《太上洞渊辞瘟神咒妙经》

At that time, the Celestial Worthy of Primordial Beginning (Yuanshi Tianzun) was in the Palace of Upper Yang, expounding the teachings to the assembly. The Celestial Worthy of the Cavern Abyss (Dongyuan Tianzun) reported to the Celestial Worthy of Primordial Beginning, saying: “I see that the common people of the lower realm have all contracted pestilence. Their four limbs burn with fever, their hands and feet ache, their heads hurt and their vision dims; their five viscera feel as if scorched by fierce fire and pierced by needles, and they cannot take food. How are they to be saved and treated?”

The Celestial Worthy of Primordial Beginning replied: “This is because the common people of the lower realm live in the human world yet do not revere the Three Treasures—the Dao (the Way), the Jing (scripture), and the masters honored in Daoism. They revile Heaven and Earth and have no heart of reverence or yielding deference; their minds are treacherous and deviant, they do wrong and accumulate karmic offenses, and so they suffer the assault of this disease. When their bodies are strong, they do not know to turn their hearts back toward goodness; in their ordinary comings and goings they neither observe taboos nor act with caution.

“This is the envoys of the Five Emperors, carrying out Heaven’s mandate and circulating official documents, who make their rounds with every kind of disease. All that mortals do is recorded in the registers, and then the envoys release the pestilential poison; when a person inhales the pestilential Qi (vital energy), illness follows. If the men and women of a household contract this disease, the whole family should cease eating the five pungent foods (commonly referring to pungent foods such as scallion, garlic, Chinese chive, xie onion, and asafoetida), lower their bearing, speak softly, soften body and mind, and with a heart of joy and compassion worship, give thanks, and send off the gods of pestilence.

“One should set up an incense altar, respectfully invite the gods of the Dao to descend, and establish a ritual arena (the place where Daoist rites are performed) in the home; burn incense and recite this wondrous scripture, worship and give thanks according to the teachings, and set up an altar to perform the rite. Then arrange the purification feast, incense, and lamps, and according to the ritual respectfully invite the Heavenly Talisman, the Divine Kings of Disease of the Twelve Years, the envoys of the Five Emperors, the sages of the seventy-two pentads, the holy hosts of the twenty-four Qi, the Great Judge Who Spreads Pestilence, the officers in charge of medicine, together with the envoys who govern the pestilences of pigs, sheep, oxen, and horses, the envoys of pine calamity, the envoys of virulent poison, the Divine Kings of the localities, Sovereign Earth (Houtu), and the ordinances of the community altar (Sheling), and other deities, each leading their retinues to descend together upon the ritual arena.

“To dissolve these pestilential poisons, one should recite this scripture and, at the same time, perform the rite of averting calamity and giving thanks. If anyone has already been entered in the registers, one must further memorialize, requesting that the record be struck out and the offenses pardoned. Now disciple So-and-so takes refuge and offers sincere allegiance, earnestly bowing and presenting a memorial, and asks the gods not to obstruct this, so that the person may turn from death back to life.”

When the sages saw people worshipping and giving thanks in this way, they gathered in and restrained the Qi of pestilence so that it would spread no further. Thereupon the Celestial Worthy of Primordial Beginning composed a hymn, saying:

The Most High establishes the norms of cultivation and the methods of instruction, teaching people to dispel calamity through reverence and faithful devotion. Even the poisonous harm left behind by pestilence, once the wholesome teachings have been heard, can be transformed into auspicious fortune.

By taking refuge in the Three Treasures and constantly calling them to mind—the Dao, the Jing (scripture), and the Master, which Daoism venerates—the household will gradually grow auspicious and prosperous. So long as one can recite and transmit this scripture, the afflictions brought by ghosts and spirits will withdraw and fade away.

Thereupon the Celestial Worthy of the Cavernous Abyss and all those assembled, having heard these sacred words, rejoiced greatly. After paying their respects they withdrew, sincerely believing, accepting the teaching, and putting it into practice.

The Wonderful Scripture of the Divine Spells of the Most High of the Cavernous Abyss for Dispelling Pestilence ends here.