《洪恩灵济真君集福宿启仪》

The ritual service is carried out according to the ceremonial form. Each ritual master visualizes and sustains the recitation as prescribed. Please recite the Shen (spirit) incantation.

East

The East has nine kinds of primordial Qi (vital energy). The heaven there is azure-green in color and is governed by the Primordial Sovereign of the Azure Heaven. Between the cyan auroral mists and Yulei dwells an elder who oversees the charts, registers, and name-rolls, gathers primordial Qi, and raises immortals up.

South

The South is the cinnabar-red heaven, governed by the Jade Hall of the Red Emperor. Within this heaven is a great deity titled the Red Sovereign. Above, fumes and vapors steam upward, and the radiance of three kinds of primordial Qi blazes forth. The divine immortals receive their offices by command and assemble when the sun rises.

West

The West is the pure white heaven, and it has the seven gates of the White Emperor. Golden numinous light shines brightly, and cloud-Qi drifts over Mount Taihua. White stones tower on high, and seven kinds of primordial Qi spread through them. In heaven is the great deity, the August Elder of First Birth, who governs lung Qi, presides over checking the name-registers of the Nine Heavens, examines and settles the charts and registers, and summons the higher immortals.

North

The North is the dark and mysterious heaven, where five kinds of primordial Qi circulate back and forth. Within this heaven are the Black Emperor and the Twin Sovereigns of Taiwei (Grand Tenuity), who oversee talismanic mandates and cultivate the power of the eight forms of ritual dignity. The immortal perfected wear blue-green skirts and feather robes embroidered with dragon and phoenix patterns. By command of the Supreme Thearch, they are summoned to the jade steps.

Center

The Center commands the myriad spirits; it is the realm of the Yellow Upper Heavenly Prime. The Five Elders of First Birth and the Lofty Worthy of the Central Sovereign dwell there. They gather primordial Qi and inspect the immortal perfected, lead the immortal spirits among the grasses and trees, keep the mysterious charts and registers, the name-rolls of former lives, and the jade writs, hasten the movement of the highest primordial Qi, and proclaim this to all the spirits.

Strike the ritual drum twenty-four times.

The Most High Mysterious Origin, the Five Numina, and the Yellow Upper Heavenly Prime, together with the Five Elders of First Birth and the Lofty Worthy of the Central Sovereign, gather primordial Qi and inspect the immortal perfected, lead the immortal spirits among the grasses and trees, keep the mysterious charts and registers, the name-rolls of former lives, and the jade writs, hasten the movement of the highest primordial Qi, and proclaim this to all the spirits.

Strike the ritual drum twenty-four times.

Here, “visualization and inward recitation” means that the ritual masters, following the rite, visualize and silently recite the perfected spirits; “twenty-four rounds of the ritual drum” means striking the drum twenty-four times according to the Keyi (liturgy), in order to summon the spirits and give them notice.

The Most High Lord Lao of Mysterious Origin and the Five Numina (a revered deity of Daoism) summons the Three-and-Five Merit Officers within our bodies—divine functionaries who transmit documents and report on affairs—together with the incense-official envoys of the left and right, the Golden Lads who attend the incense, the Jade Maidens who convey messages, the incense officials on duty for the day, the Merit Officer envoys, and the orthodox spirits of the Three Qi (vital energy), bidding them swiftly to submit memorials and pass on reports, and to seek out and invite the five Great Marshals Bian, Wei, Zhao, and Diao, the two Marshals Yue and Xu, as well as the celestial stalwarts and the divine officials of the left and right.

We, your servants, now respectfully open the purification ritual, establish the altar, and set forth the matters to be carried out. Reverently receiving the sacred decree, we have already recorded the relevant matters and submitted them in memorial. May the life-generating Qi of the Orthodox and True descend and flow into our bodies, so that the words we present at this moment may be swiftly conveyed before the sacred presence of the True Lord of Vast Grace of the Golden Portal of the Nine Heavens and the True Lord of Vast Grace of the Jade Portal of the Nine Heavens.

Please announce your ritual offices.

We, servants so-and-so, who hold ritual office, now specially burn incense and respectfully wish to report to the sacred sovereign the matters already recorded and submitted in memorial. May the life-generating Qi of the Orthodox and True descend and flow into our bodies, so that the words we present at this moment may be swiftly conveyed before the sacred presence of the True Lord of Vast Grace of the Golden Portal of the Nine Heavens and the True Lord of Vast Grace of the Jade Portal of the Nine Heavens.

Please announce your ritual offices.

We, the servants on duty at the altar, today specially burn incense, wishing to dedicate this merit to the True Lord of Vast Grace of the Golden Portal of the Nine Heavens and the True Lord of Vast Grace of the Jade Portal of the Nine Heavens. The two True Lords are joined like flower and calyx, their splendor reflecting one another, peerless in the world; their efficacy extends throughout heaven and earth, and they alone hold the creative power that transforms and brings forth the myriad things. Though the shifts between overcast rain and clear brightness are hard to fathom, they still reveal the mystery of their awe-inspiring numinous power. The divinities are vast and great, as if present before our eyes, their numinous light bright and distinct. May the two True Lords clearly perceive our supplication and graciously descend to receive this sincere and reverent thanksgiving.

We first pray that the imperial foundation remain secure and the sovereign’s life long and enduring, that the benevolent grace which nurtures all things be widely bestowed, and that, through tranquil governance by Wuwei (non-action), the world be brought to peace. We next pray for the heir apparent, the feudatory princes who shield and defend the realm, the chief ministers, dukes and high officials, and officeholders of every rank; we also pray for ourselves, together with the Three Masters and Five Friends, those who have cultivated the Dao (the Way) through the ages, practitioners living in seclusion among mountains, valleys, and rocky caves, disciples of the Daoist order, and the jijiu (the officers in Daoism who preside over the affairs of the teaching). The scope of our prayer further includes the common people of the realm, living beings of every kind, and all sentient creatures possessed of awareness.

We take refuge, with body, Shen (spirit), nature, and life, in the True Lords of Vast Grace of the Golden Portal and the Jade Portal of the Nine Heavens. We earnestly beseech the True Lords, especially for the sake of all beings, to remove the three karmas created by body, speech, and mind, together with the faults and boundless offenses aroused by the six faculties (eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind), so that all may be freed from the three calamities and five sufferings, the eight hardships and nine perils. May every person personally attain the true Dao, sing in praise of Great Peace, share together in benevolent virtue and long life, live amid carefree Wuwei, and remain forever united with the Dao.

May the mysterious response for which we pray swiftly ascend before the sacred presence of the True Lord of Vast Grace of the Golden Portal of the Nine Heavens and the True Lord of Vast Grace of the Jade Portal of the Nine Heavens.

Chant the directions.

After the rites are performed, the whole assembly remains long kneeling, taking refuge and repenting with utmost sincerity. The ritual community reverently takes refuge in the True Lord of Vast Grace of the Golden Palace of the Nine Heavens and the True Lord of Vast Grace of the Jade Palace of the Nine Heavens, praying that the two True Lords will greatly extend their compassion, broadly bestow their favor, and universally send down vast grace.

I have heard that the jade script—the sacred writing of the Daoist classics—sends forth light, and the phoenix seal—Daoist talismanic script shaped like a phoenix—appears in the Azure Empyrean, the celestial realm; that the golden statutes, the sacred codes, set forth what is mysterious and profound, and the dragon writ—dragon-form emblems or sacred characters—shines in Chiming, the celestial realm spoken of in Daoism. To cultivate these teachings is to mount the clouds and Qi (vital energy) and ascend into the heavens; to apply these teachings is to bring peace to the people and benefit the myriad beings.

When we further consider ourselves, the Five Spirits (Shen, the five divinities within body and mind) are scattered and unsettled, and the Six Receptacles—the collective name for the viscera within the body—are clouded and confused. The karmic obstructions and defilements created by body, speech, and mind assail us without cease, and the wondrous functioning of Jing (essence), Qi, and Shen has not yet gathered into harmony. We ought therefore to pray that the inner heart be washed clean, so that every obstruction may grow clear and disperse, the five entanglements be removed, and we may realize the Three Origins—the three primes of Heaven, Earth, and Water spoken of in Daoism, or the corresponding realms of cultivation. Let thought be made upright and one-pointed in the Yellow Center, the inner realm that symbolizes centered rectitude, so that we may reverently answer the gods and spirits; looking up to the Mysterious Heaven above the Nine Empyreans, we pray that numinous response may reach everywhere. With utmost sincerity we knock our heads and, before the holy presence of the True Lord of Vast Grace of the Golden Palace of the Nine Heavens and the True Lord of Vast Grace of the Jade Palace of the Nine Heavens, perform the rites and give thanks.

Hymn of the Three Invocations (a hymn that invites the deities in three stages)

Threefold Rites of Thanks (performing the rites three times and offering thanks)

Restating the Ritual Rank (once more declaring the identity of the one who presides over the rite)

Your servant of the appointed rank, So-and-so, together with the ritual assembly attending the altar and the officers who perform the rites on behalf of others, with one heart sincerely submits this memorial and makes invocation:

The True Lord of Vast Grace of the Golden Palace of the Nine Heavens,

The True Lord of Vast Grace of the Jade Palace of the Nine Heavens,

The Holy Father, True Lord Who Assists and Illumines,

The Holy Mother, Immortal Consort of Humane Longevity and Gentle Goodness,

The Holy Consort, Lady of Jingguo, Immortal Consort of Compliant Aid, Humane Grace, and Faithful Response,

The Lady of Weiguo, Immortal Consort of Skillful Aid, Kind Virtue, and Reverent Stillness.

Holy elder brothers, holy sisters-in-law, holy uncles, holy sons-in-law, holy sons, holy daughters, holy nephews, holy grandsons, and all the other immortal kin; the mighty spirits of the hall; the Five Great Marshals Cha, Bian, Wei, Zhao, and Diao; the two marshals Yue and Xu; the Taisui deity of this year; the City God of the capital; the local earth god of this palace; and all the deities who respond and descend upon the spirit altar: we earnestly beg you together to extend your vast grace and to look down upon our prayer.

Our station is humble and our lives are brief, no more than grass and weeds; our offerings are crude and hardly worthy of respect. By good fortune we were born into a flourishing age, and so we may practice the Daoist methods of the Mysterious Gate and preside over the affairs of the shrine palace. The merit we have established does not amount even to the slightest, yet in our rushing through the dusty world we have piled up faults as high as a mountain. We still beg the gods to grant us forbearance and to fulfill our petition. Of any report connected with this matter, how would we dare not present it above?

Your servant, reverently obeying the sacred decree, grandly arranges a pure jiao, the Daoist Zhaijiao (purification ritual), inviting and welcoming all the True Gods, purifying the body, and observing the fast with a sincere heart. Earnestly following the established model, we reverently raise the Jasper Altar, the platform on which the rite is performed, set forth the ceremonial insignia, and strike the jade chime and other ritual instruments so that their tones ring clear. Upon the altar a golden radiance gleams, and the lamps and candles shine bright. We exhaust our sincerity in confessing our faults and praying for grace, and we seek protection and the bestowal of blessing.

We look up to the True Lord of Vast Grace of the Golden Palace and the Jade Palace of the Nine Heavens, asking that the divine officers of the Five Marshals be sent to assist and uphold us, to cleanse what is within and without and to sweep away malign evil and defilement, so that baleful vapors withdraw far away, the Qi (vital energy) of our five viscera rests in harmony, and the passes and apertures of the whole body are smoothly regulated. May our heart-spirit be kept single and unified, so that it may join with the Danyuan, the site or deity associated with the heart-spirit in Neidan (internal alchemy). May our prayer ascend and meet with a response, so that numinous light descends upon the Purple Forbidden precinct, here meaning the sacred palaces. May good merit be brought to completion and the blessings of the fast made entire, so that all sentient beings possessed of spirit may share in this grace. When the ritual assembly is held at dawn tomorrow, a separate written report will again be submitted.

Making the Vow

Visualize the deities and burn incense.

We respectfully invite the Emissaries of the Incense Office, the Divine Lords of the Left and Right, and all the Numinous Officials who attend the incense fire, that the place where the Suqi is established may of itself bring forth golden liquor, elixir medicine, and lingzhi like green jade, and that the hundred numinous spirits and all the Perfected may gather before this incense burner. May our sincere hearts swiftly ascend on high, and may family and realm be kept in peace. We ask the immortal lads and jade maidens of the ten directions to receive and guide the incense smoke, and to convey the words of this servant’s earlier prayer before the holy thrones of the True Lord of Vast Grace of the Golden Portal of the Nine Heavens and the True Lord of Vast Grace of the Jade Portal of the Nine Heavens.

“Suqi” is the prayer rite held on the preceding evening in a Daoist Zhaijiao (purification ritual); “jinye dan bi zhiying”—golden liquor, elixir, and azure mushroom-essence—is an expression symbolizing the numinous things of the immortals.