《洪恩灵济真君集福早朝仪》

The Morning Ritual for Gathering Blessings of the True Lords of Vast Grace and Numinous Succor (Hong’en Lingji Zhenjun): a morning Keyi (liturgy) for worshipping the Hong’en Lingji Zhenjun and praying for blessings and protection.

The ritual is performed according to the prescribed regulations.

The ritual masters, each following the liturgical method, practice visualization, contemplating the deities within the mind.

Golden perfected immortals ascend amid the roseate radiance, their glory illuminating the Three Heavens, the celestial realms of which Daoism speaks. Auspicious clouds fly and coil about the cinnabar empyrean, and the gods and immortals of the many heavens arrive, driving their carriages. As the morning sunlight first appears, the dark clouds and veiling mists all disperse together. The Nine Subtleties—a name for the palaces of the gods and immortals, or for the celestial realms—tremble in the void, and the Five Stars turn and travel their courses. The myriad immortals are stirred and called forth, and a mysterious response naturally manifests. In the depths of the hidden dark the deities diffuse their bodily forms and divide into hundreds and thousands of images. The Mysterious Pearl, the precious pearl symbolizing the numinous light of the deities, shines forth, and auspicious signs descend upon the altar. Grace is displayed even in the unseen world, and the divine light unites with the Three Fields, the upper, middle, and lower Dantian (energy centers) within the human body.

Response: Unite with the Dao (the Way) and merge with the True—join with the Great Dao and attain the realm of the real.

The ritual drum is sounded twenty-four times.

O Most High Elder Lord of the Mysterious Prime and the Five Numina, revered deity of Daoism: please summon forth from within my body the Merit Officers of the Three and the Five, divine functionaries charged with transmitting documents and reporting affairs; the incense-official emissaries of the left and right; the Golden Lads who attend the incense; the Jade Maidens who convey messages; the incense officials on duty; the emissaries among the Merit Officers; and the orthodox deities of the Three Qi (vital energy). Please swiftly report upward and open the petition, and seek out and invite the five Grand Marshals Bian, Wei, Zhao, and Diao, the two Marshals Yue and Xu, together with the celestial stalwarts and mighty warriors and the divine officials of the left and right. I, your servant, now ascend the altar to perform the rite, reverently carrying out the sacred decree and holding a Zhaijiao (purification ritual), the Daoist ceremony of setting an altar for sacrifice and prayer, to pray for blessings and protection for the state. The matters we earnestly entreat have already been recorded and submitted above. May the clear, upright, pure, and true generative Qi—the primordial energy possessed of the power to generate and bring forth life—descend and flow into our bodies, so that the words I pray and announce may quickly reach the holy 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.

The ritual titles of the deities are proclaimed in invitation.

I, your servant of the stated rank, So-and-so—the servant invested with ritual office—together with the officials and all assembled at the altar, reverently and with sincere hearts address on high: the Great Immortal of the Golden Portal of the Nine Heavens who Illumines the Dao and Attains De (Virtue/Power); the True Lord of Vast Grace who Manifests Numinous Power and Widely Brings Succor, of Clear Subtlety and Dongxuan (the Cavern of Mystery), who Penetrates the Void, of Wondrous Response and Compassionate Favor, Protector of the State and Shelter of the People.

The Superior Immortal of the Jade Palace of the Nine Heavens who proclaims transformation and upholds the teaching, manifestly numinous and broadly relieving, lofty and brilliant, vastly serene, profound and limpid, wondrously responsive, benevolent and gracious, assisting the state and protecting the people—the True Lord of Vast Grace (Hong’en Zhenjun)—(who dwells in the Jade Palace of the Nine Heavens, proclaims moral instruction and supports the Daoist teaching, whose numinous efficacy is conspicuous, who broadly dispenses relief, and who with benevolence and grace protects the state and the people), together with the Holy Father, Prince of Qi, the Loyal and Martial True Lord Who Assists and Illumines (Zhongwu Yiliang Zhenjun); the Holy Mother, the Immortal Consort of Benevolent Longevity and Virtuous Goodness (Renshou Shushan Xianfei); the Holy Consort, Lady of the State of Jing, the Immortal Consort of Compliant Aid, Benevolent Grace, and Faithful Response; the Lady of the State of Wei, the Immortal Consort of Virtuous Aid, Kind Excellence, and Reverent Tranquility; and other holy perfected ones (shengzhen).

The Holy True Lord of Vast Grace who assists the state and protects the people; the Holy Father, Prince of Qi, the Loyal and Martial True Lord Who Assists and Illumines; the Holy Mother, the Immortal Consort of Benevolent Longevity and Virtuous Goodness; the Holy Consort, Lady of the State of Jing, the Immortal Consort of Compliant Aid, Benevolent Grace, and Faithful Response…

The Lady of the State of Wei, Immortal Consort of Beneficent Aid, Kind Virtue, and Reverent Serenity, together with the holy elder brothers, the Prince of Tang, the Prince of Hong, the Prince of E, and the Prince of Guangling; the holy maternal uncles, the Duke Who Protects the Realm and the Duke Who Serves the Realm; the holy sons-in-law, the Marquis of Wu’an and the Marquis of Ningguo; the holy sons, the Marquis Who Preserves Greatness, the Marquis of Manifest Faith, the Marquis Who Preserves Faith, the Marquis Who Preserves Peace, and the Duke of Wuning; the holy nephews, the Marquis of Manifest Virtue, the Marquis of Anding, and the Marquis of Great Peace; the holy grandsons, the Marquis of Wuchang and the Marquis of Nanchang; and the dukes and marquises ranked among the holy sons, holy grandsons, and holy nephews.

The Immortal Consort of Bright Solemnity, consort of the Prince of Tang; the Immortal Consort of Humane Kindness, consort of the Prince of Hong; the Immortal Consort of Compliant Virtue, consort of the Prince of E; and the Immortal Consort of Beneficent Felicity, consort of the Prince of Guangling; the holy daughters, the Immortal Lady of Modest Virtue and the Immortal Lady of Bright Virtue; and the holy wives, the Lady of Goodly Virtue, the Lady of Humane Gentleness, the Lady of Kind Compliance, the Lady of Radiant Virtue, the Lady of Compliant Reverence, the Lady of Lucid Wisdom, the Lady of Reverent Virtue, the Lady of Peaceful Virtue, the Lady of Radiant Reverence, and the Lady of Kindness and Filiality, together with all the ladies among the holy wives.

The officials and commanders who conduct business in the Register of the Great Cavern of Supreme Clarity, the Court of the Heavenly Mechanism, the Ministry of Thunder, the Court of Celestial Patterns, and the several bureaus of the Earth Prefecture; the generals who expel malign spirits, transmit Fulu (talismans and registers), work ritual arts, dissolve calamity and relieve adversity, drive off baleful, perverse, and uncanny beings, guard the ritual altar, and patrol and apprehend; the Venerable God of Taisui, the Grand Year, the Generals of the Twelve Months, the stellar officers of one’s natal destiny and original chronogram, and the immortal hosts of the divisions of wind, thunder, and rain; the Counselors-in-Chief of the Left and the Right, the Grand Steward, the Junior Steward, the ministers and attendants of the Six Ministries, and the dukes and ministers of the Inner Treasury; the Supreme Stewards of the Left and the Right, who preside over the recording of births and of lifespans and over the offices of emolument and of blessing; the attendants of the left and the right and the secretaries who transmit affairs; the bureau officers belonging to the offices of the hundred officials, and the dukes and ministers of their ranks; the bureau officers and clerical clerks of the twenty-four bureaus under the Offices of Fortune and Emolument on the left and the right, and the immortal officials of the Left and the Right who usher petitioners in.

The inner attendant ladies, the Lady of Compliant Accomplishment, the Lady of Luminous Splendor, the Lady of Blooming Beauty, the Lady of Cultivated Beauty, the Lady of Cultivated Deportment, and the Lady of Luminous Deportment; the ladies who oversee palace ceremonies and women’s work, the ladies who oversee silk and hemp textiles, the ladies who oversee the storehouses, the ladies who oversee the account books, and the ladies who oversee the receipt and disbursement of goods; the talented ladies of the Women’s Treasury and the Women’s Scribes, the honored ladies among the Women Invocators and the Women Attendants, and the ladies of the holy kin who serve in the inner halls and keep the ceremonial statutes.

In the Hall of Festive Joy, the Divine Empress Tianyi Who Records Births and the Divine Empress Taiyi Who Supervises Birth, of the Office of Recording Births; the supreme minister-ladies of the Office of Emolument and the Office of Fate, who govern emolument and allotted lifespan; the ladies who guard the fetus and the birthing chamber, and the ladies who protect the fetus and sustain life; the Ladies of Kind Instruction on the left and the right, the Ladies of Guardianship and Tutelage, the Ladies Who Keep the Registers on the left and the right, and the Lady Who Keeps the Seal; the ladies in the several palaces charged with nursing, carrying and presenting, and rearing infants; and the granny deities who preside over the bestowal of life and its nurture.

Marshal Zha, Garrison Commander of Yong’an; Marshal Bian, Garrison Commander of Wu’an; Marshal Wei, Military Commissioner and Left Warden of the Gates; Marshal Zhao, Commander-General of the Armies and Right Warden of the Gates; and Marshal Diao, Inspector-General of the Armies and Vanguard, together with the elite troops and fierce generals under these five marshals; Marshals Yue and Xu of the left and the right, and the attendant officials who serve the traveling palaces of the left and the right; the bureau staff of the Offices of Emolument, Merit, Servicemen, and Documents; the bureau staff of the Offices of Agriculture and of Crops, the Directorate of Silk, and the Keepers of Kudzu Fiber; the bureau staff of the Office of Markets, the Keepers of Goods, the Office for Examining Artisans, and the Preparers of Materials; the officers of the kitchens, the entertainers, and the musicians; the Swift Agents of Heaven, of the Spirits, and of Humankind, and those who keep the upward memorials, the tallies, the cups, and the luan; the lads who transmit dreams, the section chiefs of the Divine Bureau, the hall-duty attendants, the tally-duty officers, and the incense officials and their envoys; and the mighty spirits belonging to the earth god of Lingji Palace, the Palace of Numinous Succor.

We respectfully pray that all the Holy Perfected will graciously bestow compassion, look down and examine, and clearly perceive this supplication.

It is said that heaven and earth arose from one undifferentiated primordial Qi (vital energy). Yin-Yang each has its own presiding power, and their wondrous transformations in turn give rise to the myriad differing appearances of things. The sun, the moon, and the stars are spread across the heavens, while mountains and rivers, seas and sacred peaks, rest secure upon the earth. All things have their forms, and among them the human being is the most precious. Every living being generated and nurtured between heaven and earth receives the grace of creative transformation.

This servant avows an early affinity with the Daoist teaching and has thus been able to draw near the orthodox religion. Clad in the robes of a Daoist priest, he has received profound favor; invested with office and performing the Keyi (liturgy), he has been permitted to take part in manifesting the mysterious instruction of the Dao (the Way). Whatever is prayed for, may it meet with a response from the gods and spirits. We, your servants, reverently carry out the imperial command and hold a pure jiao, a Daoist Zhaijiao (purification ritual), seeking blessings for the state and the household.

This morning the rite is performed. Those taking part in the service are asked, with this first offering of incense—the pinching of incense in prayer—to join in invocation: may the smoke of the incense drift to Lingji Palace, spread throughout the Golden Towers of the Nine Heavens, the abode of the Celestial Emperor, and be transformed into a floral canopy, there to make offering to the Perfected Lord of Manifest Efficacy, Universal Succor, and Vast Grace. May this incense smoke offer sustenance to the Perfected Lord of Vast Grace of the Golden Towers of the Nine Heavens, and to the perfected immortals and holy assembly of Lingji Palace.

We, your servants, entrust body, Shen (spirit), and nature and life alike to the Perfected Lord and the holy assembly, and by the merit of this incense offering we extend blessings upward to His Majesty the Emperor. May His Majesty’s virtue accord with that of Yao of Tang and Shun of Yu, and may his achievements compare with those of the Yellow Emperor Xuanyuan and of Shaohao. May he govern with robes hanging in ease and rule all under heaven, so that the gauges of carriage axles and the norms of writing are everywhere unified; may he sit in state to receive the homage of court, so that distant lands may cross mountains and seas to come and present tribute. May the sacred person long enjoy blessing and longevity, and may loyal and worthy ministers assist the emperor in accomplishing the government of the realm.

Now, with reverent burning of incense, we take refuge in the De (Virtue/Power) of the Perfected Lord and the great holy host in their utmost perfection. May it be that, when cultivation of the Dao is brought to completion, we long endure in heaven, abide forever with the Dao, and become one with the Great Dao as a single perfected reality.

In the morning practice of the Dao (the Way), the ritual assembly present is asked each to take incense and offer it twice. May the fragrance go straight to Lingji Palace, spread through the jade palaces of the Nine Heavens, and turn into a precious canopy, offered to the True Lord of Vast Grace who Illuminates the Numinous and Broadly Brings Succor (Zhaoling Boji Hong’en Zhenjun). May this wisp of incense smoke be offered to the True Lord of Vast Grace of the jade palaces of the Nine Heavens, and to the true immortals and holy assembly of Lingji Palace.

The ritual assembly again takes incense and offers it twice, with the same prayer as before: may the fragrance go straight to Lingji Palace, spread through the jade palaces of the Nine Heavens, turn into a precious canopy, and be offered to the True Lord of Vast Grace who Illuminates the Numinous and Broadly Brings Succor and to the true immortals and holy assembly of Lingji Palace.

We take refuge, body, Shen (spirit), and nature and life together, in the True Lord and the holy assembly, and we wish to dedicate the merit of this incense offering to the Four Peaks and the Nine Pastors—that is, to the mountains and rivers of every region and to the local government offices—and to the hundred officials, so that they may work together in harmony, jointly support the destiny of the state, respectfully assist the sovereign, offer counsel and proposals, and help conduct the affairs of government.

Respectfully we say: the True Lord helps bring to completion the subtle merit of the Dao, presides over sagely and enlightened teaching and transformation, assists the court so that it may flourish and grow vast, and causes the destiny of the state to endure for hundreds of millions of years; he also manifests the brightness of the divine Way, so that Yin-Yang and the Five Phases (Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, Water) harmonize and accord. Now we burn incense, and from this moment we take refuge in the De (Virtue/Power) of the True Lord and of the holy assembly of the Utmost Perfected. May we, after attaining the Dao, forever keep peace and security. May we unite with the Dao and become perfected.

This early morning a ritual assembly is held. All who take part in the rite are asked to bow together, and these three sticks of incense are joined and offered as one. We pray that the fragrance may rise to Lingji Palace, spread throughout the palaces of the Nine Heavens, turn into a canopy of cloud, and be offered to the perfected immortals and holy assembly of Lingji Palace.

May this incense smoke make offering to the Holy Father and Holy Mother, the immortal consorts and their kin, and the perfected immortals and holy assembly of Lingji Palace. With body, Shen (spirit), and nature and life together, we take refuge in the True Lords and the holy assembly. May the merit of this offering of incense be transferred to the perfected immortals and holy assemblies of the temples throughout the Nine Provinces and the Four Seas, and likewise transferred to the people of the world: may every household have grain enough, may women and children be safe, may the five grains ripen in abundance, and may the people be able to bear and raise children.

With reverence we invite the Holy Father and Holy Mother, the immortal consorts and their kin, and the holy ones of the Hall of Bestowing Birth (the deities who govern childbirth and protect descendants). May the deities of the Nine Heavens offer praise and celebration, and may the Five Emperors (the Lords of the Five Directions in Daoist belief) watch over and protect the work of birth. May the Jing (essence) of the Three Qi (vital energy) that circulate between Heaven and Earth—the three primordial vital energies that constitute Heaven, Earth, and the myriad things—together with the pure essence of the two Qi of Yin-Yang, gather and converge, so that life may take root and grow in abundance; and may they discern the sincere intent of the people’s earnest prayers. May the deities summon and draw in the winds and Qi, so that every household may have descendants continuing without end. All who take refuge and pray with sincere hearts will receive a response.

Therefore incense is burned, and from this moment we take refuge in the supremely perfected and unsurpassed De (Virtue/Power) of the True Lords and the great holy assembly. After attaining the Dao (the Way), we vow forever to preserve long life and to unite with the Dao in perfected truth.

The directions are chanted (the directions are sung and announced according to the rite).

Repentance is made.

The invocation is offered twice.

Three salutations are performed.

The ritual offices are announced once more (in Daoist liturgy, the identities of the presiding officiant and the personnel of the altar are declared).

So-and-so, who holds ritual office, together with the officers and assembly of the altar, once again with sincere hearts and reverence make invocation before the holy seats.

We have heard that the Nine Qi (the nine kinds of primordial vital energy moving between Heaven and Earth) intertwine and condense, and at the Purple Portal (the mysterious gateway, in Daoist scriptures, associated with the generation of life) form the root of life.

Repentance is made.

The invocation is offered twice.

Three salutations are performed.

The ritual offices are announced once more.

So-and-so, who holds ritual office, together with the officers and assembly of the altar, once again with sincere hearts and reverence make invocation before the holy seats.

We have heard that the Nine Qi intertwine and condense, and at the Purple Portal form the root of life.

The Three Primes—in Daoism, the Three Officials of Heaven, Earth, and Water, or the Qi (vital energy) of the upper, middle, and lower primes—nourish the myriad things and cause the root of life to gather in the Yellow Chamber (Huangfang, a term of Neidan (internal alchemy) for the inner place where life is gestated). Thus the hun and po souls and the life of the fetus are made complete through the mutual blending of the five-colored Qi: red, white, azure, yellow, and black. Reverent assent and compliant practice accord exactly with the sign of heaven and earth stirring and auspicious omens appearing; chanting what is to be carried out, with careful courtesy, likewise matches the mystery of Yin-Yang embracing and harmonizing one another.

Although we receive our bodily forms in the Central Land (China), in truth we are endowed by the mysterious Qi of the single origin. We, your servants, reverently accept Heaven’s command and, for the people of the world, perform rites of purification and recite the Jing (scriptures/classics), burn incense and practice the Dao (the Way), so that the numinous efficacy and blessings of the divinities may be plain both near and far, and so that fine fortune may be drawn to the state and the people. We earnestly beg the Perfected Lord to spread vast grace widely and to enact everywhere the mysterious work of creation and transformation. Whatever the hearts of the many may pray for, great virtue will surely bestow it without partiality. May those of this life receive the joy of descendants flourishing, and may earlier generations no longer know the lament of Ruo’ao (the later line of the Ruo’ao clan of Chu in the Spring and Autumn period, which died out).

We pray upward that the sun, moon, and stars shine in brilliance, that the Qi of the four seasons be clear and harmonious, that wind and rain be evenly tempered, and that the people live and rest in peace and ease. In this way, above, the vast compassionate teaching of the Illustrious Perfected Lord may be displayed, and below, the sincere hearts of us servants, who commit our lives and take refuge, may be answered. We respectfully submit this memorial to be heard on high.

Twelve Vows

Preserving Shen and Burning Incense

Envoys of the Incense Office, divine lords of the left and right, and the various numinous officers who attend the incense (divine clerks who oversee the incense fire and serve the gods): please cause the place where the morning court rite was just held to bring forth of itself such immortal auspicious things as golden liquor, cinnabar and blue-green jade, and the flowering essence of the numinous mushroom, and cause the hundred spirits and the host of perfected beings (the many divinities and immortal perfected) to gather before this incense burner. May our pure sincerity reach the hearing of Heaven and bring peace to the state. We ask the immortal lads and jade maidens of the ten directions to receive and guide the incense smoke, and on behalf of us servants to convey the words just presented, swiftly delivering them before the sacred presence of the Perfected Lord of Vast Grace of the Golden Portal of the Nine Heavens and the Perfected Lord of Vast Grace of the Jade Portal of the Nine Heavens.

Hymn for Leaving the Hall

Exit through the door.