns (the Daoist classification of scriptures), and spread their teachings among the people. Help those who fall into hardship; when a household is sick, recite scriptures on its behalf and provide treatment. The Most High says he will summon the great ghosts of the ten directions and all the deities to investigate you. If anyone refuses to obey and continues to make households sick so that they remain ill despite prolonged treatment, or causes lawsuits to drag on without resolution, the great demon kings and lesser ghost kings will cut that person’s body into ten thousand pieces, without mercy. All this is carried out according to the Most High’s oral commands and laws.

The Most High says: Daoist practitioners who serve a master must honor him as they honor Heaven. At each change of season and on the eight festival days, they should visit their master and ask after his well-being. When people receive rites or instruction transmitted by a master, they too should follow the proper rules. If they then cease to follow their master, and the master no longer comes to them, the deities will no longer dwell among them. A person who serves as a master holds the highest standing among people. A master occupies a position of honor and should be revered like a parent, never treated with contempt. Those who slight their masters will be punished by the immortals and deities of Heaven; the demon kings will not help such sinners. All this is carried out according to the Most High’s oral commands and laws.

The Dao says: If those who cultivate the Dao do not honor their masters, the heavenly troops will come to punish them, and their descendants may suffer as well, becoming ordinary ghosts of the secular world. In the Gengshen and Renwu years, Daoist priests who slight their masters will be slain together by 360,000 ghost soldiers. There are also 490,000 red-nosed ghosts who, in the Yisi year, will kill 390,000 wicked people throughout the world. In the Guisi and Renchen years, those who do not believe in the Daoist teachings and refuse to accept the scriptures will be entered among the “Eighteen Expulsions.” Each day, 39,000 people die unjustly, and the Great High One will personally investigate and deal with these matters.

If epidemics break out in the world during these years, Daoist priests who treat the sick will bring about their recovery. If they fail to cure them, the demon king Nalu and the others will also face severe punishment: their bodies will be cut into ten thousand pieces, with no pardon.

The Dao further says: From now on, Daoist men and women alike should diligently teach the ignorant throughout the world, guiding them to accept the great scriptures of the Three Caverns (Dongzhen, Dongxuan, and Dongshen), so that all may receive Fulu (talismans and registers) together. They should carry their name contracts—the documents that attest to their registered status—and have their names entered in the Jade Register of Heaven. The transmission between masters and disciples must continue from generation to generation and must never be treated lightly. If anyone breaks the oath, the heavenly troops will execute and punish them; they may even be wiped out as a family and die, then be banished to a land of pestilence. By then, regret will come too late.

I now dispatch 36,000 red cavalrymen, bearing iron staffs, to patrol the world and punish the unrighteous and those who commit the five cardinal transgressions. If sick people ask Daoist priests to treat them, the ghost kings must be ordered to pardon them. If a ghost king still refuses to grant a pardon, that king will be demoted and punished, with no further forgiveness.

The scripture says: In the years Renxu and Guihai, eight thousand inspecting ghosts—spirit beings charged with investigating and punishing people—will kill. This is because people do not venerate the Great Dao. In the years Guiwei and Jiachen, 120,000 red ghosts—spirit beings described in the scripture—will bring killing and warfare. Half of those who suffer these calamities will do so because they mock people who believe in the Great Dao, disturb people’s minds, beat and curse Daoist priests, claim that the Great Dao has no spirits, say one thing while thinking another, and use words to deceive and falsely accuse others. Such people will all fall into the hell of boiling ashes, suffer among mountains of knives and trees of swords, and never escape.

The scripture also says: In the years Jimao, Bingyin, and Dinghai, eight thousand people will die violent deaths. They will have failed to follow the Daoist teachings or pay the “Heavenly rent”—the offerings said in the scripture to be owed to the celestial realm. They will have made vows without fulfilling them, promised others things without delivering, made casual requests of spirits, taken other people’s property, performed no meritorious deeds, and failed to observe the prescribed purification and fasting. Even Daoist priests will cause people to resent Daoism if they do not burn incense and honor the gods, fail to help others in times of danger, and seek only payment for their work while refusing to make an effort. When preparing food for their masters, they also commit offenses if they neglect cleanliness, withhold food they have available, or serve food that is coarse and poor. Such people should be cast into the Great Expulsion Water Hell—a place of punishment described in the scripture—and remain there through ten thousand kalpas without escape. Even if they are later reborn as humans, their six faculties and emotions will be incomplete, and others will not like them. They will also be driven away and slaughtered like livestock, and the demon kings and others will not come to their aid.

The Dao says: The Great Master traveled throughout the land and saw that most people were ignorant, so he preached this Great Scripture of Samadhi (a classic on Daoist practice and divine incantations). The complete scripture consists of twenty volumes, transmitted by the Most High (an honorific title for the Dao). Those who receive this scripture will be able to behold the Most High in person. Without accepting the divine incantations, one cannot enter the mountains to practice the Dao, is not a true Daoist, and cannot perform rites to heal the sick. From now on, a ritual master should first receive this scripture. It can subdue all the great demon kings, lesser ghost kings, their consorts, and their countless descendants, compelling them all to help Daoists teach and transform the people and heal the sick. Why is this so? Because the various demon kings also govern and instruct the people together with the Most High. All who are good and discerning should consider my words carefully.

The Dao says: You people of later generations do not honor the Great Dao. Worse still, folk shamans beat drums and sacrifice to spirits, slaughter dogs and chickens, and offer the three sacrificial animals—cattle, sheep, and pigs—at altars. They summon a host of ghosts and worship wild spirits. Such practices disrupt the Orthodox Way, and evil spirits will not protect people. Their relatives will be implicated, and their guilt will be reported to the Three Officials (divine authorities who govern Heaven, Earth, and Water), bringing all manner of severe punishment. Before the dead have finished suffering their punishment, the living will be implicated as well. Everyone in the household, young and old, may die; in the end, the entire family may even be wiped out. When that happens, do not blame the Dao.

The Dao says: Households that follow the Dao should be devoted and careful. In everything they do, they should wholeheartedly turn toward the Great Dao. Practicing the Dao, offering incense, observing purification, and performing other rites should all follow the instructions of one’s lineage and the rules of Zhaijiao (purification ritual); one must understand their proper procedures. Do not bring folk shamans or people who perform improper sacrifices into the home. They may disrupt the ritual space, disturb the household spirits, bring punishment upon the family, and turn the hearts of household members against one another, until the family is ruined and its members perish. These teachings are also a means by which Daoists instruct and awaken the people.

The Dao says: Most people are ignorant. They cannot distinguish good from evil or understand the proper rules, and so people often die. From now on, if someone has faith in and accepts the Daoist teachings, then when people fall seriously ill, they should invite this ritual master or another Daoist, establish a purification altar, and make offerings to save the sick person. If they face a criminal case…

The Dao says: Most people in the world are foolish. They cannot see good deeds and do not understand the laws, and so they often lose their lives. From now on, whenever someone upholds the Daoist teachings and a person in the world falls gravely ill, the family should invite this ritual master and Daoist priest, establish a purification rite and ritual altar, and offer material goods to treat the patient. If the patient is also involved in a lawsuit or imprisonment, Heaven will send mighty warriors, the Three Heavens’ Jade Maidens, and great divine immortals from the Ten Directions to assist the Daoist priest. The patient will then recover quickly, the legal case will be settled, and the family’s wishes will all be fulfilled. If you do this, you will be promoted step by step. I will not go back on the words spoken by my Golden Mouth. If the patient still does not recover, causing the Daoist priest’s efforts to go to waste and bringing calamity upon the family, then the wife and descendants of the Great Demon King, along with every ghost king connected to the case of the patient’s failure to recover, must be executed without exception.

The Dao says: All you demon kings, and all the spirits responsible for the illnesses of people in this world: when a Daoist priest is treating the sick where you are, you must turn back and change your ways, and protect the patient’s family and ancestors. If the Great Demon King’s wife and descendants, or any associated ghost king, still keep the patient from recovering, they must all be executed without exception.

The Dao says: All you demon kings, and all the spirits responsible for the illnesses of people in this world: when a Daoist priest is treating the sick where you are, you must turn back and change your ways, and protect the patient’s family, ancestors, and parents. You must also deliver the patient’s forebears from thirty-six generations past. Make the patient recover, the legal case disappear, and all the family’s wishes come true. I will summon the hundred ghosts and question them to find out which ghost is troubling the patient. Then I will report each one in turn and have the Three Officials—the deities who govern Heaven, Earth, and Water—investigate. Once the facts are established, I will admonish them and the patient will recover. If the patient still does not recover, they will be seized and executed one by one, without exception. Hurry and obey the oral command of the Most High, the Daoist title for the supreme deity.

The Dao says: From now on, whenever someone falls ill, General Great Halberd will lead 3.9 billion Red Cavalry soldiers, carrying red staffs, to patrol among humanity and seize the minor ghosts who spread disease. If those ghosts falsely claim to be gods of the Three Dukes and Five Emperors, they must be executed as soon as they are discovered. If any minor ghost refuses to leave, the Three Heavens’ Demon Kings and their descendants must also be executed without exception. From now on, if you do not believe my spell-command, your heads will split into seven pieces.

The Dao says: From this day onward, whenever anyone in the land falls ill, it is because lesser ghosts and demons are causing trouble. You must quickly restrain the ghost soldiers under your command and send them all away, so they no longer harm the living. The demon kings must dispatch tens of thousands of ghost soldiers to investigate and deal with this matter. If a sick person still does not recover, or even dies, all the great ghosts, within and without, are to be put to death without mercy. The Great Demon King Pecking Head, King Wuyan, King Longnose, King Zhongxiang, King Small Eyes, King White Face, King Red Face, and the other ghost kings—four hundred and ninety thousand in all—will be tried and punished, and their descendants will suffer as well. You must immediately order the lesser ghosts to restore the sick to health. If they cannot recover, I will put those ghosts to death without mercy.

The Dao says: From this day onward, whenever anyone in the land falls ill, or faces a lawsuit, dispute, punishment, or imprisonment, or suffers a calamity ordained by the Three Officials—the divine authorities who govern the affairs of Heaven, Earth, and Water—and is deprived of freedom, it is because you great demon kings have failed in your duty to keep order. From this day onward, warn the lesser ghosts under your command not to harm my people. Quickly restrain the ghost soldiers and issue written orders so that the sick recover of their own accord, lawsuits are brought to an end, and disputes and quarrels no longer arise. Hasten to obey the spoken command of the Most High.

The Dao says: In the world there are sixty-nine kinds of evil ghosts that cause illness, called “Changxu Shaogong, Aitu Muchuan.” Muchuan has evil ghosts who make the people of the land fall ill and die. Now these ghosts have come into the world to wreak havoc, making people sick and bringing about all kinds of pestilential Qi. Huang Nuqi, hasten to obey the spoken command of the Most High.

The Dao says: In the world there are sixty-nine kinds of evil ghosts that cause illness, called “Changxu Shaogong, Aitu Muchuan.” Muchuan has evil ghosts who make the people of the land fall ill and die. Now these ghosts have come into the world to wreak havoc, making people sick and bringing about all kinds of pestilential Qi. The seven sons of Huang Nu have come together to harm people. I already know the names of you lesser ghosts. From this day onward, drive yourselves at once to a distance of a thousand li. Hasten to obey the law.

The Most High said, “From this day forward, the thirty-six Demon Kings above the Thirty-Six Heavens—the upper realm as Daoists describe it—must descend and bow seventy times, asking to subdue the ghosts of the lower realm. Since the Most High issued this command, no lesser ghost has dared again to trouble the people of the human world. If anyone still falls ill, the Demon Kings and the others will be punished by having their bodies cut apart with ten thousand blades.”

The Most High said, “My good people are many, living in this world, and some of them do not believe in the Daoist teachings. Now, if someone receives the Dao and wears the Three Caverns—the collective name for the Daoist scriptures and Fulu system—and someone falls ill, the ritual master performs rites for the sick person. You Demon Kings must help the Daoist master and bring about the patient’s recovery; then you may be promoted. If the patient does not recover, I will slay you lesser ghosts, without mercy.”

As the Most High proclaimed these methods, all the great Demon Kings came before him, bowed their heads, and said, “From this day forward, we would rather die than dare again to let lesser ghosts run amok. If anyone in the world still suffers from illness, our heads will be smashed into forty-nine pieces.”

End of Volume Eight of the Scripture of Divine Incantations from the Grotto Abyss of the Most High

Volume Nine of the Scripture of Divine Incantations from the Grotto Abyss of the Most High

On Slaying Ghosts (a chapter on cutting down and eliminating ghosts)

The Dao declares: In the Gengchen and Renwu years, a great thunder demon named Jiuchang will appear, commanding eighty thousand lesser demons. Carrying a red wooden staff, it will come to kill the wicked and bring down thirty-six kinds of illness. There will also be thirty-nine million Worrying Tablet demons, who will bring a disease of red swellings; eighty million six thousand nine hundred demons, who will bring dysentery; one hundred and twenty thousand Red-Eyed demons, who will bring vomiting and diarrhea; ninety million demons, who will bring eye pain; and four hundred and ninety thousand demons, who will bring alternating chills and fever. These demons use illness to kill the wicked.

At that time, wherever a ritual master turns and recites the scriptures, these demons will naturally perish. The eighty trillion Jade Maidens of the Three Heavens, goddesses of the celestial realm, and the three hundred and ninety thousand Rainbow Maidens of the Ten Directions, goddesses from the worlds of the ten directions, will together bring down fever to kill the wicked.

Then the Jade Maidens of the Three Heavens and the Rainbow Maidens of the Ten Directions will come together before the Most High, bow their heads, and report: “From this day onward, if anyone falls ill or a household is troubled by a legal dispute, they need only invite a ritual master to turn and recite the scriptures there. If plague demons still come to harass them and refuse to leave, we swear to drive them away and send them far off, ten thousand li away, so that the sick recover and the disputes are settled. If they still do not leave, the Mighty Warriors of the Nine Heavens will slay them without mercy.”

The Dao says: People in the world often do not believe in the Dao. When someone receives the scriptures, men and women alike mock him. If a Daoist feels ashamed because foolish people ridicule him, he cannot be called a true cultivator of the Dao; those who cultivate the Dao should take mockery lightly. A great flood will soon come, and the year jiashen is also drawing near. In the years renwu and guiwei, hordes of plague spirits will kill people. Heaven will send plague spirits to spread pestilential Qi, causing evil people to fall ill and die. Warfare will also break out one conflict after another, and the people will die as a result. Insects and snakes, tigers and wolves, floods and fires, and poisonous vapors may all take human lives.

People do not know these things because their minds are clouded. They recklessly criticize the worthy, slander Daoists, damage and disparage the scriptures, and show contempt for sacred texts. Those who commit these offenses will also die suddenly, suffering symptoms such as vomiting blood, a blocked throat, swelling of the body, and loss of voice that leaves them unable to speak. These are punishments inflicted by the heavenly beings and Heaven, and they cannot be averted. Therefore, Daoists should admonish themselves, speak with care, and gather in their thoughts.

The Dao also says: Beginning in the year renchen, a True Lord is certain to descend, and the day of his arrival is near. Daoists who believe in the Dao should study diligently and teach others, helping them receive the scriptures; when the time comes, the immortals will come to welcome them. During the year renwu, plague spirits will spread through the world and kill the people, leaving almost no one alive. The Most High—a Daoist title of the supreme deity—will take pity on the people and send the Great Perfected Ones Chengzao, Yanping, Wang Jinfang, She Zhou, Zhuang Xuan, Tang Jun, and others into the world to teach them. Those who, in a former life, possessed immortal bones—that is, were believed to have the aptitude to cultivate immortality—will be able to meet these Perfected Ones. They all once lived among ordinary people and had descendants, which is why the Most High has sent them into the world.

The Dao says: In the year Renwu, a great calamity will surely occur, with floodwaters rising to a height of ten million zhang. Daoist priests will enter the mountains, and those who go into the mountains will escape this disaster. From the third through the ninth month of the Renwu year, the people will be wiped out. There are thirty-seven thousand plague demons, whose sole purpose is to kill. Those who do not believe this will surely be the first to suffer. The plague demons will afflict people with ninety kinds of illness. The Perfected Lord, a revered divine being, is about to appear, but the wicked will not be able to see him. The demon-slaying generals sent by the Celestial Emperor will execute them from the third through the ninth month.

Heaven and Earth will be cleansed and swept away; the sun and moon will be made anew, the stars rearranged, and the order of the world transformed. Divine beings will govern, with immortals assisting them. The lands of the five directions will endure through countless kalpas without being destroyed, and there will be no more weapons or warfare. The earth will be covered in the Seven Treasures; food and clothing will be naturally abundant. People will no longer raise the six kinds of livestock, and men and women alike will become sages. There will be no more wicked people.

The Dao says: Now the great flood is approaching. Those who know of it should uphold the Three Caverns (Dongzhen, Dongxuan, and Dongshen), the three categories of Daoist scriptures. I will send one hundred thousand Jade Maidens of the Three Heavens, celestial goddesses, to protect men and women who believe in the Dao and devote themselves wholeheartedly to its practice. Daoist priests should teach and transform the people, helping them accept and follow the Dao. For each person they guide, the people of Heaven will praise them. If you corrupt someone’s mind and fail to transform them, the people of Heaven will punish you. In past lives, you had the karmic affinity to become an immortal; that is why you have encountered this scripture. It is mysterious and profound, and Heaven holds it precious. Uphold and honor it, and keep it in your home: the plague demons will be driven away, and no evil spirit will dare approach.

The Great High Dao Lord (Taishang Daojun) said: From now on, if anyone in the world faces a lawsuit or legal dispute, punishment or imprisonment, illness or danger, or a situation where life and death are uncertain, they should immediately recite this great scripture of divine spells. It contains thirty-nine billion great gods, whose spirits will come to offer aid and drive away plague demons. The Red Troops of the Ten Directions, the Demon Kings of the Four Heavens, and the colorfully adorned maidens will also descend to help you and prevent disaster. If plague demons remain where a Daoist is reciting the scripture, the strong warriors of the Three Heavens will cut them down without mercy.

The Great High Dao Lord also said: Since the year Renwu, many people have fallen ill, while troops of demons have appeared in great numbers, sometimes numbering in the tens of millions, seeking to kill evildoers. If someone falls ill and a ritual master comes to treat them, I too will dispatch benevolent Commanders of Destiny—the spirits who govern life—numbering four hundred and ninety billion. They will come to drive away the plague demons and force them ten thousand li into the distance. If the demons still refuse to leave, they will be cut down without mercy.

The scripture says: In the Renwu year, flocks of red crows will appear and bring an epidemic. The wicked will become ill and die from it. If the wicked refuse to believe this, what can they do once they are dead? The Perfected Ones—immortals who have attained the Dao—will appear again to clear away calamities between Heaven and Earth, while plague spirits will also emerge to harm people.

Those in the world who wish to escape disaster may hold a Zhai (purification ritual) in the ninth or tenth month, performing rites of prayer and repentance, and pay homage to the Five Emperors, the Daoist deities who rule the five directions. The grand assembly is to last one day and two nights, with participants reciting their confessions of wrongdoing. During the rites, they should bow nine times toward the east, three times toward the south, seven times toward the west, and five times toward the north; twelve times each toward the four directions Qian, Kun, Gen, and Xun; thirty-two times toward above; and twelve times toward below. The scripture then repeats this set of rites. When the celestial beings descend, they will record the participants’ merits and include them in the Jade Register, the celestial ledger of merits, transgressions, and names.

Alternatively, one may bow only toward the east, thirty-six times. The essential thing is to act with focused sincerity and reverence, and in this way one will receive boundless blessings. In the Guiwei year, plague spirits will bring seventy kinds of disease and cause people to die. To preserve their lives, every household should hold a Zhai and pay homage to the Five Emperors, bowing thirty times toward the south. The scripture says this will drive the plague spirits a thousand miles away.

The scripture also says: During the ten-year cycles of the Jiazi, Jiaxu, and Jiashen years, eight hundred thousand red-tailed demons will appear. They are called Duo’a. Each has one head and three tails, stands nine chi tall, and carries water in both hands. They will make people suffer alternating chills and fevers and bring ninety kinds of disease; the wicked will become ill and die from them. Daoist priests should promptly teach and guide the people, building quiet retreats—places for still cultivation and ritual observance—beside bodies of water and along roads.

The grand assembly is to last one day. Participants should offer rites to the Five Emperors and Siming, the deity who governs human lifespans and registers, and bow thirty-six times toward the west. The scripture says that celestial beings will certainly descend and register the households of those taking part, entering them in the Jade Register and keeping them off the death rolls. Their names will also be recorded at the Gate of Heaven, where Siming will lengthen their allotted years so that they do not suffer violent deaths.

The scripture says that in the Jiawu and Jiachen years, illnesses caused by dark Qi would arise. There would be 890,000 plague demons spreading diseases such as throat blockage and diarrhea, causing people to die. If Daoist priests could guide the people and have them receive and uphold the Fulu of the Three Caverns (Dongzhen, Dongxuan, and Dongshen, a system for classifying Daoist scriptures and registers), they should hold a large gathering by the water sometime between the first and third lunar months. The gathering should last one day and two nights, divided into five periods. They should pay homage to the Five Emperors and the Twelve Spirits, then face north and bow twenty-five times. The heavenly demons would then record their names. The scripture presents this fasting and worship rite as a way to confront the epidemic.

The scripture also says that in the Jiayin year, great-eyed demons would appear, each three inches tall, gathering in the thousands, along with a million red crows descending on people’s homes to harm them. Those who knew of this should quickly gather by the water, fast for one day and two nights, and, in five periods, repent and atone for their wrongdoing. They should face east and bow thirty-six times. The celestial beings would then record their names, and the plague demons would naturally withdraw, not daring to approach. Daoist priests should quickly guide the people.

The scripture says that disasters would occur in the Renwu year because “the mountain gate is about to close, three before and two after”—a phrase used in the original to explain the calamity. Floods were certain in the three years of Xinsi, Renwu, and Guiwei. Local officials, as well as regional governors, grand ministers, and officials of the rank of two thousand shi, should all hasten to turn toward goodness. In the Renwu year, plague demons would also spread, specifically punishing and killing the wicked. Those who did not believe would die. If Daoist priests guided the ignorant, the celestial beings would record their sincerity.

The scripture repeatedly warns the people: those who do not believe in the Daoist teachings will have Heaven send plague demons to punish them. From now on, the clear-minded should believe that plague demons will spread and punish the wicked; those who do not believe will face death. Daoist priests should guide the people, and the celestial beings will record their sincerity.

The scripture concludes that if people believe in and practice the Daoist teachings, the celestial beings will watch over them and keep them from suffering injustice. The wise should spread the Daoist teachings, establish merit, and act with care.

The scripture says that beginning in the Renwu year, thirty-six kinds of grass demons appeared and began harming people. When people gather and eat wild vegetables from the grass, the plants’ branches, roots, stems, and leaves may carry demonic poison. This is called “raw ingestion” (shengru). There are hundreds of thousands of kinds like it, and they can throw a person’s Qi (vital energy) out of balance and cause illness. After ten days or a month, they enter the person’s limbs and joints, making the body turn yellow and red. The demons are three cun and seven fen tall.

A female demon of the mountains is called Luo Weng. She has a consort and two daughters, and commands two hundred thousand female demons. They also enter forests and go to the water’s edge, waiting for an opportunity to seize people. Another female demon is called Jiang Nü. She had accumulated immeasurable merit and should have become an immortal, but fell among the demons because, while seated, she showed disrespect to the “Three Great Sages of Heaven”—revered Daoist divinities—and to the “Three Masters,” who transmit the Daoist teachings. When she sees a Daoist entering the mountains, she bears no goodwill toward him. She is one zhang tall, with a dark face, long, narrow eyes, and a yellowish-red body; her frame is slender. People do not wish to see her, and flee far away when they do.

The scripture warns that disrespect for these three objects of reverence is why people are instructed to uphold the scriptures and honor their teachers, and not to slander ritual masters. They must serve their teachers wholeheartedly and must not “zuo ta kui” (a phrase whose meaning is unclear). They must also avoid associating with ordinary people. Those who disobey will be punished by the heavenly beings and spirits, and made to remain in the mountains for three hundred and ninety billion kalpas, unable to leave. Thus, receiving the secret registers of the Three Caverns and the essential truths of the Most High is the foundation for future Daoist cultivation and must not be taken lightly. The scripture concludes that it is better to cultivate the Dao and become an immortal, thereby avoiding death for ten thousand kalpas.

The Dao says: A Daoist who receives and upholds the scriptures, and is guided by a knowledgeable master, is like a wealthy person in the world if they can understand the Three Caverns (Dongzhen, Dongxuan, and Dongshen), the three major classes of Daoist scriptures. Why is this so? The households of the rich and powerful have vast fields and estates, thousands of servants, and abundant wealth. All the poor people in the world work for them and do as they are told; they lack nothing. When they go out, they ride strong, well-fed horses, surrounded by attendants, and move about freely. They can give and bestow as they please because their resources are plentiful.

The methods of the Great Dao are like this: their resources are abundant, and their use is never lacking. A ritual master who has attained the Great Dao is learned in both inner and outer teachings and understands all the documents and books of the world. They also know how to treat illness, use medicines, and perform acupuncture. As they travel among ordinary people, they earn the people’s love and respect. They know all the great scriptures of the Three Caverns, and people honor them as they honor the Heavenly King and the wealthy and powerful.

The Dao says: The rich and poor, the honored and lowly, are all human beings and receive the same allotment of life. Why, then, are their circumstances different? Differences in wealth and status come from the causes and conditions of their past lives. Those who practiced the Dao for a long time in a previous life will naturally enjoy food and clothing in the Central Land in this life. Those who also accumulated merit in a previous life will become very wealthy and honored in this life, and their good fortune will extend to their descendants. Those who were destined to become immortals in a previous life but did not ascend at once will still have food and clothing in this life; if they also accumulated merit, they will become very wealthy and honored.

Those who study the Way of the Immortals yet live in poverty and are content to cultivate the Dao do so because, in a previous life, they studied for a long time but did not put the Dao’s teachings to use for others. That is why they are poor in this life. Those who die without possessions or livestock have heavy sins from a previous life and performed no meritorious deeds, nor did they believe in the scriptures and the Dao. They may have been reborn from the ranks of animals, or from the status of servants and household slaves. The honored among Daoist priests have all been reborn from Heaven; without good deeds accumulated in a previous life, no one can ultimately become an honored Daoist priest.

The Dao says: Nowadays, there are many people in the world whose minds are corrupt and who do not believe in the Dao. When someone accepts the teachings of the scriptures, the foolish mock them, and their jeering echoes along the roads. They slander the virtuous, call Dao practitioners mad, and ask what use there is in going into the mountains to practice. Others call them demons and ghosts, claiming they only pretend to do good and understand nothing at all.

Human life cannot be preserved for long, and wealth and status are impermanent; they cannot be held forever. The young will grow old, and the old must move toward death. The “Three Thieves” within the body—the inner forces that harm body and mind and draw people toward death—continually hold people in their grip, yet people remain unaware of them until they die. People in the world know only how to crave possessions and love their wives and children. They would rather commit sins than accept the teachings of the scriptures or seek the Way of the immortals. They pursue their private interests, only to burden themselves. Rather than spend every day in a daze, they should cultivate and study the Way of the immortals. Then they can endure countless kalpas without dying and roam together with the heavenly beings and immortals.

People in the world know only how to crave possessions and love their wives and children. They would rather commit sins than accept the teachings of the scriptures or seek the Way of the immortals. They pursue their private interests, only to burden themselves. Rather than spend every day in a daze, they should cultivate and study the Way of the immortals. Then they can endure countless kalpas without dying and roam together with the heavenly beings and immortals.

The Dao says: In the year Ren Shen, a great deal of pestilential Qi will arise, bringing twenty-three kinds of illness and causing the wicked to fall ill and die. Only those who accept the teachings of the scriptures, respectfully serve the Three Masters who transmit the Dao, and can treat various illnesses will be chosen by the heavenly beings. If the state believes in the Daoist teachings, accepts the teachings of the Three Caverns, and instructs the people, then, when that time comes, if the emperors of China and the kings of other lands do not understand that the people have brought calamities upon themselves, disasters will arise among the people, their source will be difficult to trace, and the myriad ghosts will appear in droves. Therefore, Daoist men and women should work together to bring order. I will dispatch the Great-Driving Generals of the Ten Directions and thirty-nine hundred million people to help the Daoists drive them away.

The Dao says: Fools in the Three Realms do not believe in the Dao and its methods, so after death they fall among the evil ghosts. These sinful men and women are killed by countless ghost soldiers, both great and small. Now, if one, two, or three households fall ill and are in distress at the same time, let a great master of the Three Caverns preside over Daoist liturgy. For one day and two nights, chant and turn the scriptures in five periods, perform the “Way of Nine Ones” and the “Qi of Three Fives,” and arrange the ritual according to the directions of the Ten Directions. In each direction, cut down the ghosts and evil forces; even the ghost kings will not dare to resist.

Now, you Daoist priests, I will also send four hundred thousand Red-Bow troops and thirty-nine thousand strongmen from the Nine Provinces to come to your aid and drive away all the great ghosts, the evil Qi of the mountains and forests, and the ghost bandits from the Ten Directions, cutting them all down. Great and small Demon Kings alike must obey my command and send lesser ghosts to help the Daoist priests, so that the households hosting the rites may recover from illness. If they face urgent hardship, calamity, or a lawsuit, they must also help resolve it. Those who disobey my command—the Demon Kings Wei Rui and the others—will be executed without pardon.

The Dao says: Daoist priests all come from Heaven. Some people in this world are of low birth or unattractive appearance, yet if they sincerely believe in the Three Caverns, they too come from Heaven. Good people are not necessarily handsome or unattractive; each has their own karmic causes and conditions. Upright features come from thinking and practicing goodness; great wealth comes from having given alms and helped the poor in a former life; high status comes from building up merit and paying homage to the Three Treasures. Daoist priests and ritual masters, too, each have their own karmic causes and conditions: they become what they are through long years of accumulating knowledge. Thus, aspiring in one’s heart to the Great Vehicle—that is, Mahayana Buddhism, which here refers to a higher path of cultivation—is grounded in practice from a former life, and does not suddenly arise in this one.

If Daoist priests resolve to seek seclusion in the mountains and forests, desire no official position, sever worldly affairs, and enter the mountains to cultivate the Dao, they are not far from becoming immortals. Even when such Daoist priests walk among ordinary people and treat their illnesses, the Demon Kings will help them.

The Great Dao says: People throughout the world pass their days in confusion, not knowing when they will die. They are like walking corpses, already deprived of life. Daoist practitioners seek the Way of the Immortals, receive the essential teachings of the Three Caverns—the three major divisions of Daoist scriptures—and urge others to receive them as well. Whether they practice in the mountains or live among ordinary people, they must teach and guide the ignorant. Those who cling to desire and refuse to accept the Daoist teachings will die when the floods come. Weapons will kill them too, scattering them like mud. By the time they regret their choices, it will be too late. Calamities will descend on a vast scale, and ghost soldiers will run rampant everywhere; the world’s evil ghosts will therefore kill many people.

When a Daoist practitioner passes through a place and establishes a ritual altar to recite scriptures and deliver people from suffering, the great demon kings, lesser demon kings, and male and female heavenly beings will all come to assist. They will cure the illnesses of the living, bring lawsuits to a close, and help wishes of every kind come true. If unruly ghostly Qi grows rampant and kills the living, the great demon king Yunzhou and others will smash the ghosts’ heads into sixteen pieces and slay them, showing no mercy. All this is to be carried out according to the Most High’s spoken instructions and laws.

The Great Dao says further: From now on, evil ghosts will kill people. Among them are ghosts named Chimei, Wuran, and others, numbering four hundred and eighty thousand. They will run rampant throughout the world and kill evildoers. When a Daoist practitioner or a female Daoist comes to help a household, the lesser demon kings must immediately report to the great demon king, who will send strong warriors to assist the practitioner in teaching and guiding the people. The malign Qi causing illness will disperse, and all matters will be resolved. In the days to come, there will be no other time: we will all be promoted by the thousands and tens of thousands, and will not betray the Most High’s golden words. If anyone refuses to believe and obey, the demon kings and lesser demon kings will be cut into ten thousand pieces, without mercy.

End of Volume Nine of the Scripture of the Divine Incantations of the Most High from the Cavern Abyss.

Volume Ten of the Scripture of the Divine Incantations of the Most High from the Cavern Abyss, “On Slaying Ghosts.”

The Great Dao says: I was at Mount Xuandu…

The Dao said: I was at Mount Xuandu, an immortal mountain of Daoist legend, proclaiming the Great Expulsion Scripture to all kinds of demon kings. At that time, three sons of Heavenly Kings asked me to teach the Scripture of the Upper, Middle, and Lower Origins. Realized Ones from the Ten Kingdoms asked me to teach the Scripture of Boundless Samādhi and Great Simplicity, and immortals from the Ten Directions asked me to teach the Jade Scripture of the Inner and Outer Visions of the Yellow Court, through which the Dao transforms the world.

Then Realized Ones from the four quarters gathered at Jambudvipa, here referring to the human world. Thirty thousand people came together to hear the scripture. Before the teaching was finished, they stood and said, “People in the world do not understand the Daoist teachings. Plague demons make them suffer illness and death, while warfare and weapons bring hardship to the people. In every household, someone dies. They have no scriptures and teachings of the Three Caverns, the collective name for the Daoist scriptural tradition, and cannot free themselves from suffering. Please let this master spread the scriptures and teachings throughout the world. We earnestly ask the Heavenly Worthy to carry out this instruction.”

The Most High said, “Good, good.” He then sent thirty thousand Realized Ones carrying scriptures throughout the world to teach the people. Another Realized One, Nihe, led thirty-nine thousand people, also carrying scriptures to teach in various places. The people of the Central Lands were all able to receive the scriptures and teachings. When someone in a household suffered a sudden illness or became entangled in a lawsuit, they would circulate the scriptures on that person’s behalf and pray for protection. They performed the Way three times over the course of a day and night, reciting scriptures, bowing, and carrying out other rites. The lawsuit would then be resolved, and the illness would be cured. If plague demons lingered and refused to leave, they were cut down one by one, without mercy.

The Dao said: These Realized Ones had deep karmic ties with the people of the various kingdoms, so I sent them to circulate and recite the scriptures on everyone’s behalf. Those able to receive and uphold the scriptures of the Three Caverns have blessings from past lives and are destined to become high-ranking immortals. That is why they are able to encounter these teachers who transmit the scriptures. From now on, if anyone honors and upholds this scripture, I too will send heavenly beings to protect them, so that in the end they will suffer no calamity.

The Dao says: In the renwu year, a great disaster will occur. The people will be thrown into turmoil, communities throughout the land will know no peace, and plague spirits will harm people. Sacred talismans can be made and placed in homes according to the prescribed rites to protect the household. Three or five families, or even ten or a hundred, may gather together by the water and perform the rite jointly in a single day. Build an earthen altar eight feet long and eight feet wide, and six feet high. Facing east, bow thirty-six times and pay homage to the Five Emperors (the Celestial Emperors of the five directions). Then submit a memorial, reporting everyone’s wishes to the Celestial Court. Heaven will surely record the sincerity of your prayers.

The Dao says: In the sixth month of the xinsi year, the ninth month of the renwu year, and the seventh month of the guiwei year, eighty thousand plague spirits will surely descend to harm people. The plague spirits are called “Wutulunna.” They are seventy zhang tall and arrive in swarms. There is also a great red crow, shaped like a cartwheel, that flies in and devours people. If people have faith in and uphold the scriptures of the Three Caverns (Dongzhen, Dongxuan, and Dongshen), and spread these scriptures among the people, all the plague spirits and red crows will die. Daoist priests should believe this.

The scripture says that a great calamity is about to descend. The ruler is greedy and cruel and shows no concern for the people, who are consequently driven into poverty. Forced labor is imposed without restraint, and the people suffer greatly. Cries of grief fill the roads, and bodies lie scattered across the wilderness. People cannot marry and have children at the proper time, and they do not believe in the Dao and its teachings; they have no choice but to flee their homes. Foreign peoples are in turmoil, bandits run rampant, and people attack one another. Even fathers and sons regard each other with suspicion.

Heaven pities the people, yet they remain in hardship. The scripture again describes unrestrained forced labor, the people’s suffering, their flight from home, and the ravages of war. It says that Heaven will send plague spirits to punish the guilty. Those weighed down by grave sins will face great floods; yet when the waters are about to come, people may not realize it.

If ritual masters and Daoist priests can devise means to help and save people, the Three-Day Great Kings, all the immortals, and the Jade Maidens of the Ten Directions will come to their aid. They will strengthen the Daoist priests and protect the households receiving help. Illness and legal disputes can be resolved quickly; ghostly influences will disperse, and the sick will recover. If a ghost still refuses to leave, ask that it be cut down, and show it no mercy.

The scripture also says that the rulers of the Ten Directions believe people in later generations will commit many evil deeds, while few will believe in the Dao, making it difficult to teach and transform the world. In the Year of Renwu, the heavenly realm will send eighty million plague spirits, bringing seventy kinds of illness and taking human lives. Those who know this method should hold a purification ritual in every household, worship the Five Emperors (the celestial emperors of the five directions) above a great body of water, bow facing northwest, and make a large talisman to hang over the main gate. The plague spirits will then dare not approach. The scripture further says that households without talismans, which do not hang this one, will be harmed by the plague spirits. This talisman is guarded by eighty million mighty warriors.

The Supreme Ancestor of the Dao said: In the years jiǎxū and rénwǔ, 8,900 red-faced ghosts named Mingzhen will appear. Each ghost will lead 39,000 lesser ghosts, carrying red staffs and striking down evil people. There are many evil people, so they do not believe a flood will come or that Daoist methods have power. In the end, they will fall into the Three Destinies and Five Calamities—that is, evil paths and disasters. The Supreme Mystery of the Dao, who sees all and cherishes all living beings, therefore seeks to save them.

The Supreme Ancestor of the Dao said: In the year rénwǔ, if people perform a purification rite for all living beings and recite the Scripture of Boundless Samadhi, plague ghosts will be unable to approach when they arrive. Daoist priests who uphold and put into practice the teachings of the Three Caverns (Dongzhen, Dongxuan, and Dongshen) will receive the Emperor of Heaven’s aid and will ultimately avoid falling into evil paths.

The Supreme Ancestor of the Dao said: Between the years guǐwèi and jiǎshēn, 390,000 Qi-crow ghosts—spirits bearing a noxious, malign energy—will fly over Zhongchuan and spread poison. They will enter people’s homes and cause a waterborne illness that is difficult to cure. Anyone carrying Fulu (talismans and registers used for protection and as authorization to perform rites) may join with ten or five households to build a ritual hall by the water. There they should make offerings to the Three Treasures (the Dao, the scriptures, and the masters), burn incense and light lamps morning and evening, give thanks and make obeisance to the gods at dawn, and pay homage to the Five Emperors, the celestial sovereigns of the five directions. They should hold a ritual assembly lasting one, two, or seven days. The celestial deities will surely record your name, which will also be entered in the Jade Register, the heavenly roll of names.

The Supreme Ancestor of the Dao said: A great disaster is imminent, and the flood will soon come. The foolish do not know this and continue to pass their days at ease. The Emperor of Heaven’s 120,000 celestial maidens will come to teach and transform the people, though the people will not recognize them. Anyone who encounters these maidens’ manifestations in the year xīnsì can receive deliverance into the Immortal Way. If someone falls ill, faces a lawsuit, or becomes embroiled in disputes, a ritual master or Daoist priest need only perform rites and offer guidance on their behalf. The maidens, too, will come to help, ensuring that the person ultimately suffers no calamity.

The Dao says: In the year Guiwei, the Dao’s vital energy will grow stronger with each passing day. The teachings of the Three Caverns—the divisions of the Daoist scriptures—will spread across the four seas, and people throughout the nine provinces will believe in and cherish them. Daoists will hold their hearts upright, and rulers will uphold the Daoist teachings. People will sweep and clean the side halls, where scripture platforms will be set up. They will light lamps, burn incense, and bow in worship morning and evening. Then plague demons will flee, the sick will recover of their own accord, and legal disputes will settle by themselves. The great army of the Three Heavens, the celestial forces that protect the Dharma, will guard the ritual masters. Wherever a ritual master goes, ghosts, demons, and bandits will be driven a thousand li away, and celestial beings will descend to aid the Daoists.

The Dao says: In the year Jiashen, great dragons will rise into the sky, in groups of ninety thousand. If anyone sees this sight, a great flood will soon strike the surrounding area. Daoists who enter the mountains can preserve their lives. Among worldly people are many with wicked intentions: they indulge their lust, covet wealth, and kill without restraint. They do not turn from their cruelty, believe in neither the Great Dao nor the path of cultivating toward immortality, and laugh at one another when they see others receive the scriptures and teachings. Such people will fall into the endless hells. There they will die seven times and be reborn seven times each day, coming back to life again and again. They will endure this for forty-two kalpas; only when that time has passed can they leave. Afterward they may be reborn as human beings, but their six faculties will be impaired. They will be foolish, deaf, and mute, with various bodily deformities: blindness, a cleft lip, deafness, a hunched back, a bent body, frailty and illness in old age, a face like a deer’s, feet like a muntjac’s, or even no hands or feet. Others will find them repulsive, even nauseating to look at. This is the karmic retribution brought upon them by the sins they committed in past lives.

The Dao says: Good people who are exceptionally wise in this life are so because they studied and cultivated themselves in a previous life. Those born with bodily impairments in this world have such bodies because they committed grave sins in a previous life. If they still refuse guidance in this life, they will never see the good path with their own eyes. Daoists need only teach and guide them; celestial beings will surely take note of your resolve. Those who are exceptionally wise owe this, too, to the study and cultivation of a previous life; those born with bodily impairments have such bodies because of grave sins in a previous life. If they still refuse guidance in this life, they will never see the good path. Daoists should simply do their utmost to guide them, and celestial beings will remember their commitment. If you refuse to save them, you will betray the earnest compassion of your predecessors and fail to follow the way of the great beings, whose practice is to deliver living beings.

The Dao says: In the year Renwu, thirty thousand white-haired ghosts will appear, called “Thousand Turns.” They will be three zhang tall, their faces wreathed in black qi and their hair white as snow. In great swarms, they will descend upon the world and bring thirty-nine thousand kinds of disease, causing the wicked to die from illness.

Some people do not believe in the Daoist teachings. They slander Daoist priests and debate the merits and faults of the scriptures, claiming that the scriptures have no divine power. They do not understand that the Great Dao is profound and vast, as unreachable as the sky and as immeasurable as the sea. With their shallow understanding, they recklessly judge the mysterious classics; they scorn Daoist priests, saying there are no spirits in the world; and, wavering in their convictions, they undermine the true faith. Their offenses are utterly grave. After death, they will fall headfirst into hell and remain there upside down for thirty kalpas—a span of immeasurable length. Only after their punishment ends will they be released. They will then be reborn as one of the six domestic animals—cattle, horses, sheep, chickens, dogs, or pigs—and only afterward be reborn as human beings.

The Dao also says: Most people in the world are foolish, so Heaven has commanded the myriad spirits to kill them with baleful qi. They are killed because they slander Daoist priests and murder the good. Today, some people do not believe in the Great Dao, do not revere the Three Treasures—the Dao, the scriptures, and the masters honored in Daoism—and refuse to accept the scriptures. The celestial troops will therefore punish them.

Today there are 3,060 kinds of disease that can cause death. There are also 30,000 flesh ghosts, 100,000 stone ghosts, 20,000 wood ghosts, 30,060,000 water ghosts, 600,000 earth ghosts, and 166,000 insect ghosts, all of which can harm people. These ghosts attach themselves to things of their own kind and injure people: in water, people may be killed by water; in the mountains, they may be hurt by stones; when cutting trees, they may be harmed by wood; when eating meat, they may suffer the effects of the qi of flesh; when disturbing the earth, they may be harmed by earth qi; and in the grass, they may be injured by insects. All these are baleful forces that run counter to the Daoist teachings. From now on, Daoist priests should diligently teach the people, so that all men and women who are foolish will believe in the Daoist teachings. Then ghosts will not come near them. If you still refuse to believe, when the celestial troops launch their great campaign to drive out the ghosts, I fear the ghost troops will come to punish you.

The Dao says: In the year renwu, emperors and people of every ethnic group all revered the Great Dao, and the scriptures and teachings of the Three Caverns (Dongzhen, Dongxuan, and Dongshen) circulated widely. Those who entered the mountains to cultivate the Dao could be seen everywhere. You receive the Daoist teachings and uphold the scriptures. Regardless of status, age, or gender, if you practice them sincerely, the heavenly beings will extend your life and spare you an untimely death, and you will naturally attain the rank of the immortals.

The Dao says: From now on, people of this kind can be seen everywhere. You receive the Daoist teachings and uphold the scriptures. Regardless of status, age, or gender, if you practice them sincerely, the heavenly beings will extend your life and spare you an untimely death, and you will naturally attain the rank of the immortals.

The Dao says: From now on, if Daoist priests or priestesses serve as religious teachers, diligently instruct the people, travel through different regions, and treat all kinds of illnesses, then all of you—demon kings, heavenly beings, little ghost kings and their followers—must work together to help the Daoist priests heal the sick. Do not let the people suffer illness and calamity or lose years of their lives without cause. Your duty is to drive away harmful ghosts and keep the people safe.

The Dao says: From now on, all ghost kings must follow the Daoist priests in bringing peace to the people and treating every kind of illness, so that no sick person remains uncured. If anyone cannot cure a patient, cut him into ten thousand pieces. I now dispatch the divine generals of the Five Directions and the great troops of the Nine Heavens, numbering thirty-nine million in all, to descend together and help the Daoist priests treat the sick. Thus all illnesses and legal disputes will be settled at once. Those who disobey will be the first to be punished by the ghost kings. All this is to be carried out in accordance with the command personally proclaimed by the Most High. Do not violate the precepts; you must obey at once, as the law commands.

The Dao says: People in the world do not believe in the Great Dao or accept the scriptures. They go about their worldly lives, sowing the roots of sin. When they see others doing good, they mock those who cultivate the Dao. If they fail to honor the Three Treasures—the Dao, the scriptures, and the masters revered in Daoism—they will be punished by the heavenly beings and spirits. When they suddenly die, it will be too late for regret. Now I dispatch thirty million mighty warriors from the ten directions to join together in protecting and assisting this Daoist. Wherever he goes, he can bring order to the secular world and help people cut off evil thoughts.

If anyone bullies this Daoist, insults or beats him, or plots to rob him, their souls are to be seized and handed over to the local hell for punishment, so that they understand their wrongdoing and the laws of Heaven are upheld. The Ghost Kings must follow my command and put evildoers to death on this Daoist’s behalf. If they do not, the heavenly beings and spirits will be displeased, and the Great Dao will lose its divine power. The demon kings replied, “Yes. Each of us will obey the command and put these people to death now.”

The Dao also says: From now on, Daoists should travel to remote lands in other countries to teach and transform the people. They should seek out the sick and, for each of them, conduct a purification ritual, recite scriptures, and perform the Daoist rites. I will dispatch an army of eight hundred thousand from the ten directions to help you heal the sick. Command all the great demon kings to ensure that no violent winds or rains plague the world, that humans and spirits live in harmony, that the people rejoice, and that the king believes in the Great Dao. Anyone who upholds the scriptures for seven days will be able to enter the mountains to cultivate, advance in practice, and become an immortal. If I cannot make this possible, I am not worthy of being called the Great Dao, and I will no longer teach or transform the people.

The Dao also says: When a great ritual master heals the sick, it is enough to recite the petition aloud; it need not be written on paper. The master must also bring humans and spirits into harmony, make the people rejoice, and lead the king to believe in the Dao. Anyone who upholds the scriptures for seven days will be able to enter the mountains to cultivate, advance in practice, and become an immortal. If I cannot make this possible, I am not worthy of being called the Great Dao, and I will no longer teach or transform the people.

The Dao says that when a Great Ritual Master treats someone’s illness, he may report the matter to Heaven orally, without writing it on paper, or he may treat the person through silent visualization. Reciting scriptures and performing ritual practice can also bring recovery. For someone who is gravely ill, the master may also submit an oral petition, confess past transgressions to Heaven, undo the net of karmic obstacles, remove guilt, and take the punishment on the person’s behalf.

A Daoist ritual master who knows the scriptures of the Three Caverns (Dongzhen, Dongxuan, and Dongshen) need only enter a quiet chamber, announce his plea to Heaven, and summon his fellow practitioners to perform the rites. When he practices the “Qi of Nine and One” and the “Qi of Three and Five”—methods of circulating Qi described in the scripture—celestial warriors, spirit kings, and Vajra guardians will descend to protect him. These are arts of the Celestial Perfected, celestial beings, and heavenly maidens. Spirit consorts of the heavens and various celestial beings will also descend to assist the master. Through these rites, lawsuits can be settled and illnesses cured. From now on, wherever Daoists perform rituals to save people, the Great Demon Kings, Little Ghost Kings, and others must drive out evil influences and lend their aid so that the sick recover. If a patient still does not recover, the Little Kings and the Great Demon King Weizhen must have their heads smashed and be executed in eighty pieces. This is an order spoken by the Most High himself; anyone who disobeys will be executed without mercy.

The Dao says that Daoists who follow the teachings of the Three Caverns must not associate with Daoists who practice the “Way of Yellow and Red,” the scripture’s term for methods involving the exchange of Qi between men and women. Daoists who uphold the scriptures and ritual masters of the Three Caverns should live in the mountains, far from the polluted realm of the mundane world. Those who remain among people should establish separate ritual residences for men and women who practice the Way of Yellow and Red. If they are to associate with them, they should choose an auspicious day: days marked by the cyclical signs Gengshen, Jiazi, Dingmao, or Jimao, as well as the eighth, twelfth, twenty-second, ninth, first, and eighteenth days listed in the scripture.

The Dao says that from now on all Demon Kings must protect the places where Daoists perform rituals to save people. They must bring the sick relief from their suffering, help settle lawsuits, and find ways to prevent calamities from harming people, so that every blessing may come to them, the people may live in peace, and evil spirits may be destroyed. Once the sick have recovered, they may ascend to the Great Dao. If you refuse to help the Daoists and anyone dies as a result, you will all be cut into countless pieces, without mercy. Carry out every instruction faithfully, as though it were an order issued in person by the Most High.

Submit the decrees and commands, and carry them out at once in obedience.

The Dao says: At present, eight thousand black-bodied ghosts, each six inches tall, ride on crows and fly through the air before coming into the water. Sometimes they ride on wind and rain and attach themselves to people; anyone they possess dies. There are also thirty-nine thousand Sandy Ground Hu ghosts, three inches tall and red and white in color. When floodwaters surge, they attach themselves to people.

There are also eight hundred thousand Great Damp ghosts, whose ghost name is “Heaven’s Head.” Their chiefs delight in stirring up disorder, and each chief commands thirty thousand ghost bandits. When these ghosts enter a household, they cause fires that cannot be put out. Such ghosts may kill people when the calamity of great floods arrives and the ruler governs harshly. Daoists who uphold the scriptures and teachings, devote themselves single-mindedly to cultivation in the mountains and forests, and do not seek office will not be killed; neither will men and women of the Yellow and Red.

The Dao says: From now on, great ghosts will appear, named “Broken Zhou.” One hundred thousand great ghosts are called Li Zi, Shi Er, and Tao Jiang. In the Renwu year, each will command one hundred and twenty thousand ghosts and come to kill the wicked. Only perfected beings and Daoists dare they not harm. From now until after the Jiaxu year, ghost troops numbering tens of millions will come to kill the wicked. If foolish people have Daoists who recite scriptures, perform rites, and heal calamities, Heaven’s people will help them, and the Ghost King will take pity on them and come in person to protect them.

The Dao says: From now on, beginning in the Renwu year and continuing until after the Jiaxu year, ghost troops numbering tens of millions will come to kill the wicked. If foolish people have Daoists who recite scriptures, perform rites, and heal calamities, Heaven’s people will help them, and the Ghost King will take pity on them and come in person to protect them.

Daoist teaching states: From now on, between the Renwu and Renchen years, and continuing through the Zi and Chou years, evil ghosts will wreak havoc among people. Of those who might survive, perhaps fewer than three or four in ten will remain. Many people have done evil, so Heaven will send down punishment, and people will die in the calamities of war and flood. This is truly alarming.

Only Daoist priests who uphold the scriptures and teachings can be welcomed by the celestial beings. As the great calamity draws to an end, this welcome will surely come soon. Ghosts, too, will appear in great numbers, and people will die of epidemic disease. If someone asks a master who transmits the Three Caverns teachings to perform rites and establish a ritual for them, the great ghosts and demon kings will protect and assist them, so that illness can be treated and cured. They can also subdue the ghosts and spirits rampaging throughout the world, along with the evil influences within and without, and force them a thousand feet beneath the earth. If the head of the household still does not recover, the dead lie strewn throughout the home, lawsuits remain unresolved, the fields and silkworms yield no harvest, and no advancement comes in one’s official career, then responsibility for every misfortune will first be laid at the feet of the officiating officials and troops. The great demon kings and lesser ghosts will cut them into a thousand pieces, showing no mercy.

All the instructions above have been announced and issued, as though proclaimed in person by the Most High. They must be obeyed and carried out at once.

The Dao says: At present there are eighty-nine thousand black-faced great demons called Red Beards. They stand seven zhang tall, and every four hundred and ninety thousand of them gather as one troop. They often impersonate the name of the Yellow Emperor and terrorize people’s families. They also command all manner of unregistered ghosts, the spirits of mountains, rivers, trees, and stones, and among men and women,, as well as Luo Ding, Le Zhang, Lord Ye of Nanyang, the Prince of the Stone Mother, Li Zi’ao of the Clouds, and the unattached ghosts of the Three Heavens. These ghosts and spirits number in the millions upon millions. They enter people’s homes and harm children, elderly women, and men and women, causing people throughout the world to fall ill and die. They wreak havoc everywhere, and every household suffers a death.

Ghost troops gather and camp near people’s homes. They seize livestock and make crows and wild beasts display ominous signs, bringing people lawsuits and quarrels. People suffer injustice and are sentenced to prison; crops and silkworm harvests fail, and nothing goes well.

From this day onward, all you demon kings, lesser ghosts, and ghost kings of every kind must swiftly assist Daoist masters in governing the world and rescuing the people, so that lawsuits are settled and the sick recover. If you disobey, the demon kings will cut you into ten thousand pieces. All the foregoing is to be carried out in accordance with the commands personally issued by the Most High.

End of Volume Ten of the Scripture of Divine Incantations from the Cavernous Abyss of the Most High.

The Scripture of Divine Incantations from the Cavernous Abyss of the Most High, Volume Eleven

Chapter: The Incantation by Which the King of Samadhi Summons Ghosts and Spirits

The Primordial Heavenly Worthy: End of Volume Ten of the Scripture of the August Sovereign.

On the eighth day of the first month of the Jianchen year, in the second year of the Shanghuang era, at noon, the Celestial Worthy of Primordial Beginning preached the Jing of the Profound Cavern, Numinous Treasure, Great Being, Utmost Truth, Natural Wisdom, and Pure Sincerity to the revered gods of the heavens at the Upper Palace of Primordial Yang. After the ritual was complete, he summoned the Lords of the Three Qi, the Five Elders and August Emperors, the True Immortals of the Nine Offices, the Thirty-Six Emperors of the Heavens without Limit in the Four Directions, the Flying Heavenly Spirit Kings, the Earth Emperors of the Nine Regions, and officials from the Three Realms. Surrounded before and behind by great spirits of the Divine Empyrean, the Celestial Worthy rode across the heavens and descended to the Palace of Fangzhu, on the shore of the blue sea in the Heaven of Wanli. He came to the Pool of the Cavernous Abyss and sat upright on a jeweled lotus throne borne by a five-colored flying dragon, ready to expound essential teachings and save all beings in the five paths of the Three Realms.

The Celestial Worthy released a majestic radiance that illuminated the worlds in all ten directions. It shone on the dragon palaces in one hundred and eighty seas; the offices at Dengdu, Yanggu, and the confluence of waters, associated with the underworld and water realms; the palaces of the thirty-six Earth Emperors in the Nine Regions of Wind and Marsh; the offices where the names and registers of the great perfected immortals were kept; and the thirty-six Grotto-Heavens, the Daoist realms of the immortals. These places all had the sun, moon, and stars, divine beings and officials, and ordinary people. They also had the six kinds of domestic animals, birds, beasts, insects, and fish. The beings there all believed that they lived in comfort and happiness.

These places also held ordinary beings; they were not all inhabited by immortals. There were husbands and wives, men and women, the old and the young, and people of higher and lower standing and of different generations, who continued their lines through successive generations. The many social roles and forms of life, Yin-Yang, the Five Phases (Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, Water), fortune and misfortune, joy and hardship, poverty and status, wealth and rank—all were just as in our world, with no difference.

Some people who seek the Dao and immortality live in mountain valleys to practice, hoping to realize the Great Dao and become sages. If they do not cultivate the “six powers and six perceptions” (a Daoist term for extraordinary powers of perception and awakening), they cannot be called Daoists and count only as practitioners of other traditions. The scripture says that no such distinction exists: whether in the formless realm above or in the places where ordinary people and sages dwell, there are suffering and joy, and consequences for one’s actions.

Next, the scripture asks the spirits to reveal the Nine Abysses and Winding Springs (the depths of the underworld) and the Grotto Heavens of the Five Sacred Peaks (immortal grotto realms within the Five Sacred Peaks), so that everyone may witness the karmic consequences of good and evil deeds in life and death. Living beings pass back and forth through suffering, circulating among the eight gates, born and dying of their own accord—a deeply sorrowful sight.

Among the people, …