《靈寶無量度人上經大法》Vol. 32

The Daoist adept writes the Azure Emperor's (Qingdi) Vermilion Writ of True Script, the Azure Emperor being the Lord of the East, and places it in the east. The Immortal Officials of the Eastern Peak (Dongyue) will then descend. If one fasts for one hundred consecutive days and concentrates the mind on the Revered Deity of the Numinous Treasure (Lingbao Zunshen), the Celestial Perfected (Tianzhen) will descend, bestow nine Jade Maidens of the Azure Girdle, and enable one to obtain the immortal herbs and elixirs of death-defiance from the Eastern Peak. The demons under the Azure Emperor's command will retreat ninety thousand li. Within the locality, the wicked rebellious beings, fierce beasts, and poisonous insects will no longer harbor harmful intentions and will instead return to benevolence.

If calamities arise in the east or during the three months of spring, and one wishes to pacify the east, the writ may be inscribed in cinnabar on blue stone and placed to guard the Nine Heavens of the east. The calamities will then dissipate on their own, and the malignant, rebellious qi will disperse. The benevolent people of the locality will see the Azure Dragon soaring, and auspicious omens will naturally arrive, so that the land attains peace. Writing this scripture well and wearing it on the body can avert all manner of misfortune, keep the body free of harm, maintain constant accord with the gods, protect the nation, and bring boundless blessings.

The adept writes the Red Emperor's (Chidi) writ, the Red Emperor being the Lord of the South, and places it in the south. The Immortal Officials of the Southern Peak (Nanyue) will then descend. If one fasts for one hundred consecutive days and concentrates the mind on the Revered Deity of the Numinous Treasure, the Celestial Perfected will descend, bestow eight Jade Maidens of the Vermilion Pavilion (Zhuling), and enable one to obtain the immortal herbs and elixirs of death-defiance from the Southern Peak. The demons under the Red Emperor's command will retreat eighty thousand li. Within the locality, the wicked rebellious beings, fierce beasts, and poisonous insects will no longer harbor harmful intentions and will instead return to benevolence.

If calamities arise in the south or during the three months of summer, and one wishes to pacify the south, the writ may be inscribed in cinnabar on red stone and placed to guard the Nine Heavens of the south for eight days. The calamities will then dissipate on their own, and the malignant, rebellious qi will disperse. The benevolent people of the locality will see auspicious signs appear, with phoenixes coming to visit and white simurghs calling, as gods and humans together sing and rejoice in the peace. Wearing the writ well on the body averts every kind of disaster, dispels malignant qi and impurity, draws down divine beings and boundless blessings, prolongs life, and makes one's household prosper and the nation secure.

The adept writes the Yellow Emperor's (Huangdi) writ, the Yellow Emperor being the Lord of the Center, and places it at the center. The Immortal Officials of the Central Peak (Zhongyue) will then descend. If one fasts for one hundred consecutive days and concentrates the mind on the Revered Deity of the Numinous Treasure, the Celestial Perfected will descend, bestow twelve Yellow Silk Jade Maidens, and enable one to obtain the immortal herbs and elixirs of death-defiance from the Central Peak. The demons under the Yellow Emperor's command will retreat one hundred and twenty thousand li. Within the central region, the wicked rebellious beings, fierce beasts, and poisonous insects will no longer harbor harmful intentions and will instead return to benevolence. Practicing long fasts and cultivation for twenty-four years allows the body to become an immortal, and merely wearing this writ enables one to transform into an immortal through corpse liberation (shijie), the Daoist term for the body's molting into immortality. The scripture continues here with "the land…," and this passage is incomplete.

When calamities strike the center or the months of the four seasons, and one wishes to settle and guard the center, one may write talismanic script (fu wen) in cinnabar on a yellow stone and set the stone at the center for twelve days. The calamities will then dissipate of their own accord, and malicious and rebellious affairs will also be removed. The four quarters will live in harmony, and auspicious omens will appear naturally. The qilin will come to submit, the White Tiger will wander within the courtyard, the state will be abundant, the people will be prosperous, and the realm will be at peace. Wearing the script on one's person will ward off every kind of calamity, the body will be healthy and the primordial Qi strong, the Jing of the five viscera will be clear, and the state will long enjoy tranquility and blessing.

A Daoist priest who writes the True Script of the White Emperor, the sacred script corresponding to the West, and places it in the west will bring the Immortal Officials of the Western Peak to arrive. After a hundred days of fasting and focused contemplation of the Venerable Lord of Numinous Treasure (Lingbao), a Daoist supreme deity, the Perfected Spirits will descend and bestow six Maidens of Supreme Simplicity (Taisu Yunü). They will gather the immortal fungus (xianzhi) and elixirs of non-death from the Western Peak. The demons belonging to the White Emperor will keep away sixty thousand li, and the fierce beasts and venomous insects of the west will not form any intent to harm; instead, they will turn from evil to good. Practicing fasting and cultivation over twenty-four years will lead to attaining the Dao and becoming an immortal. Merely wearing this talisman can also transform one into an immortal through shijie (liberation from the corpse, the Daoist term for shedding the physical form and ascending as an immortal).

When calamities strike the west or the three months of autumn, and one wishes to settle and guard the west, one may write talismanic script in cinnabar on a white stone and place it in the west for six days. The calamities will then dissipate of their own accord, and rebellious and perverse affairs will also be removed. The west will submit to order, and auspicious omens will arrive. Spirit beasts will fly above the carriages, golden sparrows will bring down the talismanic decree, and the Five Elders will come to pay homage. The state will be at peace and the people content. Wearing the script on one's person brings the aid of spirits, calamity cannot touch the body, and one may share seats and meals with the Five Emperors. Descendants will flourish, and for generations they will enjoy the fortune of marquises and kings, accompanied by good affinities. Why should one worry?

A Daoist priest who writes the True Script of the Black Emperor, the sacred script corresponding to the North, and places it in the north will bring the Immortal Officials of the Northern Peak to arrive. After a hundred days of fasting and focused contemplation of the Venerable Lord of Numinous Treasure, the Perfected Spirits will descend and bestow five Maidens of Profound Mystery (Taixuan Yunü). They will gather the immortal fungus and elixirs of non-death from the Northern Peak. The demons belonging to the Black Emperor will keep away fifty thousand li, and the fierce beasts and venomous insects of the north will not form any intent to harm; instead, they will turn from evil to good. Practicing fasting and cultivation over twenty-four years will lead to attaining the Dao and becoming an immortal. Merely wearing this talisman can also transform one into an immortal through shijie.

When calamities strike the north or the three months of winter, and one wishes to settle and guard the north, one may write talismanic script in cinnabar on a black stone and place it in the north for five days. The calamities will then dissipate of their own accord, and malicious affairs will be eliminated. The north will submit to order, and auspicious omens will flourish. Things hidden beneath the earth will be revealed, and gold and jade will appear. Heavenly beings and humans will sing together, the state will be rich, and the people will be abundant. Wearing the script on one's person will remove every kind of calamity, one's lifespan will be as long as heaven and earth, and one will enjoy fortune and blessing.

Everything sought will proceed smoothly and auspiciously; descendants will flourish, and worthy and capable people will appear generation after generation.

The Master says: The Zhenwen (True Script) incantations of the Chishu Yujue (Jade Formulas of the Vermilion Writ) have often been explained through the ancient text, and later scholars have frequently found them difficult to put into practice accordingly. For this reason, Gaoshang (a revered title for the High Deities of Daoism) personally took up the brush to explain the intricate and obscure passages, to bring out the true essentials of the Yujue, and to clarify the subtle and profound original phrasing of the ancient text. When the exalted ones of the myriad heavens recite these jade sounds, beings in the distant ten directions respond in chorus; when the High Heaven establishes its rites, spirits and demons are subdued.

When teaching worldly scriptures and Daoist methods, people often use old texts to explain new meanings, and many errors and discrepancies result. Moreover, because common things are undervalued while things obtained by chance are treated as treasures, worldly people prize what is rare and are often misled by preconceived views, so that texts frequently present an earlier-received explanation as precious. Worldly people also favor the strange: they call the rare marvelous and regard the easily obtained as inferior or mistaken. As a result, even when a worldly teacher has grasped the subtle meaning, he often does not transmit it to others, while teachers who do not understand the principles speak carelessly, each setting up their own doctrine and leaving later students puzzled. Now, having examined the matter carefully and compared it with the texts of the immortal traditions, I have aimed for brevity and conformity with the true purport, so that the teaching is explained without doubt. This is what is good.

Dafan Zhengyin (Great Brahma Correct Sound)

The Master says: This chapter of the Dafan Zhengyin (Great Brahma Correct Sound) is condensed from the spontaneously moving qi (in Daoist belief, the fundamental force that constitutes heaven, earth, and all things) of the Primordial Heavenly Venerable, Yuanshi Tianzun. Reciting it can subdue the myriad numinous beings and deliver one from the Five Sufferings (the various hardships endured by sentient beings). Those who practice the great methods may face east on a liu bing day (a specific day reckoned by the sexagenary cycle), write the incantation in cinnabar on yellow silk, and wear it on the body, in order to expel and subdue the hosts of demons and eliminate all calamities. While writing, one should visualize oneself becoming the Lingbao Heavenly Venerable, pinch the upper joint of the middle finger to draw in the Primordial Ancestral Qi, and then pour that ancestral qi into the brush.

When writing the chapter text, recite the incantation:

"The Primordial Ancestral Wheel condenses Brahmic qi, interwoven and unbroken; spontaneous and numinous, from beginning to end, profound and subtle. The Great Dao acts with goodness, leading all beings, vast and lofty; mysterious, clear, distant, and unfathomable. The True Numinous Peak penetrates the Great Dao; it commands the foremost ranks and transcends the ten directions, without end. Swiftly, swiftly, follow the decrees of the Lingbao Supreme Head and carry them out."

Dafan Zhengyin (Great Brahma Correct Sound)

Extending life to all things, lofty and brilliant in its radiance; awakening to the Primordial Origin, it penetrates the void. The Nine Perfected transform and interfuse, initiating the diagrams and script; numinous fortune forms the governing pattern, and the Primal Capital responds and transforms. Majestic and manifest, it arises spontaneously; the scene of the green peaks shifts, and the Imperial Dao holds light within. The celestial forest displays its radiant authority, while qi and essence nourish the hun and po (the ethereal and corporeal souls); arrayed and borne upward, they establish the round blossom. Hidden in the vast heavens, it meets the great spirit; embracing the great net, it proclaims tranquility. The chapter's fire reaches through and spreads widely; firmly disseminated, it clarifies the source. The void manifests mysterious visions, and the mysterious flower qi, like a dragon, dances in the vault of the sky……

The Great Brahma Hidden Sounds

These are the "hidden sounds of Great Brahma" (Dafan yinyu, the secret sounds of the Great Brahma Heaven). The scripture recites them as incantations.

The master says that Dafan is the heaven above all heavens, and that yinyu are the secret sounds of the various heavens. These hidden sounds come from the oral instructions that the Supreme Lord of the Great Dao of Jade Dawn (Taishang Yuchen Dadao Jun) received from the Celestial Worthy of Primordial Beginning (Yuanshi Tianzun). The practitioner who cultivates their hidden mysteries, and arranges them into sentences following the sequence of the sixty-four hexagrams, embodies the number of the Central Yellow (Zhonghuang zhi shu). The alchemical practitioner should choose a bingri or dingri day, when fire qi is strong, set up an altar facing southeast, perform the bow, and write the incantation on yellow paper to carry as a protective talisman. This can make all numinous beings submit in awe, gather the True Primordial Qi (zhenyuan zhi qi), and respond to the three cinnabar fields (the upper, middle, and lower Dantian). If the incantation is written in cinnabar on green paper for the deliverance of the dead, the departed souls can enter the light and no longer linger in darkness. This is called the "immeasurable sound of Great Brahma."

The verse that follows consists of sixteen four-syllable lines. Most of its words are rare transliteration characters with no fixed lexical meaning, so they are left as sacred syllables rather than translated. The final four lines can be rendered as: "Receive the position in the Jade Chamber; the Great Statute penetrates the hidden; the mysterious chapters shine and fall; the net and the wheel turn anew."

The Eight Heavens of the East

Form the Zhen seal (zhen jue), matching it with the Zhen trigram of the east. Draw in the qi of the Eight Heavens of the East through the mouth, then exhale outward. Next, press the middle finger and, facing east, write the seal-script incantation. It opens with a line of sacred syllables that have no clear meaning and is not reproduced here.

The hexagram names listed afterward are, in order: Yu (Enthusiasm), Sui (Following), Gu (Work on What Has Decayed), Lin (Approach), Guan (Contemplation), Shi He (Biting Through), Bi (Grace), Bo (Splitting Apart), Fu (Return), Wu Wang (Innocence), Da Xu (Great Accumulation), Yi (Nourishment), Da Guo (Great Exceeding), Kan (The Abysmal), Li (The Clinging), and Xian (Influence). The original labels this section "Eight Heavens of the East," but the list contains sixteen hexagram names, which does not match the number eight. The name given as "Gui" is probably a variant of Bi, and the marked symbol may reflect a textual variant or a lacuna in the source.

This scripture describes a Daoist ritual practice involving cultivation methods for the Eight Heavens of the Four Directions. Practitioners face specific cardinal directions while forming mudras (hand seals like Wuwen, Duìwen, Zǐwen, etc.), inhaling the primordial Qi from corresponding directions, then exhaling or snapping fingers to guide this energy into their bodies.

For the Southern Eight Heavens practice: Form the Wuwen mudra while facing south, inhale the southern celestial energy, and recite the incantation: "Zhōng jì xū yī hùn huá xiān zōng hé huī yáng táng hè xū yào tóng jīng xū qú róng shè," followed by sixteen hexagram names (such as Héng, Dùn, Dàzhuàng, etc.) which serve as Daoist symbols representing different energy patterns.

The Western Eight Heavens practice similarly involves: Forming the Duìwen mudra while facing west, inhaling western celestial energy, and chanting: "Yóu huì zhào sū tuó qié hán luó qí jù miǎo yù tái yìng lú mó bì shū shǎo dōu shè," also followed by sixteen hexagram names.

For the Northern Eight Heavens: Practitioners form the Zǐwen mudra facing north, absorb northern celestial Qi, and recite: "Yuán huáng bǎo yào yán líng yù dān fú sāng jìng yù níng chén zǒng xuán dòng miào zōng míng shè," again concluding with sixteen hexagram names.

These methods belong to Neidan (internal alchemy) practice, cultivating one's being by absorbing the Qi of heaven and earth from all directions. Each directional incantation contains specific energetic information, while the hexagrams correspond to different cosmic energy patterns. Through these rituals, practitioners seek resonance with celestial energies to achieve physical and spiritual cultivation.