《许真君受炼形神上清毕道法要节文》

The Most High (Taishang) says: The fundamental chapters of Lingbao (Numinous Treasure) can restore life to corpses and bones and revive the dead; they can also heal illness, subdue demons, cut off poisonous harm, and campaign against evil. Whenever the method is performed, a Grand Marshal and the Spirit Who Hurls Fire always come to stand guard. The “Grand Marshal” is the human heart-mind; the “Spirit Who Hurls Fire” is the human hun-soul. After the heart-mind and the hun-soul have separated, cultivation can turn them into a Shangzhen, a perfected being who has attained the Dao (the Way). Once one has become a Shangzhen, one can pass in and out through the brow and dwell in the Niwan Palace (the divine residence in the head). Concealed within it is the Dao of ultimate perfection, united as one with the Yuanshi jade script (the sacred writing that symbolizes the primordial Great Dao). To master these divine chapters and seal-formulae in full is to accord naturally with the Great Dao; this is called “Wuliang Xuanxuan” (the boundless mystery of mysteries).

The first method is the chapter on nourishing Shen (spirit) and refining the form, and on guarding the hun-soul so that they return to unity. Harmonize the Five Qi (vital energy) within the body—five kinds of primordial qi—so that the hundred spirits mingle and return to one; bring body and mind into natural harmony, and settle the spirit. Nine harmonizations and ten combined refinings allow one to transform and enter the realm of Shangqing (Upper Clarity); after a thousand harmonizations and ten thousand combined refinings, one is naturally able to become a perfected being. This is the method by which the Qi of the primal numen come into accord and the bright spirits dwell securely within the body. Among them is a spirit who brings transcendence and deathless longevity, named the Great Lord of Long Life. When cultivation of the bright spirits and of De (Virtue/Power) meets with success, one can enter the realm of Shangqing. After a thousand harmonizations and ten thousand combined refinings, one is naturally able to become a perfected being. This is the method by which the Qi of the primal numen come into accord and the bright spirits dwell securely within the body. Among them is a spirit who brings transcendence and deathless longevity, named the Great Lord of Long Life. Once this method has been brought to completion, one can come and go at will. The bright spirits dwell in the Niwan Palace and in the Jianggong (the palace in the region of the heart).

The second method is the divine chapter of Yuqing (Jade Clarity) on wearing the talisman and receiving the mandate. Holding the Fulu (talismans and registers) in one’s hands, one sets body and mind in solemn order and goes before the Imperial Lord to receive the mandate. This is the method, within the realm of Yuqing—the Qingwei heaven where Daoism’s honored deities dwell—of receiving the spirits’ protection and aid and of harmonizing primordial Qi. The talismanic script employed consists of red-written jade characters and the dragon script of the Eight Awes (sacred writing within the Daoist Fulu). This is the method that brings bodily form and bright spirits to completion within the realm of Yuqing. The Azure Emperor guards the hun-soul, and the White Emperor attends the po-soul. This is the method by which the bright spirits and one’s own person naturally become one. By carrying out the talismanic mandate of Yuanshi Tianzun (the Celestial Worthy of Primordial Beginning), one advances in due season and rises in the stages of cultivation.

The third method is that of resisting malignant influences and mastering malign Qi. Demons cannot intrude, and ghosts cannot work their sorcery. The way of the immortals is not easily made secure, whereas the way of ghosts readily draws a person into perverse delusion. This is the method of gathering upright Qi so that the host of demons submits of its own accord. The Three Officials and Beifeng (the divine offices that oversee the ghosts and spirits of the underworld) clearly inspect the encampments of ghosts and spirits; blades of metal and iron slay in front, while the spirit-generals of Grand Heaven administer punishment behind. This is the Qi method of campaigning against evil and driving out malignant influences.

Every one of the thousand severed heads is cut off, and every one of the ten thousand bodies is sliced apart. Demonic evils cannot intrude, and ghosts and spirit-sprites cannot cause trouble.

This is the Qi (vital energy) used to treat illness and nourish life.

Wuying Gongzi (Prince Without Radiance), Baiyuan Zunshen (Venerable Spirit of the White Origin), Taiyi Siming (Supreme One, Director of Destiny), and Taokang Heyan (Peach Vigor and Harmonious Extension) are all names of deities invoked in the scripture (Jing).

This is the Qi that restores primordial Qi (yuanqi) and is used to cure illness.

Pain caused by wind-evil, and the conditions in which wind-evil lingers and binds the body, must all be expelled. Pain caused by stagnant Qi likewise dissolves as the movement of Qi is brought into harmony.