《洞真太极北帝紫微神咒妙经》

The Celestial Worthy of Primordial Beginning said: Among living beings in the age of the Lower Yuan, many act wickedly and turn against the true Dao (the Way). Gathering within great states, they do not follow the correct Dao. They regard themselves as powerful and capable, yet they do not know that the human lifespan is limited.

From now on, great demons will hold sway, and the world will fall into the disorder of the Five Turbidities. People will constantly do what is contrary to right principle, plot against living beings, and throw the realm into chaos. The common people will live in hardship, and all beings will suffer. Some will break the law and rise in disorder, bringing punishment and calamity upon one another. Bandits will arise and disturb the world; ghost soldiers will enter the borders, bringing severe plagues and disasters. Blades and weapons will kill, and people will thereby grow still more vicious, plotting harm against one another. The age will be perilous. Five kinds of great bandits will strike by night, plunder the people, flee and rebel, and become traitorous factions and ghost-bandits.

You five kinds of great ghosts disturb the world, so that the people find no peace. The weak bear heavy burdens; prefectures and counties grow exhausted; and the state falls into disorder. When those in high position lose the true Dao, a thousand ghosts and ten thousand evils can all harm people, exhausting the wealth of the household so that nothing can be accomplished. Theft, harm, and death follow one upon another. Family members suffer prolonged illness; official ghosts entrench themselves in the home, and strange ghosts work their mischief one after another. The household declines, and nothing is auspicious.

If someone takes refuge in the methods of the Dao and obeys my decree (the command of the Celestial Worthy), every kind of calamity can be removed. Plagues will disperse of themselves, and official ghosts together with the disasters of great armies will withdraw of their own accord. Wind and rain will be timely, the land will be at peace, and all affairs will turn for the better. What I say is no empty speech. Whoever receives and recites my true words can also free himself from disaster and hardship, and these afflictions will disperse of themselves. You men and women among living beings should understand my meaning. If only you receive the important and subtle arts of this scripture (Jing), you can cut off every kind of illness, and ghostly calamities will perish of themselves. Should any ghost defy the true decree, the Demon King will come to seize it, cut the ghost-bandit to pieces, split its head and shatter its brain, and leave its retinue broken and hard-pressed. Urgently obey the decree, and act according to the statutes and ordinances.

The Celestial Worthy of Primordial Beginning said: The people of the Lower Yuan—the age in which beings of the lower realm dwell—commit evil and incur guilt. If any ghost defies the true declarations and edicts of the Celestial Worthy, the Demon Kings will come to seize it; the ghost-bandits will be slain, their heads broken and their brains split. The dependents of you ghosts will likewise be beaten until they are torn asunder and cast away into pits. Carry this out at once in accordance with the statutes and ordinances.

The Celestial Worthy of Primordial Beginning said: The people of the Lower Yuan commit evil and incur guilt. They perpetrate the Five Rebellions—grave crimes that severely violate human ethical bonds—fail in filial duty toward their parents, kill others without cause, and torment themselves as well. They will not quiet their minds and examine themselves, but care only for what they can grasp at the moment. Even after long enjoying glory and prosperity in the world, they must in the end go toward death, yet they will not cease from evil. They would rather go on committing crimes, so that calamity implicates their descendants, causing later generations to suffer bitterly and to accuse and blame one another in ways hard to untangle.

When the ghosts enter the central plains of the human world, good and evil are laid bare. Ghosts of this kind are called “Ghosts of Heaven.” They declare: “The Celestial Emperor has sent us to lead ghost hosts by the tens of thousands into the various lands, prefectures, and counties of the lower realm, to put the wicked to death.” Celestial troops and ghost-envoys drive the living, causing them to die amid great disasters of weapons, flood, and fire.

Why do you people of the world not revere the Great Dao (the Way)? It is precisely for this reason that these ghosts are left to run rampant under heaven, throwing the lands, prefectures, and counties of every realm into disorder and bringing harm upon the people. Territories and kindred alike may perish between heaven and earth. Grave illnesses encroach upon one another and continue until the jia-yin year. Floods and fires follow in succession; plague-ghosts are numerous; living beings contract severe illness; and calamities sent down by Heaven spread in every direction. The world falls into the chaos of war. Many fail in filial piety toward their parents, and brothers turn against one another. Prefectures and counties lie ruined and desolate; the land is emptied; and the people die in great numbers. The state suffers disaster, and the people are again unfilial toward their parents, and thus they bring disaster and disorder upon themselves. (The original phrase “人亦元孝” is suspected of textual corruption; in light of the context it is here understood as “unfilial.”)

The people of the world are foolish and cling in delusion to deviant paths, and they do not understand the orthodox and true teaching of the Great Dao. From this day forward, if anyone comes with a sincere heart to receive my Sanmei Miaojing—the Wondrous Scripture of Samadhi, a Jing (scripture/classic) whose essence is concentrated cultivation—I shall dispatch the celestial immortal maidens of the Five Demons, the Jade Lads of Ninefold Splendor, the Wondrous Maidens of Purple Clarity, and the Perfected of the Ten Chambers, together with the great soldiers of the Five Heavens, envoys, and ten thousand strongmen, to descend upon the places where the ritual masters of the Samadhi of the Northern Emperor practice the Dao, recite the scriptures, and save people.

Let all lords of ghosts heed this command: I have already issued an edict throughout the Three Realms, and you must carry out my orthodox words. You Demon Kings, release at once those who have been detained, and seize no more; wrongs and enmities are to be swiftly resolved. I send the immortals of the many heavens, jade maidens, and wondrous lads, bearing Fulu (talismans and registers) and staffs of authority, chanting the songs of heaven, to descend into the human world and rescue suffering beings. Carry this out at once in accordance with the statutes and ordinances.

The Celestial Worthy of Primordial Beginning said: The beings of the Lower Yuan (one of the Three Yuan spoken of in Daoism, often referring to the worldly realm inhabited by the beings of the lower world) are now living in an age when the cycles of Heaven are changing and the Five Demons are at work, and the ways of the world are in disorder. Beings of the ghost and spirit kind, together with the ignorant and unknowing, and even the Jade Maidens and Wondrous Youths (figures of immortal children in Daoism), all hold Fulu (talismans and registers) and bear ceremonial insignia, chanting hymns in praise of the heavenly realm, so as to descend into the human world and relieve the calamities of living beings. Let this be carried out at once in accordance with the statutes of Heaven.

The Celestial Worthy of Primordial Beginning said further: The beings of the Lower Yuan are now living in an age when the cycles of Heaven are changing and the Five Demons are at work, and the ways of the world are in chaos. Many people are ignorant and unknowing, unable to tell good from evil, and only bring suffering upon themselves. The Lower Yuan is now in an age of great catastrophe and armed turmoil. The ghost soldiers of the Six Caverns (ghost soldiers in Daoist mythology) will go forth throughout the world and seize the people of every land. All who forget kindness and betray righteousness, who do not believe in the Great Dao (the Way), and who do not follow the orthodox law will be driven by the ghost soldiers into the Three Evil Paths (the three wretched destinations of hell, hungry ghosts, and animals) and handed over to the plague demons to be killed. These people abandon moral right and do not believe in the Great Dao, and therefore they receive punishment.

When the yimao year arrives, if anyone fails to revere the ritual master and does not believe in the Great Dao, the warriors of the Demon King of the Three Heavens will swiftly deliver that person into the Red Sand Hell. This matter must be carried out at once in accordance with the command of the Great Law of the Three Heavens. I dispatch the Great-Eyed warriors and the envoys of the Central Heaven to accompany the ritual masters as they travel everywhere, practicing the Way and saving people. The sick will quickly recover, and lawsuits will swiftly be resolved.

All you living beings must revere and uphold my divine spells, and transmit the teachings of the boundless Ritual Masters of the Northern Emperor’s Samadhi (Daoist ritual masters who cultivate the samadhi method of the Northern Emperor). You must honor the ritual masters just as you honor the movement of the heavenly seasons, the illumination of the sun and moon, and the alternating coming and going of the eight seasonal nodes. You must bow and offer greetings to the ritual masters, asking whether they have passed the night in peace. In this way, living beings may also ascend as immortals in later lives and be revered by the myriad spirits.

From this time forward, I will send the Tonglin warriors, the Five Elder Worthies, the Great Immortals of the Ten Directions, the Five Ding envoys, and the Great Gods of the Ten Heavens to descend together into the human world and protect the people. I know all the good and evil of the people. However much wind, rain, flood, or drought there may be, there will never be unjust killing without cause. You living beings should understand that the Great Dao possesses the grace of Heaven, and you should also know the succession of the four seasons, the waxing and waning of good and evil, and the changes of cold and warmth.

In this year there will be ghost plagues throughout the world. Epidemic disease will spread in every direction, many people will die because of it, and the power of the plague demons will be exceedingly strong. If anyone comes forward to practice the ritual teachings of the Ritual Masters of the Northern Emperor’s Samadhi, all affairs will proceed smoothly and the epidemic will subside of itself. All the plague demons will swiftly flee a thousand li away, and the Demon King of the Three Heavens will also descend to slay them. Let this be carried out at once in accordance with the statutes of Heaven.

The Celestial Worthy of Primordial Beginning (Yuanshi Tianzun) said: In the age of the Lower Prime (Xiayuan)—an era spoken of in Daoism—it happens to be a year when the Earth Duke ghosts make mischief and every kind of disease runs rampant. Throughout the world there are tens of thousands of Earth Duke ghosts, among them white-headed ghosts, Five Wood ghosts, and Five Earth ghosts. Their eyes are red, their faces black, and their mouths huge. They enter the prefectures, counties, and villages in every part of China, spreading pestilence and harming the people.

Those who do not venerate the True Lords of the Great Dao (the Way) of the Three Treasures, and who do not believe in the methods of the Dao, will cause thirty thousand kinds of epidemic disease to spread. When the bingchen year arrives, a scarlet plague will break out across the world. In that year the Scarlet Ding ghosts will spread a burning, fire-like epidemic and the calamity of arms and warfare, so that men and women throughout the world suffer death and injury. They pursue those who bear enmity and grievance against them from former lives; they also curse and hunt down living beings, craving to drink blood and eat flesh, and they harass and harm the living.

Sickness clings to the body, and the danger is acute. The wangliang—sprite-beings of the mountains and streams—entangle them; ghosts and spirits come to call them to account; and lawsuits follow one after another, worsening the illness until life hangs in the balance. Pestilence strikes, warfare draws near, the world is thrown into turmoil, the people find no peace, and the five grains fail. In the chaos of arms, people are killed; dwellings stand empty; the laws grow harsh; and living beings lose the Dao and moral righteousness. Persons of rank refuse to come forward. People offer no incense, pay no respectful homage to ritual masters, and do not believe in the Great Dao. They break their vows and treat the methods of the Great Dao with contempt.

The Most High (Taishang, a revered deity of Daoism) dispatches the Chitong mounted officers, iron staves in hand, to patrol the world and seize those who turn against the orthodox Dao, who commit the Five Rebellions—grave crimes that pervert ethical order—and who speak slander. The Celestial Troops (Tianding, the soldiers and generals of the heavenly realm) cut them down. If any person or ghost refuses to submit, the guilt will endure through ten thousand kalpas. If one does not become a lord of the ghosts, how can they be delivered? Let this be carried out at once, in accordance with the statutes and ordinances.

The Celestial Worthy of Primordial Beginning said: In the age in which the beings of the lower realm live, malevolent Jing (essence) and monstrous spirits are many, and the state cannot be at peace. Ghost kings move about in every direction, spreading fires and disease. These ghosts can travel a thousand li in a single night, harming horses, grain, and crops, bringing on illness and leaving people frightened and unsettled.

Demons spread pestilence on a vast scale, and floods will follow close behind. Heaven sends down disease, and the common people lose the proper Way. When the ding-si year comes, the Wuhuan ghost lord will unleash every kind of epidemic. The pestilence will spread to all quarters under Heaven, and the people will be greatly terrified. The ghost lord’s hosts will gather day by day, and people will have nowhere to take refuge. War and slaughter will break out, and the state will suffer destruction. Ghost-bandits harm people through disease, and the common people lose the proper Way. When the ding-si year comes, the Wuhuan ghost lord will unleash every kind of epidemic. The pestilence will spread to all quarters under Heaven, and the people will be greatly terrified. The ghost lord’s hosts will gather day by day, and people will have nowhere to take refuge. War and slaughter will break out, and the state will suffer destruction. Ghost-bandits harm people, so that the affairs of government cannot be at peace, and people repeatedly flee into the mountains and forests. Earth ghosts bring illnesses such as watery dysentery, red dysentery, and black dysentery, injuring the beings of the heavenly realm and of the human world.

The weighing of retribution for good and evil is not confined to a single place. Every region may meet with peril, and people will also gradually grow wicked. Human hearts harbor all manner of rebellious and disorderly thoughts. They suppose that by relying on Heaven and Earth they can endure for a long time, yet they do not understand the principles of the human world. In the end they bring calamity upon themselves: families are ruined and people perish, kin scatter in all directions, they resent one another, and the six relations are implicated. Such evil deeds should not be done. Otherwise one will proceed toward death, sinking, and ruin. Disaster will descend upon family and state. Warfare will run from the south of Heaven to the north of the sea, throwing all under Heaven into disorder. People will take up arms against one another, and fathers and sons will be separated. The world will lose its harmony, the people’s corvée labor will be heavy, and the multitude will lose their livelihood. These sufferings are borne by those who do evil: the soldiers of Heaven drive them away and cast them into the fire-prisons and the hells, so that even after ten thousand kalpas they still cannot gain release.

If anyone reveres the Dao (the Way) with a sincere heart and delights in reciting the Great Jing (scripture/classic) of the Northern Emperor’s Samādhi, the Beidi Sanmei Dajing, I will dispatch the merit officers of Zhengyi (Orthodox Unity), the great spirits of the ten directions, the strongmen, and the jade maidens to come and rescue the people, so that afflicted beings may swiftly leave their suffering and so that lawsuits and disputes may be resolved. All ghostly evils that bring disaster must depart at once and go far away, beyond tens of millions of li. If any refuse to submit, they shall be escorted to Wenchang and made to suffer split heads and shattered brains. Not even a ritual master will be able to plead for them, and the soldiers of Heaven will exterminate their followers. Let this be carried out at once, in strict accordance with the statutes and ordinances.

The titles “Zhengyi merit officers,” “great spirits of the ten directions,” and “strongmen and jade maidens” are all names of Daoist deities or divine generals. Through the ritual conception of reciting scripture and dispatching spirits to expel evil, the text expresses the wish to avert disaster, cure illness, and bring peace to the human world.

The Celestial Worthy of Primordial Beginning said: Living beings in the Lower Yuan—the period, in Daoist teaching, overseen by the Water Official—now come under the duty of the Three Officials, the Heavenly Official, the Earthly Official, and the Water Official, and they have also met with the calamity of five kinds of pestilence. From this time on, those who fall ill and those who contract the epidemic will grow ever more numerous; the common people will die, and disease and disaster will spread. Every affair within the Three Realms—the realms of Heaven, Earth, and humanity—is pursued under the statutes and decrees of the authorities, and punishments encroach upon one another. Nothing goes smoothly, and quarrels and disputes never cease. The powerful and noble do not keep to the proper Dao (the Way), and they throw the world into chaos. Between the great states, ghost-soldiers follow in train, and the common people suffer hardship. Pestilence ghosts scatter disease everywhere, while the Three Officials investigate, examine, and vow to punish them. A hundred ghosts descend, causing people to fall ill and meet with disaster; men and women suffer diarrhea, and sons and grandsons sicken and die. When the wuwu year arrives, a great epidemic will cover the world, and the common people will be stricken. Heavenly troops will descend into the world; the people will suffer, and all living beings will meet with great calamity.

If anyone turns toward the Three Worthies, the venerated deities of Daoism, receives the scriptures (Jing), practices the teaching, and honors the Ritual Master of the Northern Emperor’s samadhi—a master who cultivates the methods of the Northern Emperor—in walking the Dao, then from this day forward, should anyone encounter plague, lawsuits, or the calamity of great armies, should a dwelling collapse into peril, should descendants know no peace, or should the common people meet with disaster, I will dispatch the General of the Great Halberd, the red cavalry and their mounts, the lesser envoys of the red troops, and the Messenger of a Hundred Tongues, commanding them to hold the red ritual staff and slay every ghost and marauder in the human world. You ghost-soldiers who spread disease—even if you claim to be spirits of the Three Dukes or the Five Emperors—I know your true nature. The names of all pestilence ghosts lie within my grasp. So long as even a single ghost refuses to depart, the great troops of the Three Officials will descend into the world and cut them all down. Ghosts that disturb the human world and spread pestilence, together with the baleful spirits that bring lawsuits, are to be driven at once thousands upon thousands of li away; not one is to be spared, and all are to be slain to the last. If any demon king fails to carry out the command in earnest, that one too will first suffer severe punishment. Let this be carried out at once in accordance with the statutes.

The Celestial Worthy of Primordial Beginning spoke again: If the living beings of the Lower Yuan meet an age in which ghost-soldiers rise in disorder, and if many among the people of the central lands fall ill and contract the epidemic, the demon kings of the Three Caverns (Dongzhen, Dongxuan, and Dongshen) will descend. The scriptural text then says, “Upholding the world in six intentions, one arrives first at the hundredfold,” meaning that one who holds to this method of protecting the world can subdue calamity in advance. Let this be carried out at once in accordance with the statutes.

The Celestial Worthy of Primordial Beginning (Yuanshi Tianzun) says: In the period of the Lower Yuan (Xiayuan), if the world meets with disorder raised by ghost soldiers, people in many places will suffer from sickness and pestilence. The Demon Kings of the Three Caverns (Sandong) descend into the world, and the Great Demons of the Six Palaces, who govern the world, dispatch ghost soldiers to the human realm, so that pestilence, floods and fires, and wars of blade and soldier throw the age into turmoil. The common people fall ill; the living are cast into danger; and ghosts from within and from without all come forth to spread a great epidemic. The people rush about in every direction; the great demons disturb the world; and the ghost soldiers gather in the midst of the crowds.

When the jiwei year arrives, there appear in heaven the Peck-Head Demon King, Great King Wuyan, Great King Long-Nose, Great King Zhongwai Qiangxiang, Great King Small-Eyes, Great King White-Face, and Great King Red-Face. All of you ghost kings are to be examined, and you must also command your descendants and the hosts under you to obey orders.

If anyone upholds the methods of the teaching, receives the methods of the Jing (scripture/classic), and makes offerings to the Ritual Master of the Northern Emperor’s Samadhi (Beidi Sanmei Fashi)—a Daoist priest who cultivates the method of the Northern Emperor’s Samadhi—the sick will recover at once, and all affairs will proceed smoothly. You ghost kings must quickly command the ghosts beneath you, so that the sick regain their health as soon as possible, lawsuits are brought to a prompt close, and every matter is settled in peace and harmony. If any ghost does not obey, the Demon King need not hesitate, but should cut it down at once. Receive the command and carry it out without delay.

The Celestial Worthy of Primordial Beginning (Yuanshi Tianzun) said: For living beings in the age of the Lower Yuan, from this time onward ghosts and strange spirits will be numerous in every place, and the common people will suffer because of them. The populace will be afflicted by illness, and corvée labor and compulsory service will be exceedingly heavy. Floods will come; those who hold power will not follow the proper Dao (the Way); lawsuits and punishments will follow one after another, and even the innocent will suffer penalties. All manner of perils will cling without cease, and calamities will descend upon the human world. Petty people will delude others and stir up disorder, and the common folk will find it hard to preserve themselves.

If anyone has faith in the Great Dao and reveres the true words of the Three Heavens—the true words upheld by the Three Celestial Worthies—illness will be cured and lawsuits will settle of themselves. From now until the gengshen year, for all who uphold the True Scripture of the Northern Emperor’s Samadhi (Beidi Sanmei Zhenjing, the Jing, or classic, of the Northern Emperor’s method), the Most High (Taishang) issues this decree: You ghost kings shall transmit orders and admonish your subordinates that from this day forward they must not harm my people. I command you to comply at once.

From now until the gengshen year, for all who uphold the True Scripture of the Northern Emperor’s Samadhi, the Most High again issues this decree: You ghost kings shall transmit orders and admonish your subordinates that from this day forward they must not harm my people. I command you ghost soldiers to release at once the living who have been seized and harassed, so that illness is cured immediately, lawsuits no longer arise, and epidemic poisons disperse. Carry out the decree at once.

The Celestial Worthy of Primordial Beginning (Yuanshi Tianzun) said: Those born in the age of the Lower Prime (Xiayuan) will henceforth meet with many illnesses and calamities. Within the lands of China several ghost lords have appeared: the Long-headed Ghost Lord, the Red-faced Ghost Lord, the Yifantu Ghost Lord, and the Muchuan Ghost Lord. They have come to China and caused the king to act with cruelty and perversity, so that ruler and ministers destroy one another, fathers and sons injure each other, and the common people live in hardship and suffer great disasters. People die and fall ill without cease; the hosts of ghosts contend among themselves, arms clash in mutual slaughter, and ghost soldiers spread poison and harm, bringing sickness and calamity upon human beings.

When the year of Xinyou arrives, the realm is thrown into unrest, floods overflow their banks, and fish and dragons slaughter one another. High officials are displaced, ruler and ministers turn against each other, and the people harm one another; disease spreads, people wander in flight, the populace of the realm is nearly wiped out, and the sounds of weeping mingle together. All of this is brought about by the ghost lords disturbing the world and cruelly injuring the people, driving them into flight, afflicting living beings with illness, and causing miasmas, malignant diseases, and epidemics to arise one after another. The Seven Sons of Huangnu likewise come again and again, damaging the population, the fields, and mulberry and silkworm, so that the myriad people fall ill.

Now that the names of you ghosts are already known, from this time forward you are commanded to withdraw a thousand li. Carry out the order at once.

The Celestial Worthy of Primordial Beginning (Yuanshi Tianzun) said: The beings of the lower world will meet the calamity of ghost soldiers rising in rebellion. From now on, many people will be driven from their homes and left without refuge; warfare will break out on a great scale, and the common people will find no peace. The demon kings of the Three Heavens will enter the kingdom and bring about disasters. Pestilence will spread throughout the world, and neither the people nor the state will be secure. Bandits will rise on every side, and ghostly Qi (vital energy) will harm human beings. All beings will suffer great disaster and face the perils of water and fire. When the renxu year comes, the king will be defeated and fall, and the people will scatter, fleeing in hardship and suffering.

Ten kinds of demon kings walk the world, disturbing enlightened and sagely rulers, setting ruler and minister against each other and causing father and son to suspect one another. Disorder arises from the lower levels; the state is thrown into turmoil, and the people die. If within the kingdom there are those who uphold and receive the Sanmei Jing (Scripture of Samadhi; here referring to a scripture used for cultivation), the disasters will recede and the people will regain peace and stability.

Now the demon kings and the cavern lords of the various heavens ought to bring the chaos of arms to an end, and kings and the people of the world ought to honor the Dao (the Way) and receive the Jing (scripture/classic). You spirit kings, quickly descend to the lower world and subdue the ghostly evils; they are not permitted to spread disease at will or injure the people. Rulers and ministers must all practice my orthodox Dao. I command the demon kings to gather in and restrain every ghost and demon in the world, and not allow them to disturb the people and their families. You must obey the edict of the Most High (Taishang). From this time forward you are not to come again to disturb rulers, ministers, and the common people. If anyone still falls ill, or if a legal case remains long unresolved, the ghost lord responsible for the matter will have his head split into seven pieces. Carry out this order at once.

The Primordial Heavenly Worthy (Yuanshi Tianzun, the supreme deity venerated in Daoism) said: People of the Lower Yuan age pass their days in a muddled daze, unaware that in the years of the Great Jin thirty thousand ghost soldiers will enter the kingdom and spread a great plague charged with crimson malign Qi (vital energy), the calamity sweeping over the world like a flood. The Demon Kings of the Six Caverns will range through every region, hunting down the common people; wars will follow one upon another, and officials will scatter and be lost.

Ghost soldiers will enter the kingdom, spreading plague and disaster; the Demon Kings of the Six Caverns will roam throughout the world, pursuing and killing the people, with warfare unceasing and officials dispersed. Famished ghost soldiers will devour living beings; the people will be driven from their homes, fathers and sons each in a different place. Rebels will run rampant across the realm, and the state will fall apart. The Five Circuits (Wudao, a term in the scripture for places or regions) will be restless and unsettled, prefectures and counties attacking one another; senior officials will kill one another, while junior officials will be transferred away. The people will lose their livelihoods and scatter into the wilderness, and the world will suffer calamity.

When the year Guihai arrives (one of the years of the sexagenary cycle), tens of millions of violent ghosts will wander in all directions, killing and injuring the people, throwing the world into disorder, plundering goods and wealth, and driving horses so as to cause countless losses. The disaster will not be confined to a single place; even the remote lands of the Yi and the Rong will be affected.

If even one person reverently upholds the Scripture of the Divine Incantations of the Northern Emperor’s Samadhi, the myriad people can all be at peace, illnesses will be cured at once, and whatever is wished for can be fulfilled as the heart desires. Warfare will subside of itself, ghost-bandits will perish of themselves, and strife among officials will also be resolved. If the people honor my true words and the ritual masters, I shall dispatch mighty divine warriors, the envoys of the Nine Heavens, the ghost lords of the Eight Heavens, and the Demon Kings to come and protect the people of the land.

If anyone enters the Dao (the Way) and practices my great method, making offerings to the ritual masters of the Northern Emperor’s Samadhi (those who preside over or transmit the methods of the Northern Emperor’s Samadhi), all evil ghosts, upon hearing of it, will at once flee a thousand li away. The ghost lords of the Eight Heavens and the Demon Kings will likewise come to protect the people of the land. Should any ghost lord fail to obey my command or fail to exert himself in his duties, the great method will immediately cut him down. Swiftly carry out the statutes and commands.

The Celestial Worthy of Primordial Beginning said: The living beings of the lower world are now beset by widespread warfare and pestilence, by floods and fires, and by calamities wrought by all manner of ghosts and demons. Therefore I now specially transmit the Marvelous Scripture (Jing) of the Divine Incantations of the Orthodox Teaching of the Northern Emperor’s Samadhi, which contains thirty-six divine incantations and decrees, in order to spread the teaching, protect the realm, and instruct living beings so that they may understand the Great Dao (the Way). Thereupon the ritual master of the Northern Emperor’s Samadhi, acting under command, descended to the lower world to proclaim the teaching, urging emperors, ministers, local governors, and officials of every rank to turn toward the Dao, so that all affairs might proceed smoothly.

When the Great Sage of the Northern Emperor proclaimed this divine incantation together with them, the demon kings of the various heavens, the great gods, the jade maidens, the Brahma mothers, the mysterious maidens, the generals of the Six Jia, the envoys of the Six Ding, and the jade lads and divine generals of the celestial realm all descended together and bowed, declaring their willingness to hear the wondrous arts of this scripture. The demon kings and celestial maidens said: “From this day forward, if anyone in China falls critically ill and is about to die, we demon kings and lords of ghosts shall first suffer the punishment of having our heads split and shattered into seven pieces.” An urgent decree was then issued at once.

The Celestial Worthy of Primordial Beginning said: Living beings in the lower realm constantly suffer natural disasters and epidemics, and a great kalpa is about to arrive. Floodwaters surge on for ten thousand zhang, and the three calamities of water, fire, and wind arise one after another. Five kinds of demonic obstacles bring severe plague, while a crimson, baleful Qi (vital energy) spreads and intertwines; the disasters of war break out on every side, and the fires of calamity spread. Evil ghosts throughout the world set fire to the lands of the human realm. The people are scattered and homeless, the myriad folk endure great hardship, and disease is exceedingly grave. Ghosts, monsters, thieves, and bandits run rampant, and all under Heaven is in turmoil; ministers can find no peace, living beings are nearly wiped out, and calamity will be handed down for ten thousand generations. Evil deeds bring death and injury, and the three calamities follow in succession; the common people disperse in all directions, and ghost-soldiers drive the people of the world before them. The realm falls into great disorder and warfare never ceases; rulers and ministers are parted, and kings grow cruel and perverse. The myriad people suffer epidemics, the common folk meet with disaster, and every kind of illness takes human life.

If people reverently uphold and practice this great dharma, cause it to spread throughout China, and win the hearts of the myriad people; if they make offerings to the Three Treasures and to the great divine spell-arts, and if there are dharma masters who have attained samadhi (a state of concentrated meditative absorption), then I, together with the great deities of the ten directions, wondrous maidens and jade lads, the Azure Dragon generals, warrior strongmen and demon kings, celestial guards and great officials, the five celestial envoys, and others, will in every place block and intercept the plague ghosts.

I now decree that the demon kings, together with all dragon-ghosts, the water cavalry, and the troops within the waters, come into the human world, to teach, transform, and deliver living beings throughout the Three Realms and the ten directions, and to protect the people of the land. Men and women alike should recite and receive this great scripture (Jing), and thereby distinguish folly from wisdom. If living beings can cultivate and uphold this dharma, they will not only receive protection, but may also be entered by the immortals in the Jade Register (Yuli, the roster of the immortal realm as spoken of in Daoism), and thus escape floods, the peril of water, and such calamities as the Nine Palaces and the Eight Difficulties.

All you living beings: from this day forward, if you can hear this great divine spell-art and receive, uphold, and make offerings to the great dharma, I will dispatch strongmen who are transformations of hundreds of millions of celestial troops, to come regularly to wherever you are and drive away evil influences. When someone recites the scriptures and cultivates the methods of the Dao (the Way), the numinous officials of the ten directions and tens of millions of dharma-protectors will come to stand guard. All the myriad people should honor and uphold this great dharma. Swiftly obey the decree, and carry it out in accordance with the statutes and ordinances.