《太上灵宝净明玉真枢真经》

Danyangzi studied the Dao (the Way) in the Palace of Fusang and awakened to the true Dao in the City of Jasper Towers. He received the upright Qi (vital energy) of Fenglong, absorbed the purest Jing (essence), and, turning to look back upon the Great Void, was able to attend upon Yuqing (the realm where the honored deities of Daoism dwell), ascend to the court of Dongshen (of the Three Caverns), and obtain the Yuzhen Jing (scripture). This scripture is profound and lucid. It enables one to understand original nature and reach through to the inner heart, and it may also be used to refine Qi and to send the Shen (spirit) in flight. Spirit-consciousness roams free and at ease, and both within and beyond the Three Realms one may ascend as if walking on level ground.

Who says the great Dao cannot be learned? If one tirelessly ponders its subtle principles, understanding will come at last. Who says the way of the immortals cannot be sought? If one steadies mind and nature and gives rise to no doubt, attainment is possible. The realm of the true sages cannot be gained merely by what the ears hear and the eyes see; only with a sincere and reverent heart, and with uprightness and purity, can one come into contact with it. The Void, too, is not something one may wander simply by wishing to; only when the mind is empty, still, and at peace, and one’s bearing is correct and steady, can realization arise. Grasp the essentials of the Yuzhen Jing, and the fundamental norms will be set right; once the root is rectified, in every gesture and word one may accord and correspond with the Tianzhen Huangren (the August Person of Celestial Perfection).

At night one sits in stillness, making mind and nature pure and luminous. Spirit-consciousness soars aloft and ascends to the Three Pure Ones (Sanqing), the threefold heavenly realms where the honored deities of Daoism dwell. Visualize the star altar at the center of the courtyard; suddenly one mounts the void and manifests a body outside the body.

A perfected person transmits a bright golden edict and orders an attendant to present a yaojue (a wine vessel of jade) filled with jade Jing. A clear wind drifts and cloud-Qi gathers; one steps directly onto Dakui and enters the Seven Stars.

Circling the stellar court where Yinghuo (Mars) resides, east at dawn and west at dusk, one is able to pay homage to our Lord. Roaming through the Formless Realm, one meets immortals, and myriads of true immortals come to escort and to welcome.

Passing on beyond Mars and through the two lodges of Ji and Dou, one has completed homage throughout all thirty-two heavens. Wondrous principles lie hidden within the mysterious and subtle; the precious chart seen here appears in the stellar region where the star Kui is located.

There is, moreover, a most recondite secret that cannot be transmitted in words: one should constantly visualize five-colored smoky Qi rising from the crown of the head. Mist and cloud blend softly, following their natural course—now transforming, now appearing—without cease.

At times one visualizes immortal cranes dancing and a pair of dragons soaring; at other times one visualizes a nectar of jade auroras bestowed from heaven. The fragrance of Yuzhen (the realm of perfected cultivation, or the divinity, spoken of in the scripture) nourishes body and mind, so that even the bones may return to the celestial realm.

The breath of Yuzhen can stir the void, so that everyday places such as the kitchen seem likewise to open onto the upper realm. The fluids of Yuzhen can turn into every kind of flavor, so that all manner of fine things may be offered up to the Celestial King.

Above are the Nine Mysteries (the ancestors), and below are the seven descendants. The practitioner, though standing on the earth, can still mount the clouds and rise. The Yuangang flying steps (a ritual of treading the bearings of the celestial realm according to a set pace) are indispensable; practiced over a long time, they transform one’s efficacy.

The course of the Yuangang flying steps is not fixed toward due west or due east. Now high, now low, it wheels like a kite in the wind. Following this kite-like pacing and looking up into the Great Void, one finds that the perilous places in that void are the Gang winds (the fierce winds of the celestial realm). Within them, moreover, a demon king displays spiritual powers, obstructing the practitioner’s transformation of accomplished power.

The course of the Yuangang flying steps is not fixed toward due west or due east. Now high, now low, it wheels like a kite in the wind. Following this kite-like pacing and looking up into the Great Void, one finds that the perilous places in that void are the Gang winds.

There a demon king manifests great spiritual power, a pair of tablets in his hands and a horn bow hung at his waist. He does not distinguish the worthy from the unworthy; all alike he seizes and confines in Luofeng (the underworld of legend). Only by relying on pure and upright Qi (vital energy) can he be subdued. If one does not wear the register (Lu, the credential of ritual office conferred by Daoism and also used in ritual practice to protect the person), one will suffer ordeal. Disciples must remember and observe my precepts.

Cultivation of the eight extremities (practice extending through all eight directions) must not be neglected. If one is wanting in loyalty and filial piety, the spirits will grant no protection. Even if a thousand myriads of Dongshen deities (Dongshen, the Cavern of Spirit, one of the Three Caverns) are sent down, do not say that the Dao (the Way) of Jingming (Pure Brightness) is without effect. Once the name has been memorialized, one may become an Immortal Duke. Know that the Immortal Duke bears an immortal register, sufficient to ascend in due order to the divine palaces.

If you do not love the Great Dao, you will fall into the Five Turbidities (the general term, in Buddhist and Daoist tradition, for the turbid and disordered world). What then can I do but grieve for you? You should clearly and diligently read the Yushu Jing (Jade Pivot Scripture), and not let your Shen (spirit) and soul sink and scatter of their own accord. Yuzhen appears, from the first, within visualization; the mind of visualization depends above all on uprightness and stillness. From this one may know that the realm of Jingming is ever clear and luminous—this is the pivotal realm of Yuzhen.

Here ends the Taishang Lingbao Jingming Yuzhen Shuzhen Jing (Scripture of the True Pivot of Yuzhen, of the Most High Numinous Treasure of Pure Brightness).