《靈寶領教濟度金書》Vol. 234

This scripture records the repentance liturgy (Keyi) performed during the "Thunder Rites Fast" (a Zhaijiao rain-prayer and disaster-averting ritual) of the Lingbao tradition (one of Daoism's major schools). The ceremony is divided into two parallel sections addressing the northern and southwestern directions, following similar structures.

In the northern ritual segment, the presiding priest (referred to as "your subject") leads devotees in offering incense and prostrations while confessing transgressions to the northern deities. These include: the Jade Clarity True King of Divine Empyrean, Long-Life Great Emperor (a supreme Daoist deity); the Five Qi Celestial Lords of the North (divine rulers of the Five Phases' energies in the northern region); the Mercury Water Virtue True Lord (deity of the water planet); the Seven Mansions Star Lords of the North (guardian deities of the northern constellations); the Sacred Mountain True Lord of Northern Peak Hengshan (one of the Five Sacred Mountains); and the Dragon King of the Northern Sea (ruler of northern waters) among other aquatic deities.

The priest confesses on behalf of the ritual sponsor (Zhaiguan): "From kalpas past until this present life, we have failed in strict fasting observance, violated moral principles, defiled heaven and earth, slandered true spirits, complained of seasonal hardships, cursed wind and rain, wasted the Five Grains, and transgressed against the four seasons' rhythms." These offenses caused celestial retribution and terrestrial condemnation, manifesting as prolonged drought preventing crop sowing. Through this fasting ritual and Dao practice, they seek absolution, praying the deities will heed their plea, pardon their transgressions, and command the northern storm-wielding gods to send timely rain. They ask to dispel the drought demon (Hanba) that the fields may be irrigated, harvests abundant, and peace restored to the realm. The segment concludes with aspirations for post-mortem transcendence through Dao realization.

The southwestern section mirrors this structure, substituting different deities: the Supreme Azure King of Upper Clarity, Azure Splendor Great Emperor; the Brahma Qi Celestial Lord of the Southwest (governing that region's pure energies); the Lunar Palace Supreme Yin Sovereign (moon goddess); and the Six Southern Dipper Star Lords (who govern longevity). The confession text remains identical to the northern version, forming a symmetrical ritual appeal for drought relief.

This scripture describes the complete Daoist zhaijiao (purification ritual) procedure for confessing sins and praying for rain to various deities. The text first invokes deities in the southwest, then repeats similar supplications toward the east and southeast.

During the ritual, Daoist priests begin by burning incense, surrendering their body, mind, and life essence to the celestial beings. They confess their transgressions before a pantheon of deities including the Celestial Worthy of Universal Transformation Through Thunderous Sounds (supreme thunder deity), the Nine Qi Heavenly Lords of the East (rulers of eastern vitality), the Virtuous Jupiter Star (wood phase planetary deity), the Seven Mansions Star Lords of the East (constellation deities), the True Lord of Mount Tai (sacred eastern peak), and the Dragon Kings of the Eastern Sea. The priests acknowledge their failures since ancient times—breaking fasting precepts, violating moral principles, disrespecting heaven and earth, slandering true spirits, complaining about seasonal changes, cursing wind and rain, disregarding the five grains, and disrupting the four seasons—thereby incurring celestial calamities and terrestrial warnings.

Through this zhaijiao ritual practice, they openly confess to the deities and beg for divine audience. They beseech the venerable gods to extend boundless mercy, issuing special edicts to all mysterious bureaus (underworld administrative offices) throughout the infinite realms of Daoist cosmology. May past transgressions be pardoned and compassionate grace widely bestowed. Let decrees reach all thunder, rain, and lightning departments, sheji (earth and grain deities) and chenghuang (city gods), along with local territorial rulers, commanding them to gather clouds, release rains, summon thunder, and wield lightning—ensuring timely sweet rains disperse drought demons (drought-causing spirits). May fields receive abundant moisture, crops flourish for bountiful harvests, bringing universal peace and earthly prosperity everywhere. After this confession, may participants transcend physical form to ascend into formless realms.

The southeastern invocation adds homage to the Heavenly Thunder Ancestor (supreme thunder deity), the Brahma Qi Heavenly Lord of the Southeast (ruler of southeastern sacred energy), the Solar Palace Emperor (sun deity), and the Fusang Water Palace Emperor (eastern water deity). Through systematic directional shifts and divine summons, the entire ceremony reveals the comprehensive structure and cosmology of Daoist ritual practice.

This scripture describes the ritual performed by a Daoist priest (jiaoguan) who represents the people in confessing transgressions to the celestial deities and praying for rain.

The priest confesses that since ancient kalpas of misfortune up to the present life, he has failed to uphold the precepts of purification, violated human ethics, disrespected the deities of heaven and earth, slandered true spirits, complained about seasonal changes, cursed wind and rain, and treated the Five Grains with contempt—thereby disrupting the harmony of the four seasons. These transgressions have provoked calamities from heaven, causing prolonged drought, preventing sowing, and plunging the people into panic.

Now, through the performance of a zhaijiao (purification ritual), the priest openly repents and prays. He beseeches the supreme deities to listen with compassion and issue divine decrees, informing all the celestial offices (xuansi) of the infinite realms in the southeast—according to Daoist cosmology—to pardon past sins and bestow abundant grace. He commands the deities of the southeast who govern wind, rain, thunder, and lightning—including the gods of soil and grain (sheji), city gods (chenghuang), and local earth deities (tudi)—to swiftly gather clouds, summon rain, and expel the drought demon (hanba), ensuring timely rainfall. May the fields be irrigated, crops flourish, harvests be bountiful, and peace prevail under heaven.

The scripture then shifts to repentance before the deities of the central direction. The priest appeals to the Great Supreme Emperor of the Central Heaven (Taiyi Dadi), the Star Lord of Earth Virtue (Zhenxing Tude), the True Lord of Mount Song (Zhongyue Songshan), and other water deities of the central realm, similarly seeking forgiveness and requesting that the rain deities of the central direction bring timely showers.

This passage illustrates the Daoist tradition of mediating between heaven and humanity through zhaijiao rituals, emphasizing the connection between human conduct and natural phenomena, as well as the religious practice of resolving calamities through repentance and ritual.

This scripture describes a repentance and supplication process within a Daoist zhaijiao (purification ritual) ceremony. Through incense offerings and prostrations, the ritual masters confess transgressions to deities of the northwest and west, praying for relief from drought.

In the northwest-facing repentance, the masters openly confess before deities including the Great Emperor of Liutian Dongyuan (sovereign of water realms) and the Celestial Lord of Northwest Fanqi (heavenly deity of the northwest quadrant). They acknowledge humanity's accumulated transgressions across kalpas until the present life: breaking fasting precepts, violating moral principles, defiling celestial and earthly spirits, complaining about seasonal changes, cursing wind and rain, disrespecting the Five Grains, and disturbing the harmony of the four seasons. These offenses have provoked celestial retribution, manifesting as prolonged drought that prevents sowing. Through sincere repentance in this ritual, they beseech divine forgiveness, asking the northwestern wind-thunder-rain ministries, local earth gods, and city deities to send timely rains, dispel drought demons, irrigate farmlands, and ensure abundant harvests.

The western-facing confession follows similar themes but addresses different deities: the Imperial Lord of Liubo (sovereign of western waters), the Celestial Lord of Western Seven Qi, the Golden Star of Venus (Taibai Jinxing), the Sacred Lord of Mount Hua, and the Dragon Kings of the Western Sea. The supplication equally seeks absolution for sins and petitions for life-giving rains to nourish the Five Grains.

This passage exemplifies Daoist religious practice through zhaijiao rituals—communicating with deities, confessing karmic transgressions, and seeking disaster relief. It particularly emphasizes humanity's reverence for natural order and the vital importance of maintaining harmony between heaven and earth.

This scripture describes a Daoist zhaijiao (purification ritual) liturgy for rainmaking through repentance to deities of the northeast and south. The ceremony consists of two main parts:

Northeastern Invocation: Through incense-burning rituals, the Daoist priests confess their transgressions to the northeastern deities (including the Venerable Celestial Worthy of the Kehan Division and the Seven Stars of the Northern Dipper). They admit to breaking precepts and disregarding moral principles in this life—showing disrespect to heaven and earth, slandering true spirits, complaining about summer heat, and cursing wind and rain—actions that brought drought from heaven and made the land uncultivable. Through the zhaijiao ritual, they seek forgiveness, praying that the thunder and rain deities of the northeast might gather clouds and release rain to dispel the drought demon (a legendary drought-causing ghost), irrigate fields, ensure bountiful harvests, and restore peace to the world.

Southern Invocation: Similarly, through incense offerings, they repent before southern deities (the Celestial Worthy of the Nine Heavens Investigative Envoy, the Perfect Lord of Southern Mount Heng, the Dragon King of the Southern Sea, etc.) for comparable offenses. The priests confess to disrupting the four seasons and disrespecting the Five Grains, causing prolonged drought and scorching heat that prevented sowing in southern regions. They now seek divine forgiveness through ritual to restore harmonious weather patterns.

The entire ceremony embodies the Daoist concept of "heaven-human resonance," where human actions affect nature, requiring repentance and rituals to reconcile humanity with the natural world. Phrases like "taking refuge with body, spirit, and life" represent standard Daoist initiation formulas, while "qi" refers to primordial vital energy, and "Perfect Lord" is an honorific title for high-ranking immortals.

This is a rain prayer text recorded in the Lingbao Lingjiao Jidu Jinshu, a Daoist scripture. Through repentance and supplication, the Daoist priests seek divine forgiveness and assistance.

The ritual begins with the priests offering incense and paying homage to numerous deities, including the Nine Celestial Sovereigns of Thunder (the highest thunder deities in Daoist cosmology), the True Lords of the Five Planets (the stellar deities of Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth), the Star Lords of the Southern and Northern Dippers, the Twenty-Eight Lunar Mansions, the Mountain Gods of the Five Sacred Peaks, the Dragon Kings of the Four Seas, and other deities of heaven, earth, and the water realms. They confess their sins from past to present: failing to uphold the precepts of purification, violating moral principles, disrespecting the celestial and earthly spirits, slandering immortals, complaining about the weather, wasting food, and disrupting the natural order of the seasons—all of which have provoked the heavens to send drought as punishment.

Now, through the Zhaijiao (purification ritual), they repent and beseech the deities for mercy. They particularly implore the Mystic Officials of the Southern Limitless Realm (a sacred cosmic domain in Daoist cosmology) to pardon their transgressions and issue decrees to the gods who govern wind, rain, thunder, and lightning—including the deities of the Wind, Thunder, and Rain Ministries, the Earth Gods, and the City Gods—commanding them to swiftly gather clouds, release rain, and drive away the Hanba (a drought-causing demon of legend), ensuring abundant rainfall to nourish the fields.

The prayer seeks harmonious winds and timely rains, thriving crops, bountiful harvests, and peace and prosperity for the people. Finally, it expresses the aspiration that, upon attaining perfection in cultivation, the practitioners may transcend physical form and ascend into the formless Great Dao (Dao). This passage reflects the Daoist belief in harmonizing heaven and humanity and restoring natural balance through ritual.