《靈寶無量度人上品妙經》Vol. 11

The Dao Ancestor said: In ancient times, the Celestial Worthy of Primordial Beginning preached the Scripture of Primordial Beginning: Jade Radiance, Deliverance of Humanity, and the Measureless Supreme Grade in the Jade Firmament of Radiant Clarity, within the Vast Blue Heaven. Before beginning the sermon, the Celestial Worthy recited the scripture ten times, summoning the spirits of the ten directions to take their places. Then the great gods, sages, exalted beings, accomplished perfected ones of Heaven, and countless other beings came riding through the air.

They rode on purple clouds, light flowing around them and red radiance spreading out. They traveled in phoenix palanquins and dragon chariots, crowned with cloud canopies and fitted with rainbow wheels. Their brilliant conveyances shone in every direction, and five-colored lights filled the vast sky. For nine days and nine nights, the sun, moon, stars, and dawn clouds ceased their courses. The mechanisms and order of Heaven seemed to stand still; the Northern Dipper and the Golden Balance dimmed their light, the divine winds fell silent, and all sounds ceased. The clouds and mist dispersed, the seas and mountains grew clear, and the six Qi of Heaven and Earth flowed in harmony.

Throughout the land, the ground, rivers, mountains, and forests became level and uniform, with no high or low places. The earth turned jade-colored, clear and green, without a trace of any other hue. The perfected ones stood and sat in attendance as the Celestial Worthy of Primordial Beginning preached, seated in the empty sky upon a throne of layered golden lotuses, encircled by the phoenix Qi of the Nine Perfected Ones.

After the first recitation, the great sages of the heavens praised it as good in unison. After the second, the lives of everyone in the land, men and women alike, were extended, and they no longer suffered calamity or untimely death. After the third, water and fire each settled into their proper places, and punishment and injury ceased. After the fourth, the six Qi of Heaven and Earth came into harmony, and peace settled in all four directions. After the fifth, wondrous fragrances drifted down from the sky, and cloud canopies spread across the heavens. After the sixth, auspicious signs appeared in the mountains, forests, lakes, and marshes: jade gleamed, and pearls emerged in abundance. After the seventh, people understood the roots of life and death, and their spirits were confirmed in the realm of truth. After the eighth, beings of the Realm of Desire—still bound by craving and the entanglements of the mundane world—were freed from worldly defilement. After the ninth, the Five Cycles flowed in harmony, and all things flourished and grew. After the tenth, heavenly light shone upon the world below, illuminating even the dark underworld. All beings attained deliverance and deeply understood the methods of salvation and transformation.

At that time, everyone in the land, men and women alike, turned toward the teaching with sincere hearts. All received protection and deliverance, and attained long life.

The Dao Ancestor continued: When the Celestial Worthy of Primordial Beginning had finished the first recitation, the Jade Radiance and Measureless Deliverance True Great God of the East, of the Infinite Supreme Grade, and countless beings came riding through the air. When he had finished the second recitation, the Jade Radiance and Measureless Deliverance True Great God of the South, of the Infinite Supreme Grade, and countless beings came riding through the air. When he had finished the third recitation, the Jade Radiance and Measureless Deliverance True Great God of the West, of the Infinite Supreme Grade, and countless beings came riding through the air…

Countless Jade-Brilliance, Fate-Governing Perfect Great Deities, exalted in rank, radiant in light, and governing the cycles of fate, came through the air to hear the Primordial Heavenly Worthy preach the scripture four times. The boundless, measureless Jade-Brilliance, Fate-Governing Perfect Great Deities of the North also came through the air and heard it five times. The deities of the northeast heard it six times; those of the east, seven times; the southeast, eight times; the southwest, nine times; and the northwest, ten times. The deities above and below also arrived through the air and heard it ten times.

At the same moment, the Jade-Brilliance, Fate-Governing Heavenly Perfected Great Deities from the boundless worlds of the ten directions all arrived in one realm. The men and women of that realm gave their full attention in reverence and devotion, and saw from afar the Primordial Heavenly Worthy ascend the Dharma seat.

As the Primordial Heavenly Worthy preached, he sent forth vast light that illuminated immeasurable heavenly realms. The men and women of the realm and the people of the heavens were beyond counting. Each dwelled in a layer of heaven or a transformed realm, respectfully listening with their spiritual awareness to the Heavenly Worthy’s clear voice as he proclaimed the wondrous teachings on Jade-Brilliance and the cycles of fate.

Afterward, they discussed among themselves: “The Primordial Heavenly Worthy is now teaching the way of Jade-Brilliance and the cycles of fate, explaining the periods and final limits of the Great and Lesser Calamities. We understand that the root of birth and death for all heavenly beings is bound up with the cycles of fate. The patterns of fate arise from Yin-Yang, whose Qi is also the Qi of life and death. Since living forms take shape through the transformations of Yin-Yang, they undergo birth and death and are governed by the cycles of fate. If we can attain the Dao and ascend to the formless realm, transcending Yin-Yang, then we will be free of birth and death and no longer bound by the cycles of the Great and Lesser Calamities.”

We have all come with sincere hearts, gathered here in the Vast Emerald Heaven of Great Treasure (a pure, empty, lofty celestial realm), to ask to hear the most important truth: What is the Jade Radiance Cycle, the law by which the celestial realm moves and transforms? How should we cultivate so that we may transcend the changes of Yin-Yang, escape life and death, realize the wondrous body of existence, and become great Dharma kings who proclaim the Great Dao and save all beings, leading them out of the sea of the great calamity?

Those who came to hear the teaching were as numerous as fine rain and dense mist, beyond counting. The crowd filled half the land, pressing it down until the earth sank slightly. They were truly difficult to contain.

At that moment, the Celestial Worthy of Primordial Beginning suspended a precious pearl in the air, no larger than a millet grain and five zhang above the ground. He led countless beings—the true gods of the celestial realm, great sages and exalted ones, and perfected beings who had attained the Dao—into the pearl. Those in heaven looked up and saw them entering one after another through its opening. Once inside, no one knew where they had gone.

Within the pearl, they discovered a wondrously vast space that held the heavens in all ten directions and every realm. The Celestial Worthy of Primordial Beginning sent forth a purple-gold radiance among the assembly, its colors shifting through seven hues. From each hue arose marvelous clouds of fragrance that spread throughout the pearl. His gaze was clear as he looked down upon the gathering. Beside him stood a precious jade table carved with dragons and adorned with auspicious treasures. His voice was gentle and resonant, his expression calm and joyful, as he said to them:

“Jade Radiance is the celestial realm’s term for the cycle of movement and transformation. The myriad heavens each move and transform in their own way, and this movement and transformation never cease; therefore, neither does life and death. All celestial beings are confined by various notions, such as action and non-action, toil and rest. Entranced by these distinctions and fixed views, they leave the vast realm of Dao and De and fall into the current of life and death. This is all because beings’ minds choose and reject, cling to habits and opinions, and are consumed by desire, joy, and anger. Thus they fall into the furnace of Yin-Yang transformation, continually changing with the cycle and passing through countless births and deaths. They can neither realize the formless Dao nor recognize the fundamental nature of the Great Dao.

“Now I have come to proclaim the essential teaching, so that you may understand the principles of the radiant cycle.

“The cycle is the pattern by which Heaven and Earth move and transform. Yin and Yang alternate with one another: they are the foundation of Heaven and Earth and the foundation of life and death. Breath has a beginning and an end.”

Thus, Heaven and Earth follow fixed patterns of movement and cycles of calamity. The movements of Heaven undergo a minor change every thirty years, an intermediate change every hundred years, and three major changes every five hundred years. The three major changes together are called one era; three eras make a complete great cycle of six thousand years.

The celestial vault is divided into twelve governing divisions, the twelve principles that order the movement of the celestial bodies, while the Earth is divided into twelve periods, the twelve sequences that order the Earth’s movement. The celestial divisions complete one circuit in 360 days; the terrestrial periods advance once in 3,300 days. When the celestial movement completes 360 circuits, this is called “Yang Surge,” lasting 300 years. When the terrestrial periods advance 3,300 times, this is called “Yin Eclipse,” lasting 30,000 years. After 9,900 years, the Qi of Heaven and Earth converge; this stage is called the “Great Yang Nine.” The “Great Hundred and Six” is another cycle of calamity within the great cycle of fate and time. The Lesser Yang Nine and Lesser Hundred and Six are cycles within the lesser cycle of calamity, with patterns like those of the great cycle.

When a great cycle of calamity arrives, the Qi of Heaven is exhausted in the Great Yin, where Yin energy is at its height, and fire disasters occur. The Qi of Earth is exhausted in the Great Yang, where Yang energy is at its height, and floods occur. These two opposing kinds of Qi cause all things to perish. Then primordial Qi gathers together again, and Heaven and Earth return to chaos. This is the course of the cycles of calamity and time.

At the end of a great cycle, when fire and flood disasters strike, destruction spreads from above the Three Realms—the Daoist realms of desire, form, and formlessness—to beneath the Nine Earths, the deepest levels underground. Nothing remains; all things are destroyed. Yet only those things born of Yin and Yang perish along with the Qi of Yin and Yang. Above the Three Realms, the Heavens of the Four Orders, the various Daoist heavens, the City of the Great Luo of the Three Pure Ones, where the Three Pure Ones dwell in the highest heaven, and the realm of the Supreme Dao are untouched by fire and flood and suffer no calamity. They transcend the Qi of Yin and Yang, life and death.

Nine great cycles make one calamity cycle. Eight hundred and ten thousand years constitute a great cycle of time, while ninety thousand years constitute a lesser calamity, or lesser cycle of time. When a great cycle of calamity ends, the Golden Writings and Jade Characters, the Dragon Chapters and Phoenix Books that I have spread, together with all the scriptures, return to the Jade Capital of the Great Luo, the celestial capital of the Daoist highest heaven, and dissolve into chaos. When Heaven and Earth are opened anew, the true writings appear once more. Sages spread them, and they circulate again in the world.

If all beings can grow weary of birth and death, cut off every attachment and worldly habit, and bring the Qi of body and mind into wondrous union with the Great Void, they can unite with the empty nature of the Dao. They will no longer be bound by Yin and Yang or subject to birth and death. Once they accord with this wondrous emptiness, forms can appear at a thought, and they can ascend into the realm of the formless. When the cycle of time ends, they can rise to the Great Luo, transcend the Three Realms, and escape birth and death forever. In the end, they attain the Dao and become celestial immortals.

Those who truly understand the Great Dao may have attained the Dao, yet still remain at the Lesser Vehicle level through their cultivation. Even if they live for countless eons and can fly from place to place, manifest multiple bodies, and ride dragons and phoenixes, they are still attached to forms and cannot yet be said to have ended all afflictions and attained complete liberation. On hearing these words, everyone gained insight and entered the “Three Emptinesses,” a Daoist term for a state of stillness and emptiness.

The realm where the Highest Perfected—the perfected beings who have attained the Dao—reside is broad and level. The ground has returned to flatness, no longer sloping or sunken.

After the Celestial Worthy of Primordial Beginning finished expounding the scripture within the precious pearl, the Perfected Ones supervised and presided over its transmission, and handed the scripture to me. The joy and celebration of that moment defy description. When the rites were mostly complete, the various heavens returned to their proper places. In an instant, all around fell silent, without a sound.

At that time, the celestial beings who encountered this scripture and its teachings were saved in great numbers. They kept their original lifespans and suffered no harm. All beings turned wholeheartedly toward the Great Dao and attained the Perfected state. Every evil impulse—to kill, envy, engage in sexual misconduct, steal, covet, or hate—dissolved into emptiness and stillness. They no longer clung to Yin-Yang or life and death, nor felt fear, attachment, supplication, or wishful hope. All shared a heart of compassion, treating even those of different surnames as family. The state was stable, the people prosperous, and all rejoiced in peace throughout the world.

When this Scripture of Great Peace first began to spread, it brought instruction to an entire state. All who had already embraced sincerity, honored the Great Dao, and paid it reverence could be delivered.

The Dao says: What the Celestial Worthy of Primordial Beginning expounded in the scripture consists entirely of the inner names and hidden tones of the Jade-Luminosity Supreme Emperor. It also contains the inner taboo names of the Demon King and the secret names of the myriad numinous beings. Understand that primordial Qi is the root of life and death, and that Yin-Yang is their gateway, and you will know this: life and death arise because of the cycles of cosmic change—the patterns and rhythms by which Heaven and Earth move and transform. If those cycles do not arise, neither does life or death. When one attains the Dao and becomes Perfected, the body joins with the Great Void, forever freed from life and death and transcending the Three Realms. These are not words commonly used in the world. Only the highest sages who have attained the Dao, understand the mysteries, and perceive what is subtle can fully grasp the meaning of this passage.

If one recites this scripture ten times, the heavens will sing in response from afar, and the myriad emperors will pay homage. Rivers and seas will grow calm, clouds will gather within the mountains, the gates of Heaven will cease to move, the mechanisms of Earth will cease to stir, and the cycles of cosmic change will halt, allowing people to live forever. The demons will be bound and the ghostly spirits destroyed. The bodies of the dead will be transformed and delivered from death; even white bones may become living people.

Those devoted to the Great Dao who recite it ten times will find the Five Phases following their proper course, Yin-Yang unharmed, and the cycles of change harmonized for a long time, bringing people good fortune, joy, and long life. Demonic spirits will lose their power and ghosts will be destroyed; those near death will be saved, and severed lives restored. This is because the primordial Qi of those who cultivate the Dao can harmonize Yin-Yang, but their bodies have not yet fully penetrated the realm of truth, and their power to summon and command the ten directions has not yet reached the point of controlling Heaven’s operation. As for their De…

Those who can command and subdue the earth spirits, binding demons and spirits, may avert death, but cannot bring the dead back to life. If one recites this chapter carelessly, calamity will befall them. If one offers support to and reveres this scripture, one’s household will prosper and flourish for generations. By forming ties with good causes, one will be spared all manner of calamity, and the gods will guard the household gates.

This scripture is noble and mysterious, without equal in Yujing, the celestial capital of the Daoist heavens. It can deliver boundless beings and is the foundation of the myriad Dao. Its teachings are lofty and vast, and its grace is beyond words.

The Dao says: Whoever recites this scripture ten times will summon the gods of the heavens, who will descend together and open the gate of deliverance. Thus, spirits sunk in darkness and confusion may be freed, leave the underworld, and move toward the light. The wandering souls of ancestors from countless generations, along with the dead who suffer, will at once be delivered and rise to the Vermilion Palace. After nine years of instruction, they will be able to be reborn. Some will become honored people who delight in studying the scriptures. When their cultivation and merit are complete, they will all become immortals, ascend to the Golden Palace, the dwelling of the Celestial Emperor, and feast in Yujing.

Those of the highest attainment who cultivate and recite this scripture will all be delivered at once and ascend to the Southern Palace. When people in the world uphold and recite this scripture, Yuming, a Daoist deity, will send down primordial Qi, causing Dao Qi to arise and draw near; in this way, they will prolong their lives. In time, they may also attain the way of “corpse liberation”: their hun-soul and spirit temporarily leave the body, pass beyond the underworld, and then restore the body, allowing them to roam through the vast emptiness. This scripture is subtle and wondrous, able to deliver boundless beings everywhere. All who dwell in heaven will receive its blessings, and both the living and the dead will benefit from its grace.

Heaven holds this scripture precious, and it must not be passed on casually to worldly people. Those who have attained success in cultivation must demonstrate their sincerity with gold, silver, and other treasures, and swear an oath to Heaven before transmitting it. If they reveal it carelessly or spread it indiscriminately, calamity will extend to nine generations of their ancestors, condemning them to long service under the officials of the underworld. The Five Emperors each dispatch twenty-four Jade Boys and Jade Maidens to guard the scripture, protect its divine writing, and watch over those who receive it.

The Dao says: Whoever observes a long fast and recites this scripture in the first month of the year will cause Yuming to travel east and carry out the work of deliverance. On the days of Ding and Ren, De Qi will arise and light will be opened. The Nine Perfected, revered Daoist deities, will enter the names into their registers and use the Great Unity Azure Talisman to rescue the souls of the dead from the underworld.

To free the souls of the dead from confinement in the underworld and enable them to be delivered to the Southern Palace, one should observe a long fast and recite this scripture throughout the seventh month. Its numinous light shines upon the west and sets the power of deliverance in motion, gathering the Qi of Yi and Geng into solemn concentration and transforming it into a Golden Tortoise Terrace. It also refines deep, abundant spiritual Qi into a white jade talisman. In this way, the bodies of the dead can be refined and delivered, and they can attain the rank of immortals. Their names are entered in the heavenly registers, their names are erased from the rolls of the dead, and they pass from death into life. One should likewise observe a long fast and recite this scripture throughout the tenth month.

The scripture’s numinous light shines upon the north and sets the power of deliverance in motion. The Qi of Bing and Xin transforms into righteous Qi, gathers into the form of a dragon, enters the Purple Court, and receives an immortal’s mandate.

The Imperial Perfected, the Mysterious One, instructed the Long-Lived Assistant to the Emperor: If this scripture is recited for kings, emperors, rulers, ministers, fathers, and sons, it can bring stability to the fate of the realm, ensuring that the country prospers for a long time and endures through the generations. It can also bring peace to the lands under a ruler’s care, so that the people praise the peace and order. On each of the eight annual days when the seasonal energies turn, recite this scripture. Its numinous light will join and shine forth, setting the power of transformation and deliverance in motion. The Qi of harmonious balance will spread, the gateways in the eight directions will shine brightly, and the Divine Tiger’s red writing will appear. One’s title will be entered among the ranks of the Emperor’s court, and one will ultimately become a Perfected of the Nine Palaces.

Reciting this scripture on one’s natal day—the day marked by the Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches of one’s birth—can preserve life and extend one’s years. Its numinous light sets transformation and deliverance in motion, granting a lifespan of a thousand years. One’s achievements will be reported to the Dipper Palace, one’s name will be recorded, and one will ultimately attain the state of a Perfected. The treasured Seven Primordial Chapters, associated with the seven stars of the Northern Dipper, spread like starlight across the Great Abyss, purifying and rectifying the soul and spirit and allowing the myriad forms of primordial Qi to endure without end, free from suffering. The practitioner’s body radiates light; attendants from the Three Realms stand guard, the Five Emperors come to welcome them, and the myriad spirits arrive to pay homage. Their name is entered in the heavenly registers; when their merit is complete, they may ascend to Highest Clarity.

A Daoist scripture says: On the day of a Daoist ritual, one should bathe with fragrant water, observe the fast in purity, and enter a quiet chamber facing east. Chatter the teeth thirty-two times, so that one’s thoughts reach the thirty-two heavens, then bow thirty-two times. Close the eyes and meditate in silence, sitting upright and still. Visualize yourself within clouds of blue-green, green, and white, with mist filling both your inner and outer surroundings. The Azure Dragon, White Tiger, Vermilion Bird, Black Tortoise, lions, and white cranes stand in rows to your left and right. The sun and moon illuminate the chamber, their radiance shining through it. A circular halo appears above your head, its light illuminating the ten directions. Once the visualization is clear, silently recite the secret incantation:

“Supreme Mysterious Origin, Most High Lord of the Dao, summon forth the Three-Five Meritorious Officers within my body, who transmit official documents; the messenger officials to my left and right; the jade youths who attend to incense; the jade maidens who convey messages; the Five Emperors’ Talisman Officers, who serve the Celestial Emperors of the five directions; the incense officials on duty today; and all sixty-four divine officers of each kind. Let them ascend and submit their report: This is an auspicious day. In this pure and quiet fasting hall, I observe the fast and cultivate this supreme scripture, the Scripture of Limitless Deliverance. May my prayer be conveyed above and presented directly before the throne of the Most Exalted Primordial Emperor in the unsurpassed thirty-two heavens.”

When you have finished reciting, circulate the breath thirty-two times. Still facing east, recite the Supreme Scripture of the Wondrous Text of Primordial Beginning and Limitless Deliverance.

In the profound and mysterious realm of the Numinous Treasure, the Celestial Worthy of Primordial Beginning reveals the supreme, wondrous teaching of Jade Radiance and the turning of the cycles. This scripture uses hidden, rhythmic verses to explain how to deliver living beings and subdue the myriad demons. Yin and Yang separate and unite through the workings of nature; the myriad things blend together and return to Great Nonbeing, the formless and imageless source. The Dao Ancestor’s primordial Qi fills the inner being, while the light of Jade Radiance shines upon the Mysterious Origin, from which Yin and Yang differentiate.

As the currents of Qi turn, the spirits each carry out their appointed functions. Since the primordial kalpas of the Primordial Ancestor, Heaven and Earth have passed through kalpas numbered eight, nine, six, and seven, and the cycles of tribulation have continued without end. The Great Yin gives rise to fire, and the Great Yang transforms into water; the order of the Five Phases is also reversed. Thus the three celestial lights—the Sun, Moon, and stars—appear. This is the foundation of the Way of Heaven.

The sacred, pure radiance of Jade Radiance takes the Dao as its root. It moves and shifts, transforming without cease. Five-colored divine light rises to Heaven and congeals into seal script, the writing used in Daoist scriptures and talismans. Refined by fire, it becomes chapters. Each of the five colors settles in its proper place; flowing rosy clouds gather into scripture, and the five forms of writing arrange themselves into images, establishing the divine spirits far and wide.

Without these written forms, there would be no light, clarity, establishment, or accomplishment, and thus no way to deliver living beings or bring forth the myriad things. This is the highest celestial realm within Great Brahmā Heaven.

Yuluo Xiaotai and the Upper Capital of Jade Radiance lie in the supreme Great Luo Jade Clarity realm, the highest Heaven in Daoism. There, all is lofty and remote, profound and mysterious. Through countless cycles of tribulation, it seems both nonexistent and truly eternal. After the Three Blossoms took their places, the Wondrous Court of Great Being and the Golden Towers and Jade Chambers appeared. Pure palaces stand in ranks throughout, while the Brahmā Qi of the Divine Empyrean surrounds the ten directions.

There dwell the deity who delivers people from death, the Lord of Long Life at the Southern Pole, the Great God Sima who governs the cycles of Jade Radiance, and the Elder Lord Han, who cherishes life. Also present are the venerable Southern Director of Destinies, the Director of Records, and others, who govern the lifespan, extend years, and dispel calamities. They can bring the remains of the dead back to life and carry out deliverance without limit. Today, the gods of the heavens inspect and record the registers of names, descending into the hall.

In each of the eight directions—east, south, west, north, northeast, southeast, southwest, and northwest—there is a Great Sage of Long Life, a King of the Gods of Jade Radiance who flies without limit. They govern the cycles, protect long life, and extend deliverance far and wide.

Above and below, there are the Great Holy Ones of Long Life, the Spirit Kings who govern destiny and fly through the heavens without limit, transforming and delivering all living beings.

The utterly true Spirit Kings of the ten directions—above, below, and the eight points of the compass—who govern destiny and carry out its cycles, together with the countless Great Gods who grant long life and deliver the world, ride in carriages drawn by purple jiaolong dragons. The carriages are adorned with jade-colored patterns and travel through auspicious clouds. Phoenix chariots and dragon carriages are topped with jade canopies and fitted with golden wheels; their steeds include red whales, jade-furred beasts, and creatures of golden essence. Banners and standards symbolizing the Nine Qi and the ten directions rise above the procession. Flutes and songs sound at the front, while reed pipes and melodies play at the rear, all the music ringing out together. Immortal maidens and pure youths sing in voices like those of luan birds. The Three Sovereigns lead the way, and the Nine Elders guard the rear. Millions of carriages and thousands upon thousands of riders arrive through the air, draw in their radiance, and turn back their conveyances.

They set the cycles of the kalpas in motion, open the way to life, and advance the courses of destiny, keeping the kalpas revolving without end. They command Yin-Yang and govern the turning of life and death. The Jade Luminescence Chancellor, the Southern Chang Chief Minister, the assembled Perfected Ones of the pivotal offices, the Han Registrar, and the Great Gods who oversee life, govern death, and command spirits and demons regulate the numbers and laws of these cycles, encompassing and governing the empty space in all six directions.

They inspect calamities such as floods, fires, and warfare; distinguish among the various kinds of living beings; take up their registers; and come together before the Heavenly Emperor. In accordance with each being’s circumstances and the deliverance required, they strictly examine the heavens and issue proclamations throughout the Three Realms, the Boundless Divine Realm, the Office of the Winding Springs, the Northern Capital of Fengdu, the Three Offices and Nine Courts, and the twelve sources of the rivers.

They release ancestors, parents, and relatives of every generation from their accumulated sins; dispel illness, destroy registers of guilt, and sever the roots of evil, so that living beings will no longer be detained and coerced into joining the ranks of ghosts. Acting on the talismanic command of the Celestial Worthy of Primordial Beginning, they raise the dead to higher ranks at the appointed time. The spirits of the Northern Capital’s Cold Pool guard body and soul, subdue demons, and recommend the dead, enabling them to be delivered according to their rank. The dead souls of the Southern Palace undergo refinement and deliverance, become immortals, and take on form anew. The living, too, receive deliverance and endure through every generation.

As the cycles of the kalpas turn, they live as long as Heaven and forever transcend and escape the Three Paths, the Five Sufferings, and the Eight Hardships. They pass beyond the Three Realms and roam freely in Shangqing.

The Heaven of Shangqing is the realm of empty, voidless space where the Heavenly Emperor resides; it belongs to the Heaven of Brahmic Practice.

The Eight Heavens of the East

• Heaven of the Azure Chamber’s True Talisman: its Heavenly Emperor is named Qutai Mijuan.
• Heaven of Jade Spirit and Utmost Mystery: its Heavenly Emperor is named Dian Yong Jiufu.
• Heaven of the Treasure Cavern and Primordial Ultimate: its Heavenly Emperor is named Boshi Duncian.
• Heaven of Upright Resolve and Luminous Immortals: its Heavenly Emperor is named Sugang Luwei.
• Heaven of the Nine Perfected and Righteous Fulfillment: its Heavenly Emperor is named Yang Chikong.
• Heaven of Balanced Dimensions and Layered Radiance: its Heavenly Emperor is named Chishi Jiangwei.

(The scripture lists only six of the Eight Heavens of the East here.)

This passage lists the names of the celestial realms in the four directions and the titles of the sovereigns associated with each realm. Here, “heaven” refers to the celestial realms in the Daoist cosmology, while “emperor” refers to the sovereign who governs that realm. The scripture mainly gives names and titles, whose specific meanings are difficult to render word for word in plain language, so the original names are retained.

Two Heavens of the East

Heaven of Refined Pearls and Divine Nectar — Sovereign’s title: Zhenmin Julei

Heaven of the Nine Dragons of Clear Capital — Sovereign’s title: Zanyun Cizhang

Eight Heavens of the South

Heaven of the Crimson Capital, Where the Carriage Descends — Sovereign’s title: Haoxu Chunyao

Heaven of Blended Radiance and the Unfolding of Truth — Sovereign’s title: Bianxuan Loukan

Heaven of Vast Extremity, Rising in Flame — Sovereign’s title: Huiyu Wuyuan

Heaven of Deep Stillness and the Limitless — Sovereign’s title: Luefu Gaohui

Heaven of Universal Benefit and Opening Illumination — Sovereign’s title: Zaohun Sijiang

Heaven of the Elixir Spirit and Contemplation of Truth — Sovereign’s title: Zhijing Ji

Heaven of Solemn Heights and Concise Memorials — Sovereign’s title: Liaoqū Chiguang

Heaven of True Radiance, Aide of Brahma — Sovereign’s title: Yishuang Duqi

Eight Heavens of the West

Heaven of the Laws That Restrain Ten Thousand Demons — Sovereign’s title: Fulong Jiubiao

Heaven of Golden Radiance and Vast Spirit — Sovereign’s title: Taiwei Bingsi

Heaven of Pure Memorials and the Winding Dawn — Sovereign’s title: Yaofu Zhilan

Heaven of the Divine Tiger’s Awe-Inspiring Decrees, Reaching the Eight Extremities — Sovereign’s title: Jiche Xiang

Heaven of Enlightenment and the Cultivation of Kalpas — Sovereign’s title: Zhangjue Ping

Heaven of Ascent by Zan and the 𧵥 Covenant — Sovereign’s title: Wuyun Cixian

Heaven of the Yang Bureau, Receiving Its Ordinances — Sovereign’s title: Lianghua Meijing

Heaven of Decrees and Registers for the Hosts of Demons — Sovereign’s title: Zhuanyan Shahou

Eight Heavens of the North

Heaven of Mysterious Spirit and Responsive Splendor — Sovereign’s title: Huaifang Zhibin

Heaven of the Sectioned Carriage and Inquiries in Every Direction — Sovereign’s title: Peng Ding Sijiang

Heaven of Refined Light and the Jade Empyrean — Sovereign’s title: Lǜci Jingqian

Heaven of the Spirit Pass, Governing the Gods and Opening Yin — Sovereign’s title: Jianshi Nan

Heaven of the White Grotto, Vast Merit, and Primordial Transformation — Sovereign’s title: Yandi Siluo

Heaven of Resounding Splendor and Shining Light — Sovereign’s title: Fuzhang Tuixing

Heaven of Northern Solemnity, Protecting the Origin — Sovereign’s title: Xuechu Zuoci

Heaven of Traversing the Cycles and Stabilizing Destiny — Sovereign’s title: Chaohuang Jingtong

The thirty-two heavens each have an emperor, making thirty-two in all. The heavenly realms overlap in layer upon layer, as the Qi of Jade Radiance circulates back and forth, completing one cycle after another. This order of movement is the law that governs Heaven and Earth and runs through all things from beginning to end.

Yin and Yang continually arise anew, and one cosmic tribulation follows another. Thus the generation and transformation of the myriad things never cease. Each heaven has its own hidden name, its mysterious spiritual writings and tones, and its honored jade names and deities. These belong to the Nine Yang Brahma Realm, the Daoist celestial domain. They are wondrous loci of movement and transformation, containing the boundless, profound principles of the Highest Clarity, too deep to explain in full. The divine perfected beings—deities and realized adepts—set forth these laws to guide all, delivering humans and other beings alike.

Today we explain the principles by which the heavens move and beings are delivered from tribulation: the dead may find rest, and the living may unite with the Dao and realize its subtle mystery. The Dao has no form, and so is called the Real. It is one with emptiness and stillness, hidden too deeply ever to be fully expressed. Its wondrous transformations appear and disappear as natural spiritual responses; even when great calamities of water or fire strike, they can carry people through.

When they pass through the tribulation of warfare, those who receive deliverance take on golden bodies, firm and indestructible, beyond ruin. Rejoicing and grateful, they accept deliverance and pass through the gates of the various heavens. Then they transcend the Three Emptinesses, the states of emptiness described in Daoist cultivation; sever the source of Yin-Yang generation; fly beyond the Five Gates of Heaven; and take their place among the lofty mysteries of the Great Profundity.

The True Demon, who commands the host of demons, oversees inspection and recommendation, so that those receiving deliverance are no longer obstructed at Heaven’s gates. The Dipper stars of the East bestow spiritual awareness; those of the West shape the body; the Northern Dipper grants wisdom; the Southern Dipper governs…

Turn the mind’s activity inward and return to the Central Dipper: the Great Emptiness is the Dao’s true realm. The Azure Emperor manifests azure; the White Emperor makes emptiness clear; the Red Emperor stirs awareness; the Black Emperor grants passage through the hidden depths; and the Yellow Emperor rules intention.

Resonance and union, transformation and generation, unfold through the workings of the Five Directions. The True King of the Azure Cycle governs the Wood tribulation; the True King of the Red Cycle, the Fire tribulation; the True King of the White Cycle, the Metal tribulation; the True King of the Black Cycle, the Water tribulation; and the True King of the Yellow Cycle, the Earth tribulation. The True Kings of the Five Cycles command the divine troops and stand as patriarchs of the myriad gods. They control the appointed times for deliverance from tribulation and issue their orders with strict authority. Drums sound as they advance, leading the divine troops, waving banners and beating out the rhythms of the drums. They patrol the vast emptiness with imposing force, enabling the heavens to join in their work and delivering all beings from the course of tribulation.

The True King of Northern Feng, the deity who governs the northern underworld, receives the order to bring strict control and sweep away misfortune everywhere. The White Tiger exhales poison; the Heavenly Steed races in every direction. Red-armored divine troops clear the way, while the Great-Killing Divine General bears banners and hurls flames. The sound of moving bells travels ten thousand miles, and their might shakes the eight directions. Whoever dares to offend or obstruct the Highest Perfected is struck down first by the golden axe, then punished by the heavenly troops. Wind and fire destroy demons and spirits without pause, beheading and dismembering them by the thousands and tens of thousands. The demon host may not invade; ghosts and spirits may not cause harm. The Three Officials of Northern Feng inspect and verify the ranks of ghosts, leaving no place for ghostly camps to hide. Documents are carried by golden horses and courier envoys, announcing the decree throughout the boundless realms. All the myriad gods must obey; the Three Realms and the Five Emperors proclaim it together in the Heaven of Highest Clarity.

The Yuan-dong Jade Calendar records the succession of cosmic cycles and the first opening of layer upon layer of passes and barriers: Primordial Beginning Qi gave birth to Heaven and Earth, and as chaos joined and intermingled, the numbers involved reached into the hundreds of millions.

Since the primordial Qi first blended, the generations that have passed cannot be counted, and the countless aeons cannot be fully described. Between Longda Kang and Yuming Yuanxu, movements and transformations each follow their own cycles. Taiyi, the primal force that governs the movement of all things, contains and transforms their forms; between Heaven and Earth, a vast, clear emptiness naturally appears. From the origin of the Great Dao, the paired lights of the sun and moon are generated, and the two powers of Heaven and Earth are brought forth. Their principles are exceedingly subtle, beyond the understanding of ordinary people.

When movement reaches its utmost extent, Yuming takes form and the great Qi reveals its radiance, now rising, now sinking. True Earth is passed down in a form like a round egg, revolving within itself ten thousand times without deviation. Among the Five Phases, its movement comes first. Yuming appears as color, while primordial Qi gathers into an abyss. Its principle is like vapor rising to become dew and descending to become springs. The divine wind sets it in motion and refines it into true lead, the ancestral source of gold. Using the Qi of gold as the basis of Heaven’s movement, it turns left ninety-nine thousand times, giving rise to the Five Movements. After ninety-nine thousand turns, it transforms again and generates water. Water moves through Heaven, while the waters beneath the earth flow ceaselessly through the nine provinces, and springs surge from Kunlun Mountain.

There is no dark or obscure place above or below Heaven, nor any trace or shadow; all things are without boundary or end. The vast Great Dao, undivided in chaos, stretches without limit and was originally without light. When the Red Radiance era, symbolizing the illumination of Heaven and Earth, opened its cosmic plan, all things began to move according to their natural principles. When their movement accords with proper measure, the Six Qi form Heaven; when their revolutions go awry, all things fall into distress.

The principles governing Yuming’s cycles are transmitted through the Way of Movement. Primordial Beginning stabilizes and guards Heaven and Earth, bestowing and transmitting the five scrolls of red writing in jade characters and the Eight Might Dragon Script, sacred Daoist talismanic writing, to protect and regulate the cycles of calamity and ensure the enduring existence of Heaven and Earth. Brahma Qi spreads everywhere, from which the various laws unfold. The Primordial Framework circulates and transforms, forming the sixty-four heavens, which revolve through the Formless Realm and extend throughout the ten directions. The Dipper and Winnowing Basket constellations turn, their movement reaching in all directions; the Five Constants revolve in their proper sequence. The gathered Qi, divided into thirty-five parts, rises to the Upper Origin and becomes the land of Yuming.

The Eight Radiances join in the depths, and Qi enters emptiness. Within this mysterious emptiness, the Great Sovereign of Heaven and other exalted perfected beings float amid the Great Rosy Clouds, chanting the Cavern Chapters, Daoist scriptural passages. The radiance of the Golden Perfected Ones shines richly, and their voices carry through the clouds; jade tones gather in the breath, while numinous winds draw together mist and cloud. The Qi of the Purple Void flourishes in beauty, assisting the immortals as a thousand kinds of auspicious harmony gather and all things unite. Movement courses through the whole body, and the workings of Heaven accord with the human body; people can then follow their nature and cultivate themselves into perfected beings.

Among these perfected beings are the Great Lord of Yuming Longevity, the Young Lord of Blue Rosy Clouds, the Sovereign Emperor of Eastern Florescence, the Empress of Bright Blue, and the Venerable Spirit of White Origin.

The True Lord of Peach Health, Supreme One of the Purple Court, oversees celestial mandates and registers of names. He protects people’s lives and nature, enabling the root of life to remain firm. He travels through the highest reaches of the Shangqing immortal realm, entering and leaving its splendid palaces; he ranges throughout the hidden realms of the eight directions and can also penetrate the subtlest places. A numinous liquid like jade essence flows downward to guard the human body. Between the Mudball Palace and the Crimson Palace, it regulates the Five Qi, harmonizes the gods, and circulates numinous energy ten times, bringing the myriad breaths into accord with the immortal Way.

The immortal Way prizes the cherishing of life above all.

The boundless method for saving people sets the gates of the eight directions in motion, like the wheel of the Great Brahma who flies through heaven. It turns and returns, alternating light and darkness, unfolding life and death, sin and blessing, and also touching on prohibitions, destiny, and karmic ties. Through it, living beings everywhere receive guidance and salvation: the souls of the dead are delivered, and the living are granted life. This method reaches up to the heavens. Above the heavens, each realm has a gate of life. There circulate verses of empty, wondrous songs: the numinous and subtle scriptures of the True Lords. Their words communicate with the High Perfected.

First: The Sound of Jade Brilliance Flying Through the Void

In the distant, boundless realm of Primordial Blue, its name endured through countless kalpas. Clear Qi permeated the void and became azure.

It transformed into warm, luminous jade. It became the mother of the nine Qi and the foundation of all the heavens.

Clear and serene, it reflected the lofty skies and verdant forests. Above, it joined the rising clouds; its branches and leaves spread across the myriad heavens. A thousand threads of true rosy light and ten thousand layers of golden radiance shimmered together.

These are the celestial writings. The divine wind stirred, and the Nine Elders of the Imperial Perfected, along with the immortals and perfected beings, appeared and vanished within this heavenly realm.

A scroll of precious scripture bears the words of the Eight Assemblies. Its song rings through the farthest depths and can dispel every kind of calamity. Whoever hears the decree of Jade Brilliance can attain the Dao and enjoy blessings and long life without end.

Second: The Chapter on Jade Brilliance’s Turning of the Cycles

The workings of the realm of High Clarity take the nine Qi as their barrier. Following the Dipper stars and the Ji constellation, they revolve through the five directions. They accord with the growth of life and govern its end, bearing all things.

The operation and measure of the Five Phases begin with Yin-Yang. Yin-Yang creates and nurtures the myriad things, each with its own allotted number and designation. The scope set by these names and numbers determines the course of life and death.

Breath circulates and moves, forming the cycles of the Three Realms. Every change brought about by this movement continues to flow without cease. Heaven has its joys, and hell its sufferings.

All who have not yet attained the Dao remain bound by their own karmic causes and consequences. Why not think this over seriously?

In cultivating the mind and nature, make the mind as vast and empty as space. Even to cling to “emptiness” is to fall short of a wondrous state beyond words. A fleeting instant can transcend millions of kalpas; after a thousand years, one can remain as pure and serene as an infant, and rise beyond the constraints of Yin-Yang.

Once you have left behind the Five Cycles—the patterns of arising and passing away in the world—you are no longer ruled by birth and death. This is true longevity.

I proclaim this scripture to awaken the minds of all beings. Worldly desires churn like flowing water, lifting people up at one moment and dragging them down the next. As long as this awakening remains in your heart, let your mind become one with the vastness of space. In time, it will naturally grow still. Hidden within a realm of immense depth and breadth, you will appear as a perfected being.

When your merit and virtue have reached boundless heights, you may sit in meditation and enter the exalted heavens, dwelling in jade pools and golden halls.

The Third Jade Radiance True King sang:

The Nine Heavens rise like tier upon tier of city walls; I lean against a towering terrace. Precious halls stand one above another, their jade gates facing open. Within splendid halls and palaces shaped like blossoms, pearls are held and radiance poured forth. Vermilion and blue-green light weave through countless strands; their glow coils around six dragons, setting in motion and transforming the great patterns of Heaven and Earth. The sacred Brahmic principle is the measure of it all.

The realm of the Jade Radiance True King is vast beyond bounds, and within it lie the Nine Pure Heavens of Daoist teaching. It is called the Court of the Void Emperor, a heavenly court where night never falls. If you can cultivate yourself into a perfected being, you should enter the realm beyond form. Move and transform without restraint, taking the Dao as your very self. Your spiritual powers and transformations will then follow your will.

If you wish to understand this, cast the Five Desires—such as wealth, sensual pleasure, fame, food, and sleep—from your heart. Make your mind empty, clear, and unobstructed, and keep company with the Dao. Then you may live long in Wuwei (non-action) and roam together with perfected beings.

The Jade Radiance True King sang this hymn to make of it a boat of compassion, helping beings leave the shore of birth and death and reach Mount Kunlun. The sun and moon race onward like bouncing pellets—what cause is there for worry?

This is the song sung by the True King above the Three Realms, in the midst of the flying heavens. Every line of the song is woven together with the sacred scriptures of the Caverns. Recite it a hundred times, and your name will be entered in the registers of the Southern Palace. Recite it a thousand times, and the True King will protect and welcome you. Recite it ten thousand times, and your cultivation will be complete: you will ascend through the vast sky, transcend the Three Realms, and take your place among the immortals.

All who hear this sacred voice will have their bodies honored by the True King. He will command the earthly spirits to guard and escort them, and deliver them from the world of dust…

It liberates beings from the five sufferings and eight calamities, and raises the seven generations of ancestors to a higher state, forever freeing them from the jurisdiction of the Three Officials, the deities who govern Heaven, Earth, and Water. Their souls are able to cross over to Zhu Ling, the place where Daoists refine and deliver the souls of the dead, receive this refinement, and gain new life. This is called “universal deliverance without limit”: salvation that never ends. This scripture is a secret treasure of Heaven, revered together by all the heavens. Whoever reveals it or treats it with disrespect will fall into hell, bringing calamity upon the seven generations of ancestors.

The Dao says: The two chapters above are the hidden words of the emperors of the heavens and the most numinous True Kings. The celestial expanse shines like jade, naturally lofty and still. It moves and transforms, passing through the cycles of tribulation, while living beings turn through birth and death. The True Person alone rises beyond it, distant and without form, untouched by the realms of form and unburdened by worldly judgment or emotion. Merging with the pure unity of the Dao of emptiness, the True Person gives rise to the Three Realms, roams freely through the eternal ages, and enjoys lasting peace beneath Heaven.

These are words of the Great Brahma, the supreme, vast, and sacred heaven of Daoist belief, not ordinary speech of the world. Their words have no meter, and their melodies are neither ornate nor graceful; they are therefore called mysterious and difficult to investigate fully. This scripture is a treasured book of Heaven, kept in secret in the eastern chamber of the scripture hall at the Dark Capital, the Most High Divine Empyrean, and the Jade-Clear Jade Palace, where the Lord of the Dao carries out his teaching.

According to the prescribed rules, this scripture should be transmitted in a Renchen year. If a person who has attained success in cultivation shows sincerity with gold and precious treasures, makes an oath before the deities according to the old rites, and then bows, treads upon dew, and burns cinnabar incense in the Divine Empyrean, the scripture may be transmitted to them.

The Dao says: The workings of Heaven and Earth wax, wane, and come to an end; the Sun, Moon, and Five Planets wax and wane. Even the most sacred divine beings may have times when fortune does not favor them. If someone whose cultivation is still shallow and whose practice is incomplete encounters illness or calamity, all those who resonate with them through shared Qi should fast together. During the fast, they should burn incense six times a day and recite the scripture ten times. Blessings and De will then swiftly descend, dispelling all inauspiciousness. This boundless text can universally deliver countless beings.

The Dao says: If a person whose cultivation is still shallow, or whose rank among the immortals is not yet complete, is nearing the end of their Jade Radiance Qi and has reached the limit of their allotted lifespan, so that according to the cycles they are about to die, then, as they pass through Great Yin—the underworld stage experienced by the dead—virtuous companions in the Dao should burn incense and recite the scripture ten times on their behalf, to deliver their remains. If the rites are performed according to the prescribed method, the Great One will turn back the banner; the divine messenger Wu Ying will raise the Banner of Life, and the divine messenger Gongzi will present the Talisman of Deliverance. The Jade Radiance Qi can then circulate and restore the soul, while the spirit’s path leads to the Southern Palace. Then, according to the days allotted for the person’s cultivation and practice, they can gain new life, pass through cycles of rebirth without becoming lost, and ultimately attain immortality.

The Dao says: When the cycles of Heaven and Earth are nearing their end, the stars move in disorder, the Sun and Moon lose their light, the seasons fall out of sequence, and Yin-Yang loses its balance. The nation suffers calamity, war, and famine; demons, bandits, plague, and disease spread everywhere. The people die or are injured, teachers and friends perish, and family members also meet their end. When such circumstances arise, one should also fast, burn incense, and recite the scripture. The merit of fasting and recitation is immense: above, it can dispel heavenly disasters and protect the emperor’s peace; below, it can ward off harmful forces and deliver the people. The living and the dead alike can receive its blessings, whose extent is beyond measure. That is why it is called “Boundless Universal Deliverance of Heaven and Humanity.”

The Dao Lord says: Anyone who practices this scripture on behalf of Heaven and Earth, the emperor, and the people, and accumulates merit, need only resolve to undertake a purification retreat, burn incense, and recite the scripture ten times when disaster strikes. The heavens will record that person’s name, and the gods will protect them. In time, such a person may become an aide to a sagely and enlightened ruler and a minister in the Golden Palace. The heavens record people’s merits and faults, overlooking nothing, however small. The True Kings of Heaven will also recommend and protect you. Only those who cultivate the Dao and attain the Dao can truly understand these supreme words.

The Great Brahmā’s Hidden Words of the Heavens, Boundless in Sound, composed by the Dao Lord.

The Middle Scroll of the Primordial Beginning’s Numinous Writings

What follows are the names of the eight heavens in each of the east, south, west, and north. The scripture lists the names of the celestial realms in sets of hidden words. These are not ordinary phrases and are generally not translated word by word.

The Eight Heavens of the East

瀕陽釜箕、嶽直玄萃、羗除明梁、檀樂卷懟、蓬仇仙畿、麗璠烈蛻、瀹鍊矜瓖、房稽來呈、閏益果旅、瓓琳定迎、徧慈侯謀、品江條司、鍔熾班秀、庇場什基、頌南厯乙、奔暘蝕微。

The Eight Heavens of the South

霞賞烈起、汶瀘弼真、革師雲篝、亭洎頓回、想芒屢延、伯騤辭段、液兟殿伾、符決霞觀、鮑嶧荃侣、報瀛冥投、注煙翹咸、冕童貽算、莊僖劫飛、峒綿柤侃、畧元清巒、月騎由雁。

The Eight Heavens of the West

光編伏壘、赫蠢補新、窈蕩振索、韞龍紀臣、儔希輔蒼、閱賈實瓊、河樞燕庫、庭齊止青、燿慮勅隨、兵圖總籍、鉤戈承威、火律延力、嵩神楚苓、閬覩府京、宿足斗韓、興生遄呼。

The Eight Heavens of the North

玄洞逸剛、氣車無疆、妙指勤旅、八景靜昻、電口漏脈、擎支昆黃、賚頒九辰、蕭慈拏閑、遠無聽情、寒盧瑩鮮、空靈海昌、流煙蒙山.

The scripture says that throughout these heavenly realms circulate the “Hidden Words of the Great Brahma,” secret sacred utterances of Heaven, whose sounds are limitless. Ancient scriptures are inscribed upon the Gate of Jade Brilliance, the Left Terrace, the Heavenly Pass, and the Earthly Pivot. They record and regulate the cycles of the Five Eons, the Nine Stages, the Ten Realms, and the movements of the vital energies of Water, Fire, Metal, Wood, and the other elements. They also arrange the courses of the sun, moon, and stars through the celestial palaces, and specify the degrees by which the constellations move slowly, disappear from view, pause, or travel in reverse. The workings of Heaven and the courses of the stars thus mark out the cycles of the eons.

The scripture further says that the celestial officials calculate the movements of vital energy, observe the heavens, and consult calendars and charts to master the cycles recorded at the Gate of Jade Brilliance. These cycles ultimately come down to Yin-Yang, and Yin-Yang is the source of life and death. Life and death turn in an endless cycle as a result of Yin-Yang’s workings. If one can set thoughts aside and let the mind return to emptiness and stillness, free of vital energy, then Shen can merge with the void. The body, too, can be refined until it is as light and subtle as plain color, a shadow, or the wind, as if no longer constrained by physical form. In this way one can cast off the mortal body and ascend to the state of a True Person.

Each character in this passage is ten feet tall. The Celestial Perfected Sovereign, the Heavenly Perfected Emperor of old in Daoist legend, once wrote these characters as the authentic sounds. If someone understands their sounds and meanings, observes ritual abstinence, and recites them, Heaven will send Perfected Officials who oversee the cycles and movements to examine that person and report their merit to the heavens. The myriad spirits will come to pay homage, earth spirits will guard the gates, and the True King of Great Merit will recommend the person for ascent to Shangqing. When the Way’s cultivation is complete, one may travel through the Three Realms and ascend through the Golden Gate.

These natural sounds of the Celestial Perfected can, wherever they are heard, drive away evil spirits, dispel calamities, save living beings, and accomplish merit. Thus, when they are recited, celestial officials descend to observe, the Lord on High responds from afar in song, the myriad spirits come to pay homage, and the gods of the Three Realms attend the chariot. Evil forces bow their heads, and ghosts and apparitions vanish of their own accord. The scripture’s sound rings like jade chimes, spreading through the Ten Directions and purifying Heaven and Earth: rivers and seas grow still, the haze and dust over mountains dissipate, the myriad spirits are subdued, and the assembled immortals gather. No foul energy remains in Heaven, and no demonic dust or impurity remains on Earth. The netherworld becomes clear and bright, wisdom shines through, and all is vast and profound.