《魁罡六锁秘法》

Heaven and Earth Transformation, the First

If one wishes to know the scene when the method of Heaven and Earth Transformation (Tiandi Bianyi) is put into effect, it is said that day and night can no longer be told apart. The sky grows dim, black winds rise on every side, and yellow sand flies about, able to topple mountain ridges and tear trees from the ground. The sun and the moon cannot be seen, and the stars lose their light.

When the method is performed, take three chi of white silk, write on it the Heaven-Sinking Talisman (Xiantian Fu), and recite the Heaven-Mixing Incantation (Huntian Zhou). Then place the talisman on a mountain where no human track reaches, face the northwest, and stand upon a high peak. After the talisman and the incantation have each been recited one hundred times, cast the talisman onto the ground, point one finger toward heaven, and call out the word “Su” (“Hasten”) three times in succession. Immediately descend the mountain, and do not look back. A short while later, furious winds rise on every side. Between heaven and earth it is hard to make out a human face, and one hears only thunder like the beating of drums. High ground and low ground alike are swept level by the force of the wind, and rivers and the surface of the sea seem likewise leveled flat.

The scripture warns that this art may be used only once and must not be performed again, lest living beings be harmed. It may be employed only when a kalpic calamity is about to come to an end. In former times, when sword immortals contended over grotto abodes, they are said all to have used this method. The scripture also says that it must not be tried in the presence of ordinary people.

The Heaven-Mixing Incantation says:

I summon the Envoy of the Celestial Capital, Taiyi (the Great Unity); the Lord of Thunder; the Earl of Wind; the Master of Rain; thunder and lightning; and the officers who keep the registers. Swiftly dispatch the Six Ding and the Six Jia (Liuding Liujia, Daoist guardian spirit-generals) and the mighty celestial deities, overawe and subdue the venomous dragons, and together set the magic in motion. Point toward a mountain, and the mountain collapses; point toward the sea, and the sea runs dry. I act under the edict of the Supreme Emperor of the Nine Heavens.

The scripture then sets forth the Heaven-Sinking Talisman of the Nine Heavens (Jiutian Xiantian Fu) and continues with the next piece, “Shifting Heaven and Exchanging the Lodges, the Second” (Yitian Huanxiu).

Whenever one wishes to mobilize the stellar lodges and alter the positions of the stars, it is said that a great star will fly down and fall, the lesser stars will shift their places, the Southern Dipper will disappear, and the Northern Dipper will withdraw into concealment. One must first recite the Divine Spell of the Great Method of Awesome Heaven (Weitian Dafa Shenzhou) one thousand times. Afterward, in the center of the courtyard, when the night is deep and all is quiet, one prepares wine, fruit, incense, and lamps, sets up tablets representing the successive ranks of the heavens among the Thirty-Three Heavens, and writes on the tablets the names of the celestial beings.

When the offerings have been completed, it is said that figures more than a zhang in height will be seen, each standing in its corresponding place. On seeing them one must not startle them, but only say calmly, “I act by command of the Imperial Lords of the Thirty-Three Heavens, and I order you to guard this gate day and night.” One then places the names of the several ranks separately into a crimson gauze bag and carries it on one’s person, not allowing anyone else to see it.

When the method is to be used, one takes only a single name from the bag, passes it through the incense fire, and casts that name three times toward the stellar spirit one wishes to command, while calling out “luo zi” seven times. The names must not be lost, or they will thereafter be difficult to command. This method may be used before the lines of two opposing armies; it is said to assist the state and uphold the family enterprise, so that the realm is settled and at peace. When people commonly see the stellar lodges change, they know that the sovereign is sagely and the ministers worthy, and they turn their hearts to loyal service. Such an art is extraordinary and must not be used lightly.

Sacred Ranks of the Thirty-Three Heavens

The titles of the celestial beings are given as follows. The first is the celestial being Chuye Hanshu. The second is the celestial being Chusha Yinna. The third is the celestial being Chuluo Qujing. The fourth is the celestial being Fanshang Shuji. The fifth is the celestial being Fansha Zhongbo. The sixth is the celestial being Fanhua Jinshang. The seventh is the celestial being Jinfan Chusha. The eighth is the celestial being Fanyuan Chutong. The ninth is the celestial being Jingfan Chusha. The tenth is the celestial being Jingfan Yaoyou. The eleventh is the celestial being Jingfan Guangchuye. The twelfth is the celestial being Dinghua Guangchuye. The thirteenth is the celestial being Dinghua Huiguangchuye. The fourteenth is recorded as tianren tianren Jingfan Guangchuye, the words for “celestial being” being written twice.

At the end of the original text the twelfth rank is listed once more: the celestial being Dinghua Guangchuye. The expression yihuan su refers to the ritual formulation for mobilizing the stellar lodges, and weipai are the tablets that mark the sacred ranks and are set out for offerings.

The thirty-third is “Tianren Dinghua Huiguang Chuye,” the thirty-fourth is “Tianren Dinghui Yuanguang Zun,” the thirty-fifth is “Tianren Shunfan Huade Zun,” the thirty-sixth is “Tianren Yaoshi Huading Zun,” the thirty-seventh is “Tianren Yaoshi Fanding Zun,” the thirty-eighth is “Tianren Yaoshi Huida Zun,” the thirty-ninth is “Tianren Shuhui Dajin Zun,” the fortieth is “Tianren Qieye Zhongguang Zun,” the forty-first is “Tianren Shilu Dafan Zun,” the forty-second is “Tianren Shimi Dajin Zun,” the forty-third is “Tianren Biantong Yuhua Jun,” the forty-fourth is “Tianren Shunguang Qiguang Xianjun,” the forty-fifth is “Tianren Chushu Dajue Jun,” the forty-sixth is “Tianren Chuye Dajue Jun,” the forty-seventh is “Tianren Shengbo Xianhua Jun,” the forty-eighth is “Tianren Shenglu Dahua Jun,” the forty-ninth is “Tianren Huijie Dahua Jun,” the fiftieth is “Tianren Suhui Dahua Jun,” the fifty-first is “Tianren Suyou Dahua Jun,” the fifty-second is “Tianren Jilu Daxianjun,” and the fifty-third is “Tianren Cishe Xianshi Haojun.” These are the honorific titles of spirits (shen) set out in order in the scripture (jing); they are divine names, or names of invocation, belonging to Daoist ritual methods.

Divine Incantation of the Great Method of Majestic Heaven (Weitian Dafa)

I carry out the Great Method of Majestic Heaven. Within this ritual art, rivers, the sun and moon, mountains and seas, and the stars and constellations all seem held in my hands, to be transformed and dispatched as I will. When I bid them appear, they appear; when I bid them vanish, they vanish. The gods of the Thirty-Three Heavens are likewise bound by this method: if I command them to the east, they go east; if I command them west, south, or north, each proceeds according to the order. Those who comply I grant the rank of marquis; those who do not, I order beheaded. At once, in accordance with the divine command of the Sovereign Lord of the Capital Heaven (Dutian Dijun), the baleful Qi (vital energy) is gathered in and restrained.

“Yeban huan richu disan” appears to be a chapter title or a fragmentary sentence, meaning something on the order of “at midnight, the sunrise is changed,” but these few characters alone do not allow its precise sense to be determined.

If one wishes to turn night into day in the middle of the night, take two pieces of cinnabar, each about one cun square, and grind them round with zheng-water. Place them together with white liquidambar resin in a crimson gauze bag, set the bag in a zheng-place, and regularly offer incense and flowers. After a full hundred days, carry it on your person. When using it, stand alone on a clean sandy beach facing east, hold the cinnabar, and recite “Fusang Dijun” (the Lord Emperor of the Fusang) one thousand times. After a short while the lamp flame will shine as brightly as a round wheel of light, and even midnight will blaze with radiance, so that every living being under Heaven receives life and nurture. Use this method only when the Dijun descends, or when there is need; do not use it at ordinary times.

Fourth: Changing the Moon between the Month’s End and the Month’s Beginning

If one wishes to change the moon in the interval between the end of the month and the beginning of the next, take a clear, bright crystal three cun in diameter and grind it round; then take a branch of maple wood and carve it into a crescent, matched in size to the crystal. Place them in a box of thunder-wood and fill it with white liquidambar resin. Set the box in a zheng-place, offer incense and lamps, and do not allow women to approach. When a white light appears inside the box, take the objects out, put them in a bag of white silk, and carry them with you. When they are needed, simply place them on the incense altar and offer incense, flowers, and pure water.

This method can assist the state. When it is used before an army sets out on campaign, recite the incantation:

“Jing (essence) of the sun, deliver into my hands the authority within the gate of the method. Let light shine upon the four quarters; there must not be the slightest defiance of my statutes. I receive the edict of the lord who governs the course of the sun, and I carry out the method of seizure and control.”

Fifth: Warding Off a Falling Comet

While keeping watch at night, if you see someone come to the place where the paulownia-wood figure is buried and report matters of Heaven’s intent, do not be alarmed. The visitor will afterward draw gradually nearer and will not fear the one who holds the method. This paulownia-wood figure remains each day beside the practitioner; when those of Heaven above and those beneath the earth inquire into the great affairs of the state, they too will come beforehand to seek news. Do not try this method on persons without the Dao (the Way), and do not treat it as an ordinary art. It must not be used for divination; petty persons should keep away.

Recite the “Taiyi Flying Star Incantation,” saying: Note: The original text breaks off at the title of the incantation and does not provide the wording of the spell.

When the divine envoy of Taiyi goes forth, the name of the Tiangang deity remains constantly at the practitioner’s side. Should anyone from heaven above or the earth below come to inquire about affairs of the state, the Tiangang deity will come beforehand to report. This method must not be used to test those who lack Daoist attainment; nor is it like ordinary arts, and it must not be used for divination. Petty persons ought to keep away. When performing the method, recite the Taiyi Flying Star Incantation:

“The divine envoy of Taiyi goes forth; the name of the Tiangang deity is here. I cut down the baleful stars. Whoever blocks me dies; whoever turns against me perishes; those who comply with me prosper. I receive the statutes and commands of the Imperial Lord of the North Pole and subdue all things.”

Turning Back the Wind and Extinguishing Thunder, the Sixth

When violent wind and thunder and lightning are encountered, carve a “Turning-Back-the-Wind Seal” from jujube wood or maple wood, and raise the seal to meet wind, cloud, thunder, lightning, and hail as they approach. Beforehand, bathe the seal for one hundred days in water in which peach branches and willow branches have been boiled, then fumigate and bathe it for one hundred days with white gum resin. Do not let others see this seal. It should be placed before the spirit hall and offered incense and fresh flowers. When a great storm of wind, thunder, and rain arises, hold the breath and silently recite the Six Ding Incantation:

“Gods of the Six Ding, descend swiftly; gods of the Six Jia, arrive together. Broadly display your divine powers and help me turn back the force of the wind. Quickly, quickly, act in accordance with the statutes and commands of the Imperial Lord!”

The “form of the Turning-Back-the-Wind and Reducing-Thunder Seal” refers to the diagram showing the pattern of the Turning-Back-the-Wind Seal.

Crossing Streams and Passing Through Forests, the Seventh

Zhuge Gongquan said: First cultivate Neidan (internal alchemy), and at the same time fully practice the moral norms of benevolence, righteousness, ritual, and music, together with filial reverence and the care of one’s elders; only then apply the arts, and one will be able to cross streams and pass over forests, and also to traverse rivers and seas.

One such method is as follows. At daybreak on the Duanwu Festival, go out and, in a place where no one is present, build with grass and tang wood an altar one zhang and two chi square, and spread a single mat in the center. Prepare wine, fruit, dried venison, and snake meat, five portions of each. Face east, burn incense, and bow in worship, praying with sincere heart: “Disciple so-and-so today recites the Golden-Winged Bird King Incantation ten thousand times. Please help this disciple cross rivers, great forests, lakes, and seas.” Afterward, set each kind of offering in its proper place. Oneself eats only a little wine and fruit, and does not take any of the remaining offerings again. After returning home, lie indoors for one day, and from the next day onward live as usual.

Next, recite the Golden-Winged Bird King Incantation:

The refined essences of the sun and the moon conjoin. I say: Golden-Winged Crow King of Denglin (the mythical king of the golden-winged birds), please help me grow wings, so that when I meet a forest I may pass through it like the wind, and when I tread the surface of the water it is as if I walk on level ground. By the ordinance of the Imperial Lord Huangren (a revered deity of Daoism), I perform the rite of subjugation.

Eighth: The Submission and Withdrawal of Tigers and Wolves

The magical arts of commanding tigers and wolves, birds, beasts, and insects are intended for a Daoist priest who first enters the mountains, builds a hut, and cultivates the Dao (the Way), before having yet penetrated the truth. Alas, the yin-souls of all things in the world, together with ghosts, strange beings, and venomous insects, harass and encroach upon one another, so that those who aspire to cultivate the Dao cannot reach the truth. Is this not worthy of pity?

If one wishes tigers, wolves, insects, and beasts to retreat and submit, one must first recite the Mountain-Prohibition Spell ten thousand times. Thereafter, the swarms of insects and the tigers and wolves will become as docile as domestic animals, and the practitioner may cultivate with a settled mind. As this practice is day by day brought to completion, the method becomes an important gate among the ritual arts. The Mountain-Prohibition Spell says:

“I am a Celestial Ding (a divine general of the heavenly realm). I command the mountain spirits, drive away tigers and wolves, and enable myself to travel a thousand li. By the ordinance of Taishang (the Daoist honorific for the supreme deity), I perform the rite to rescue and protect and to subdue baleful powers.”

Ninth: The Perfected Person’s Method of Transformative Nurture

Through his resolve to cultivate the Dao in a thatched hut, Heshang Gong grasped the principle of transforming and nurturing the myriad things and of working ritual power according to circumstances. Zhuge Gongquan likewise deeply understood the workings of transformative nurture, and so was able to pass through mountains and enter stone. Practitioners today speak only of the arts of breathing out and breathing in and of employing golden essence (the Jing [essence] and Qi [vital energy] spoken of in Daoist internal refinement). How could they achieve profound magical arts? It is truly laughable.

If one wishes to transform the bodily form, pass through mountains and enter stone, soar through the void and tread upon the dew, and transform and nurture the myriad things, one must, on the days of the eight seasonal nodes of the year, recite the Spell of Great Divine Power ten thousand times. When it is to be applied, recite the spell and point toward the thing one sees, and one may cause it to be cast into the designated place. It must not be used lightly or casually on ordinary occasions. The Spell of Great Divine Power says:

“Tiluo fu tigu hua ququ yu duomo, dali fushe yangqi neiju suopohe.”