《灵宝净明新修九老神印伏魔秘法》

The True Scriptures of the Three Caverns (Sandong Zhenjing; Dongzhen, Dongxuan, and Dongshen), the collective name for the classics of the Dao (the Way), are texts treasured by the immortals and perfected ones of every age. They are kept hidden in the celestial palaces and bound by precepts and regulations. Unless one has had an affinity since heaven and earth first opened, they do not readily circulate. Those able to obtain these scriptures (Jing) are said to be people whose names were entered long ago in the registers of the immortals.

The Shangqing Secret Method of the Demon-Subduing Seal and the Received Refinement of Form was personally received by the Sovereign Lord of the Nine Elders at the beginning of the Longhan kalpa, a legendary remote age of cosmic catastrophe. Accepting the charge of the Primordial Worthy, he transmitted it to seekers of immortality. It is an important part of the Lingbao (Numinous Treasure) teachings. From ancient times, many who cultivated by this means became immortals and realized perfection, too numerous to list one by one. In the Eastern Jin, Lord Xu, the Great Envoy of Lofty Illumination, received the method from the Great Immortal Chenmu, Lord of the Dao. He lived in retirement between official service and the mountains and forests, using the method to drive out evil and dispel anomalies, to still the disasters of flooding rivers, and to save the people from sickness and calamity. After accumulating merit, his entire household ascended to the realm of the immortals, and his disciples in turn attained the Dao. Although not a few transmitted the method through the ages, this book of methods had circulated so long that its wording and contents were often corrupt, and the text could hardly be verified on that basis.

In the restoration era of the Southern Song, in a certain year, six immortals and perfected ones descended at the Yu River and transmitted the Lingbao Jingming Secret Methods, guiding the people through the teachings of loyalty, filial piety, integrity, and prudence. They appointed the Immortal Minister of Dongshen to serve as teacher to students of the learning. In the eighth month two years later, the Great Envoy of Lofty Illumination suddenly descended at the old site of Youwei, today’s Yulong Wanshou Palace in Jiangxi. An immortal altar was then established there and named the Yizhen Altar, to receive virtuous seekers of the Dao; wherever the scriptures presented difficulties, one could come and inquire.

At that time, a disciple who had only just begun to practice the method of the Nine Elders brought the scripture and sought instruction. He received the compassionate guidance of the immortals and perfected ones, who explained its essential meaning and collated the two chapters “Qijing” (Mirror of Qi, vital energy) and “Shenyin” (Seal of Shen, the spirit), correcting doubtful errors. The immortals and perfected ones then ordered the disciples to edit and proofread the Fulu (talismans and registers), incantatory formulas, and ritual methods throughout the book. When the draft was finished, it was submitted for their review and received their approval, and He Shoucheng was ordered to write a preface explaining the reasons for this revision, so that the book of methods might be transmitted for a long time.

He Shoucheng described himself as merely an ordinary person of shallow learning, hardly able to claim any contribution to the teachings of the Dao. He had only been graciously accepted by the True Master and made a disciple of the numinous altar, and three years had now passed, so he respectfully set down the course of events at the head of the work. He further noted that the earth-veins of Longsha had already joined, and that within the Five Mounds there ought to be eight hundred earth immortals; the teacher came from Yuzhang, and all these sayings are recorded in the classics. Today both old and young know of the matter, which shows that the tradition is not baseless. All who commit themselves to the school of the True Master and obtain this method ought to cultivate it diligently.

This preface was written on the Double Ninth day of the xinhai year of the Shaoxing era.

Danyangzi said: The source of the Dao (the Way) is Qi (vital energy), the fundamental power that constitutes all things and runs through heaven and earth. When Qi gathers, it becomes bodily form; when it disperses, it carries out its function. The Great Dao is profound, hidden, and without form. It arises before heaven and earth and extends beyond both being and non-being. Written characters are formed in dependence on Qi, and the patterns of writing take shape in dependence on Qi; bodily form is assembled by Qi, and sound likewise comes together through Qi.

Those who cultivate the Dao at the highest level unite Qi with the Dao. They therefore do not allow their own Qi to move recklessly, but return Qi to the “One.” This “One” means the True One (Zhenyi), which is the Dao. Shen (spirit) unites with the mind; mind and spirit join one another, and spirit too is condensed through Qi. That a lodestone attracts iron, and that jadeite can shatter gold, are both functions inherent in the nature of things. When a person’s nature accords with the Dao, the Dao appears within it. True Jing (essence) is pure and unitary essence-qi; what is pure and unitary is the Dao. By means of true Jing one can call forth upright Qi; by uniting with the Dao one can become a great immortal. Immortals refine and nurture Jing and its qi, joining this essence-qi with Qi and then joining Qi with the Dao. When spirit and illumination are pure and clear, one is no longer driven by external things.

A yangsui, an ancient implement for obtaining fire, when directed toward the sun, can draw fire. A fangzhu, an ancient vessel for collecting dew and obtaining water, responding to moonlight, can draw water. The appearance of water and of fire may both be regarded as the working of natural Qi. The Dao accords with what is natural, so that a person receives the upright Qi of Yin-Yang and abides in a state in which Yin and Yang are harmonized—pure, simple, neither scattered nor mixed. Thus the sun has its light and the moon its radiance. When the mind within is still, innate nature becomes open and unobstructed; when clarity is attained, the mind becomes thoroughly transparent. When innate nature is unobstructed and the mind within is transparent, one can resonate with the sun and the moon.

The fundamental body of the Dao is perfectly rounded, empty, and still. “Roundness” is the substance of Qi; “emptiness” is the function of Qi. To comprehend the Dao of roundness and emptiness is called Jingming (Pure Brightness). Jingming means being upright and properly centered, in accord with things endowed with feeling. The highest Dao is not pursued by means of feeling. When “feeling” is spoken of here, it means that a genuine intention of the mind can give rise to feeling, and that when feeling arises, the Dao appears along with it. The Dao is Qi. When the mind unites with Qi and the mind stirs, feeling and intention arise; and feeling and intention originally arise from within the mind.

Those who cultivate the Dao at the highest level neither cling to any thing nor reject any thing. To suppose that one can seek the Dao by feeling alone is mistaken; yet feeling may also be borrowed as an aid to practice. The Dao does not lie only in outward methods such as breathing in and out or gathering and refining Jing and Qi. Although these methods belong to external practice, the Dao lies within the person. Precisely because the Dao is within, the practitioner may also, through breathing, gathering, and refining, come to discern it.

The Dao fills empty space, penetrates all things, and contains them. Once this meaning is understood, it is easy to grasp the “feeling” spoken of here, and also the “spirit seal” (shenyin). Those who cultivate the Dao at the highest level take the seal as that on which the Dao relies, and the Dao is carried out through the spirit seal. The spirit seal is like the moxa pellet—the mugwort tinder used to kindle fire—employed when a yangsui draws fire: the seal itself is the medium through which the methods of the Dao are put into effect.

The Divine Seal for Subduing Demons (the divine seal that subdues evil demons)

A seal form recorded in another text.

The Meaning of the Seal Inscription

The Nine Elder Imperial Lords of Highest Clarity (Shangqing), the nine imperial lords revered by the Shangqing tradition, are able to restore corpses to life, cure illness, and subdue and inspect evil demons.

This is the memorial text of a rite for bringing the ghosts and spirits of the Three Realms back to the correct path.

The memorial text consists of thirty-five characters. It is carved on the back of the seal in relief (raised characters) and inscribed in neat regular script.

The Method of Making the Seal

The seal may be made of gold, silver, or jade, and it may also be made of jujube wood struck by lightning or of other hard wood. The face of the seal is two cun and four fen wide, so as to correspond to the twenty-four solar terms; two cun and eight fen long, corresponding to the twenty-eight lunar mansions; and one cun and two fen thick, corresponding to the twelve double-hours.

Choose a day of the Three Origins, one of the Eight Nodes, a jiazi day, a gengshen day, or a day whose ding-jia nayin belongs to Water or to Fire. While the seal is being made, the artisan must observe abstinent purification and face east. After the seal is completed, invite the transmission master—the teacher who transmits the methods of the Dao (the Way)—to announce it to the celestial realm and submit it to the Taixuan Dusheng, the celestial office spoken of in Daoism.

From the evening on which the method of the seal is received, set up a table in the open air and place the seal upon it. Offer incense, flowers, and pure water (the original text reads “今水”) to the divine seal until daybreak, and only then put it away, not allowing chickens, dogs, or bystanders to see it. This offering is to be held for three nights in succession, and only after the offerings are finished may the seal be used.

The Method of Receiving and Upholding the Seal

Each clear morning, burn one stick of incense, form the hand mudra of the Solar Lord (the hand gesture associated with the sun deity), look at the seal, and pray:

“I, disciple So-and-so, heir to the method, respectfully announce, by the incense offered in sincere faith, to the divine spirits and the attendant officers and generals of the celestial seal: When the Celestial Worthy of the Primordial Beginning opened the talismanic charts, he necessarily began from the Zhen position in the east. The Imperial Lord of the Nine Qi (vital energy) obtained this divine seal and, by means of the red-script jade characters, settled Heaven and Earth. The hidden taboo-sounds and inner names within the seal are the credentials by which ghosts and spirits recognize it. Wearing this seal, I carry out Heaven’s mandate; I protect myself and bring relief to the people of the world, causing evil demons to submit and return to the orthodox Dao. Wherever I go, the way is open; whatever I pray for, there is a resonant response and it is fulfilled.”

After the prayer, face east, draw in the Qi of the sun, blow it into the seal, and then release the hand mudra.

The Formula for Using the Seal

Whenever healing and rescue are to be carried out, one first burns incense and then, according to what the person seeking help has described, reports the matter to the Nine Elders Emperor Lord of Supreme Clarity (Shangqing Jiulao Dijun), a revered deity of Daoism, together with all the numinous spirits of this method, and asks them to grant aid and protection.

When the ritual seal is next employed, the left hand forms a mudra: the middle finger is bent and its tip pressed into the center of the palm, while the right hand holds the seal. One visualizes oneself transformed into the likeness of the Nine Elders Emperor Lord, wearing the crown of Supreme Clarity and clad in the ritual robes of Supreme Clarity, with officers and generals attending and standing guard on either side. Facing east, one then receives the true Qi (vital energy) of the sun—the pure vital energy of life as understood in Daoism—and blows it upon the written characters over which the seal is applied.

If the seal is used specifically for healing, the four characters yindao su’an, “when the seal arrives, peace comes at once,” are written upon it as well. Once this inscription is complete, one again receives the sun’s true Qi and blows it onto the seal, at the same time releasing the mudra and visualizing the divine generals going forth together with the seal.

Mudra for Dispatching the Seal

If baleful influences are to be expelled, one imprints in the usual way the circumstances the petitioner has encountered, has the person take the imprint home and burn it there, and entrusts the matter to the household Director of Destinies (Siming), the deity who governs a family’s lifespan, and to the local earth god.

If anomalous beings are to be driven out, one writes down the business to be handled, applies the seal, and posts the sealed paper at the place concerned so that it may suppress and guard it.

For an injured limb or a fracture, the seal is affixed to the painful spot. In cases of seasonal epidemic, malaria, and similar illnesses, it may be placed on the chest or the back. For sores, ulcers, deep abscesses, and kindred complaints, the seal may be burned to ash and used to daub or wash the affected place. When one is troubled by ghostly influences or suffers nightmares, the sealed talisman may be worn or swallowed. For eye disease, the ritual seal is soaked in pure water, and the eyes are washed with the water in which it has steeped. The scripture states that if one proceeds in this way, every such condition can be settled and healed.

Form of the Ritual Seal

The wood used for this ritual seal is not restricted. After it has been carved, it is presented in memorial in the manner already described. Whenever a ritual master must submit a report or transmit documents, this seal may be used for communications sent either upward or downward. In applying it, one forms the Tiangang mudra, a Daoist rite in which a hand-seal is made with the fingers.

Method of Daily Ingestion and Refinement

True Talisman of the Yellow Court of the Upper Prime for Dispelling Impurity

This talisman is written in cinnabar. Each morning at dawn one faces east, forms the Wu mudra, recites the incantation, and swallows one copy with pure water, so as to remove defilement, purify body and mind, and draw in living Qi, primordial energy endowed with vitality. The incantation is as follows:

The Imperial Lords of the Five Directions command the hosts of demons and lead the ghostly troops. Weapons of metal and iron advance to slay; the demon kings are subdued and their bodily forms are bound. On all four sides, fierce warhorses stand guard, securing the foundation of human life. The above command must be carried out at once in accordance with the statutes of the Nine Elder Imperial Lords of Highest Clarity (Shangqing).

Daily Method of Ingestion and Refinement

True Talisman of the Upper Prime for Prolonging Life and Guarding the One (a Fulu (talismans and registers) used in the season of the Upper Prime, for praying to extend one’s years and to guard the mind and Shen (spirit))

This talisman is written in cinnabar. Each day at noon, facing east, one assumes a correct posture as the rite requires, recites the incantation, and then swallows one talisman with pure water. The scripture says that in this way one may settle the mind and Shen, guard the original Shen, and pray to preserve life and prolong one’s lifespan.

The incantation says: May life be prolonged and the number of years increased; may the honored Shen dispel calamities, restore withered bones to life and return the dead to the realm of yang, and universally deliver all beings. Let the divine clerks who keep the registers of names come together before the Imperial Lord. The above command must be carried out at once in accordance with the statutes of the Nine Elder Imperial Lords of Highest Clarity.

Chapter on the Qi (vital energy) Mirror of Pure Brightness

Danyangzi said: Qi (vital energy)—the original energy of life as Daoism understands it—is vacuous yet able to respond. It is the power that commands Shen (spirit), and it is also the master of the body. Heaven relies on Qi to rise in a lofty vault; because it is high, it can nourish the myriad things from above. Earth relies on Qi to be vast and substantial; because it is substantial, it can send forth growth from below. The sun, moon, and stars illuminate the earth by means of clear Qi, while rivers, seas, mountains, and peaks are formed by the gathering and fusion of Qi.

Human beings have Qi. The head is round, modeled on the Qi of Heaven; the feet are square, modeled on the Qi of Earth. The eyes mirror the sun, moon, and stars, and the pores of the body are like mountains and peaks, rivers and seas. As the one Qi circulates, Yin-Yang alternates and the odd and the even join together, communicating with Heaven and Earth. Heaven and Earth endure because Qi moves without cease and flows between above and below. Human beings, however, often die young. Why? It is nothing more than the difference between being able to employ Qi and being unable to do so.

Therefore, when the movement and concealment of Qi accord with the Dao (the Way), this is called Jingming (Pure Brightness). With Pure Brightness, Qi becomes full and takes form; once full and formed, it circulates everywhere, and one thereby penetrates the innate nature of life. This is the subtle law of Heaven and Earth, the alternating transformations of Yin-Yang, and the principle by which the differing moments of ascent and descent generate and transform the myriad things.

The human body may take Heaven as its model above and Earth as its model below, drawing the upright Qi of Heaven and Earth into itself and uniting it with the body. In this way one can transform Jing (essence) and Qi, and pass in and out of life and death. What follows is marvelous and efficacious; this is called Neiying (inner nurturing—circulating and nourishing essence and Qi within the body). After Neiying, the Danding (elixir cauldron—the inner state of refining and nourishing essence and Qi) can take form, the Huangya (Yellow Sprout—a term in Neidan (internal alchemy) symbolizing the sprouting of essence and Qi) emerges, and auspicious clouds rise.

Having reached this state, one can breathe clouds and wind, and one’s sneezing and spitting are like thunder. One can command summer and winter and interchange autumn and spring, and can turn clear skies to rain and fine drizzle into heavy rain. The upright Qi of Heaven and Earth is then in one’s own grasp, and not in the hands of others. The dead may be restored to life, and the living may also be brought to death. If a person walks the correct Way yet is disturbed by deviant Qi, upon encountering my Qi that person can be settled. If the ways of ghosts and deviance oppress people, upon encountering the Qi of my Way they are subdued and return to the good.

One who studies the Dao and obtains this method must remember what the Qijing jue (Qi Mirror Formula) says: in circulating and replenishing Qi, one must grasp what is essential; and to grasp what is essential, one must understand the principle within it.

Daily Method of Ingesting Qi (Fuqi)

Every morning, face the direction of the sun and burn incense. With both hands form the “Sun Lord seal” (Rijun jue, a hand seal connected with the sun), click the teeth nine times, and visualize the Emperor Lord of the Nine Elders (Jiulao Dijun) and the Supreme Thearch of the Great Sun (Taiyang Shangdi) appearing within the disk of the sun. Doing this allows one to grasp the essential point; once that essential point is grasped, one can understand the principle set forth in the scripture (Jing).

The Daily Method of Ingesting Qi

Every morning, face the direction of the sun and burn incense. With both hands form the Sun Lord seal, click the teeth nine times, and visualize the Emperor Lord of the Nine Elders and the Supreme Thearch of the Great Sun appearing within the disk of the sun. Imagine the sun as purple-red, sending forth nine rays of rosy light whose brilliance illuminates the sky, as though the sun has just risen. Then release the hand seal, and inwardly bow in worship and offer this prayer:

“I, So-and-so, who transmits the methods of the Dao (the Way), burn incense in offering to the Emperor Lord of the Nine Elders and the Supreme Thearch of the Great Sun. This morning I burn incense and purify the heart, washing away stray thoughts; I pay court to the Palace of the Sun and swallow in pure primordial Qi (vital energy). I earnestly beg the Supreme Thearch of the Great Sun to send down his radiance, to shine through and break open darkness and obstruction, to nourish the true nature of the orthodox Dao, and to cleanse away deviant Qi and defilement. May the hundred spirits (Shen) be at peace and the myriad demons withdraw and scatter, so that my hearing is keen and my sight bright, my mind clear and penetrating, and my spiritual nature intelligent, and so that I may accord with the Great Dao, living long and enduring in the world.”

Then click the teeth three more times, visualize the purple-red light of the sun shining upon the face, inhale it through the nose, and swallow it. Following the method of ingesting the four kinds of Qi set out below, swallow thirty-six breaths in all.

Incantation for the first kind of Qi:

“Harmonize the Qi of the five directions, so that the hundred spirits fuse and gather together.”

When ingesting the first kind of Qi, let both hands hang down and form the “Seal for Responding to Illness” (Yingbing jue, the hand seal used for this practice). Recite the incantation seven times; release the seal of the left hand and change to the throat seal (Hou jue). Place both hands on the waist, inhale one breath, and swallow it. In time with the breath, form the seal again and recite the incantation seven times; release the seal of the right hand and change to the throat seal. Place both hands on the waist, inhale one breath again, and swallow it. Then form the seal once more and raise both hands again, crossing the throat seals of the two hands and lifting them before the mouth, the left hand above and the right hand below. Recite the incantation seven more times, open the mouth and inhale one breath, blow it onto the hand seals, and then release the hand seals. The above counts as one round. Do this three times, ingesting nine breaths of Qi in all.

Incantation for the second kind of Qi:

The Young Lord Yuanying, the Venerable Deity Baiyuan, Taiyi the Director of Destinies, and Taokang Heyan.

When absorbing the second Qi (vital energy), let both hands hang naturally at the sides and form the Beichen mudra (the name of the hand seal). While reciting the incantation, draw in Qi by the same method used for absorbing the initial Qi, changing only the hand seal and the object of visualization to the corresponding ones. Repeat this three times, for nine mouthfuls of Qi in all.

The incantation for the second Qi:

“Bind and send off the Jing (essence) of demons and specters; truly cut down the blades of the six ghosts. The Qi of the heavens surges vast and mighty; my Dao (the Way) grows ever more flourishing.”

When absorbing the third Qi, let both hands hang down, form the Ziting mudra (the name of the hand seal), and recite the incantation, drawing in nine mouthfuls of Qi in all.

The incantation for the third Qi:

“Bind and send off the Jing of demons and specters; truly cut down the blades of the six ghosts. The Qi of the heavens surges vast and mighty; my Dao grows ever more flourishing.”

When absorbing the third Qi, let both hands hang down and form the Ziting mudra while reciting the incantation. The method of drawing in Qi is the same as for absorbing the initial Qi; only the corresponding hand seal and object of visualization are changed. Repeat three times, for nine mouthfuls of Qi in all.

The incantation for the fourth Qi:

“Demons make no trespass; ghosts bear no sprite-essence. The Three Officials and Northern Feng clearly inspect the camps of the ghosts.”

When absorbing the fourth Qi, let both hands hang down, form the Rijun mudra (the name of the hand seal), and recite the incantation. The method of drawing in Qi is the same as for absorbing the initial Qi; only the corresponding hand seal and object of visualization are changed. Repeat three times, for nine mouthfuls of Qi in all.

The illustration of the hand seals shows a circular palm posture.

The Secret Method of the Divine Seals of the Nine Elders for Subduing Demons, Newly Revised in the Lingbao Jingming Tradition.