《太极祭炼内法》

The Book of Changes says, “The transformations of one Yin and one Yang are called the Dao.” The vastness of Heaven and Earth and the countless things within them—all that has form or breath and exists by carrying out the workings of the Dao—depend on the movement of the two Qi of Yin and Yang. The transformations of all things from beginning to end, through life and death, and the differences between the hidden and the manifest also arise from this movement, becoming signs that can be observed. Thus, ghosts and spirits are manifestations of the workings of Yin and Yang Qi, and traces left by the transformations of creation. Their changes are nothing other than Qi appearing and disappearing, moving and resting.

The methods of our Daoist tradition for refining and guiding the souls of the dead, and for saving the living, are no deception of the world. They use Yang Qi to refine Yin Qi, and the flowing breath of Qi to refine spirit-consciousness that has yet to become clear. Qi that has dispersed can gather again; spirit-consciousness clouded in darkness can recover awareness; and those sunk low can be raised up. This is simply how principle and Qi work by their nature.

The Lingbao fasting rites, a category of Daoist rituals for purification, prayer, and guiding the dead, are said to have originated with the three patriarchs Xu, Ge, and Zheng, and later spread across the land. From the Han, Tang, Song, and Yuan dynasties onward, ritual methods took many different and interwoven forms, numbering in the hundreds and thousands. Yet in their highest aims, they ultimately reach the same destination. Refining and guiding the souls of the dead is one of the central purposes of the Lingbao fasting rites. The ritual of sacrificial refinement is concise, with few procedures, yet it can bring benefits far and wide.

Immortal Lord Ge (an immortal of the Ge lineage revered in Daoism) founded and developed this teaching, and later attained the rank of an immortal. It is said that various schools arose in the world, including Danyang, Dongyang, Tongming, Yuyang, and Yangjing. Of these, the Danyang school of Immortal Lord Ge is the most important. Danyang originated in Nanchang, which is also one of the names for Lingbao. For the essentials of the Danyang school, the most thorough account is found in Mr. Zheng Suonan’s Inner Methods. His discussion is concise and to the point, and it brings to light deeper meanings that Immortal Lord Ge had not fully disclosed.

Mr. Zheng’s account begins by taking sincerity as its foundation: no principle is apart from sincerity. The Doctrine of the Mean says, “Sincerity is the Way of Heaven; striving to be sincere is the way of humanity.” If one can hold fast to sincerity, one can grasp the pivot of Yin-Yang transformation and the principles governing the workings of ghosts and spirits. The mysteries of Water and Fire, the deeper meaning of talismans and registers, and the methods for refining the dead through internal cultivation all depend on understanding the relationships among the Three and Five and the transformations of substance and function. Only then can the Five Phases and Yin-Yang return to the Taiji.

As for fulfilling one’s nature, settling one’s life, and the methods for gathering and controlling the hun and po souls, this book can be said to explain them fully and to provide a standard for the fasting rites. Yet Mr. Zheng emphasizes practical work in cultivating and guarding both body and mind. He also warns practitioners against changing names, misusing methods, or deceiving and misleading others. Without cultivating a pure and generous character, holding to truth, and clearing away defilement and distracting thoughts, this cannot be achieved.

I have studied several schools and consider this one the most sound. Mr. Yuan Jinghe of Gusu is sincere, upright, and intelligent. He has devoted himself to study, and this autumn he brought his compiled manuscript to our mountain, asking me to write a preface as he prepared to have it printed and circulated. His purpose deserves praise, so I have written this preface. Those who read the book in the future should turn their attention back to themselves, strengthen their resolve, and put its teachings into practice, rather than stopping at words. If they can do so, their beneficence will reach both the unseen realm and the human world. How far-reaching a purpose this is!

Written in the season when chrysanthemums were in bloom, in the fourth year of Yongle (1406), by Zhang Yuchu, the forty-third Celestial Master of the Han line, heir to the Zhengyi teaching, titled Daohe Wuwei Chanzu Guangfan Zhenren, and charged with overseeing Daoist affairs.

I respectfully reflect that, since ancient times, those accomplished Daoist adepts who received the Lingbao scriptures—important texts of Daoism—could dispel disasters in Heaven and protect the emperor above, and rescue the souls of the dead and illuminate the long, dark night below. The beings they guided and saved were without number. These accounts have long been recorded in secret scriptures.

The inner method of sacrificing to ghosts and refining souls—a Daoist practice for making offerings and rescuing the dead—is said to have been cultivated since the Jin dynasty by the Great Ultimate Immortal Elder Ge on Mount Shangyu in Kuaiji. His practice reached completion and his Daoist arts were perfected; later, he ascended into the clouds. From then on, the wondrous Lingbao methods were passed down from master to disciple, and the practice of sacrifice and refinement spread in this way.

Later, the liturgies established by various lineages multiplied. Though they shared the same origin, their methods differed, gradually straying from the original intent of Lingbao; their relief of ghosts and spirits may also have been inadequate. Out of compassion for the souls of the dead in the long night, Master Zheng of Su’nan in Wu Commandery set forth the essentials of the inner method of sacrifice and refinement. This is indeed the secret teaching of Lingbao: its wondrous efficacy is profound, its principles are clear, and its practice is simple. Whoever obtains this book need only trust in it and put it into practice to receive its benefits, whether in the underworld or among the living.

Master Zheng feared that this method might not be widely transmitted, so he had the book printed and circulated. But Heaven seemed to cherish its secret writings: the printing blocks were destroyed in a fire, and the book could no longer be printed. If no one carried on this work, Master Zheng’s wish to open the way to salvation for all beings would go unfulfilled. My family’s Wang Daogui studied the Dao diligently and always kept Master Zheng of Su’nan’s final wish in mind. He therefore gathered like-minded people and had the book printed again. In this way, the master’s work will not be lost. After a thousand years, will this not benefit both the underworld and the world of the living?

Respectfully recorded by Xu Shanzheng, Daoist of Utmost Joy, on the Dragon Boat Festival in the Dinghai year of the Zhizheng era.

The Taiji Ritual Refinement Method for the Dead is a method devised by Ge Xiangong (Ge Xuan, a Daoist figure of the late Eastern Han and Three Kingdoms periods) for making offerings to and rescuing departed souls. After death, the hun ascends and the po descends; this is what usually happens. But sometimes the hun and po can neither ascend nor descend, and remain trapped in darkness. Such departed souls still suffer from hunger and thirst, and their awareness remains dim, as though they were caught in a long, endless night.

Ge Xiangong took pity on these souls and established a ritual refinement practice within Daoist methods. “Offering” means setting out food and drink to relieve the souls’ hunger and thirst. “Refinement” means using the power of the spirit to help them escape the darkness. This method is significant because it frees trapped souls as ice melts and frost thaws, allowing them to return to their original state.

Zheng Suonan, a native of the Wu region, recorded the method he had inherited and had it printed as a book to teach others. Daoist texts have always been passed on with care. If a student received one without offering gifts or swearing an oath to Heaven, this was generally regarded as careless disclosure, which could bring unseen blame. Yet Zheng Suonan’s intentions were the same as Ge Xiangong’s. He believed that when someone’s family member dies, the family cannot know whether the deceased’s hun and po have ascended and descended as they should or remain trapped. If this method could dispel their darkness, free them from their confinement, and raise them to a clear and luminous realm, it would be like bringing the dead back to life and restoring flesh to dry bones. How could that fail to comfort the hearts of parents, siblings, and children? This method should therefore be made available to every household, so that people may believe in it and put it into practice. Zheng Suonan had the book printed and circulated widely; this cannot be considered careless disclosure.

The old printed edition of this book was destroyed in a fire, and no one had reprinted it since. Wang Daogui of Xuanming Daoist Monastery in the prefectural city gathered support from people who cared about the work and printed it anew, so that those who had never seen it could read and practice it. This must surely have accorded with Zheng Suonan’s intentions. Wang Daogui’s dedication deserves praise. Since I had studied this book, Daogui asked me to write a preface, and I could not refuse. Written by Zhang Xun on the Guichou day of the fourth summer month in the Dinghai year of the Zhizheng era, the seventh year.

The Immortal Elder of the Supreme Ultimate received the Way of the Numinous Treasure from the Three Ancient Masters. He therefore established rites for sacrificing to ghosts and methods for refining and delivering departed souls, and passed them down to the world. A single bowl of food, it is said, can satisfy the hunger of ten thousand ghosts; a single talisman can deliver countless departed souls. The rites are simple, yet their purpose is profound; their aid extends far and wide, and their merit is great.

The Immortal Elder passed away long ago. Since then, people fond of novelty have often altered and added to the teachings, leaving them mixed and confused and making it hard for students to know what to follow. Mr. Zheng Suonan was a learned Confucian who understood the Three Teachings: Confucianism, Buddhism, and Daoism. He gathered the various Daoist methods of sacrifice and refinement, removed what was cumbersome and unfounded, and explained the teachings patiently. He compiled this book for later students, so they could study by returning to the authentic sources and clearing away distortions, while aiding the departed in the netherworld. The book may be called both broad in scope and concise, with explanations that are also thorough.

Mr. Zheng once had the book carved and printed for free distribution, but a fire later destroyed the printing blocks. Now, in the Yuan dynasty, Wang Daogui, a man devoted to the Dao, feared that the book would be lost for good. He therefore gathered contributions from others and had it carved and printed anew, ensuring its lasting transmission. How could this have been accomplished without a heart of compassion?

The Great Dao has no form. The human body has form, yet through it one can realize the Great Dao. Before Heaven and Earth began, all things already existed; by probing things within the mind, people can come to know the Way of Heaven. We are one with our fellow beings and with all things. Another’s hunger and hardship are like our own, and their sorrows and joys are no different from ours. Thus, those who study the Dao should cultivate themselves through their everyday actions, making the mind clear and still, and keeping their inner and outer selves bright and without blemish, like snow and ice melting in spring and the moon shining clear after the clouds disperse. When the mind and external things accord, the workings of opening and closing, change and transformation, arise from this accord. When the force of life continues without end, one can understand the transformations between the hidden and the manifest. Facing all things without partiality, one responds to each situation and then returns to stillness.

Those who cultivate must understand that Heaven, humanity, the ancestral spirits of past generations, sentient beings, the four kinds of birth and six paths of rebirth—that is, all kinds of life and the different destinations within the cycle of rebirth—and even insects and plants share the same nature as oneself. They should all be joined with nature and treated with equal regard, whether friend or foe, so that every being may be delivered. Only then can one roam freely, unimpeded, with the void itself as one’s measure of time. This is how one remains true to the purpose behind the Immortal Elder of the Supreme Ultimate’s creation of the rites of sacrifice and refinement, and to the sincerity with which Mr. Zheng Suonan explained them. If one does not cultivate in this way but merely talks about these rites, I cannot see what purpose they serve. Students of the Dao should strive to put them into practice.

On the fifteenth day of the second month of the Dinghai year of Zhizheng, the Daoist Qingxu-zi of Yixuan, from western Shu, respectfully took up his brush to write this preface.

In my youth, I read the Confucian books, yet gained from them no skill to earn a living. Later, I encountered Daoism, but never truly understood its principles, like a blind man unable to tell jade from stone. Fortunately, my late teacher, Master Jushan, instructed me sternly. To this day I remember the pain of being rebuked, and so I will never forget it. Amid my countless thoughts, I sometimes seem to glimpse a fragment or two of the Dao. At times I struggle to chant verses and laugh uncontrollably; at other times I sit in silence and ponder, even criticizing Chan Buddhism. I wanted only to break free from the constraints of past and present, of form and body, and lose myself in abandon until my life was spent. How could I know what I had truly understood?

Someone laughed at me and said, “You once wrote two books, one Buddhist, The Offering of Food, and one Daoist, The Ritual of Sacrifice and Refinement. Do you still retain the dregs of your former learning?” Hearing this, I took an old dream in my hands and turned it over, yet could not say what counted as dregs. Someone else said, “Please discuss this matter step by step.” I replied, “That goes straight to the heart of it.”

“Dao” is a name adopted only because it cannot be helped; “method” is a function adopted only because it cannot be helped. The workings of all things in the world may be called methods. The Zhuangzi says, “Take the root as essential and things as coarse.” Is this really so?

When I wrote those two books, I had merely not yet shed all that I had learned in childhood. Yet the world’s rites of sacrifice and refinement are manifold, and each tradition has a different purpose. Take thunder, for instance: it arises when Yin-Yang energies clash. Those who practice thunder methods in the world often use the energies of the Five Phases in mutual opposition to set this clash in motion and direct it. Why are they all called “thunder,” while the Thunder Patriarch and Thunder Deities they venerate differ from one another? Besides the Zhengyi method, there is also the Qingwei method, and the names of thunder methods number in the hundreds. The Zhengyi thunder methods recorded in Bai Yuchan’s writings alone have more than a hundred names; in my view, even that is not a complete record. Thunder methods are boundless in number. Even when speaking of just one of them, the transmitted incantations, Qi methods, Fulu, and instructions for visualization all differ. They originally came from a single method, but later became distorted into hundreds and thousands of varieties.

More than two hundred lineages transmit the methods of subduing and examining thunder; the methods of the Divine Officials number more than three hundred, and those of the Earth Deities more than one hundred and eighty. There are also those who follow teachers in the Great Way of the Golden Elixir: some have paid their respects to more than three hundred and fifty teachers, others to more than ninety, without even counting other fields. Today, the methods called the Great Way and the Golden Elixir are as numerous as hemp and reeds. No one person, or the knowledge of someone from a single place, could survey them all. Beyond China, too, there are different methods, each adapted to its region, and people everywhere consider their own methods efficacious.

Three to five hundred years ago, there were no methods of subduing and examining thunder, of the Divine Officials, or of the Earth Deities. Immortal books and biographies record the methods studied and practiced by immortals of antiquity. Some names have survived, but their actual content differs considerably from what is practiced today, and their lineages are no longer transmitted. We can therefore know that over the next thousand years, methods will continue to be renamed and repurposed, giving rise to all kinds of new practices that will astonish people and circulate through the world. The many changes and distortions are truly beyond counting. Looking across the world, past and present, one sees the methods transmitted and studied in different places growing confused and strange, as people chase novelty from one to another and only deepen their bewilderment. This is a change of an age marked by decline and disorder, caused by people’s taste for the strange and their attachment to names and labels. Each tradition keeps adding, deleting, and altering, deceiving itself and others, until the blind lead the blind.

Thus some people have paid their respects to thousands upon thousands of teachers, and only at the age of sixty-four claim to have received the true transmission. By that account, none of those they paid their respects to before were teachers after all. Laozi said, “My Dao is easy to understand and easy to practice; my Dao is level and broad, yet the people love to take shortcuts.” A shortcut is a narrow path. How, then, should students throughout the world ask about the Dao and seek a method? Those who think themselves right accuse others of being wrong. In the end, whose teaching should students follow? Principle is originally one. If it is one, how can it be divided into two, let alone split into countless branches?

Without a truly discerning eye, and without the ability to connect past and present, who would not be tainted by false and perverse influences, gladly fall into empty show and deceit, and remain unaware of it all their life? People in the world, now and in generations to come, may in turn be misled by the Dao. The Dao itself has nothing with which to mislead anyone; people lose their way of their own accord. The books of the sages and immortals of antiquity have always been there, but people want only to talk about their mysterious principles. They refuse to put them into practice or cultivate De. Without deep and sustained practice, one will never encounter a true teacher.

My own foundation in cultivation has not yet broken free of worldly ties, and my sincere heart has not yet united with Heaven and Earth. This is not because Heaven and Earth deliberately obstruct me, nor because perfected beings are stingy with their teachings and refuse to remain among people. Rather, people, in their small bodies, cling to a mass of spiritual illusion. In a dreamlike world, they give rise to countless thoughts, desires, affairs, deceptions, words, and undertakings. Even after death, they want to forge this dream into a world of their own that will endure forever. Though they pass through countless kalpas, though metal and stone decay and mountains and seas dry up, living beings remain upside down and entangled in confusion, unable to awaken from their delusion. How tragic!

Thus the Most High, the supreme honorific for the highest Daoist divinity, stooped to meet living beings and used skillful means to save suffering souls in the netherworld. In this way, the rites of sacrifice and refinement were transmitted to the human world. In the past, Immortal Ge vigorously proclaimed the Most High’s original intent. But afterward, no one explained his meaning as Immortal Ge had, and as time passed the methods grew ever more distorted and disordered. Who will set them right?

Even beneath the high vault of the blue sky, there is nowhere to knock and ask about the mysterious intent. Thus my book The Ritual of Sacrifice and Refinement is no more than sleep talk in a dream: I explain my own dream in the hope of awakening others from theirs, but they sleep too deeply and cling too stubbornly. Like all living beings, I too am caught in the waves of a sea of dreams. Should I really boast of myself with empty, ornate words? Alas, who can strike the vast emptiness three times and awaken those who sleep? And so I wrote this preface.

Anyone who aspires to cultivate the Dao and wishes to save beings in the netherworld should first submit a memorial to the Heavenly Worthy of Great Unity, a revered Daoist deity. In it, declare that this undertaking is carried out under the command of the Left Immortal Lord of Taiji, Chongying, and the True Lord of Faithful Blessing, and make a firm, unwavering great vow. The rites of ritual salvation may be performed each year on the Three Yuan days: the Upper Yuan on the fifteenth day of the first month, the Middle Yuan on the fifteenth day of the seventh month, and the Lower Yuan on the fifteenth day of the tenth month. They may also be performed on the Five La days: the Heavenly La on the first day of the first month, the Earthly La on the fifth day of the fifth month, the Dao and De La on the seventh day of the seventh month, the People’s Year La on the first day of the tenth month, and the Lords and Marquises La in the twelfth month. In addition, the eight seasonal nodes—Beginning of Spring, Spring Equinox, Beginning of Summer, Summer Solstice, Beginning of Autumn, Autumn Equinox, Beginning of Winter, and Winter Solstice—as well as Gengshen and Jiazi days, are suitable occasions for these rites. There are twenty-eight such occasions in a year, each an indispensable opportunity to perform rites for beings in the netherworld.

Those who truly wish to aid ghosts and spirits should not merely elaborate on words and ritual display. They must practice internal cultivation regularly, nurturing the spirit within and observing precepts outwardly. With steady daily practice, it will naturally be easier to receive a response when performing the rites.

On the day before the rite, submit a document to the City God, the local guardian deity; on the day itself, continue silently reciting prayers. Recite the sacred name of Taiyi inwardly, and respectfully copy the treasured register and the Danyang talisman. Late at night, in a quiet place, arrange incense and pure food with due solemnity, and prepare bamboo branches and clean water. Also prepare a basin of bathing water. Burn the Danyang talisman and cast its ashes into the bathing pool; burn the treasured register separately outdoors. Then sit quietly for a while and carry out the ritual in accordance with its prescribed steps. If, that day, conditions such as an inauspicious direction indicated by the Dipper arise, burn incense and pray silently, asking to move the rite earlier or later so as not to disappoint the spirits. Practicing in this way every night is especially effective.

Method of Internal Cultivation

Enter a quiet chamber and sit upright. Gather the mind, clear away distracting thoughts, and regulate the breath until it is steady. After sitting quietly for a time, visualize the true Qi in your Lower Dantian—the internal cultivation site below the abdomen—as a flame, shaped like a large, bright-red jade pearl, rotating nine times from side to side within the body.

After entering a quiet room, sit upright. Gather your mind, quiet your thoughts, and regulate your breathing until it becomes steady. After sitting quietly for a long time, visualize a mass of true Qi in the lower Dantian (the internal cultivation site in the lower abdomen). It is like a flame, shaped like a bright red jade pellet, rotating nine times from side to side within the Dantian, clearly visible.

After a while, feel the Jade Pool (the mouth) filling with saliva; this is regarded as a sign that kidney water is rising. Next, visualize the mass of true fire rising to the Crimson Palace (the heart), also called the Upper Palace of Nanchang, the Fire Court of Vermilion Mound, and the Court of Flowing Fire. The flame then burns fiercely. Visualize the whole body being refined in the fire. After a while, the body is refined into the form of an infant, sitting upright in the Crimson Palace; then the body returns to its original form.

The infant gradually ascends the twelve-story tower and arrives at the Golden Gate and Jade Chamber—that is, the Mudball Palace (the cultivation site inside the head) at the crown of the head. The infant then transforms into the sacred image of a Celestial Worthy, seated upright in the palace: in the left hand, a bowl of green jade; in the right, a branch of kongqing stone. This deity is called the Celestial Worthy Taiyi Who Relieves Suffering. All these visualizations should be clear and distinct.

The locations mentioned in the text are as follows: the heart is called the Crimson Palace; the mouth, the Jade Pool; three inches inward from between the eyebrows, the Mudball Palace; and the space between the kidneys, the Dantian. Further details appear below.

The Practice for Writing the Heavenly Treasure Register

This method does not use the Six Stars of the Southern Dipper or inscribe incantations. The relevant procedures for using these methods appear below.

To write the Treasure Register, enter a quiet room at dawn. After fasting and purification, sit silently and complete the internal cultivation method. Then visualize the Celestial Worthy Taiyi Who Relieves Suffering seated upright in the Mudball Palace, surrounded by radiant auspicious light. Next, kneel and silently report: “I am now writing the Treasure Register to deliver the souls of the underworld universally, so that the deceased may receive refinement and deliverance and immediately ascend to Heaven. I act under the command of the Celestial Worthy Taiyi Who Relieves Suffering.” Visualize each phrase clearly as you make the report. Once finished, write the Treasure Register.

As you write, recite the four syllables “ti, hong, zha, li” in sequence, making the corresponding finger signs and guiding the brush according to each syllable: for the first, make the sign at the Chou position on the left middle finger and draw three turns to the left; for the second, make the sign one position above Chou on the left hand and draw three turns to the right; for the third, make the sign one position below Wu on the left middle finger and draw three turns to the left; for the fourth, make the sign at the Wu position on the left middle finger and draw three turns to the right.

Write the condensation-form section of the Treasure Register in cinnabar.

When performing this method, first silently recite the four syllables of the mantra, “Om, Hong, Zha, Li,” and write them in order: write “Om” first, then write “Hong” above it; write “Zha” above “Hong,” and finally write “Li.” Each time you write a syllable, make one hand-seal and draw three circles. As you draw each circle, silently recite “Om Hong Zha Li” once. For each syllable, make the hand-seal four times and draw twelve circles. Once all four syllables have been written, the mantra will have been recited twelve times, and the treasured register (a Fulu used to invoke the gods and convey their commands) is complete.

Next, hold the cinnabar brush over the treasured register, make another hand-seal, and draw three circles. As you draw each circle, silently recite the mantra once. In total, make the hand-seal four times, draw twelve circles, and recite the mantra twelve times. Then close your eyes and quietly visualize a mass of true fire in your lower Dantian (the site of internal cultivation below the navel), and let it remain clearly in your awareness for a moment. When you feel saliva gathering in your mouth, visualize the true fire rising to the Crimson Palace (the heart region in Daoist internal cultivation), where it transforms into a blaze within the Vermilion Mound Fire Palace. Let its light grow ever brighter, until a fire bell shines within it like the sun. Then breathe onto the talisman, make the Horse hand-seal, and sweep the cinnabar brush over the register. At the same time, visualize the treasured register transforming into a fire bell, passing upward through the Niwan (the site of internal cultivation in the head), rising higher and traveling farther until it reaches the depths above.

Then recite the mantra of the Dao Lord:

“Supreme Dao Lord, command that this be conveyed to Kunlun. When the divine talisman descends, deliver the departed souls from suffering. Haste, in accordance with the statutes and commands.”

At the same time, make the hand-seal with the middle joint of the left middle finger.

Format of the treasured register

Write it in cinnabar on yellow paper, then stamp the register with three seals. To dedicate it to the deliverance of a particular deceased person, prepare a separate register and enter that person’s name.

“By command of the Most High, this treasured register is issued as a pardon, enabling beings to ascend to Heaven. It conveys the order to deliver the beings of the Five Destinies and Four Births (the various beings in the cycle of rebirth), along with solitary male and female souls and others. May they be raised in rank, receive new life, and ascend to the realm of the immortals. This matter is hereby formally proclaimed by an official warrant and conveyed by the wind-and-fire courier.”

Enter the cyclical year, month, day, and auspicious hour. Enter the officiant’s title and name to indicate that the rite is being carried out under orders.

Format of the memorial for ritual offerings and deliverance

On the day before the ritual offerings and deliverance, issue a memorial to the solitary male and female souls and others, commanding that they be raised in rank, receive new life, and ascend to the realm of the immortals. This matter is formally proclaimed by an official warrant and conveyed by the wind-and-fire courier.

Enter the cyclical year, month, day, and auspicious hour. Enter the officiant’s title and name to indicate that the rite is being carried out under orders.

It is sufficient to issue the memorial on the day before the ritual offerings and deliverance; there is no need to submit a separate petition.

The Taiji Purification and Refinement Altar sends a formal document to the local City God, the deity who oversees the affairs of the underworld in a particular area, and affixes the seal of the Nanchang Office for Receiving and Refining. On a certain day this month, this altar will conduct a Taiji Purification and Refinement rite at a designated place to deliver the dead of the Five Destinies and Four Births—that is, beings bound for different states of life and death—as well as wandering souls and lingering spirits. We ask your office to circulate this document and summon all the hidden souls to the altar to receive deliverance. We also ask that you investigate the matter carefully and promptly and sincerely report it to the Compassionate Venerable Taiyi, a revered Daoist deity, requesting that he issue an edict and send orders throughout the Ten Directions and Three Realms, including the dark regions of the hells, so that every place may provide assistance and open the way to pardon. Let all hidden souls come to the altar that night to partake of offerings and hear the scriptures and teachings; through purification and refinement, may they attain new life, ascend by means of talismans and registers, and be reborn in the celestial realm. Do not delay, lest deliverance be hindered. If the rite is intended for particular deceased persons, their names may be entered in the document, and the petition may be supplemented as circumstances require.

The document should state the cyclical year according to the Grand Duke of Jupiter, the year, month, and day, and the auspicious hour. It should also give the name of the Most High’s disciple, who holds a register and is charged with performing the Taiji Purification and Refinement rite. Do not delay, lest deliverance be hindered. If the rite is being conducted for a particular person, their name may be entered and the petition supplemented as appropriate.

Grand Duke of Jupiter year, year, month, day, and auspicious hour: By command of the Most High’s disciple, holder of a register, I perform the Taiji Purification and Refinement rite. Disciple of the surname [surname], signed and sealed.

A Daoist who has not yet received a register should instead be called a “disciple who follows the Dao.”

Ritual for Entering the Quiet Chamber and Sitting in Refinement

All the following ritual practices are performed while sitting quietly and carried out in silence.

On the day of the ritual, first prepare the Danyang talisman and the precious register. That night, light a stick of pure incense before the rice measure and set out a bowl of purified water with bamboo branches. Set out another bowl of water to serve as a bathing pool. Then burn the Danyang talisman and place its ashes in the bathing pool; burn the precious register first in the incense burner. Begin seated meditation only after all preparations are complete. Do not get up or walk about until the ritual practice is finished.

Late at night, meditate in a secluded place where no one passes. After sitting quietly for a long time and following the methods of internal cultivation, continue by visualizing the Celestial Worthy Taiyi, Savior from Suffering—a revered Daoist deity who rescues those in distress and delivers the dead—sitting upright within your Niwan Palace, the chamber of the spirit in the head described in Daoist internal cultivation. Then kneel upright, silently recite the secret incantation, and pray that the Celestial Worthy release boundless light to shine down and pierce the underworld.

Visualize the Celestial Worthy Taiyi releasing boundless light that descends northward from the Niwan Palace, passes through the eighteen sections of the spinal channel, and reaches the area below both kidneys. This region is collectively called the Fengdu prison, the underworld of Daoist belief. The light shines brilliantly, illuminating the Three Realms and the places of suffering. It causes prison walls as vast as mountains to vanish into nothingness, and frees all the condemned souls. Sound the chime.

Summoning Souls

Prepare the ritual station and state your title and name as described above. With utmost sincerity, acting under the command of the Most High, summon all beings from ancient times to the present and throughout the boundless ten directions: the beings of the five paths—the divine, human, animal, hungry ghost, and hell realms—as well as wandering spirits and trapped souls who have long dwelt in cold, dark places throughout the realm of empty space. May they receive the power of the Daoist rites, come to the sacred altar, accept only meritorious blessings, and be delivered.

To extend the summons throughout the vast Dharma Realm and reach all wandering souls, silently recite the text of universal invitation, state your ritual title and name, and then summon them with single-minded focus. For a simpler procedure, follow the text of universal invitation given below.

Visualize the boundless, countless ghosts from the ten directions—the four cardinal directions, the four intermediate directions, above, and below—surging through the Ghost Gate and gathering behind your left shoulder, where the Ghost Gate of the northeast lies. Then visualize the Pool of Danyang Talisman Water, the ritual basin used to administer talisman water, transforming into an immeasurable ocean. Summon all wandering souls so that each receives the life-giving Qi generated by the Five Phases, regains its form, and bathes together with the others. Then silently recite the Great Danyang Incantation:

In the age of Longhan, all was vast and boundless, without form or name. Only after endless, immeasurable kalpas did the Way of Heaven begin to open into clarity. Light shone pure and clear; the Nine Dragons breathed forth their vital essence. The lucid radiance of Jade Void, the Daoist realm of pure, empty immortals, shone brightly; the lofty Great Rosy Clouds blazed high above. The Celestial Worthy of Primordial Beginning transformed all things, and the spirits of the heavens appeared together. The Three Primes—the officials of Heaven, Earth, and Water—guided and nurtured them; the two Qi of Yin and Yang gathered and sustained life. Those not yet delivered shall be delivered; those not yet fulfilled shall be fulfilled. The Nine Dragons breathed forth their vital essence; the lucid radiance of Jade Void shone brightly; the lofty Great Rosy Clouds blazed high above. The Celestial Worthy of Primordial Beginning transformed all things, and the spirits of the heavens appeared together. The Three Primes guided and nurtured them; the two Qi of Yin and Yang gathered and sustained life. Those not yet delivered shall be delivered; those not yet fulfilled shall be fulfilled. The dead shall be transformed, and the withered shall flourish anew. All living beings that stir and breathe, and every soul in the shadowy realms—whatever is conceived and carried in the womb—shall receive life.

For the departed Yin souls whose allotted years have ended, let their hun and po ascend to the Three Pure Ones, the highest heaven revered in Daoism. Let their po be refined and their forms transformed in the Southern Palace, the divine office of refinement and deliverance. Today a grand rite of refinement is held; may all souls receive its light. The Five Emperors, the celestial rulers of the five directions, behold and illuminate them, making this known to all spirits. The gods of Heaven and the earth deities, the gods of the river sources, the spirits of the Five Sacred Peaks and Four Great Rivers, the deities of famous mountains everywhere, the perfected spirits of the Cavern of Mystery, Cavern of the Abyss, Cavern of the Numinous, and Cavern of the Immortals, as well as the boundless Great Dao and the most perfect great gods, all ceaselessly watch over and deliver living beings. Let every soul sever its ties to the dust of the mortal world and have its name entered in the registers of the Mysterious Capital, the Daoist realm of immortals. May all the gods shine upon them; may all listen and receive this summons.

After silently reciting the incantation, visualize all the souls regaining complete forms and emerging from the water after bathing. Those who are human—men on the left and women on the right—wear immortal robes. All beings belonging to the birds and beasts and other creatures have their names entered in the registers of the Mysterious Capital. May all the gods shine upon them; may all listen and receive this summons.

After silently reciting the incantation, visualize the souls of the dead with their bodies restored, emerging from the place of purification. The human souls stand in two groups, men on the left and women on the right, all dressed in immortal robes. The birds and beasts have also been cleansed and are arranged according to their kinds.

Next, visualize the Celestial Venerable of Great Unity (Taiyi Tianzun), a Daoist deity, in the Niwan Palace—the cultivation site at the center of the head. In his left hand he holds a bowl of jade, and in his right, a branch of empty-green stone. Silently and earnestly pray for the Celestial Venerable to send down sweet dew. Then silently recite, “The Celestial Venerable of Great Unity sends down sweet dew,” seven times.

Visualize the Celestial Venerable appearing in the air, his sacred image tall and distinct. He sprinkles sweet dew with his right hand, and it flows into the water bowl. The purified water in the bowl immediately becomes sweet dew. In stillness and concentration, sprinkle the ritual food—offerings for the dead— with the dew water, visualizing the food instantly becoming fragrant, sweet, and moist. Silently recite the middle section of the Scripture of the Numinous Writings three times, and visualize the food expanding without limit to fill the ten directions. Then visualize all the souls dwelling in an immeasurable, pure white world, where they can partake of the measure of food offered to them. Bestow the divine water everywhere upon all the wandering spirits, so that they all drink the sweet dew and eat and drink their fill. Pause for a while, allowing them to enjoy the food and drink until they have finished everything.

The Function of Water Refining

Do not recite an incantation, use a talisman, or form a mudra.

First visualize a point of intensely bright light appearing between the kidneys. After a short while, the light becomes like a great full moon. Gaze at it steadily for a long time, allowing Water and Fire to merge and the water of the Jade Pool—the saliva produced in cultivation—to arise. Then visualize the moon rising to the crown of the head, as bright as the moon at midnight on the fifteenth night of the lunar month. Do not form a mudra at this point.

First visualize a point of intensely bright light between the kidneys. After a moment, it transforms into a great full moon. Focus your mind and gaze upon it for a while, imagining Water and Fire blending together. Saliva wells up in the Jade Pool—the Daoist term for the mouth. The moon rises to the crown of the head, shining as brightly as it does on the fifteenth night of the lunar month, and comes to rest between the Eight Stars of the Eastern Well. Now begin the Yellow Flower method: visualize the moon remaining between the Eight Stars of the Eastern Well as Water Qi naturally rises along the spine, flowing through the crown like the Milky Way. Moonlight illuminates the source of the celestial river at the crown, stirring it into yellow water blossoms. The blossoms gradually moisten the upper region, and the practitioner feels true Water flow from the crown to the tongue, then fill the mouth with a sweet, moist, fragrant taste. This is the Yellow Flower True Water within oneself.

Next, visualize boundless yellow water blossoms appearing before you. All the hidden souls—the spirits of the dead—are nourished in the water; their essence becomes abundant and their complexions moist and radiant. After a while, the hidden souls emerge from the water, their forms renewed and their insides and outsides cleansed. When the refinement and deliverance are complete, the water vanishes of its own accord.

This method uses no incantations, Fulu (talismans and registers), or hand mudras. Simply visualize a point of true Qi—the vital energy at the source of life—between the kidneys. After a moment, it transforms into a great red sun. Focus your mind and gaze upon it for a while, imagining Water and Fire blending together, as saliva wells up in the Jade Pool. The sun rises to the Crimson Palace, the location of the heart, and emits a brilliant golden firelight. Then visualize the flames surging upward and transforming into a great fire that fills the sky. All the hidden souls joyfully enter the fire to undergo refinement, their entire bodies enveloped in its light. When the refinement and deliverance are complete, turn your gaze downward and visualize inward; the fire will vanish of its own accord.

At this point, visualize the hidden souls’ original forms disappearing, and all the souls becoming infants. Wearing immortal robes, they line up on either side to receive the Three Refuges and Nine Precepts—the teachings on taking refuge and upholding the precepts.

First, take refuge in the Supreme, Limitless Great Dao, the highest Way.

Second, take refuge in the Thirty-Six Collections of Venerable Scriptures, the collective name for Daoist scriptures.

Third, take refuge in all the holy immortals and perfected masters.

Since you have taken refuge in the Daoist Three Treasures—the Dao (the Way), the Jing (scripture), and the master—you should also receive and uphold the Nine True and Wondrous Precepts:

First, show respect and humility, and honor and care for your parents.

Second, work diligently and fulfill your duties, remaining loyal to your ruler.

Third, do not kill; act with compassion and save living beings.

Fourth, do not engage in illicit sexual conduct; keep yourself upright and treat others and their affairs with care.

Fifth, do not steal; value and uphold righteousness, even when doing so brings you a personal loss.

Sixth, harbor no resentment, and do not humiliate others with violence or anger.

Seventh, do not deceive or flatter, and do not use wicked means to harm the good.

Eighth, do not become arrogant or look down upon the utmost truth of the Dao.

Ninth, do not violate the precepts; remain wholly devoted and single-minded.

After all the souls have joyfully received the precepts one by one, the ritual master silently recites the register text—the record and ritual register bestowed by Daoism. At this point, visualize the precious register multiplying into countless copies, each handed to a soul. Each soul receives one register and, holding it, can ascend to the heavens.

Now that you have taken refuge in the Three Treasures, received and upheld the Nine Precepts, and each hold this Supreme One’s precious register, you may ascend to heaven at once. Uphold the Daoist teachings forever, and do not forget the precepts. Then visualize the fire bell in your heart, a divine fire implement summoned in ritual, flying out in a blaze bright as the sun. It passes upward through the Niwan—the upper Dantian within the head—and out through the crown, rising ever higher and farther. All the souls become infants and ride on lotus flowers, following the fire bell’s light upward until they gradually disappear.

Afterward, the ritual master draws back the gaze and turns inward, visualizing the body below. The water of the Jade Pool, where saliva gathers in the mouth, is made to rise, bringing all transformations back to stillness. At the end of the ritual of offering and refinement, one should turn the inner gaze downward in this way, raising the water of the Jade Pool and returning creation to its source. After a while, slowly emerge from the meditative state; otherwise, heart fire may surge upward and cause harm.

The true Qi of the Five Phases in their cycle of generation must be cultivated in order: form the Five Hand Seals and direct the Qi of the five organs toward the Cinnabar-Yang talisman. The principles governing the five organs and the generative cycle of the Five Phases will be explained later.

Green Paper, Yellow Writings

Danyang Talisman: This is a method of cultivation in which talismans act upon the Yin-Yang essence and Qi within the body. Pinch the middle section of the middle finger and sit quietly in silence. Visualize a point of white light between the two kidneys at the back of the waist, shining with great brilliance. After a short while, let the white light grow as large as the disc of the moon. As it rises, it illuminates the yellow Qi of the body’s Central Palace—the place below the heart and above the kidneys, where Water and Fire meet. Silently recite: “In the Central Palace, Kan and Li naturally unite.” At this point, you will feel saliva welling up in the Jade Pool (the mouth). Then visualize the moon disc rising to the crown of the head. See five-colored rays and purple Qi flowing from the moon disc there. Inhale through the nose, then blow the breath from the mouth onto the talisman. Next, draw in the true Qi generated by the Five Phases giving rise to one another, and blow it onto the talisman as well.

Three Mao Talismans:

Paint the talisman on a precious register, the book of talismans used in Daoist ritual. Attach the hand signs for the six offices of the Southern Dipper to the places written in vermilion, and use the precious register described above. Visualize the Heavenly Worthy of Great Unity (Taiyi) receiving the command to perform the rite. Then visualize your own Crimson Palace, the palace of the heart, transforming into the Vermilion Mound Fire Court. See only solemn and imposing halls, lofty and spacious, with the six stars of the Southern Dipper suspended above like a great bamboo basket, blazing with light. Once this vision is clear and steady, take up a brush dipped in cinnabar. Recite the names of the six Star Lords of the Southern Dipper, and paint the six stars red in sequence: □□□□□□. Recite each name three times as you paint the corresponding star.

Recite, “Venerable Heavenly Worthy of Li’s Fire Decree.” Make the Mao hand sign with the left hand and paint the first star; make the Chen hand sign with the left hand and paint the second; make the hand sign one position below Wu with the left hand and paint the third; make the hand sign one position above Chou with the left hand and paint the fourth; make the hand sign one position above Zi with the left hand and paint the fifth; make the hand sign one position below Wei with the left hand and paint the sixth. Recite each star’s name three times, then paint that star. When you reach the sixth star, stop writing, raise your head, and close your eyes. Visualize all six stars appearing clearly. Draw in their starlight while making the hand sign one position below Wei with the left hand; breathe onto the brush, then guide the breath outward along the brushstroke. Finally, visualize the six stars of the Southern Dipper once more, so that their radiance appears on the precious register.

For deceased souls born in the Year of the Rat or the Year of the Pig, do not color in the first star. Form the prescribed mudra with the left hand, use the Mudra of Wei, and breathe Qi onto the brush. Then pass the brush over the register used in the ritual. At the same time, visualize the six stars of the Southern Dipper shining and illuminating the register before you.

For deceased souls born in the Year of the Rat or the Year of the Pig, do not color in the first star; for those born in the Year of the Ox or the Year of the Dog, do not color in the second; for those born in the Year of the Tiger or the Year of the Rooster, do not color in the third; for those born in the Year of the Rabbit or the Year of the Monkey, do not color in the fourth; for those born in the Year of the Dragon or the Year of the Goat, do not color in the fifth; and for those born in the Year of the Snake or the Year of the Horse, do not color in the sixth.

This method applies when the deceased person’s name and age at death are known. If the age at death is not remembered, or if a universal salvation ritual is being held for many unclaimed wandering souls, do not color in the third star. The Tiger corresponds to the path of ghosts and is also the source of vital energy. “Source” refers to the beginning of the year; it also alludes to leaving the character “Fire” for the south blank and unwritten. The following instructions for coloring the six stars are included for anyone who may need them: the stars should be colored on the sacred register. Leaving all six uncolored means that their positions are not actually used, but are only set out symbolically on the register. If you are uneasy about this, you may first use the six stars in practice, then perform the rite on the sacred register. Om, hong, zha, li, ye.

Universal Invocation:

After dedicating merit to guide a deceased person whose surname is known into the human realm, say, “I dedicate merit to guide the deceased [name] onward.” Then continue from the preceding text, visualizing all six stars as empty. If you are uneasy about this, first use the six stars in practice, then perform the rite on the sacred register. Om, hong, zha, li, ye.

Universal Invocation:

After dedicating merit to guide a deceased person whose surname is known into the human realm, say, “May the power of the Three Treasures—the Dao, the scriptures, and the masters—cleanse the roots of defilement, within the body and mind and from the dust of the external world. May the deceased come forward to receive ritual refinement and attain liberation and purity.”

With sincere reverence, I invite the Lords of Heaven, the exalted perfected beings—the noble celestial gods and Realized Ones who have attained the Dao—the rulers of the myriad spirits, the gods of the stars throughout the heavens, and all immortals. May you send down the light of compassion, cleanse all beings of worldly afflictions and karmic impurities, and protect the offerings made in this ritual.

I invite the celestial beings and immortal companions throughout the void and the heavens of the Three Realms to come. May all the heavens give rise to compassion and bear witness to this ritual together. May all who have sunk into suffering also receive the ritual’s deliverance and refinement: a Daoist rite in which the dead are saved and released through ritual observances and offerings.

I invite the countless spirits throughout the void: the gods of the mountains and rivers of the world; the spirits who govern the human realm; the orthodox gods and Earth Gods; the gods of the soil and grain, and the City Gods; local Earth Gods; the Five Powers immortals; the officials of the underworld, ghosts and spirits, the Generals of the Five Paths, the Earth Gods of graves, and all kinds of ghostly officials and attendants. May these boundless, countless spirits give rise to compassion and bear witness to the ritual’s deliverance and refinement.

I summon the countless beings of the human realm throughout the void, wherever they may come from, within China or beyond it, from every quarter of the seas, from ancient times to the present, whether or not their names were recorded. Let them come to receive the ritual’s deliverance and refinement. Those summoned include imperial relatives and ministers; civil and military officials; clerks and laborers of every rank; followers of the Three Teachings and the Nine Schools; soldiers and civilians of every people; Confucian scholars, Daoist priests, Buddhist monks and nuns, farmers, gardeners, artisans, merchants, and people engaged in every trade, craft, and menial task. They also include loyal ministers, righteous men, filial sons, chaste women, recluses, wanderers, people living in seclusion, and those who practiced the Dao, practiced medicine, divined, or studied Yin-Yang arts; fishermen, woodcutters, hunters, herders, butchers, wine sellers, brokers, boatmen, drivers, shamans, incantation specialists, interpreters, performers, servants, slaves, prostitutes, prisoners, beggars, and thieves.

Let all come, whether deaf, blind, lame, or mute; paralyzed, consumptive, afflicted with gu disease, or leprosy; or suffering from tumors, hernias, asthma, swelling, wind disorders, or madness. Let infants and the elderly come, as well as widowers, widows, orphans, and those who lived alone; the long-lived and those who died young. We also summon those who died peacefully or met violent deaths: struck by heavenly retribution or lightning, harmed by gods or ghosts, drowned or burned, bitten by wild beasts or stung by venomous creatures, beheaded or hanged as punishment, shot or flayed, dead by suicide or hanging, murdered or beaten to death, harmed by spells or poisoned, dead from nightmares, far from home, in prison or on the battlefield, or frozen, overcome by heat, crushed, fallen, suddenly taken by illness, or dead in childbirth. We also summon all ancestors, parents, husbands, wives, children, and relatives of the human realm, whether recently dead or departed long ago; the souls suffering from entanglements of wrongful karmic debts, such as the fulians and zhongzhong; and all souls who died in pain or illness. May all these countless beings of the human realm be freed and come to receive the ritual’s deliverance and refinement.

I summon the countless animals throughout the void: phoenixes, cranes, swallows, wild geese, orioles, egrets, crows, and sparrows; tigers, sheep, oxen, horses, deer, pigs, cats, and dogs; dragons, fish, shrimp, crabs, turtles, clams, snails, and frogs; snakes, ants, crickets, mosquitoes, bees, butterflies, fireflies, and cicadas. I summon all birds and beasts, insects, fish, and aquatic creatures, all living things that move or bear spirit, and even the tiniest beings. May they all be freed and come to receive the ritual’s deliverance and refinement.

I summon the countless hungry ghosts throughout the void: the ghostly multitudes enduring hunger and thirst, the spirits known as chimei and wangliang, and ghostly attendants such as those who push the tides and shift the sand. May they all be freed and come to receive the ritual’s deliverance and refinement.

I summon the countless beings of the hells throughout the void: the endless tiers of dark netherworlds; Beidu Luofeng, the underworld abode in Daoist tradition; the Ninefold Netherworld Prison; the Gorge-Stone Blood Lake; the Thirty-Six Hells; the great prisons of the twenty-four ghost marshals; the Avici Iron-Enclosure Hell; and the hells at Mount Qingcheng, the offices of Mount Tai, the Five Sacred Peaks, Mount Taiyi, and other such places. May all prisoners confined in the City God courts, underworld tribunals, and prisons everywhere, whatever the gravity of their offenses, be freed and come to receive the ritual’s deliverance and refinement. This includes the ghost officials, ghost soldiers, and ghost beasts within the prisons.

With reverence, I have invited the myriad gods of the Ten Directions to descend. May the light of compassion shine upon all beings. In the Five Paths, may all who have yet to be freed attain release and receive the ritual’s deliverance and refinement. Since each being’s destiny from past lives and deeds in this life differ, pure food is presented according to each one’s needs. Though it appears as food of the human world, its true nature is like sweet dew; may it be transformed into pure flavors so that all beings can eat their fill. The ritual offering is given equally, with no distinction between the underworld and the world of the living, and all ghosts and spirits receive nourishment together.

In the Inner Method, the offerings made to the eight directions are all transformed into sweet dew, with a pure and cleansing taste, and each portion is made abundant and full. Offerings should be given equally to all, without distinction between the realm of the living and the underworld, so that all ghosts and spirits may share in them.

The middle section lists the names of the heavenly realms in the four directions:

The eight heavens of the east: Zhilou Acang, Wuxiang Guanyin, Xuyan Mingshou, Falan Putan, Jiana Ayi, Huhe Liuyin, Huadu Quli, Xianpu Yuzhen, Daluo Dafan, Sanyan Qingyun, Feisa Yudu, Mingmo Shangmen, Wuxing Shangshou, Huizhi Liuxuan, Atuolongluo, Sixiang Xuyuan.

The eight heavens of the south: Nanyan Dongfu, Yumou Shenshen, Fanxing Luokong, Jiuling Tuiqian, Zelu Putai, Lüluo Daqian, Miaomang Jiuchou, Shaoyao Yuanzhui, Yunshang Jiudu, Feisheng Ziqian, Nayu Yufu, Moluofalun, Wuchi Wujing, Lanzi Yunrong, Fulang Kuoyi, Shenying Zigong.

The eight heavens of the west: Daoli Chanyou, Boni Jiutong, Wansou Dixi, Taimiao Zhitang, Liuluo Fanmeng, Jingwei Xiaoyu, Yimiao Wuji, Wanshou Shaodu, Alan Yuzhu, Huamo Yanyou, Jiukai Zibian, Anapinshou, Wuliang Fugai, Fuluo Hesheng, Yudan Changsang, Baikong Duxian.

The eight heavens of the north: Juewu Ziyu, Jiuri Daoqian, Kunmu Dongfu, Xingshe Shangxuan, Tuoluo Yumiao, Miaoqi Heyun, Feitian Dachou, Zongjian Shangtian, Shatuo Jieliang, Longhan Yingxian, Biluo Fuli, Kongge Baozhen, Eyi Wupin, Dongmiao Zizhen, Yuanfan Huimo, Youji Duren.

These names are titles for heavenly realms and sacred beings found in Daoist scriptures. They are used chiefly for visualization and recitation during ritual offerings and alchemical rites; the scriptures do not explain each one individually.

These are the section headings from the upper and middle scrolls of the Taiji Jilian Neifa. The compiler, Zheng Suonan, says that anyone wishing to perform ritual offerings and alchemical rites should read this explanation carefully.

Those who do not personally practice inner cultivation through quiet sitting cannot yet be counted among my Dao companions.

Between Heaven and Earth, the most fundamental thing is the Way of utmost sincerity. The Doctrine of the Mean says that only the most sincere person under Heaven can govern its great affairs, establish its foundations, and understand the patterns by which Heaven and Earth bring forth and transform the myriad things. So, whether an undertaking is great or small, utmost sincerity must be its foundation. If a thought lacks sincerity, it becomes false; if an act lacks sincerity, it is unlikely to succeed. How much more so when approaching the spirits?

The virtue and power of the spirits is boundless. They seem to be above us and all around us. Yet if the mind is not focused, we cannot see them even when we look, or hear them even when we listen. Without sincerity, how can we move Heaven and Earth or connect with the spirits? Only when the mind is focused to the utmost—as though Taiyi, the supreme divine presence in Daoism, were above us, and the many souls were before our eyes, vivid and lifelike—can we connect, through a deep and single-minded intention, with the creative transformations of Heaven and Earth. All such subtle workings arise within one’s own mind. Mencius said, “Gather the mind in, and it is present; let it wander, and it is gone.” He was speaking of this very mind. Those who practice sacrificial refinement should take these words to heart and make utmost sincerity their foundation. Sincerity means having not the slightest distracting thought, keeping the mind wholly undivided. Without sincerity, the heart has nothing to rely on. To be sincere while clinging to the thought “I am being sincere” is still a human state. When even the thought of sincerity dissolves, one accords with the Way of Heaven. In any undertaking, begin with utmost sincerity; only then should you consider the particular method.

The methods of sacrificial refinement—the practices of offering rites and rescuing departed souls—have not been widely transmitted, and I have sought them out from many sources. Taiji Xian’gong, the legendary patriarch of sacrificial refinement, lived long ago. Yet practitioners today all claim to have received his authentic transmission, while their talismans, incantations, and procedures differ. Their schools and lineages are too numerous to count. If practiced with utmost sincerity, perhaps any of them may elicit a response. But as for whether a method is sound and reasonable, the method I describe here—inner cultivation through quiet sitting—is simple, accessible, and able to connect broadly with the unseen realms. It is exceptionally subtle. I pass it on not to boast, but in the hope that this wholesome method will endure, that those who love the Dao will all practice inner cultivation, and that many departed souls will find relief from suffering in the unseen realms.

Someone asked, “Why is the method you teach especially good?” I replied, “This method of sacrificial refinement first requires you to enter deep stillness and cultivate the Yang Shen, the harmonious spirit-energy gained through practice. Then, with a mind of utmost sincerity, you silently put the method into operation. Together, these form a complete and precise practice. If the mind’s intention strays even slightly, the spirit returns to its source. Those who have not yet reached this state should first sit quietly and visualize and apply the method within their own body and mind. That is the proper way to practice.”

Today, many people place their visualizations on external things, without understanding that the transformations of Heaven and Earth and the myriad things are all present within themselves. They may imagine drawing in the Qi of Heaven’s Gate, the ancestral Qi of the Three Pure Ones (Sanqing), the life-giving Qi of the ten directions, or the blue Qi of the East and the white Qi of the West. They may imagine countless golden rays descending upon them, or suddenly visualize the Celestial Worthy Taiyi, the Zhu Ling Fire Court—a sacred Daoist realm of fire—Heaven’s River, or the Eastern Well. All these practices seek something outside. Some use a method called “combining Qi”: they imagine the Qi of the liver exhaling through the mouth, then visualize the blue Qi of the East joining it; they breathe it in and then breathe it out, believing that this unites the numinous Qi of Heaven and Earth with their own. These practices all use internal Qi to meet external Qi, and so still focus on what lies outside. How could they compare with working through the true transformations within one’s own body?

People are often misled by images and pursue what seems lofty and distant. They assume that the Celestial Worthy Taiyi must dwell in the Eastern Palace at the Pole of the East, high above the nine heavens, without realizing that Taiyi can also be understood as the original spirit within oneself, the divine awareness of one’s nature. A Daoist scripture says, “Why look up for the Celestial Worthy within yourself? Why seek the Lord Lao within yourself outside?” The Scripture for Saving from Suffering says, “The radiant one in the sky is called the Immortal of the Muddy Pellet.” The Immortal of the Muddy Pellet is the Celestial Worthy Taiyi. What could this refer to other than the original spirit in the Muddy Pellet Palace at the crown of the head? But to claim on that basis, “I myself am the Celestial Worthy Taiyi,” would be delusion.

In inner cultivation, visualizing oneself turning into fire and being burned away represents cleansing all evil thoughts. The body’s restoration to wholeness represents the indestructibility of one’s innate nature. The Muddy Pellet, a Daoist term for the spirit’s palace in the brain, lies in the head and symbolizes the heavenly palace; the area below the kidneys symbolizes hell. The point about three inches inward from between the eyebrows is called the Muddy Pellet; it is the brain. The brain is called the source of Jing and Qi. The space between the kidneys is called the Dantian, the energy center. There are other accounts of its precise location: some say it is three inches below the navel, while others place it directly behind the navel and in front of the kidneys. The author considers both accounts incorrect, saying that this location belongs to the starting point of the Conception Vessel.

The Zhu Ling Fire Court is the heart palace. The area below the Muddy Pellet may also be called the source of the river. The “twelve river sources” are the sources of the twelve meridians. The water of the Eastern Well and Heaven’s River is spirit water: it rises to the Muddy Pellet and then flows down to moisten the body. The true Qi generated through the Five Phases’ mutual generation is the Qi by which the five internal organs nourish one another. The true fire moves in the heart, and the true water moves in the kidneys; both remain within the body. The wondrous workings of the Dao are close at hand. Seeking them in distant places is no good method. Laozi said, “My destiny lies with me, not with Heaven.” The Scripture of the Hidden Talisman says, “The universe is in the hand; all transformations arise within the body.” Both statements show that the creative transformations are not outside us. The Perfected Xu Jing also said, “The Dao is not far away; it is within the body.” These are indeed essential words.

The Numinous Terrace—the inner mind—is empty, still, and expansive, able to contain the ten directions. When a thought is wholly focused, all methods are complete. These are all wondrous workings of the mind. When the mind is focused, the realm appears; when it is scattered, the realm vanishes. At a rite for the spirits, one acts as though they were right before one. The principle of sacrificial refinement is the same.

Today, some people do not practice inner cultivation and focus only on outward display. This is a grave mistake. They recite aloud and put on the appearance of practice, but if they use their mouths without their minds, they have missed the essential point. In quiet sitting, the method is applied silently; what matters is the mind, not the mouth. Silent inward recitation allows one to connect unseen with the realms of the dead. Loud recitation merely lets others see and hear. Silent recitation takes place within the mind; the thought must not be voiced through the throat. To recite silently means to form the thought in the mind without making a sound.

If you can sit with your eyes closed in a quiet room for more than one watch—about two hours—and then practice and apply the method through silent inward recitation, that is inner cultivation. The longer you sit, the more subtle and far-reaching your practice becomes, far surpassing loud recitation. In methods for praying for rain, clear skies, or snow, the key lies in how one applies the mind during quiet sitting. Those who truly practice the method need not even recite incantations; they can apply it silently within the mind.

The Scripture on the Generation of Life by the Nine Heavens teaches practitioners to “quiet the mind and recite inwardly.” To quiet the mind is to make it still. The secret incantation in the Complete Scripture for Deliverance is called the “Heart-Center Incantation,” and the text also speaks of “worshiping in the heart.” The Scripture of the Yellow Court says that the celestial scriptures circulate within the heart. These practices are not used only for delivering souls or generating spirit. The Scripture of the Yellow Court, the Scripture of the Great Cavern, and others should likewise be recited inwardly in a calm mind. The “heart incantation” and “worshiping in the heart” both mean circulating the celestial scriptures within oneself and gradually entering the deepest, most hidden principles of creative transformation.

All scriptures and incantations are words that the Most High reluctantly employed to teach people, hoping they would grasp the meaning behind the words, go beyond the myriad forms, and experience the Way of emptiness and naturalness. To remain attached to the words themselves is a shallow understanding. The Most High also transmitted methods centered on inner cultivation and silent application, recorded in the ritual texts. Today, most of these teachings have been lost. Even when people receive them, some refuse to observe the precepts and practice diligently; instead, they complain that the method does not work. This is a serious fault.

If one can circulate the celestial scriptures within the heart, all methods will reveal their wondrous efficacy. With prolonged practice, one may even discern the spirits. Today, people often care only whether their voices sound pleasing, without realizing that noisy recitation depletes spirit and Qi, while quiet inward visualization nourishes and protects the spirit. This kind of sacrificial refinement benefits both the living and the departed.

Long ago there was an eccentric Daoist who devoted himself to sacrificial refinement. On the last night of each month, he would take food and water to a crossroads or some secluded place, set the offerings on the ground, then sit silently with his eyes closed for more than two hours before leaving. Some were puzzled; others mocked him. Later, someone watched from a distance late one night and saw the souls partake of the offerings and gradually disappear. After a while, they reappeared as infants, dressed in flowing immortal robes, and gathered above the Daoist’s head before ascending into the sky. This Daoist had indeed mastered the method of silent sitting and refinement. Today, people focus only on the spectacle of loud recitation and refuse to learn his practice of quiet sitting, inner cultivation, and silent sacrificial refinement. It is truly regrettable. Without the discipline of quiet sitting, one cannot genuinely apply the method. Relying only on reciting incantations and drawing talismans will ultimately amount to empty show.

Ritual refinement of departed souls is, at its root, the cultivation of one’s own creative power, through which those souls are delivered. If one has not yet refined the Shen (spirit), how could one deliver ghosts? Without practicing seated meditation, one cannot truly perform ritual arts. Relying only on chanting incantations and writing talismans will ultimately make them empty forms.

Ritual refinement of departed souls depends entirely on inner cultivation. Talismans and incantations are only forms for embodying one’s own creative power. When the heart’s fire descends and the kidney water rises, the mouth fills with sweet, fragrant saliva. The scriptures call this True Water: the water of the kidneys. If one cannot achieve “fire descending and water rising” during the ritual, all other transformations are merely incidental. Fire descending and water rising are the key to the rite.

After Kan and Li unite—symbolizing the joining of water and fire—and Water and Fire reach Completion—symbolizing the harmonizing of Yin and Yang—the creative power gained through cultivation rises to the Niwan, the upper Dantian in the head. When departed souls receive this power, they can thereby be delivered. After issuing the precious registers—the ritual registers for delivering the dead—the practitioner must stir a spark of spiritual light within, transform it into a fire bell, and send it up through the Niwan. The departed soul before one’s eyes then ascends to heaven with that single thought. This is the crucial point in refining departed souls. If that spark of spiritual light cannot reach the Niwan, there is no way for the soul to ascend.

To send many souls to heaven, one must raise the fruits of one’s cultivation to the Niwan, one thought after another. With diligent practice, the crown of the head will begin to tremble slightly. If one remains undisturbed by distracting thoughts and desires and continues practicing diligently for many years, the fire bell will naturally appear often; then the crown of the head will suddenly open wide. At first it itches as if thousands of ants were gathering there; later, it opens wide like a great stone splitting apart. The Jing of the Heart Seal refers to this practice when it says, “In silence, pay homage to the Supreme Emperor; after twelve years, ascend to heaven.” This practice not only benefits ghosts and spirits, but also fills one’s own spirit with vitality, bringing the hope of becoming an immortal.

This method follows the same principle as the “silent homage to the Supreme Emperor” method, the practice of inwardly contemplating and paying homage to the Supreme Emperor. It is therefore different from other methods of refining departed souls.

When silently reciting and bowing in reverence to the Supreme Lord, first settle the mind in the lower Dantian (the inner cultivation site below the navel) and wait quietly for a while, allowing Water and Fire to mingle. When saliva forms in the mouth and fills it, swallow it, then direct the mind toward the Mudball Palace (the inner cultivation site at the crown of the head). If you visualize upward without first swallowing the saliva, your Qi will rise and the lower part of the body will be left empty.

While practicing this method, let the eyes lower naturally, with the gaze resting on the chest and below the navel. The mind, meanwhile, rises from behind the spine to the crown of the head. After swallowing the saliva, visualize upward; Water and Fire will then circulate naturally. With long practice, the spirit will gather in the Mudball Palace. Some say that when Perfected Huan spoke of “fixing the mind’s gaze on the Mudball Palace,” the old transmitted texts simply failed to explain the oral instructions clearly. As a result, many people look upward toward the crown from the corners of their eyes, which may damage the eyes or cause Qi to gather in the head and become blocked. The author believes that his “Silent Reverence to the Supreme Lord Method” is especially suited to silently reciting and paying reverence to the Celestial Worthy of Great Unity.

Every day at midnight or dawn, after completing inner cultivation, continue by visualizing the Fire Bell (an image of a ritual implement used in Daoist inner cultivation and rites) piercing upward through the Mudball Palace. This makes the work more effective when performing ritual refinement (a Daoist rite for delivering and refining the souls of the dead). There are many ways to work with Water and Fire, but the author considers none better than the inner cultivation method described here. It is the same as the Dongyang inner cultivation method in the edition published by Lord Dai Jingwei, except that Dai’s edition does not mention the subtle value of circulating the saliva produced in the mouth. The edition published by Lord Dong Guangran uses the turtle and snake as images in ritual refinement. The author considers this unsuitable: although the turtle and snake symbolize Water and Fire, they belong to Zhenwu’s tradition, so what have they to do with the Celestial Worthy of Great Unity? Methods for refining the Water and Fire of the dead passed down in the world differ from one another, and their errors are often of this kind.

The method the author transmits centers solely on taking refuge in the Celestial Worthy of Great Unity, Savior from Suffering; it does not list other deities one by one, so that the practice remains focused. Cultivating Water and Fire, bringing forth an “infant,” and then transforming it into the Celestial Worthy of Great Unity describe the manifestation of one’s own transformation. In other words, this is one’s own original Shen (the fundamental spirit described in cultivation), not a sudden visualization of the Celestial Worthy of Great Unity’s image.

Some versions place the six characters “Summon Lord Dong and the Queen Mother of the West” before the seven-character mantra for the Celestial Worthy of Great Unity’s descent of sweet dew. The author’s method is devoted solely to the Celestial Worthy of Great Unity, so there is no need to name other deities indiscriminately. The Celestial Worthy of Great Unity also presides over the North Pole, the South Pole, and the other deities involved in ritual refinement. It is therefore enough to silently recite the sacred name “Celestial Worthy of Great Unity, Savior from Suffering.”

Lord Dai says that visualizing one’s own Perfected Being dividing into one, three, seven, and fourteen expresses the idea of manifesting in different forms to answer beings’ needs. In the end, however, returning to one is sufficient. One should understand that “one” does not mean few, and “ten thousand” does not mean many; Lord Dai’s point is well taken. The author’s method visualizes only the Celestial Worthy of Great Unity and does not list other deities. Other ritual refinement manuals often follow established liturgies (ritual texts and procedures) and emphasize outward forms. When the author sought out ritual refinement methods in his youth, the several versions he obtained contained no inner cultivation; most spoke only of drawing in external Qi and visualizing external scenes. Such erroneous transmissions can easily mislead people. The author feels deep pain over this, believing that some people accuse one another merely to sell their methods. This is why the manuals differ and each method varies.

The central element used in the ritual refinement is the precious register, a talisman used to deliver the souls of the dead. The names and designs of these registers vary across lineages. Some are called “Precious Register for Birth in Heaven” or “Precious Register of Imperial Pardon.” Some bear the four characters an, hong, zha, and li in a red seal, together with the “Mystic Spirit Talisman for Breaking Open the Hells.” Others gather several talismans into a scroll, or place characters for Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth between the four characters. Still other designs are known as the “Most High Precious Register of Compassionate Pardon and Birth in Heaven” or the “Jade Terrace Precious Register for Transforming and Guiding Souls to Birth in Heaven.”

The various schools offer many accounts of how these registers are transmitted and used. Most rites for recommending and delivering the dead belong to the Lingbao tradition, which has many branches, each with its own transmission rites and talismans. Many precious registers use the four characters an, hong, zha, and li, but their purposes and rites differ. The Thunder Rite and the Tianpeng Rite also use these characters; in some practices, they serve to connect with the mind’s inner spirit and intention. In the Ma Lingguan tradition, practitioners recite a related incantation and write the four characters to command the divine official Lingguan.

Each of the four characters in an, hong, zha, and li has different written forms and names. The character hong is associated with the mind-spirit. The scripture explains that the four characters are the secret names, or hidden taboos, of the practitioner’s inner mind-spirit. When refining and delivering the souls of the dead, the practitioner regards the heart palace as Nanchang, a sacred place in Daoist rites of refinement and deliverance, and uses the mind-spirit’s secret names as a hidden phrase to help the souls ascend to heaven. The precious register is formed by gathering the radiance of the spirit within oneself. Since spirit belongs to Fire, whose nature is to rise, it symbolizes the power to guide the dead upward to heaven.

When sending off the souls, the practitioner should visualize the radiance of the spirit in the heart becoming a mass of flame, as large as a golden bell, rising toward the Taiqing, the high celestial realm in Daoism, and leading the souls with it. When writing the precious register, the brushstroke should turn upward at the end, and the ink should remain moist rather than dry. To an observer, the register is merely a patch of vermilion on yellow paper. To the dead, it appears as a blazing, ascending flame that illuminates the path ahead and their body and mind. Spirits and ghosts, too, respect this radiance, which is why it is called a “precious register.” If talismans are used carelessly, the path before the dead grows darker still, and the register loses its efficacy.

One account holds that an, hong, zha, and li are the inner secret names of the Compassionate Venerable Taiyi. The scripture explains that Taiyi is not a deity with form and substance, but the subtle, formless Dao, sharing its source with Yuanshi. It manifests in response to circumstances and therefore has no fixed inner secret name. “Most High” refers to the supreme, spontaneous power of creation and transformation, from which all ritual arts and talismans arise.

The schools also differ over whether to draw the six stars of the Southern Dipper on the precious register. Some versions show all six stars; others print only an, hong, zha, and li below, while some add the Most High’s talismanic command above. The scripture holds that the register should center on an, hong, zha, and li, and that the six stars of the Southern Dipper may be left blank rather than drawn. Some versions add incantations or other figures to the six stars, but these are later additions. The author cites Lord Dai’s ritual refinement method, which says that the precious register in the ancient Yellow Register liturgy originally had no six stars. Whether later transmitted versions retain the stars need not be a matter of rigid adherence, and the author agrees with this view.

The author recommends making an, hong, zha, and li the main feature of the precious register, without drawing the six stars of the Southern Dipper. If the stars must be drawn, they should be drawn first, followed by the four characters. The practitioner should recite only the names of the Southern Dipper Star Lords while drawing the stars, leaving the third star blank. Since there are many incantations and visualization methods, the author considers it more suitable simply to recite an, hong, zha, and li and write those four characters.

Among the four characters, hong is sometimes written as yin or another character with a similar sound, but the scripture says it should be read as hong. The character li also has several written forms, though current versions use an, hong, zha, and li. Some practitioners use a ready-made seal to stamp the four characters while reciting an incantation and tracing them; the author considers this improper. The precious register is usually written in vermilion on yellow paper, preferably with cinnabar. If cinnabar is unavailable, silver vermilion or red ochre may be used. Vermilion represents the Fire Court of Zhuling, a Daoist celestial fire realm. Ghosts and spirits also take a red talisman to be a flame, so black ink should not be used.

When writing, an and zha turn to the left, while hong and li turn to the right. Turning left belongs to Yang and turning right to Yin; together they represent Yin and Yang containing one another. Once the four characters are complete, the brush should rise from the bottom toward the top. This symbolizes the souls ascending to heaven through the practitioner’s creative transformation, and also suggests the rapid communion of spirit and Qi. The practitioner should also form a hand seal, placing the seal positions corresponding to the four characters on the four joints of the middle finger. The middle finger connects inward to the heart channel and corresponds above to the Niwan, the spirit palace within the brain in Daoist teaching. This, too, expresses the method’s inner meaning.

Other transmitted versions take different forms. When the four characters are written together and a single stroke rises from them, the register is called the “Bamboo Leaf Precious Register.” When the characters are placed separately in the four corners and each has an upward stroke, it is called the “Four-Corner Precious Register.” Other versions accompany it with the Nine-Phoenix Purification Dipper Pace, a ritual walk for dispelling impurity, or draw a single stroke straight toward a particular star of the Southern Dipper. Some practitioners choose the hour of the Horse or another of the six Yang hours, drawing on the idea of the sun at its height. The author considers such practices an excessive pursuit of outward form that strays from the purpose of inner refinement. In recent times, some masters have added flourishes to appear distinctive, potentially misleading later students and harming the souls of the dead—a serious offense. Nor need one rigidly follow the claim that the precious register must be nine inches long and three inches wide. Registers such as the Most High Celestial Seal Precious Register and precious certificates should be used according to the forms of their respective lineages.

When writing a precious talismanic register—a Daoist ritual document used to convey sacred commands and deliver spirits from the underworld—one may also inadvertently harm beings in the netherworld, so the offense is no small one. Some say that a precious register is usually nine cun long and three cun wide, but there is no need to be bound by this rule. There are many kinds, including the Supreme One’s Celestial Script registers and precious warrants; each should be written according to the appropriate ritual regulations.

A precious register should also be written in a quiet chamber, in a place where no one passes and nothing can disturb the work. Sit in meditation for a while, and only when the mind has become clear and still should you carry out the method of internal cultivation. After secretly presenting a petition to the Compassionate Venerable One, make only one precious register at a time. This helps the spirit remain focused and makes it easier to deliver beings from the netherworld. It is also suitable to make one early in the morning, when the vital breath is clear. Ideally, write it that same day and at that same time, so the spirit and vital energy do not disperse; if too much time passes, they will dissipate. If you are specifically delivering a deceased person whose name is known, write a separate precious register and put the person’s name beneath it.

At a major Zhaijiao purification ritual, precious registers are generally used twice: first to open the road through the netherworld, and then when the amnesty is proclaimed. First perform the method for breaking open the hells, then write the precious register and inform the presiding underworld officials to release the condemned souls. The souls imprisoned in hell bow in reverence, and the register conveys the amnesty. The register written at this stage should include the four characters meaning “presiding underworld officials.”

Precious registers differ in type and purpose. Some use only the character “quan.” Others write the four characters “om, hong, zha, li” in an inverted, overlapping arrangement, then sweep downward in a straight line from top to bottom. These are ritual forms used when breaking open the hells. They should not be used in a precious register for delivering spirits from the netherworld and raising them to heaven.

A precious register for ascending to heaven is used after a spirit has left the underworld and entered the Daoist realm. At that point, the spirit is no longer under the jurisdiction of the presiding underworld officials. The spirit undergoes offerings and refinement, receives the Three Refuges and Nine Precepts, and completes the other rites. Only then is the precious register proclaimed and handed over to guide it upward to the heavenly realm; the presiding underworld officials have no further role. Accordingly, a register for ascending to heaven should not include the four characters meaning “presiding underworld officials,” use a method for breaking open the hells, or take forms such as “Heaven pressing down, Earth turned upward.”

There is another view: the power of a precious register for granting amnesty should be directed downward, as deeply as possible, reaching the depths of hell so that spirits can be rescued from beneath the earth. A register for ascent should be directed upward, as high as possible, reaching beyond heaven; it then lifts the spirits and presents them to the Supreme One. The two serve different purposes, and both are accomplished through the principles of water and fire ascending and descending.

In the method I use to break open the hells, I silently transform the workings of creation within myself while in deep meditative stillness, and receive the power of the Compassionate Venerable One. The Venerable One sends forth countless great rays of light that pierce below the earth’s foundation, transforming all the hells into a realm of pure, radiant light. There is therefore no need to use a precious register for granting amnesty again.

Now, the purpose of jilian (a Daoist ritual for liberating the souls of the dead) is to save those souls. How, then, can one say that they merely “take rebirth according to their rank,” returning to life at the level they held before? This precious register (a Daoist document recording divine offices and matters of salvation) says that it can enable souls to “take rebirth at an elevated rank,” rising to a higher level before being reborn. Since they have received the Three Refuges and Nine Precepts (taking refuge in the Three Treasures of the Dao, the scriptures, and the masters, and upholding nine precepts), and awakened their innate heavenly nature, could they not use this opportunity to ascend and receive good fortune through rebirth at a higher rank?

The precious register is a great gift bestowed by Heaven, and should surely also express compassion and mercy. To insist that souls can only be reborn at their former rank would mean that they had received none of this profound grace and had been given no path to reform and renew themselves. Moreover, the Great One, the Compassionate Venerable (a revered Daoist deity), has no one beyond the reach of salvation. The expression “take rebirth at an elevated rank” is therefore fitting.

When drawing a precious talismanic register, one usually uses the Three Talisman Seals, though the Jade Seal of the Dao Lord may also be used. For documents being transmitted or memorials being submitted, use the Seal of the Nanchang Office of Received Refinement; for those not yet submitted, use the Three Treasures Seal. Talisman seals are never carved from peachwood, catalpa, or wood struck by lightning, because these woods carry an aura of violence.

The three talismans in the Three Talisman Seals are called the Seal for Delivering Souls. On the right is the Talisman for Drawing Out Hidden Souls, in the middle the Nine Dragons’ Talismanic Mandate, and on the left the Talisman for Breaking Open the Underworld. In later generations, perfected masters of the tradition—Daoist ritual masters with cultivation and lineage—combined these three talismans to make a seal, which is why it has no border. The Three Talisman Seals used today also bear official titles; this is not the seal of Dai Jun. It is even less appropriate to claim that there is a secret method of using a spell to infuse the seal with Qi.

Some say that one register can deliver only one departed soul. This is utterly absurd. Others have strained to explain the matter by citing various claims, spreading the false story that the Immortal Lord delivered only eight hundred thousand souls. That number is far too low. People today widely conduct Yellow Registers Retreats—Daoist rites in which an altar is established to deliver departed souls—and at a single rite they receive tens of thousands of petitions for deliverance, while the number of unclaimed wandering souls they deliver is beyond counting. How much more so in the case of the Immortal Lord? The wandering souls he delivered must have numbered tens of millions, tens of billions, or even more. Yet some insist that one register can deliver only one soul, and this claim has been passed down. As a result, when people write precious registers, they compete to produce the greatest number, and write them carelessly, with no focused attention at all.

Who understands that only when one is utterly sincere, sits quietly for a long time, and then writes the register with full concentration, can the power of a single register surpass that of a hundred. What is great can spread out to encompass ten thousand; what is small can gather ten thousand into one. When unfolded, it fills Heaven and Earth in all directions; when gathered in, it fits within a hand’s grasp. These transformations depend on the mind, not on how many precious registers are written. With just one thought of compassion, the wondrous grace of the Mystery extends without limit. Everything depends on how the mind is applied.

Someone asked, “When performing a Yellow Register Retreat (a Daoist Zhaijiao purification ritual for saving departed souls), does the merit fail to be sufficiently extensive if one does not collect a large number of the deceased’s name certificates and conduct universal deliverance for the dead by name? Although each person has a separate register document, the retreat sponsor’s precious register is empowered through rites performed personally by the ritual master, and its grace extends far and wide. How should this be understood?”

The answer: The deliverance of countless wandering souls is accomplished through the ritual master’s use of the precious register. Its reach from one to many millions embodies the ritual master’s boundless compassion. The registers written by scholars merely fill in names and complete the lists. It is like an amnesty issued by the court: there is not a separate decree for each person. The precious register’s efficacy depends not on its quantity, but on single-minded intent. Bai Yuchan also said that one document and one talisman can deliver boundless wandering souls. It is like a true dragon needing only a drop of water to raise a great rainstorm; it does not rely on quantity.

Some other ritual manuals require the number of people to be saved to be determined from the relevant registers. Some divide them into ranks and set limits on how many may be saved; still others require proof to be presented. I follow none of these rules. The souls who should attain deliverance will attain it; even without deliberate efforts to save them, they can free themselves. The souls we should seek to save are those who have the greatest difficulty attaining deliverance. With this intention, the grace bestowed in the netherworld is already considerable.

You pity all beings for their boundless suffering and wish you could save them all in the blink of an eye. Now that you are holding a rite of deliverance, how could you bear to limit the number? If the souls of the dead are endless, but you instead obstruct them from coming, would that not go against the heart of Heaven and Earth? The Dao itself is one among the myriad things, so how much more so are all the wandering souls? Let the mind be vast and without bounds, moving together with the Great Dao through the endless, unobstructed expanse of Heaven and Earth. How could one be narrow-minded and impose limits on oneself? Once selfish desires are restrained and one returns to ritual propriety, the whole world will return to benevolence. We should break down boundaries and regard all beings with an expansive heart. If even one person is left destitute and without support, deprived of grace, then my own benevolence is incomplete. How could I claim to possess the benevolence of a sage?

Some say that the Immortal Lord did not use the precious register or the Cinnabar Yang talisman, a talisman used in ritual refinement. That is indeed so, but the cultivation and abilities of people in the world have not yet reached that level. If someone’s moral cultivation were exceptionally advanced, why could they not do the same? This method uses one’s own mind to enter the realm of emptiness and mystery, takes the wondrous transformations of the Great Dao as its foundation, and focuses on opening the way for the souls of the dead. Apart from the precious register and the Cinnabar Yang talisman, it uses no other talismans. In other ritual manuals, the Cinnabar Yang talisman is sometimes burned and sometimes left unburned. The practice used now—burning it and casting it into the bathing pool—is intended to benefit beings in the netherworld. Others put the talisman in water and then sprinkle the water, or attach it to the back of the precious register before burning it. None of these explanations is appropriate: the Cinnabar Yang talisman is for bathing, while the precious register is for raising the souls of the dead to Heaven. These are separate functions.

The Cinnabar Yang talisman is formed from the union of the One Qi, the fundamental energy from which Heaven and Earth generate the myriad things; originally, it has no differentiated form. All talismans likewise arise through transformation of this One Qi, which is why they are called “Talismanic Commands of the Primordial Beginning.” The Cinnabar Yang talisman transmitted by Lord Dong is divided into thirteen sections, each paired with an incantation. The sections are then joined into a single talisman and immersed in water; afterward, melted yellow wax is spread over its surface. I do not understand the purpose of this. Another practice writes the five characters for “Fire, Earth, Wood, Metal, Water” on the talisman in Celestial Script. Yet another manual divides it into five sections, pairs each with an incantation, and adds the Qi of the Five Phases before joining them into a single talisman. Some people devise twenty-four sections of incantations, based on the sun and moon, the ten Heavenly Stems, and the twelve Earthly Branches, and write them on the Cinnabar Yang talisman.

People are curious and seek the unusual, often adding more and more procedures, without understanding Laozi’s teaching of “diminishing and diminishing again.” They think that adding a stroke, a character, a line of incantation, a measure of Qi, a ritual gesture, or a visualization makes the practice wondrous; if any one of these is omitted, they feel something is lacking. As different lineages have revised their methods over many generations, their rituals of refinement, Cinnabar Yang talismans, and precious registers have all become different. The precious registers and Cinnabar Yang talismans of the Qingwei school have no accompanying incantations at all, and their talisman forms use a different kind of Celestial Script. The Cinnabar Yang talisman used today follows the edition of the Daoist Canon revised by earlier masters.

The Cinnabar Yang talisman was originally called the “Yellow Qi, Yang Essence, Luminous Mystery Spirit Talisman.” According to its underlying principle, the Cinnabar Yang rite should be performed through Yellow Qi and Yang Essence. Today, its original purpose is often lost. “Yellow Qi” refers to the central palace, and “Yang Essence” to the vitality of life: take a point of creative Qi from between the two kidneys and raise it into the central palace; hence the name “Yellow Qi, Yang Essence.” When the heart’s Fire descends and the kidneys’ Water rises, the place where the two join is called the central palace, or the Yellow Court. It does not refer to the spleen; this is why the ritual gesture is made with the middle section of the middle finger. Although Yellow Qi and Yang Essence share an underlying principle with the water refinement method, their specific uses differ greatly.

When writing the Danyang Talisman, use blue paper and write in yellow. Yellow symbolizes the central palace, while blue signifies the power of growth and emergence. Together, they embody “yellow Qi and Yang essence.” The bathing ritual must draw on Earth Qi. Earth gives life and nourishment to all things; Wood, Metal, Water, and Fire all depend on Earth. Without the spleen and stomach, a person’s Qi and blood cannot be generated. The place where ghosts and spirits rely and take their stand is within human thought. Thought belongs to Earth. If I do not establish ghosts and spirits in my thought, the corresponding realm will be overturned.

“Taking Earth” here does not mean taking physical soil. It refers to “true Earth,” the Earth of intention within the Yellow Court. This is why the Danyang Talisman draws on yellow Qi. Some practitioners also pinch up pure soil from the five directions in the bathing pool. This draws on the power of growth that arises within Earth and imitates, in outward form, the idea of yellow Qi and Yang essence. There is also a method that specifically takes Earth from the east; neither method is used here.

One school explains yellow Qi and Yang essence as taking purple Qi from the kidneys and yellow Qi from the heart, then combining the two into a single Qi. That is not what yellow Qi and Yang essence means here. It is also mistaken to explain it as a method of refining Water and Fire, or to apply it to the Treasure Registers.

The Danyang Talisman is sometimes written in powder and sometimes in cinnabar, but writing it in yellow is the proper method. Although its celestial script contains words such as “Yangming” and “Five Phases,” the true Qi of the Five Phases’ generating cycle should still be applied to it. The Danyang Talisman originally had three talismanic decrees. The wording used today differs from the ancient texts and has lost the original intent behind the Most High’s issuance of the decrees. Yet we dare not discard it now, and so provisionally follow the version handed down from olden times and still in use, preserving the inherited practice.

Someone might ask: There are separate ritual talismans for refining, cleansing, and restoring the body, as well as for rites concerning the heart, liver, spleen, lungs, and kidneys, and for breaking open the underworld, breaking the Blood Lake, and summoning spirits. A complete liturgy uses more than a hundred talismans. Is it too simple to use just one Danyang Talisman today? One must understand that a talisman embodies the principles of creation and transformation. If its subtle power takes the form of a divine general, ghosts and spirits see a real divine general; if it takes the form of a mountain, they see a real mountain. The various images presented in celestial script work in the same way, just as when paper clothes, paper money, and paper objects are burned for the dead. Ghosts and spirits have no keen vision, and so the images they see appear in accordance with the talisman’s intent.

The Most High’s instruction and teaching were originally meant to accord with creation and transformation; this is called a “talisman.” To grasp the pivot of creation and transformation is called a “register.” Later generations, however, turned talismans and registers into external objects. Better than this is to sit quietly in deep stillness and, in a realm of emptiness and mystery, set creation and transformation in motion at its most subtle point. With utmost sincerity, one communicates with ghosts and spirits, allowing light to shine forth, illuminate and cleanse away the stains of sin, and bring both one’s own awareness and the benefits received by the ghosts and spirits back to emptiness and stillness. The efficacy of this cannot be known or seen by ordinary people.

As for the five viscera and six bowels, no separate talismans are used to treat them. The officiant has already set in motion the true Qi of the Five Phases’ generating cycle, restoring the body’s five viscera and bringing the hun and po souls back to wholeness. The Five Phases are a subtle function of creation and transformation in Heaven and Earth, and likewise a subtle function of the body’s own creation and transformation. There is therefore no need to use additional talismans.

People today often perform rites for the dead—using purification rituals, visualization, and other methods to deliver departed souls—and commonly choose a place by the water or on land, believing that the roads people travel are also traveled by ghosts and spirits. But if the rite is held somewhere busy with passersby, disturbances are hard to avoid, even late at night. Once disturbed, the gathered souls will scatter and can no longer receive the ritual food.

Since the rite is now being performed through seated meditation, it should be held in a quiet room. During meditation, one should also visualize the souls arriving from the northeast, through the Ghost Gate—the legendary portal through which ghosts enter and leave. When the rite is carried out in deep stillness, outsiders can no longer interfere, so there is nothing to hinder the souls from coming. According to common belief, the northeast is the Ghost Gate, the direction of one’s own left shoulder; the way behind one is also said to be the road by which ghosts arrive. If they do not come from the northeast, they cannot reach the rite. The northeast corresponds to Yin, one of the twelve earthly branches and a direction in the northeast; Yin in turn corresponds to the tiger. Perhaps this is the subtle meaning behind the term “Divine Tiger.”

The Yellow Register Purification Liturgy says that “on a Wu day, Heaven’s Gate does not open.” It also gives a method for determining the hours when Heaven’s Gate opens based on the ten heavenly stems. When bowing before a memorial petition or formal petition to Heaven, one must bend forward and face northwest.

But if one can enter profound stillness and carry out the rite of delivering the dead, one can join Heaven and the human world, bringing them together as a single realm without any barrier. All the hells will shine with light, and everywhere that light reaches will become a naturally pure realm of the Dao. At every moment, one is in a place where the Highest One is worshiped; in every direction and place, ghosts and spirits of the netherworld can receive offerings and be delivered. To extend this practice so widely across the entire Dharma Realm—is that not wondrous?

This is the teaching of great penetration and complete understanding. There is therefore no need to remain bound by ideas such as the northeast being the Ghost Gate or Heaven’s Gate being closed on Wu days. For those who have not yet entered profound stillness, wandering souls will still arrive through the Ghost Gate in the northeast. All the hells are governed by the Great Emperor of Fengdu, the Daoist deity who rules the netherworld. Once the hells of Fengdu are emptied, the souls suffering in every realm of hardship can also be liberated.

Someone asked where the Blood Lake Hell belongs. It is part of the Mingling Prefecture of Fengdu, the underworld, where there are two hells: one called the Stone Gorge Hell and the other the Blood Lake Hell.

When contemplating the human body, one should regard the area below the kidneys as Fengdu and the area above the neck as the celestial palace. The higher the position, the greater the blessings and the higher the celestial palace. The area below the kidneys is regarded as hell: the lower the position, the heavier the karmic offenses and the deeper the hell.

The Celestial Worthy of Great Unity released a great radiance and used a spell to illuminate every place, directly breaking open the Blood Lake Hell and transforming it into a lotus pond. The scene was clearly visible: all the female souls had escaped from hell. Joyfully raising their fists in salute, they came forward to receive ritual refinement. The imprisoned souls in the hell were the same. Hell is the most painful and deepest place, and the hardest from which to rescue anyone. Without someone of profound Dao power rescuing them from their suffering, they would never be able to reach the place of ritual refinement.

When visualizing the place where all the souls are to receive ritual purification, imagine a boundless, brightly lit, pure white wilderness, without streets, houses, hollows, or mounds. If streets, houses, or similar scenes appear, they are caused by negative karma. When performing rites for ghosts and spirits, only those whose names are called may come; those whose names are not called cannot come. If you wish to deliver the deceased of a particular surname, you should also summon them silently in your heart.

The souls of the human dead summoned at ritual purification ceremonies held in the world are often not fully accounted for, and the liturgies used vary. Some guide the souls into the way of the Celestial Immortals, others into the way of demons. These all belong to the Six Paths and are unsuitable. The Lingbao Jing says that one should help souls leave the Five Paths. A commentary cites the Laojun Jing, which lists the Five Paths as the path of spirits, the human path, the path of birds and beasts, the path of hungry ghosts, and the path of the netherworld (hell). In the Daoist underworld there are Generals of the Five Paths; Buddhists speak of the Six Paths, while Daoists speak of the Five Paths.

Therefore, when composing this Universal Invitation—a ritual text for summoning souls to receive purification—I should first respectfully beseech the divine beings of the Most High to show compassion, protect, and empower the rite. Then I should summon the ghosts and spirits of the Five Paths, so that the souls may swiftly attain release and all receive ritual purification. Even if the Celestial Path is not included, it must still be respectfully invited to witness the rite. The entire ceremony should be conducted with completeness and single-minded focus. If one wishes simply to follow the customary practice and summon all in general, that customary method may also be followed.

After death, some beings die of illness, while others die through punishment or injury. As a result, the spirits of the dead often have incomplete or twisted forms, or appear thin and withered, covered in pus and blood. Without the true Qi of the Five Phases generating one another—the Qi that moves through them in their generative sequence—how could their spirit be brought forth again? When the spirits of the dead receive my rites of sacrifice and refinement and deliverance, a Daoist method for aiding departed souls, this true Qi allows their appearance to be restored, for a time, to wholeness.

The Qi of the Five Phases can be put to use in several ways. Some methods use syllables such as xu and hu, yet call them simply “Qi of the Five Phases,” without an ordered sequence. Others arrange them as one, two, three, four, five, which likewise does not accord with the principles by which the Five Phases overcome or generate one another. Such methods therefore cannot be called the true Qi of the Five Phases generating one another. As for the sayings “the Azure Emperor protects the soul, the White Emperor attends the po-soul, the Red Emperor nourishes Qi, the Black Emperor circulates the blood, and the Yellow Emperor presides at the center,” these actually draw on the principle of the Five Phases overcoming one another. The original purpose of taking the Five Phases in reverse order was to set the workings of creation in motion. Those in the world who understand this principle can cultivate Neidan and attain the Dao. Ghosts and spirits have always feared the killing Qi that strikes and deprives things of vitality, and worry that it runs counter to the purpose of nurturing life.

The true Qi of the Five Phases generating one another described here begins with Metal and ends with Earth. This follows the idea that “Heaven’s One gives birth to Water”: Qian symbolizes Heaven and also Metal, so the sequence begins with Metal and then proceeds to Water. Metal generates Water, Water generates Wood, Wood generates Fire, and Fire generates Earth. When it reaches Earth, the generative Qi of the Five Phases is complete. Earth then generates Metal, and the cycle continues without end. All things are born from Earth and ultimately return to it, so the sequence ends with Earth.

The Zhuangzi says, “Human life comes from the gathering of Qi; when Qi gathers, there is life, and when Qi disperses, there is death.” Thus, all things under Heaven are joined through a single Qi. Medical texts say the same. From this we can see that Qi is the foundation of life in all things. The five methods of voicing and exhaling—si, chui, xu, he, and hu—correspond to different internal organs, but all belong to Qi. The navel governs the Qi of the whole body. Using si, chui, xu, he, and hu in sequence can respectively give rise to and nourish the po-soul, Jing, hun-soul, Shen, and intent of the departed. This is a method for gradually restoring the body to wholeness.

Although ghosts and spirits are said to have a heart, liver, spleen, lungs, and kidneys, they do not possess actual organs such as a heart, liver, spleen, lungs, or bones. To restore the departed soul’s form to wholeness, one draws on the Qi of the practitioner’s own heart, liver, spleen, lungs, and kidneys to give rise to and nourish the departed soul’s spirit, hun- and po-souls, and intent. Ghosts and spirits are themselves transformations of spirit, hun- and po-souls, and intent. How could they truly grow organs such as a heart, liver, spleen, and lungs?

In recent times, Refinement and Deliverance methods that draw on the meaning of Wood in the East have mostly begun with the Qi of xu, but their reasoning is not coherent. Great Refinement begins with the kidneys, which is a different sequence. The Qingwei method does not use syllables such as si and chui to guide the Qi of the Five Phases. Instead, it uses specific formulaic syllables together with methods such as knocking the teeth. Some hold that hu belongs to Earth at the central palace, so the practitioner should step back three paces before performing the rite. Others explain that hu is exhaling and xi is inhaling; thus hu means breathing Qi outward and should not be understood as inhaling.

Other methods use the syllable si to bring forth the Qi of si, xi to bring forth the Qi of chui, xu to bring forth the Qi of xu, he to bring forth the Qi of he, and hu to bring forth the Qi of hu. A certain formulaic syllable is commonly used across various methods. It is especially likely to deplete a person’s Jing and Qi, because when it is recited, the Qi deep within both kidneys is expelled along with it. Those who wish to preserve their health should know this.

When a wandering soul (the soul of the deceased) receives true Qi (primordial energy) generated through the Five Phases giving rise to one another, it can sustain life and restore its form. When it receives a cinnabar-yang talisman (a Fulu used in ritual refinement), it can dispel impurity and purify the substance of the soul. Yet even with its form restored and its substance purified, it is still only a soul with a complete form and a clear substance; it has not attained abundant Shen and Qi or a radiant vitality.

This can be understood by analogy. Before visualization—using the mind to form an image—and refinement through water and fire, the wandering soul is like the moon in a dark night, still veiled by a halo of shadow. After refinement through water and fire, it is like the bright moon around the fifteenth day of the lunar month: the shadowy halo has dispersed, and the moon shines brightly. Water refinement nourishes the soul and gives rise to Jing; fire refinement illuminates it and gives rise to Shen. Without nourishment, Jing cannot arise; without illumination, Shen and Qi cannot be generated. Without Shen, Qi, and radiant vitality, the soul cannot ascend to heaven. Thus, cultivating Jing and generating Shen are precisely the purpose of refinement.

Someone asked what “water-and-fire refinement and salvation” means. Today, the Lingbao methods of various schools all include this practice. They explain it in several ways, none particularly profound; even the methods passed down in secret rarely clarify its true meaning.

I said: The “water” of water refinement is not external water, but the fluid formed from one’s own Jing and Qi. One uses one’s own Jing to refine and nourish the deceased’s Jing, enabling the deceased to generate Jing and Qi anew. That is why this process takes the form of “water” refinement. The “fire” of fire refinement is not external fire, but the radiance of one’s own original Shen. One uses one’s own Shen to refine and nourish the deceased’s Shen, enabling the deceased to regain awareness. That is why this process takes the form of “fire” refinement. When Jing and Qi have perished and awareness has scattered, a person may once have fallen into the state of a ghost. But if Jing and Qi can now be restored and awareness made whole, that person should be raised up and granted new life. Refinement through the methods of Heaven makes salvation possible; without refinement, salvation cannot be achieved. Hence the name “water-and-fire refinement and salvation.”

Some people misunderstand this, taking water and fire to be material things outside the spirit. Like ordinary people, they imagine water as a pool and fire as a fiery marsh. This is a serious error. There is no harm in using the images of external water and fire as ritual symbols, if that is what the ceremony requires.

Someone else asked what it means to apply water and fire. I said: Water belongs to Yin. One works with one’s own Jing and Qi in conjunction with the image of the moon; it appears white, but is not actually the moon. Fire belongs to Yang. One works with one’s own Shen in conjunction with the image of the sun; it appears red, but is not actually the sun. The methods of water-and-fire refinement differ from school to school, but their meanings and applications all rely on these two symbols. If one abandons the root and pursues appearances, one’s understanding drifts ever farther from the original meaning. In my water refinement, water and fire are first brought into mutual balance, then true water is drawn forth to perform the water refinement. In my fire refinement, water and fire are likewise first brought into mutual balance, then true fire is drawn forth to perform the fire refinement. Is this not superior to other methods of refinement and salvation?

Purification and water refinement are two different things. Purification washes the body; water refinement causes Jing and Qi to arise. Many people today fail to distinguish between them. Before receiving offerings of food, the deceased must first be cleansed of the impurities of karmic obstruction. Without purification, they cannot partake of the offerings in a clean state. After receiving food, their minds are satisfied; only then can refinement and nourishment proceed so that Jing and Qi may grow. Without offerings, Jing and Qi are difficult to nourish. Only when Jing and Qi are complete can awareness be made whole, after which fire refinement may be performed. According to the saying, “Heaven’s One gives birth to water; Earth’s Two gives birth to fire,” water refinement comes first and fire refinement follows. To perform fire refinement before water refinement would be contrary to reason.

The place of fire refinement is the Upper Palace of Nanchang, where the souls of the dead receive salvation. After fire refinement, all the souls take on a new, infantlike form, radiant and moist, with their Shen and Qi full of vitality. They cast off their former bodies, change their form, and gain new life. In the end, they become immortals and take on adult form: warm and lustrous as jade, bright as the moon, no longer the dim and sullied souls they were when they first arrived. They must then await the pronouncement of precepts and the granting of registers before they can ascend to Heaven. The transformations involved are subtle and cannot all be described. If one practices these inner methods with wholehearted sincerity, whether walking or sitting, there will naturally be a response. You need not wait for me to explain; you will understand for yourself.

Some large-scale rites of refinement and salvation even use fresh blood. This is truly a mistaken practice introduced by later generations. Blood weighs a person down; no form that carries blood and vital breath can ascend to Heaven. For this reason, immortals ascend without bodies of flesh and blood. They do not have the ordinary bodies of mortals, with their physical deficiencies, but purified bodies; they are bodies of Shen and Qi, not of bone and blood. This is also why the deceased are not made to grow bones during the rite.

Some people perform refinement and salvation before offering the sacrifice. This is a grave mistake. The sacrifice should come first, followed by refinement and salvation; hence the term “sacrifice and refinement.” The sacrifice provides food and drink, while refinement nourishes the spirit. The sacrifice is relatively easy; refinement is more difficult.

There are many methods for water-and-fire refinement, a ritual in Daoist Zhaijiao (purification rites) that uses water and fire to refine and deliver the souls of the dead. Some use zi and wu, the directions and times associated with Yin-Yang and the alternation of day and night. Others use two secret characters or two Sanskrit mantras; write the character “refine,” either on paper or in the air; visualize the Northern and Southern Dippers, recite their divine taboo names, and form their hand seals; or use the zi-wu hand seals involving exhalation, blowing, and flicking. Some recite the eight southern heavens and eight northern heavens described in the middle section of the text. Others use two “Fire-Thrown Ten Thousand Miles, Twelve River Sources” talismans, or recite the two related incantations. Some summon the two water and fire generals, make three turns with the left camp’s eye, and recite the names of the water-refining and fire-refining youths, or the water-refining and fire-refining generals. Some recite “Heavenly Worthy of the Fire-Refined Elixir Realm” or “Heavenly Worthy Who Washes Away Forms with Yellow Flowers”; others summon two messengers by name. Still others recite the “Vast Dragon-Han Incantation” during the water-and-fire rite, chant the taboo names of the Lord of the Sun and Emperor of the Moon, or recite incantations for the Sun’s hun and the Moon’s po. Some also use talismanic methods to obtain true water and true fire.

There is also a practice called the “Nine Refinements,” performed in several ways: refining with water nine times and with fire nine times; alternating water and fire, nine times each, for eighteen refinements in all; or using the sun’s essence and the moon’s radiance from outside oneself for the water-and-fire refinement. These methods are especially mistaken. Some people summon the souls of the dead and perform offerings, then issue a document telling the souls to go on their own to the Upper Palace at Nanchang and request refinement.

Others say that on the ninth day of each month—the third, fourth, fifth, thirteenth, fourteenth, fifteenth, twenty-third, twenty-fourth, and twenty-fifth—the Office of Refinement opens at the Upper Palace at Nanchang. People have failed to understand that the fundamental power that brings forth and transforms Heaven and Earth lies in the “Heaven” within themselves, not in the heaven above. If they do not pay homage to the Heavenly Worthy within themselves or cultivate the Southern Palace within themselves, but merely write out a document requesting that the refinement rite be performed without carrying it out, the ghosts and spirits will never receive refinement.

The Ancient Cavern Scripture of the Red Writ says: “The vastness of Heaven and Earth is held together by me; though the myriad things are many, they are sustained by me.” Those who understand the Way may reflect deeply on this.

The Danyang Talisman, used in rites of ritual refinement, is for bathing only; it may also be used in water refinement. Yellow Flower True Water, the ritual water used for water refinement, is precisely the water employed in that practice. Some use it only for bathing, while others combine bathing and water refinement into a single procedure. These approaches fail to grasp the fundamental difference between the two.

Here, “washing” means washing the head, and “bathing” means washing the body. Bathing should not concern itself only with cleansing the outer surface: it must also cleanse the heart and wash away distracting thoughts. Only then is it more than a merely superficial bath.

“Binding the Well and Binding the Flower” refers to the natural cycle by which Heaven moves each month. The Yellow Flower of the Eastern Well is the method used for the bathing of heavenly beings. People cannot put it directly into practice as it is; it must be divided into two steps for the procedure to be properly carried out. The water used is the same in both cases. In bathing, it is a method for washing away the stain of sin; in water refinement, it is a method for nurturing Jing and Po.

The Danyang Incantation contains many corruptions. It originated in the Central Scripture of the Nine Perfected Ones, and is recorded in several scriptures, each with different wording. The version adopted here has been corrected. In a state of great stillness and concentration, one may also omit the Dragon-Han Incantation.

All forms of ritual offering and refinement—rites that report to the spirits through ritual arts and refine the souls of the dead—use the idea of “Yellow Florescence.” Some say that one must ascend to the pool of the Eastern Well to draw water; others simply visualize the water of the Celestial River, but neither account investigates its source. Some methods specifically visualize the star of the Eastern Well in the southwest. Here, the Southern Dipper and the Eastern Well are explained together.

The six stars of the Southern Dipper are shaped like a dipper. They form the Dipper Lodge, one of the Twenty-Eight Lodges, also called the Dipper Wood Xie. The treatises on astronomy in official histories of every dynasty call it the Southern Dipper. Its celestial image resembles that of the Northern Dipper, as well as the Southern Dipper lamps set up in the human world. On the terrestrial compass, the Southern Dipper lies in the Ox direction and appears to be in the north; according to the celestial compass, however, it lies in the south, hence its name. Though named for the south, it is in fact associated with the Fire virtue. The Scripture of the Southern Dipper says that among the thirty-six animal lodges there are six stars in the Dipper Lodge, called the Southern Dipper, or Dipper Wood Xie. There is no separate group of stars called the Southern Dipper. The six interpretations of the Southern Dipper are described in detail in the Scripture of the Southern Dipper. The Southern Dipper governs longevity, which is why ritual offerings and refinement draw upon it. Another lineage of refinement and deliverance methods makes exclusive use of the Southern Dipper; the method described here, however, centers on the Celestial Worthy of Great Unity.

The eight stars of the Eastern Well are shaped like a well. On the terrestrial compass, it lies in the south; on the celestial compass, it lies in the north. Some say it is called the “Eastern Well” because the star pattern seems to face east. It is named for a well, but is in fact associated with the Water virtue. The Treatise on Astronomy in the Book of Jin says that the Well Lodge is connected with the affairs of branch waters and water management. It also says that when the moon passes through the Well Lodge, there will be wind and rain. These accounts accord with the idea that the moon passes through the Eastern Well and gives rise to Yellow Florescence water.

In the heavens, the Southern Dipper and the Eastern Well lie directly opposite each other. The Ox direction is the Gate of Heaven, governed by Fire, and the Southern Dipper is located there. The Goat direction is the axis of the earth, governed by Water, and the Eastern Well is located there. The Southern Dipper and the Eastern Well respectively govern the Water and Fire between the Gate of Heaven and the axis of the earth. There is good reason for the laws established from celestial patterns to draw upon them.

The saying that the Eastern Well is the source of the river and that the moon, being Yin, belongs to Water means that when the moon passes through the region of the Eastern Well, the vital essences of the river’s source and the Mother of Water resonate with one another. The source of the Celestial River is then stirred, giving rise to the yellow water called Florescence. The eight stars of the Eastern Well stand at the source of the Celestial River, so the lodge is called the “source of the river.” This account takes the patterns of Heaven and Earth as its model, then applies within the body the workings of transformation. Heaven and Earth are vast, and the human body is small, yet their inner and outer patterns and principles correspond. Thus, water based methods of inner cultivation should be practiced in coordination with the moon. Few people do this nowadays, and their understanding is therefore incomplete. It is wrong to identify the gallbladder’s Qi with the Eastern Well’s Yellow Florescence.

The moon passes through the Eastern Well twelve times each year, hence the name “Twelve Sources of the River.” The Yellow Florescence Scripture, the Scripture of the Three and Five in Sequential Motion, the Central Scripture of Laozi, the Scripture of the True One of the Cavernous Mystery, and other texts in the Daoist Canon refer repeatedly to the Eastern Well’s Yellow Florescence, though their accounts differ slightly. The relevant passages give the dates and times in each of the twelve months when the moon passes through the Eastern Well: on the tenth day of the first month at the evening watch; on the eighth day of the second month at dusk; on the sixth day of the third month at sunset; on the fourth day of the fourth month late in the afternoon; on the first day of the fifth month late in the morning and on the twenty-ninth day as the sun declines; on the twenty-seventh day of the sixth month at noon; on the twenty-fifth day of the seventh month around the hour of the Snake; on the twenty-third day of the eighth month at sunrise; on the twentieth day of the ninth month at cockcrow; on the eighteenth day of the tenth month at the hour of the Ox; on the fifteenth day of the eleventh month after midnight; and on the thirteenth day of the twelfth month at midnight. These are said to be the times each month when celestial immortals bathe and their radiant countenances shine forth. They broadly correspond to the dates calculated by the current calendar for the moon’s passage through the Well Lodge, though there are slight differences.

The Ode to the Eastern Well says: “Primordial Beginning draws forth from the long night; celestial and human beings are born with the moon.” Some people draw upon Yellow Florescence water according to these twelve dates. Others determine the Eastern Well by placing Yin over the month’s branch and counting through the positions to Hai. Still others place the monthly general over the hour of the Ox and count to Wei to determine the Eastern Well. These are all external methods. The “Twelve Sources of the River” described here, by contrast, refers to the sources of the body’s twelve meridians.

The Eighth and Sixty-Sixth Difficulties of the Classic of Difficulties say that the moving Qi between the kidneys below the navel is the root of the twelve meridians. Yang’s commentary explains that this moving Qi between the kidneys below the navel is the Dantian, located three inches below the navel, four inches across, and attached to the spine. Feng’s commentary says that the Dantian has form while a person is alive, but no substance after death. It also cites the Inner Scripture of Divine Scenes in the Daoist Canon: within the Dantian, red is above and black below, green is on the left and white on the right, and yellow is at the center; the area through which it circulates is four inches across. For women, black is above and red below, white is on the left and green on the right, with yellow at the center; the area through which it circulates is also four inches across. The Dantian breathes in primordial Qi and circulates it through all the body’s hundred vessels. The Commentary on the Yellow Court Scripture, citing the Scripture of the Jade Calendar, likewise says that the Dantian lies three inches below the navel, attached to the spine, with green on the left, white on the right, red above, and black below, and is four inches across.