《靈寶無量度人上經大法》Vol. 27

The essentials of cultivating to realize the Dao lie, first of all, in committing fewer transgressions. If you commit a transgression but refuse to correct it, you move far from the Dao. Even if you practice the arts of Fulu (talismans and registers), you have not yet attained the realm of the Great Dao. If your conduct is undisciplined, how could you hope to subdue ghosts and spirits? How much less could you present memorials to the heavens and deliver beings in the netherworld and the human world?

The divine offices that oversee merit and transgression overlook nothing, however minute. Xu Yuanyou, who lived in the Jin dynasty, withdrew to the mountains and devoted himself to realizing the Great Dao, gradually attaining the rank of a perfected immortal. Yet the Three Officials—the divine offices governing Heaven, Earth, and Water—still sent Zhou Fang and others to bring out the vermilion registers of offenses and question him point by point: “Those who wish to learn the Dao and aspire to become immortals, to have their names entered among the ranks of the perfected, and who set their aims high and serve the high perfected spirits with reverence and sincerity, must have worldly merit that accords with their own conduct. They must bring no calamity or evil upon themselves, accumulate hidden virtue, and extend their benevolence widely. Only then may they set out on the path of seeking the perfected and visiting the immortals, and have their names entered in the Azure Registry of Immortals.” If even someone like Xu Yuanyou was subject to this, how could others fail to understand the importance of committing fewer transgressions and diligently cultivating themselves?

Those who uphold Daoist methods and cultivate in pursuit of immortality and the Dao should repent and discipline themselves for past failings, while continually accumulating merit for the future. The Treatise on the Mysterious Principles says: “Once a transgression has been corrected, do not repeat it. Once merit has been established, do not slacken halfway. This is called renewing one’s virtue day by day; naturally, Heaven will grant its protection.” If someone merely prays and seeks pardon aloud according to the prescribed liturgy, while having no intention in their heart of reflecting on their faults; if they continue to do what they did before; if they make a show of reform while their inner nature remains corrupt, then even if they toil and exhaust themselves, gaze up at the stars, bow to the moon, fast and observe precepts, burn incense, and recite scriptures, all of it is in vain.

Some people speak grandly and mislead the world, saying: “If we do not accumulate transgressions or commit evil, why would we need to repent and seek pardon? We might as well abolish these teachings and liturgies.” This, too, is an overcorrection. In all things, one should remain calm and hold to the middle, without leaning to either side. Repent appropriately: recognize your own transgressions and reflect on them, follow the teachings and admonitions in the scriptures, and perform the liturgies as prescribed. Only then can your offenses be erased from the records of the Three Officials and the Five Emperors, and your name entered among the immortal realms of the Ten Extremes and Nine Heavens. If you persist in accumulating merit, you may ultimately have the opportunity to preserve your whole form and ascend as an immortal. Each person’s path to immortality has its own conditions; there is no need to bar the way in advance. If you are determined, most people can attain something.

Seeking Pardon for Transgressions (Repenting and Seeking Pardon)

Each year, except for the day before or after the autumn equinox, one should generally choose one of the Three Primes, the Eight Seasonal Nodes, one’s birth anniversary, a Jiazi day, a Gengshen day, or another auspicious day. Enter a Jing chamber—a quiet room for Daoist cultivation—or go to a palace-temple, mountain forest, waterside, or another quiet and clean place. Burn incense, and focus on reflecting on your transgressions and considering your offenses. First…

Sit quietly and upright beside the altar. Reflect deeply on all you have done since birth, and recognize that your actions have repeatedly involved error and wrongdoing; your transgressions are many. At this thought, tremble with fear and take yourself to task. Regret your failings so bitterly that you would gladly cut open your heart and liver and drain your gall, and vow never to repeat them. In this moment, overcome with shame, you feel there is nowhere you can hide.

Then rise, shake out your garments, and compose both body and mind. Ascend the altar and make your invocation. If there is no ritual altar, stand respectfully instead. Arrange an incense table and lay out the altar mat. Following the ritual procedure, enter the house, recite the incantation, offer incense, and perform the rite of prayer and confession.

By day, begin the bows in the east; by night, begin in the north. Confess in the five directions. According to the original regulations, a complete liturgy (Daoist ritual procedure) should be arranged: first perform the incense-burner invocation to summon the deities, then pay respects in sequence. After offering incense three times, perform the bows; the etiquette follows that of the daily court audience. Such rites, however, are best kept private and are also suited to solitary practice. Daily morning cultivation should not be overly elaborate, so here only the words for confession in the four directions are set out. Their details may be added to or abridged as circumstances require.

First, offer incense with a blessing

Incense of the Dao, incense of De, incense of Wuwei (non-action), incense of the pure, natural stillness of Wuwei, wondrous incense of the Cavern of Truth, incense of Lingbao wisdom, incense that transcends the Three Realms, true incense of the royal domain: may it fill the Jade Towers and Jade Capital, and spread throughout the Dharma Realm under Heaven. Now we burn incense as an offering to:

The Celestial Worthy of the Three Heavens of the Three Realms of the Great Void; the Jade Emperor of the Vast Heavens; the Great Emperor of the Purple Tenuity, the Pole Star; the Great Emperor of the Purple Tenuity, the Celestial Sovereign; the Empress of the Earth; the Lords of the Thirty-Two Heavens; the Emperors of the Myriad Heavens; the Star Lords of the Eleven Luminaries of Shangqing; the Seven Primordial Star Lords of the Northern Dipper in the Central Heavens; the Three Officials of Heaven, Earth, and Water; the True Lords and Marshals of the Four Sages of the North Pole; the Five True Masters of Lingbao; the Star Lords of the Twenty-Eight Lodges in the Four Directions; the Great Demon Kings of the Five Emperors of the Three Realms; the Flying Heavenly Spirit Kings without limit in the Ten Directions; the Great Emperor of Fengdu in the Northern Yin; the Great Emperor of Fusang in the Eastern Rosy Clouds; the Holy Emperors of the Five Sacred Mountains and Five Heavens; the principal registrar immortals, perfected beings, and holy assemblies of the famed mountains and precincts of the grotto-heavens and blessed lands; the spirit officials and generals listed in the registers of the Three Caverns and Four Supplements; the officials of the Three Realms; and all beings of numinous might.

May these incense clouds be offered everywhere as an offering. Jade radiance scatters its light, and the Nine Qi gather into smoke; dense clouds and mists of fragrance rise straight to the heavens. Incense-attending Golden Youth and message-bearing Jade Maidens, please convey my words and present them before the Emperor, so that all I report may be received as I intend.

The disciple, whose ritual rank is [name], has today chosen an auspicious day to observe purification and cleanse the body, and to wash the thoughts of the mind. I pray to the perfected spirits and report to the Great Dao. I now begin with this invocation:

May the altars of state and ancestral temples of our present dynasty, together with the ancestral spirits of past generations, ascend to the Nine Heavens and bestow blessings upon those who come after them.

May the present Emperor’s dynasty endure for many generations, and may the fortunes of the realm flourish. May his blessings and longevity extend as far as Heaven and Earth, and may the teaching of his virtue spread everywhere, like the creative power that brings all things into being. May the people in every direction aspire to goodness, and may every kind of grain yield an abundant harvest. May all beings endowed with awareness come to understand the supremely true Great Dao, boundless and without limit, and together ascend to a blessed realm of honor and peace. May the teaching of the Great Dao flourish and spread, and may the Correct Dharma never decline. I, your servant, have presumed to present these worldly wishes, thereby offending the Emperor’s dignity. My heart trembles with dread and is filled with earnest unease. I respectfully submit this petition.

Next comes the “Invocation of the Directions,” the portion of the ritual in which the names of the divine beings of the ten directions are chanted in sequence. I, your servant, single-mindedly take refuge and pay my respects to the Lingbao Heavenly Worthy, a manifestation of the Primordial Heavenly Worthy, one of the Three Pure Ones; to the Emperors of the Thirty-Two Heavens; the Stellar Lords of the Twenty-Eight Lunar Mansions that encircle the heavens; the Heavenly Immortals and High Sages; the True Lords of the Five Sacred Peaks; and all the immortals and divine officials dwelling in the mountains, rivers, seas, grotto-heavens, and blessed lands of the east, southeast, south, west, north, the four diagonal directions, above, and below.

Then, facing north, I bow three times and kneel upright. (By day, the rite begins in the east; by night, it begins in the north.) I, your servant, whose name is recorded here, wholeheartedly take refuge in body, spirit, and life. I bow to the limitless Supreme High Lingbao Heavenly Worthy of the north and northeast; the Eight Heavenly Emperors of the north; the High Perfected and Supreme Sages of the north; the Stellar Lords of the northern mansions Dipper, Ox, Girl, Emptiness, Danger, Room, and Wall—the seven mansions of the Black Tortoise; the Black Emperor True Lord of Mount Heng, the northern sacred peak; and all the numinous beings, immortals, and divine officials of the grotto-heavens, blessed lands, mountains, rivers, and seas of the north.

I have heard that the Great Dao manifests compassion and opens a path for people to repent of their transgressions. The High Perfected establish teachings and set forth rites for confessing offenses. Without petitioning for grace and blessings, how could one obtain pardon for one’s sins and escape condemnation? I reflect that I am foolish and lowly, with dull and mediocre abilities. Yet, fortunate to have encountered the true Daoist influence and the age of the Dao’s flourishing, I have long received the Fulu—documents recording the offices of the gods—though I have brought disgrace upon the robes and cap of a Daoist. I have neither striven in cultivation to establish merit nor done anything but lapse into idleness and negligence, committing offenses without restraining myself or cultivating with due care.

What troubles me is this: the offenses committed by my ancestors through the generations and by my deceased relatives, together with the karmic ties of my own former lives across countless births and kalpas, the plans and deeds of this present life, and the actions of all my family, kin, and dependents—these have accumulated into grave transgressions, immeasurable and beyond description or enumeration. They are recorded in the celestial and underworld bureaus and entered in the palaces of the sun, moon, and stars. They cannot be pardoned throughout endless kalpas, nor dispelled for all time. I fear retribution may descend and calamity may arise. Therefore, I now surrender my life to the gods, laying everything before them and beseeching them to cleanse my offenses.

I humbly pray that Heaven grant its generous pardon, that the Great Dao open the way to compassion and mercy, that the myriad sages send down good fortune, and that the assembled Perfected bestow blessings and joy, pardoning all these transgressions.

May the disciple’s Nine Generations of Ancestors and Seven Generations of Forebears, as well as the disciple, have the heinous sins and grave transgressions accumulated over ten thousand kalpas and a thousand lives, up to this day, erased at their root and removed from the registers of sin. May the disciple soon complete the cultivation of the true Way and encounter a genuine, enlightened master. May this life and future lives be peaceful and secure; may the disciple’s family, students, and followers also enjoy peace and well-being. May the spirits of the ancestors, the souls of teachers and friends, and deceased relatives, in-laws, and dependents dwell in lasting peace and joy, forever free and at ease. May beings in the Six Paths and Three Destinies, and all forms of life—born from wombs, eggs, moisture, or transformation—be delivered and receive spiritual guidance. The disciple, ashamed and repentant, prays with utmost sincerity and urgency, and respectfully makes this petition.

Next, face east.

The ordained disciple, so-and-so, sincerely takes refuge in body, in spirit, and in nature and life, and offers their life to the Limitless Supreme High Lord of the Numinous Treasure in the east and southeast, the Eight Emperors of Heaven in the east, the exalted perfected ones and holy sages of the east, and the Star Lords of the seven lodges: Horn, Neck, Root, Room, Heart, Tail, and Winnowing Basket—the seven stellar deities of the east. The disciple also offers their life to the True Lord of the Azure Emperor of Mount Tai, in the east; to all numinous beings in the grotto heavens and blessed lands, mountains and rivers, and seas of the east; and to the immortals and numinous officials throughout the eastern regions.

Next, face south.

The ordained disciple, so-and-so, sincerely takes refuge in body, in spirit, and in nature and life, and offers their life to the Limitless Supreme High Lord of the Numinous Treasure in the south and southwest, the Eight Emperors of Heaven in the south, the exalted perfected ones and holy sages of the south, and the Star Lords of the seven lodges: Well, Ghost, Willow, Star, Extended Net, Wings, and Chariot—the seven stellar deities of the south. The disciple also offers their life to the True Lord of the Red Emperor of Mount Heng in the south; to all numinous beings in the grotto heavens and blessed lands, mountains and rivers, and seas of the south; and to the immortals and numinous officials throughout the southern regions.

Next, face west.

The ordained disciple, so-and-so, sincerely takes refuge in body, in spirit, and in nature and life, and offers their life to the Limitless Supreme High Lord of the Numinous Treasure in the west and northwest, the Eight Emperors of Heaven in the west, the exalted perfected ones and holy sages of the west, and the Star Lords of the seven lodges: Legs, Bond, Stomach, Pleiades, Net, Turtle Beak, and Three Stars—the seven stellar deities of the west. The disciple also offers their life to the True Lord of the White Emperor of Mount Hua in the west; to all numinous beings in the grotto heavens and blessed lands, mountains and rivers, and seas of the west; and to the immortals and numinous officials throughout the western regions.

Next, face the center.

The ordained disciple, so-and-so, sincerely takes refuge in body, in spirit, and in nature and life, and offers their life to the Limitless Supreme High Lord of the Numinous Treasure above and below; the Emperors of the Three Luminaries and Nine Heavens in the thirty-six heavens of the Great Luo, beyond limits; the Five Elder Emperors; the celestial officials who govern Heaven; and the countless exalted perfected beings and immortals…

The true spirits of the Ten Lands in the Fengyin realm; the Thirty-Six Earth Sovereigns; the True Lord Huangdi of central Mount Song; all the true spirits of the central grotto-heavens and blessed lands, and of the mountains, rivers, seas, and waterways; the immortals of the Upper and Lower Regions; and the various spirit officials. (We, your ministers, have heard this matter, as stated above.)

Then each returns to their place and sits facing the others.

With sincere hearts, we bow and pay homage to the Supreme, Infinite Great Dao.

With sincere hearts, we bow and pay homage to the honored scriptures of the Thirty-Six Divisions.

With sincere hearts, we bow and pay homage to the Great Master of the Mysterious.

Then the memorial is presented:

I, your minister, with profound sincerity, respectfully present this memorial to the Infinite Great Dao, the Supreme Emperor, the High Perfected, the awe-inspiring powers of the Three Realms, and all the sages of the Ten Directions. Now I enter a quiet chamber to cultivate the Dao, repent my faults, atone for my offenses, and state my requests, humbly seeking forgiveness. May the underworld courts strike my sins from their records, and may the immortal palaces enter my name in theirs. May I meet a person who has attained the Dao along the path of cultivation, and may I face no trials from demonic obstacles while seeking instruction. How could I fail to strengthen my good intentions and reflect deeply on my past mistakes? May I unite with the Dao and forever rely on the protection of stillness and purity. May the Ten Directions celebrate together, and may my nine generations of ancestors receive blessings. To bring this supreme affinity to fruition, I recite: “The immeasurable and inconceivable merits and virtues of the Celestial Worthy of the Ten Directions of the Numinous Treasure.”

Then go outside according to the usual ritual.

In the “Natural Morning Offering of the Numinous Treasure” ritual, first invite the holy perfected ones, then pay homage to the Ten Directions, perform three bows of repentance, and then dedicate the merit and recite “Good Deeds Today: Repentance to the Five Directions.” This is the abbreviated form of the “Natural Morning Offering of the Numinous Treasure” ritual. Paying homage only to the Five Directions makes the practice simple and easy to perform; omitting the chanting of the Jade Tones and Brahma Hymns encourages focused silence, in the hope of achieving communion. Those who serve the Dao and cultivate perfection may follow this practice, whatever the rank of the Fulu (talismans and registers) they have received. With sustained practice and deeper self-reflection, they can lessen their offenses, increase their blessings, and ultimately become perfected and attain the Dao.

Rite for Morning Homage to the Perfected and Repentance for Offenses on the Three Primordial Festivals and Eight Seasonal Nodes

First form the Supreme Emperor mudra and recite the Incantation for Entering the Door. Face the Earth Gate, stand upright, look toward the Gate of Heaven, hold your breath, and silently recite the incantation.

Entering Through the Door for the Morning Offering (The ritual master faces the Earth Gate, clicks the teeth three times, and silently recites the incantation. According to the visualization diagram, one should envision one Four-Bright Merit Officer, one Truth-Communicating Messenger, two Jade Youths Who Convey Words, and two Pure Maidens Who Attend the Quiet Chamber.)

Incantation:

Four-Bright Merit Officer, Truth-Communicating Messenger, Jade Youths Who Convey Words, Pure Maidens Who Attend the Quiet Chamber: please convey my message to the true spirits of the Dao chamber, so that the vital energy of the Upper Primordial may descend into my body.

After reciting the incantation, enter through the doorway, stepping in first with the left foot.

When entering the household at night, visualize as described earlier: one of the Four High Officers of Merit, two Dragon-and-Tiger Envoys, one Pure Maiden Attendant of the Jing, one Illuminating Youth, and one Maiden of the Upper Mystery.

Recite the invocation:

Four High Officers of Merit, Dragon-and-Tiger Envoys, Orthodox Unity Life-Giving Qi, Pure Maiden Attendant of the Jing: at night, when there is a matter to attend to, I respectfully make my request. May the Illuminating Youth and the Maiden of the Upper Mystery enter the Yellow Chamber with me, so that everything I submit may be conveyed without hindrance and reach the Celestial Court.

Make three bows. Holding the incense burner, complete the invocation to the divine beings, then read aloud the liturgical text.

I have heard that the One Qi of the Primordial Beginning set the workings of creation in motion, holding the transformations of the world in the deep and formless realm. The Three Heavens established the laws and, when primordial chaos first opened, laid down the wondrous ordinances of the Mystery. Five thousand four hundred ritual texts have spread throughout the human world, while the Brahma Qi of the Thirty-Two Heavens governs the wondrous ordinances of the Mystery. Good and ill fortune do not arise without cause; gain and loss follow their own appointed measure. The transmission of ritual registers saves and delivers both heavenly and human beings. The Great Dao arose from Heming Mountain, and the Orthodox Unity tradition developed the work of cultivating the Dao and perfecting the self. In the age of Primordial Chaos of the Dragon-Han, scriptures were bestowed to free people from the world.

The Great Dao is difficult to put into words; only pure and sincere devotion can reach it. On this auspicious day, we have cleansed the Daoist hall, paid homage to the perfected and holy, and confessed and repented our faults. We humbly pray that the Golden Youth will lay out the seats and the Jade Maiden tend the incense, so that our petitions may ascend to the Court of Wondrous Being and proceed directly to the realm of Emptiness. The phoenix flutes play in flowing melodies, and the Dragon Spirits sing the songs of the Azure Heavens. Luan birds draw the carriage, Daoist adepts follow, and cinnabar banners form ranks as escorts. Seven carriages and eight horses ride the mighty Qi and drift through the sky; the Three Realms and Ten Directions shine with numinous light, washing away impurity.

I, your disciple, so-and-so, humbly reflect that I am an unlearned latecomer to the Mystery Gate, only newly admitted to the rank of the Scarlet Writ registers. Formed through the reception of impure Qi, I am foolish by nature, have violated the ritual prohibitions, and accumulated many transgressions. Today I respectfully follow the ritual procedures of the immortals and set forth this secret rite. I humbly pray that the Lord Emperor of the Jade Capital and the Revered Master of the Golden Gate will bestow their abundant kindness and send rain from afar, opening a path to reform and begin anew. May they pardon this disciple according to the provisions that permit forgiveness, cleanse long-accumulated faults, and sweep away tangled burdens.

May I be granted the Qi of Great Origin, so that I may refine a numinous treasure body, temper my bones and renew my sinews, and preserve my form to remain in the world. May grace extend to my ancestors and help them ascend; may kindness also reach those bound to me by grievance or kinship, so that all may be reconciled and released. May every kind of transgression be dispelled in a single thought; may the Eight Calamities and Seven Afflictions be resolved one by one through the four seasons. May my cultivation gradually advance, and may no demonic obstacle hinder my pursuit of the Dao. May I receive the support of the One Qi and the protection of the hundred spirits, fulfill my vow to ascend to perfection, wander forever with companions among the immortals, and ultimately unite with the Dao in true perfection, with both form and spirit transformed.

I respectfully bow twice before the divine beings.

Then kneel for a long while in confession and repentance.

(“Visualization” means forming images of divine beings in the mind during a ritual. “Liturgical text” refers to the procedures and wording followed in Daoist rites. “Ritual registers” refers to Daoist credentials of religious office and talismans and registers.)

I sincerely take refuge, in body, consciousness, and life, in the Three Pure Ones (Sanqing), Lords of Transformation, and the Celestial Worthies of Lingbao in the Ten Directions. Holy beings of the Scripture of Limitless Salvation, hear my declaration: From past lives to this present life, the offenses I have committed through the three karmas of body, speech, and mind, and through the six faculties, five emotions, and seven desires, together with the misfortunes accumulated in former lives, have all been entered in the registers. According to the Mystical Code, I have committed both visible wrongs and hidden transgressions; my name is recorded in the black book. I now repent sincerely and pray that all these offenses be wiped away.

I beseech the Great Numinous One to look upon me with clear discernment and grant grace from the Vermilion Palace (the heavenly court): bestow life upon me and extend abundant blessings. May a rigid, lifeless body live again and decayed bones be restored. May the karmic entanglements binding me to my ancestors be undone, so that my seven generations of ancestors may ascend. May my heart and mind be free of dust, and demonic obstacles disperse. May I take refuge in the Great Dao, be cleansed of grave offenses, and see every calamity utterly destroyed. May merit be bestowed everywhere upon all beings. Having attained the Dao, may I ascend to the formless realm and unite with the Dao in its truth.

Next, make the Ten Great Vows and recite the incantation:

Jade Emperor of the Three Pure Ones, Three Plain Primordial Ladies, Most High and Exalted Spirit, Great Deity of the Immortal Capital: On this auspicious day, I declare my vows:

First, may I ascend through the clouds and attain long life as an immortal.

Second, may Heaven, Earth, and I reflect one another, as I travel upon flying clouds.

Third, may the Five Sacred Peaks endure as long as I do.

Fourth, may my ancestors of seven generations be freed from hardship and resentment.

Fifth, may the Lord Emperor sever the karmic obstacles of the womb and lineage.

Sixth, may wisdom shine forth through every generation.

Seventh, may the demons and evil spirits of the Six Heavens be slain and cut away.

Eighth, may the netherworld be opened and the spirits reached.

Ninth, when people gather, may every request be granted.

Tenth, may I ascend as an immortal and attend court among the Three Origins, the three heavenly realms described in Daoism.

Next, dedicate the merit—the merit gained through reciting scripture and cultivation—to all beings:

I bow before the True Master of the Lingbao Dongxuan Cavern, who saves without measure. The Great Dao contains Heaven and Earth and cannot be fully described by names; its Law courses through Yin and Yang, and its wondrous principles are beyond comprehension. It manifests in response to conditions and saves living beings, enabling them to transcend the Three Realms and the Ten Directions. The Great Dao is sublime and supreme, and its merit is as vast as a mountain. With one mind I turn toward it, never ceasing in my thoughts.

May the secret rites cultivated today dispel disasters and calamities above, and save the multitudes below; may the dead live again and their bodies be made whole, illnesses be healed, calamities be dispelled, and the righteous way be upheld. May merit be perfected and cultivation completed; may I soon partake of the Golden Elixir of liquid gold, understand the principles of the spirits, receive the Jade Emperor’s decree, and bring to fruition the highest good. Recite the sacred name of the Celestial Worthy of Lingbao in the Ten Directions.

When leaving home at dawn, after performing the “departure through the Earth Gate” rite—leaving the altar grounds by the Earth Gate—turn toward the ritual altar, click the teeth three times, and visualize a Jade Maiden.

The incantation says:

“Leave Yin and enter Yang; may the gods clear the way. Open the gates and report the matter; then close the Yellow Chamber. Jade Maiden who serves in the Pure Chamber, the divine palace is fully prepared.”

When the incantation is complete, step out with the right foot first.

When going outdoors at night (after leaving through the Earth Gate, turn to face the ritual altar, click the teeth three times, and visualize a young woman):

Incantation:

Above the dark mystery lies the realm of Supreme Yin. Its eight windows open wide, and radiant light appears. Whatever is invoked, the young woman can reach with lucid understanding.

When the rite is complete, return to your original place and wish all the spirits peace.

The daily incense-burning and prostration rite upon entering the chamber of stillness for cultivation:

First form the Jade Clarity hand seal with both hands, clasp them firmly to gather the spirit, and visualize the deities. Click the teeth three times, stand upright facing the Celestial Master, and recite the incantation:

The celestial scriptures spread far and wide, bestowed upon the Palace of Great Tenuity. The primordial teaching transforms and brings forth the spirits; incense smoke coils nine times. The Eight Radiances move through six cycles, sustaining the imperial fortune. To the left, welcome the spirits of the Azure Direction; to the right, invoke the imperial consort. The Elder of Nanchang refines body and mind, dispelling evil and error. The dance of Xuanyuan and the light of Scarlet Radiance reveal the true mystery. Today is a day of great celebration: the myriad Ways return together to the righteous path, joining the vital energy of righteousness so that Heaven’s fortune may never wane. Let word be carried throughout the Three Realms, swiftly conveyed by messengers, dragon spirits, and wind spirits.

Offering incense and invoking the holy ones:

With reverence, I reflect: In my early years I entered the mysterious gate and long followed the way of the Yellow Emperor and Laozi, receiving the protection of the Great Dao. I dwell in a sanctuary for cultivating the Real, yet am ashamed that I have not accumulated the ten good deeds to aid beings in the Six Paths. Many years have passed since I donned the Daoist robes, but I have not sincerely been mindful of the spirits; in my conduct, I have often treated the precepts lightly. I was diligent at first, then grew lax, failing to carry things through. At times I have performed rites improperly, and even my practice of benevolence has lacked integrity. I have burned incense at the wrong times, and my visualizations and tooth-clicking have violated the liturgy.

I fear that the Three Corpses have secretly reported my offenses, and that the Six Bureaus have plainly recorded my guilt. Therefore, I now lay bare my sincerity, looking up and bowing before the empty, formless Great Dao. I pray that my sins may be pardoned and my transgressions dissolved; may my name be entered in the register of supreme goodness, and may my lifespan fulfill my wish for longevity. May my three thousand meritorious deeds continue to accumulate, and may I soon encounter the Nine-Turn Elixir. May the Yellow Registers and White Documents erase the names of the dead from the registers of the departed, so they may be reborn; may my name ascend to the Golden Gate and Jade Capital, rising ever higher and never falling back. May the immortal bureaus record good deeds, and the registers of the dead remove calamities.

May I obtain from the Golden Books of the Eight Radiances the methods for refining Qi and cultivating the Real, and gain from the Jade Seals of the Five Patterns the effects of long life and enduring vision. May the place where I perform rites be safe, far from the disasters of metal, wood, water, and fire, and forever free of shock or harm. May calamities represented by the colors blue-green, yellow, white, and black all dissolve. May disputes on both sides be resolved, clothing and food be naturally abundant, and neither demonic obstacles nor troubles arise.

May I repay the kindness of the ruler, teachers, and parents, and save beings sunk in suffering in the netherworld. May I drive out evil influences, support the righteous path, revive the teachings, and establish merit. May the hundred spirits take refuge, the myriad deities show their reverence, and body and spirit attain the wondrous state, ultimately uniting with the Dao and becoming Real.

The Great Scripture of Limitless Salvation by Numinous Treasure (Lingbao Wuliang Duren Shangjing Dafa), Volume 27