《靈寶無量度人上經大法》Vol. 21

Emperor Xiao Wu of the Han dynasty, known as Emperor Wu of Han, cherished the quest for longevity. He often made offerings at famous mountains and great lakes, praying for the gods to descend and grant him an immortal’s destiny. On the jiǎzǐ day of the first month of the first year of Yuánfēng, he climbed Mount Songgao and had a Daoist palace built there. After seven days of fasting and the completion of the rites, he returned to the palace.

On the wùchén day of the fourth month, Emperor Wu was relaxing in his quarters, with Dongfang Shuo and Dong Zhongshu beside him, when they suddenly saw a woman in blue whose beauty was extraordinary. The emperor asked in surprise who she was. She replied, “I am a Jade Maiden of the Palace of Yongcheng. The Queen Mother of the West sent me from Mount Kunlun to meet Your Majesty. I have heard that you wish to give up the stipends and authority of the empire, seek the Dao, and become immortal. You have prayed repeatedly to the mountains, and your sincerity is truly admirable. I can offer guidance on the quest for immortality: fast in stillness for a hundred days without engaging in worldly affairs. On the seventh day of the seventh month, the Queen Mother of the West will descend for a brief visit.”

Emperor Wu rose from his seat, knelt, and accepted her words. As soon as she had finished speaking, the woman vanished without a trace. The emperor then climbed the Terrace for Seeking the True, where he fasted, cultivated stillness, and visualized the realm of the Dao, while entrusting the affairs of state to his ministers.

When the seventh day of the seventh month arrived, the emperor had the palace precincts cleared. Seats were arranged in the great hall, the floor was covered with fine silks, and a hundred-blend incense was burned. Brocade curtains patterned with clouds were hung, and ninefold luminous lamps were lit. Grape wine and honeyed drink were prepared as refreshments for host and guest. Dressed in full ceremonial attire, the emperor stood below the steps and ordered that no one within the inner gate should peer in without permission. The palace, inside and out, fell silent as all awaited the arrival of the immortal officials.

After the second watch of the night, a mass of white clouds suddenly appeared in the southwest. Dense and billowing, it headed straight toward the palace. Soon it drew nearer, and the sounds of flutes, drums, people, and horses came from within it. After roughly the time it takes to eat half a meal, the Queen Mother arrived before the hall. Her retinue hung in the air, like a flock of birds gathered together: some rode cloud dragons or cloud tigers; others rode white deer, white qilin, or white cranes; still others traveled in carriages or on heavenly horses. Thousands of immortals filled the courtyard. Once they had arrived, their accompanying officials could no longer be seen.

The Queen Mother rode in a purple cloud carriage drawn by a nine-colored, speckled dragon. Fifty celestial immortals stood in rows on either side of it. Each was ten feet tall, held a soft-haired ceremonial staff used by immortals, wore a golden cloud seal of celestial authority, and carried a register of the perfected ones from Heaven. They leaned against pillars beneath the hall. Two attendants helped the Queen Mother up into the hall. The attendants appeared to be about sixteen or seventeen years old and wore robes tied with blue sashes.

The Queen Mother of the West (Xiwangmu) had a bright and composed bearing, her gaze reaching into the distance and her spirit clear and fresh. She ascended the hall and sat facing east. She wore a yellow brocade jacket, its vivid patterns gleaming with golden light. A broad belt patterned with clouds was tied around her waist, and she wore the Fenjing Sword. On her head were the Taihua knot and a crown with the Taoming dawn tassel; on her feet were dark jade shoes patterned with phoenixes. Her radiance illuminated the beams, and her divine light shone brightly. She appeared to be about thirty, with a well-proportioned figure and peerless beauty—truly like an immortal in the clouds.

The Queen Mother stepped down from her carriage and climbed onto the couch. Emperor Wu of Han (Liu Che) knelt and bowed. After they had exchanged greetings, the Queen Mother invited the emperor to sit with her. He sat facing south, and she personally arranged the banquet. The dishes on the table were exquisite and abundant: rare delicacies, fresh fruit, purple fungi, and king’s calyxes. The food was as white as snow and carried a fresh fragrance; the drinks were sweet and fragrant. None of it existed in the human world, and the emperor could not name any of it.

The Queen Mother then ordered a serving woman to bring peaches. Before long, the woman carried in seven peaches on a jade platter. Each was as large as a peach-shaped fruit, round in form and blue-green in color. The Queen Mother gave the emperor four and ate three herself. The peaches were sweet and delicious, with a lingering aftertaste. As he ate, the emperor saved the pits. When the Queen Mother asked why, he said he wanted to plant them. She told him, “These peaches bear fruit only once every three thousand years. The soil in your human world is poor; even if you planted them, they would not grow.” The emperor then abandoned the idea.

The emperor next stepped down to the floor and knocked his head in obeisance. He said, “Your servant, Liu Che, is of mediocre ability and sunk in worldly concerns. I inherited the imperial throne left by my ancestors and am burdened by the affairs of this world. Governance is full of shortcomings, the people do not know how to respond, the rains and winds come out of season, the grain harvests fail, and benevolence does not reach all. Bandits rise everywhere and harass the borders. I am not a suitable ruler, and my accumulated offenses are as great as mountains. Yet from my youth I have loved the path to life and admired the numinous immortals. Still, I have not been able to relinquish my stipend and splendor, withdraw to the mountains and forests, and leave the world behind; I do not even know where to go. I wish to abandon worldly life and seek the true Dao, but I have no teacher to guide me. The sun and moon pass, and life will soon come to its end. I never imagined that a celestial immortal would suddenly descend. Today I am fortunate to behold a supreme sage. This is a fate carried over from my former lives, and I ought to be able to transcend the world. I beg you to take pity on me and grant teachings that can dispel my confusion, so that I may respectfully put them into practice.”

The Queen Mother said, “If you can regard splendor lightly, be content with a lowly position, and devote yourself to receiving the wondrous Dao, you will naturally make progress. But you indulge your passions and bodily desires too freely, abuse punishments and kill recklessly, and are extravagant by nature. Such appetites will tear your body apart like a wheel; lust will wear away your lifespan like an axe. Taking life will bring its corresponding evil retribution…”

Luxury and unrestrained desire wound the heart within. Desires keep accumulating, the spirit is depleted, and foul Qi gathers, eventually endangering life. Though your body is so small, you dwell among enemies capable of destroying it; this body is scarcely a few feet tall, yet it is as if countless sharp blades were assailing it. It is very difficult for such a body to escape its bonds, preserve itself, and live for a long time. This is like a quail without wings hoping to fly across the Heavenly Lake, or a fungus that lives from dawn to dusk hoping to enjoy all four seasons, spring and autumn alike.

If you can dispel all confusion, cleanse what is impure, change your old habits, and nourish the spirit in the Crimson Palace, where Daoist teaching says the body’s spirits and Qi reside; if you close the gate of sexual desire and do not let it open, settle extravagant desires in a chamber of purity and stillness, cherish living beings and do them no harm, observe these Daoist precepts, seek the nourishment of subtle mysteries, do all you can to bestow kindness and perform good deeds, refine and nourish Jing and Qi, cherish your original Qi, let ostentation and empty display fade, and swiftly put an end to contention—if you can do these things, surely you can achieve at least some success. If you cannot, it is like carrying a stone in your arms and trying to cross a great river: in the end, it cannot be done.

The Emperor knelt to receive the sacred precepts and asked to act in accordance with these words. He noticed a small scripture scroll in the Queen Mother’s (Xi Wangmu’s) headdress, enclosed in a purple brocade pouch, and asked, “Is this a wondrous formula? Might I see what it contains?”

The Queen Mother took out the scroll and showed it to him. “This is the Diagram of the True Forms of the Five Sacred Peaks. Yesterday the immortals of Mount Qingcheng came to ask me for it, and I was about to hand it over to them. This is a secret text transmitted by the Most High Lord of the Three Heavens. It is precious and forbidden to pass on; it is not suitable for someone of your mortal station to carry. For now, I will give you the Scripture of the Birth of Numinous Light, by which you can communicate with the spirits and strengthen your resolve.”

The Emperor continued to press his request. The Queen Mother then said, “In the first year of the Qingling era under the Ancient Sovereign, the Lord of the Dao, the Most High of the Three Heavens, surveyed the Six Directions, examining the lengths of rivers and the heights of hills. He named Mount Gaozhu and placed it at a strategic point in the land; established the Five Sacred Peaks as barriers guarding the four quarters; laid out the honored Kunling as a dwelling for numinous immortals; exalted Pengqiu as a residence for perfected beings; placed the water spirit at the source of utmost Yin, and settled the Great Emperor in the distant reaches of Fusang.

“Thus Mount Fangzhang became the place where registers of life were administered, and on the Canglang islands of the sea, halls were built for the Nine Elders. Zuying, Xuanyan, Changyuan, Shengliu, Fenglin, Juku, and other places each became the name of an island, all situated amid the great currents of the Cang Sea and the Dark Ford. The waters there are blue and black, flowing together without cease; waves surge and roar, and many numinous beings gather. Immortals and Jade Maidens also dwell in the Cang Sea. The place names are too many to recount one by one, but the circumstances are all clear.

“Later, they followed the measurements and rules of mountain forms, observing the winding courses of rivers and mountains. They saw ridges meandering and hills turning, with high mountains and long ranges encircling one another…”

Its winding, twisting shape resembles written characters, so its name was devised from its appearance and its designation established.

Draw the figure on the Xuantai (sacred high altar), then transmit it as a token of authentication for the Lingzhen (immortals). When the immortals wear it, it is like wearing an official seal. When Daoist masters carry it as they travel through mountains and rivers, the hundred gods and spirit officials will all honor it and come in person to welcome you. Though your conduct is not yet upright, you have repeatedly gone to mountains and marshes to bow and seek the Dao, and your resolve to seek the Dao has not wavered. Xinzi, you are sincere in seeking the Dao. I now entrust this to you; you must uphold it with reverence and care, as though serving your ruler and father. If you reveal it to ordinary people, disaster will surely follow.

Important scriptures and Fulu (talismans and registers), such as the “Ritual of the Nine Elders and Immortals of the Celestial Capital, the Thousand Luminaries” and the “Heavenly Talisman of the Nine Qi Venerables for Illuminating Life,” were compiled by the Most High Dao Lord of the Three Heavens, or created by the Celestial Perfected Ones of the Three Sovereigns, or transmitted by the Red Child Perfected Ones, the Parents of the Nine Heavens. These precious Daoist methods are transmitted to one person only once every thirty years. If no suitable person is found after forty years, they may be transmitted once to two people within an eighty-year period. To transmit the Daoist methods to someone unsuitable is called revealing the Way of Heaven; to be able to transmit them but withhold them is called sealing away Heaven’s treasure; to transmit them casually, without regard for the prescribed interval, is called treating the Way of Heaven lightly; and to receive them without reverence is called neglecting the Heavenly Scriptures. Revealing, withholding, transmitting carelessly, and upholding negligently—these four acts all bring calamity.

Revealing the Way of Heaven may cause a person to die on the road, or the recipient’s body to perish and bones to split apart. Sealing away Heaven’s treasure may cause a person in a future life to lose sight and hearing, wither in life, and die an untimely death. Transmitting carelessly brings disaster upon one’s parents, sending them to Fengdu (the underworld) to face judgment and punishment. Upholding negligently may cause a person to die suddenly and suffer grave illness in a later life. If the offense is more serious still, calamity will befall the entire clan and bring the family line to an end. Those who share the Dao are called “kin of Heaven”; those united in purpose and heart are called “beloved of Earth.” At the time of transmission, you should treat one another with affection, pledge to share honor and disgrace, devote yourselves to guarding the True, cherish Jing (essence), Qi (vital energy), and bodily fluids, and cultivate harmonious Qi together. When Qi is abundant, Shen (spirit) will gather. If you fail to do these things, Heaven will surely send calamity upon you. These are the prohibitions and precepts of the Daoist tradition, used to admonish one another from ancient times to the present; they must be observed with care.

If you wish to transmit this to someone, Dong Zhongjun seems a suitable candidate. The Queen Mother then ordered her attendant to fetch another copy of the figure and give it to Emperor Wu of Han. The attendant took a scroll from her bosom. Its contents were concise and clear, just like what he had seen before. The Queen Mother handed it to Emperor Wu herself, and he knelt and received it again. The Queen Mother said, “If you can make yourself upright and turn from wrongdoing toward goodness, come again in the seventh month three years from now, and I will transmit the Daoist methods to you.”

At that moment, someone was peering in through the Vermilion Bird window on the south side of the hall. Startled, Emperor Wu asked, “Who is that?” The Queen Mother said, “…”

“Do you not recognize this man? He is your attendant, Dongfang Shuo, and also the child who lived next door to me. By nature he was witty and playful, and he once came to steal my peaches three times. In the past, he served as an immortal official on Mount Tai. The Most High ordered him to go to Fangzhang Mountain and assist the Three Heavens’ Controller of Destinies in examining the immortals. But when Dongfang Shuo arrived at Fangzhang Mountain, he did nothing but wander among its sights. He refused to harmonize the Qi of Yin and Yang, and recklessly wielded thunder and lightning, stirring up storms and blowing sand. This threw the seasons of wind and rain out of order and disrupted Yin and Yang. As a result, dragons and whales walked upon the land; mountains collapsed, the earth was shattered, and the sea suddenly dried up. The celestial sign of the Yellow Horse Lodge was also disturbed, harming agriculture, and the fields of lingzhi mushrooms were submerged. He also gave himself over to drinking and lost the proper restraint needed to govern his subordinates, violating the rules for carrying out his orders. So the Elder of the Nine Sources reported these matters to the Most High, who demoted Dongfang Shuo and sent him to be born in the human world, away from the immortal realm of Great Clarity and into the midst of the mortal world. Later, Dongfang Shuo repeatedly pleaded his case through the two immortals of Golden Flower Mountain and Lord Jiuyi. Only then did the Most High agree to pardon him.

It was only then that Emperor Wu of Han realized Dongfang Shuo was no ordinary man. He recorded Dongfang Shuo’s words and conversation, his food and drink, and the names and origins of the immortal officials in his retinue, along with the names and origins of their robes, headgear, ornaments, and other possessions. At dusk, the Queen Mother of the West took her leave. As she departed, her retinue of people and horses, dragons and tigers, and ceremonial drums and music led the way just as they had on her arrival. Dense clouds gathered and gradually turned into fragrance. Emperor Wu gazed toward the southwest for a long time, until the Queen Mother’s figure disappeared from view.

After meeting the Queen Mother of the West, Emperor Wu finally believed that immortals truly existed in the world. He repeatedly planned to leave the mortal world and seek long life. Yet he indulged in sensual pleasures and waged war without end, leaving the people to lament under the burden of forced labor and the innocent dead to suffer injustice. He did not heed the Queen Mother’s counsel, and she stopped visiting him.

Earlier, the Queen Mother had told Emperor Wu many things, including methods for prolonging life and summoning spirits. He personally compiled them into a volume, gathering these teachings together with related scriptures and illustrations. He placed the volume in a white jade casket on a golden table and kept it in the Cypress Beam Terrace. Later, in the first year of the Taichu era, a celestial fire burned down the Cypress Beam Terrace. The images of immortals, the numinous radiance, the Scripture of Life, and the essential instructions that Emperor Wu had compiled himself were all lost in the fire. The Queen Mother sent down this calamity because Emperor Wu had refused to follow her teachings. However, earlier, in accordance with her words, Emperor Wu had passed the Zhu-tu text to Dong Zhongjun. Dong Zhongjun recorded and copied it, and so its contents were preserved.

One day, Dongfang Shuo mounted a cloud dragon and ascended into the sky. Those present saw him rise slowly from the northwest, and looked up after him. Then a heavy mist hid him from view.”

Emperor Wu of Han did not know where the Queen Mother of the West had gone. He deeply regretted what had happened and knew that he had lost the Way. That December, after making offerings to Houtu, the Earth God, at Haoli, he traveled east to the shore of the Bohai Sea and offered a distant sacrifice to Mount Penglai. In spring, he returned to Ganquan Palace to receive the annual accounts. In the second month, construction began on Jianzhang Palace. In the fifth month of summer, he issued a new calendar, making the first month the beginning of the year, honoring yellow, adopting five as the auspicious number, revising official titles, and harmonizing the musical pitches. He also sent General Gongsun Ao to build a city beyond the frontier where surrendered forces could be received. In the eighth month of autumn, he toured Anding Commandery and ordered General Li Guangli, the General of the Second Division, to conscript men under sentence from across the realm and lead a campaign west against Dayuan.

Emperor Wu changed the calendar and made the first month the beginning of the year at the Queen Mother’s direction. He revered her, regarded her as the foremost among the immortals, and treasured this text. How, then, could an ordinary court attendant easily be allowed to see it? When Emperor Wu asked Dongfang Shuo about the Queen Mother’s words, Dongfang Shuo replied: “I once heard Master Green Ox say that his household possessed the Diagram of the True Forms of the Five Sacred Peaks, a Daoist talismanic chart depicting the forms of the Five Sacred Peaks. Five divine beings from each mountain were appointed to guard the sacred books. For those who live in the mountains, the spirits of the mountains and marshes often send their subordinates to protect their bodies and homes. If wicked and rebellious people try to harm them, the misfortune instead falls upon the attackers themselves. The diagram can also ward off weapons and pestilence. Wear it, and even if you walk across blades, you will be protected. Moreover, it can discern people’s treachery and impurity, exposing those who act improperly: misconduct brings calamity upon the offender, while treachery and impurity bring harm upon the whole household. For this reason, it must be treated with exceptional care and reverence.

“If someone wears this text, or carries it in their hand into the mountains and forests, the local earth spirits and numinous lords of the mountains will come to the border to greet and bow to the bearer, honoring the diagram. If even ghosts and spirits show their respect through humble gestures, how could ordinary people treat it carelessly or lightly? The Yangtze, Yellow, and Huai Rivers, together with the mountains, forests, and hills of the Central Plain, all fall under the jurisdiction of the central authority.

“Anyone who enters the mountains to gather the Eight Minerals—the stone elephant, stone brain, flowing cinnabar, flowing pearl, flying joints, yellow essence, stone marrow, and cassia flowers—as well as lingzhi and medicinal plants, will never obtain these immortal substances without wearing the diagram of the Five Sacred Peaks. To wear it, wrap it in blue or white silk and place it in a purple pouch. It may be tied to the head, worn over the heart, or fastened at the elbow. Mountains have numinous spirits, whether large or small. When these spirits appear, they identify themselves by saying, ‘I am so-and-so from such-and-such mountain,’ to show that they have come to welcome the bearer of the diagram.

“The Great High Perfected Ones regard this diagram scripture as a bamboo tally and official writ, used to protect the Five Sacred Peaks. People today revere the tallies and staffs of inspectors, so the mountain gods too will come to pay their respects. The rules for receiving and transmitting this diagram prescribe that it be passed on once every forty years. At the transmission, one must drink an oath of blood and enter into a covenant…”

Those who keep this scripture enshrined in their homes will be guarded by five divine beings sent from each of the Five Sacred Peaks: the sacred mountains of the east, south, center, west, and north.

The spirits of the mountains and rivers, springs, lakes, marshes, and other places where the scripture is kept will also each send attendants to protect you. If someone hates you and secretly plots against you, slanders or defames you, rebels against you or brings you harm, or if the authorities seek to arrest you, the twenty-five guardian spirits sent by the Five Sacred Peaks, together with the attendants of the mountain and river spirits, will report the matter to the spirit of the mountain governing that region. The mountain spirit will then command demons to harm your enemy in turn, making that person suffer the consequences of their own actions.

Those who uphold this scripture must keep their body and mind upright and their spirit pure. If their conduct is depraved, or if they slight and disrespect the scripture entrusted to them, or scorn and profane the divine and religious traditions, calamity will befall them, even to the point of their household being ruined and their family perishing. They must take care.

If you enter the mountains without a chart of the Five Sacred Peaks’ true forms, the spirits will harass you. If you gather herbs without the chart, the spirits will conceal the plants so that you cannot find the true numinous herbs. If you cultivate the Dao without the chart, your hun and po souls and your Qi will become unsettled, and the Three Corpses—the spirits said to dwell within the human body and disturb its inhabitants—may also run amok. Thus, of the thousand arts of the Dao and the ten thousand kinds of undertaking, few can be accomplished without this scripture.

Simply wearing this scripture on your person is enough to command and protect the spirits of your household and to travel freely between Heaven and Earth. At home, spirits and immortals will guard you; when you enter the mountains, hosts of spirits will come to welcome you; when you gather and eat lingzhi mushrooms and other immortal herbs, perfected beings and immortals will protect you. When you pass through epidemics, dangerous terrain, or mortal peril, even disasters sent by Heaven will dissipate of their own accord. In this way, you may set out with an open heart and return laden with treasures, witnessing for yourself the fulfillment of blessings and calamities. Those who follow the Dao should keep this scripture secret and venerate it.

In the first year of the Yuanfeng era of Emperor Wu of Han, the Queen Mother of the West gave the chart of the Five Sacred Peaks to Emperor Xiaowu.

Preface

The chart of the true forms of the Five Sacred Peaks, transmitted by Dongfang Shuo, depicts the shapes of mountains and waters: encircling, twisting rocks; mountains, ridges, hills, and mounds rising and falling; forms that lengthen and shorten, stretch and curl. Watercourses surge like brushstrokes, while clouds and forests among the ridges and peaks appear in black and yellow, as though shaped like writing. Thus the Heavenly Perfected Lord of the Dao observed the patterns and configurations of Heaven and Earth, modeled the chart on their traces and courses, followed the rhythms of written characters, and named the mountains according to their shapes.

Possessing the form of the Eastern Peak can settle the spirit, prolong life, and preserve lasting bodily health. When you travel through mountains and across rivers, all kinds of lingzhi mushrooms and immortal herbs will gather of their own accord.

Possessing the form of the Southern Peak can ward off the five plagues and protect you from fire. Those who plot to harm you will instead suffer harm themselves.

Possessing the form of the Central Peak brings benefit in all that you seek and can grant great wealth. To fulfill your wishes, you need not expend your physical strength.

Possessing the form of the Western Peak can dispel and avert the armies and weapons of the sovereign. You may enter among blades without being wounded. The spirits of mountains and rivers will honor you and come to welcome you.

Possessing the form of the Northern Peak allows you to avoid danger when entering the water. All kinds of poisonous creatures will be subdued, and you will be able to command dragons, enjoying blessings and prosperity for a long time.

You bear the image of the Five Sacred Peaks, spanning Heaven and Earth and extending in all directions. When the spirits see you, they rejoice, and humans and spirits are thereby able to communicate.

In ancient times, the Yellow Emperor summoned the feudal lords and fought Chiyou in the fields outside Zhuolu, where he finally captured him. The lords all honored Xuanyuan as Son of Heaven, replacing Shennong. This was the Yellow Emperor. Whenever anyone in the realm refused to submit, he sent out troops to subdue them. He cut paths through mountains, traveled year after year, and never settled in one place.

He traveled east to the seashore and climbed Mount Tai, where he carved an inscription in stone to record his achievements. Traveling west, he reached Mount Kongtong and climbed Mount Jitou. Traveling south, he reached the Yangtze River and climbed Mount Xiong and Mount Xiang. In the north, he went to Huizhou and met with leaders from every region at Mount Fushan. He made the fields outside Zhuolu his capital, but moved from place to place without a fixed residence. He inspected the Four Sacred Mountains and found that each had other mountains supporting it, while the Southern Sacred Mountain stood alone, without support. He therefore submitted a memorial to the Three Heavens’ Most High Dao Lord, a revered Daoist deity. The Dao Lord ordered Mount Huo and Mount Qian to serve as the Southern Sacred Mountain’s designated successors, and the request was approved. The Yellow Emperor then created the mountains himself, drawing their images with his own hand and joining them to the Five Sacred Peaks. He also appointed Mount Qingcheng as the elder and Mount Lu as the envoy. The images of these mountains were arranged in sequence and connected together. The practice of establishing images of the Five Sacred Peaks began with the Yellow Emperor.

The Lord of the Eastern Sacred Peak, Mount Tai, commands 5,900 officials and governs epidemics, life, and death. He is the leader of all ghosts and one of the deities to whom people offer sacrifices of blood. The spirits worshiped in popular shrines, malign spirits, and the dead all fall under Mount Tai’s jurisdiction and are subject to investigation and punishment. When someone wearing the image of the Five Sacred Peaks enters the mountains or travels to Mount Tai, the Lord of Mount Tai and the spirits of the mountains and rivers all come out to greet and bow to them. The Lord of Mount Tai wears a blue robe and a seven-tiered dark jade crown, carries the Great Bright Seal That Connects with Yang, and rides a blue dragon. He comes to greet you, followed by his officials.

The Lord of the Southern Sacred Peak, Mount Heng, commands 70,700 immortal officials. Whenever someone enters a mountain under Mount Heng’s jurisdiction, the spirits of the mountains come out to greet them. The Lord of Mount Heng wears a robe of vermilion radiance and a crown of the Nine Cinnabar Sun Essence. He carries the Night Radiance Seal of Supreme Truth and rides a red dragon. He comes to greet you, followed by his officials.

The Lord of Mount Songgao, the Central Sacred Peak, commands 30,000 immortal officials and Jade Maidens. When someone enters the mountains, all numinous spirits under the Central Sacred Peak’s jurisdiction come to greet them. The Lord of the Central Sacred Peak wears a robe of yellow silk and a crown of Yellow Jade and the Great One. He carries the Divine Ancestor Harmony-Yang Talisman and rides a yellow dragon. He comes to greet you, followed by his officials. The Central Sacred Peak is the ruler of the Five Sacred Peaks, and you should honor it well. The Most High regularly chooses those who are virtuous and renowned to become the Perfected of the Three Heavens…

When a practitioner of the Dao enters the Western Peak, Mount Hua, the Lord of Mount Hua—the deity who governs the mountain—will lead 4,100 immortals and Jade Maidens to welcome him. The deities of the mountains and rivers under his jurisdiction will also come to greet him. The Lord of Mount Hua wears a plain white robe, a Crown of the Nine Currents of Great Simplicity, and the “Talisman for Opening Heaven and Communing with the Real.” He arrives riding a white dragon.

When the practitioner enters the Northern Peak, Mount Heng, the Lord of Mount Heng will lead 7,000 immortal youths and Jade Maidens to welcome him. The deities of the mountains and rivers within his domain will also be present. The Lord of Mount Heng wears a dark robe patterned with luminous designs, a Crown of Great Darkness and Numinosity, and the “Talisman of Long Ford for Awakening to the Real.” He arrives riding a black dragon.

The Elder of Qingcheng is a deity appointed by the Yellow Emperor. He governs the terrestrial immortals, ranks above the Five Peaks, and commands the lords of the mountains and their assembled officials. When a Daoist enters his mountain domain, the Elder will lead 10,000 immortal officials to welcome him. He wears a vermilion robe patterned with luminous designs, a Canopying-Heaven Crown, and the “Seal of the Three Courts.” He arrives in a ceremonial divine carriage, attended by a throng of spirits.

The Envoy of Mount Lu is also a deity appointed by the Yellow Emperor. He holds a rank comparable to that of a censor, oversees the registers of immortal officials, and inspects the Five Peaks. When a Daoist enters Mount Lu, the Envoy will arrive to welcome him wearing a scarlet robe, a Crown of Level Splendor, and the “Talisman of the True Form of the Three Heavens,” and riding in a ceremonial carriage.

The Southern Peak Heir Apparent of Mount Huo, an assistant to the Lord of the Southern Peak, was appointed by the Yellow Emperor as the deputy ruler of Mount Heng. He commands 30,000 numinous beings, harmonizing the Qi of Heaven and Earth above and aiding the people below. He promulgates the ordinances of the immortals and also governs the water deities. Mount Huo is a steep and lofty divine abode, revered by all spirits. When a Daoist enters his domain, the Heir Apparent will come to welcome him wearing a blue brocade robe, a Crown of Illuminating Dawn, and carrying the Jade Tablets of the Daoist Lord. Sometimes he rides in a carriage and sometimes on a tiger; there is no fixed form.

The Southern Heir Apparent of Mount Qian was appointed by the Yellow Emperor as deputy to the deputy ruler of Mount Heng. He takes part in government affairs and assists the Lord. When a Daoist enters Mount Qian, he will arrive to welcome him wearing a purple robe embroidered with luminous designs, a Crown of Joining with the Numinous, and bearing the Seal of the Vermilion Officials, while riding in a carriage drawn by a red dragon. Other divine assistants who support the mountain lords and take part in government affairs will also come to welcome him. They wear vermilion robes and Crowns of Immortal Splendor, carry the “Register of the True Form of the Highest Lord,” and ride in carriages whose form is not fixed.

Dongfang Shuo said that the “eye patterns” at the head of the ancient Five Peaks Diagram of True Forms—a chart depicting the true forms of the Five Peaks’ deities and the symbolic forms of the mountains—are ritual writings from the Books of the Eight Assemblies of the Flying Heavens, from the time of the Highest Lord, before the age of Shennong. Their shapes resemble the tracks of birds.

Before the distant past, no immortals had annotated these passages or made them widely known, so their meaning can never be determined.

When Daoists wish to wear images of mountains and rivers, they should choose only diagrams depicting the shapes of mountains, scrolls inscribed with ancient script, and talismanic writings in unusual scripts. Write the titles on the outside, then enclose the items and wear them.

When wearing talismanic diagrams, one should generally choose an Yin day in the first lunar month and observe a seven-day purification. After writing the talismans during this period, perform a Zhaijiao ritual, setting up an altar and paying respects to the deities. The ritual may follow the method one has received; simply replace the words recited during the ceremony with suitable wording. The specific phrasing may vary from person to person.

Whenever writing talismanic diagrams, burn incense on both the left and right sides of the diagram.

The Lingbao True-Form Diagrams of the Five Sacred Mountains

The Talisman of the Three Heavens for Supreme and Everlasting Preservation: A Daoist who wears this talisman can travel freely throughout the world when entering mountains, forests, rivers, or seas. The gods will protect the wearer and dare not obstruct them. It may be worn or written out during purification and sacrifice.

The True-Form Diagrams of the Five Sacred Mountains share the same title: “Edicts of the Supreme Dao Lord.” Their written forms, however, must not be revealed lightly. Tradition says that Dongfang Shuo brought them to light. These characters belong to a script predating bird-track writing and resemble the ancient script of the Three Sovereigns’ era. When wearing them, enclose them together with the True-Form Diagrams of the Five Sacred Mountains. Only when an immortal inscribes them should the character “Jin” be written in the blank space beside a mountain’s name. No other characters may be added.

By command,
between Heaven and Earth, mountains, hills, and ridges,
may the spirits protect me, your child, with care;
may harm and calamity keep far away,
and lasting peace and wholeness endure.

The talismanic text means, in essence: By command, amid Heaven and Earth, mountains, rivers, and hills, I pray that the spirits protect me, keep disasters and misfortunes away, grant lasting peace, and preserve my life and well-being.

East, Spring: True-Form Diagram of the Eastern Mountain

South, Summer: True-Form Diagram of the Southern Mountain

Central Earth of Wu and Ji: Central True-Form Diagram

West, Autumn: True-Form Diagram of the Western Mountain

North, Winter: True-Form Diagram of the Northern Mountain

Elder of Qingcheng: True-Form Diagram of Qingcheng Mountain

Perfected Lord Who Preserves Fortune: True-Form Diagram of Mount Lu

Southern Lord of the Reservoir at Mount Huo: True-Form Diagram of Mount Huo

Southern Lord of the Reservoir at Mount Qian: True-Form Diagram of Mount Qian

The shapes of the mountains are drawn in black, water sources are marked in red, and chambers and caves are marked in yellow. When a diagram is drawn small, the mountain’s profile appears low and modest; when drawn large, it appears lofty and steep. The mountains’ heights and lengths should be depicted according to their actual forms. A divine lingzhi plant is drawn at each water source; places with chambers are also marked according to their shapes. From then on, anyone entering the mountains would recognize and record these locations.

Great Method of the Supreme Scripture of Limitless Salvation of Lingbao, juan 21