《洞玄靈寶飛仙上品妙經》

This scripture recounts the process by which the Most High Numinous Treasure Heavenly Venerable (Lingbao Tianzun) transmitted the methods for ascension to immortality. The text begins by listing four scriptures of the same volume, including the Dongxuan Lingbao Feixian Shangpin Miaojing (Superior Marvelous Scripture of Flying Immortals from the Numinous Treasure Cavern Mystery).

The core content describes how this Feixian Jing (Scripture of Flying Immortals) originated from the Mysterious Wonder Palace of Mount Taiyuan. There, the Perfected Master of Empty Vacuity (Zhenren Kongxu Fashi) led a celestial assembly of 100,000 heavenly immortals, sacred beings from the Five Sacred Mountains, and 700,000 jade maidens of the Nine Heavens to expound the Great Scripture of Immeasurable Divine Incantations upon the Purple Jade Terrace of the Jade Capital (Yujing). At that gathering, 320,000 celestial immortals came seeking instruction, lamenting how mortals in their ignorance rejected the orthodox Dao (Zhengdao) in favor of heretical views, thereby condemning themselves to hell. Facing the impending cosmic calamity, they inquired how to save these stubborn beings.

The Numinous Treasure Heavenly Venerable responded that there indeed existed extraordinary methods for attaining immortality. To achieve celestial ascension, aspirants must first receive talismanic registers (Fulu) like the Yellow-Red-Purple Talismans as credentials of Daoist practice. Under the guidance of three masters, they would receive transmissions from the Thirty-Six True Scriptures. Practitioners must master various divine incantations and talismans—such as the Nine Heavens Military Talismans and the Great Cloud-Thunder Talisman for Subduing Hundred Demons—which form the foundation of immortality. A Daoist who cultivates according to these methods while accumulating three thousand virtuous deeds (Gongde) may achieve daytime ascension as a celestial immortal on auspicious days like Gengshen or Jiazi.

The scripture emphasizes the critical importance of orthodox Daoist practice, asserting that only through proper transmission of registers (Shoulu), incantation recitation, virtuous cultivation, and merit accumulation can one ultimately attain the Dao and achieve immortality.

This scripture primarily expounds the methods for attaining celestial ascension through virtuous cultivation and benevolent deeds. It begins by emphasizing the importance of observing specific fasting days (such as the Six Monthly Fasting Days and Ten Direct Days) by burning incense and practicing the Dao (the Way). Such practices can eliminate calamities, bring stability to households, and invoke blessings. Failure to observe these practices not only brings personal retribution but also implicates one's descendants and seven generations of ancestors, condemning them to suffering in the underworld and resulting in present-life poverty, hardship, and endless disputes.

The scripture then enumerates forty virtuous deeds that can "lead to celestial ascension," including:

1. Sincerely revering the Dao (the Way) and respecting its teachings

2. Assisting others in performing purification rituals (Zhaijiao)

3. Constructing public facilities (such as digging wells and building bridges)

4. Teaching others to cultivate goodness

5. Supporting Daoist practitioners and honoring teachers

6. Aiding the poor and sick, and practicing charity

7. Avoiding malicious speech and refraining from envy

8. Treating others equally and avoiding competitiveness

9. Donating scriptures and contributing to ritual halls

10. Rescuing those in peril (such as from fires or drowning)

11. Observing fasting and maintaining devout practice day and night

12. Abstaining from theft and worldly greed

13. Respecting virtuous deeds and caring for the orphaned and impoverished

These cultivation methods encompass personal discipline, social service, and religious practice, emphasizing the accumulation of merit (De) through daily virtuous actions to ultimately achieve the state of celestial ascension. The scripture repeatedly employs the phrase "also leads to celestial ascension," illustrating that the path to immortality is multifaceted, with the key lying in upholding a benevolent heart and diligent cultivation.

This scripture elucidates multiple pathways to ascension and the vital importance of purification rituals (Zhaijiao). The essential teachings can be understood as follows:

Practitioners may attain the opportunity for celestial transcendence through various means: instructing disciples, venerating ancestors, maintaining prosperous livelihood without material want, never violating Daoist principles, studying under masters, planting trees, or assisting others in crossing rivers—all such virtuous deeds accumulate merit (De).

The foremost priority for Daoist seekers of immortality lies in establishing purification rituals (Zhaijiao), the sacred ceremonies that purify body and mind. With sincere devotion to these practices, myriad divine beings will descend to the ritual space. The thirty-six celestial kings of the heavens—including the Soaring Immortal Kings and Celestial Emperor Kings—along with thirty-six thousand immortal attendants will gather at the Great Canopy Heaven (the supreme Daoist celestial realm) to pay homage to the Celestial Venerables (the highest deities). These immortal sages all achieved Dao-realization through cultivation in past ages, though their spiritual journeys are now forgotten by the mundane world.

The scripture further recounts a cautionary tale: When the immortal Wu Gangwen obstinately debated doctrinal principles with the Supreme Perfected Being (Taishang Zhenren), the Celestial Venerable punished him to eternally cut the cassia tree on the moon, forever separated from the company of fellow immortals. This illustrates that Dao cultivators must maintain humble receptivity to teachings, avoiding stubborn arrogance.

Finally, it emphasizes that while thirty-six thousand practitioners now gather in the sacred Daoist assembly, future generations may lose understanding of the hierarchical stages of immortal cultivation and the crucial merit of charitable giving. Thus, these essential cultivation principles must be diligently preserved.

This scripture depicts the Celestial Worthy (the supreme deity in Daoism) expounding the causes and conditions of spiritual cultivation to immortal kings upon the Seven Treasures Terrace in the Jade Capital of Mysterious Metropolis (a Daoist celestial realm).

The Celestial Worthy praises the immortal kings for raising such enlightening questions that awaken sentient beings. He explains: your attainment of celestial sovereignty through countless kalpas (immeasurably long cosmic cycles) of birth-death transmigration was achieved by accumulating merit (De). When merit reaches perfection, one gradually attains the supreme fruit of the Dao (ultimate spiritual accomplishment).

The Celestial Worthy elaborates the path of cultivation: whether beings trapped in the six realms of rebirth or perfected immortals of the nine grades (nine levels of realization), all attained the Dao only after enduring prolonged kalpas of tribulation. They suffered the torments of boiling cauldrons, fiery furnaces, mountains of blades, and forests of swords in hell realms, or underwent rebirth as animals, before finally cultivating the immortal fruit of deathless longevity.

A crucial teaching emerges: mortals and sages share the same fundamental nature. Spiritual progress must follow gradual stages—from mortal to immortal, from immortal to perfected being, from perfected being to sage. Like constructing a tall tower from its foundation or commencing a thousand-mile journey with a single step, one must perfect three thousand merits (the standard for complete cultivation) to achieve daylight ascension as an immortal.

The phrases "constructing bridges of virtue" and "cultivating fields of blessedness" serve as metaphors for methods that liberate sentient beings and accumulate meritorious deeds. The entire passage emphasizes that spiritual cultivation requires enduring hardships through gradual, systematic practice to ultimately attain the immortal fruit of deathless longevity.