《靈寶領教濟度金書》Vol. 258

This Lingbao Lingjiao Jidu Jinshu (Precious Scripture of Numinous Treasure for Salvation and Deliverance) documents the Daoist Zhaijiao (purification ritual) and Keyi (liturgy) for dispelling locust plagues, transmitted by the Southern Song dynasty master Ning Quanzhen and compiled by Lin Lingzhen. Below are the core elements of the evening ritual performance:

The ceremony begins with Daoist priests offering incense and paying reverent homage while silently contemplating the teachings of their patriarchs. They then recite the "Weiling Zhou" (Guardian Spirit Incantation), a protective mantra for the ritual altar. Its essence conveys: The five stars (Venus, Jupiter, Mercury, Mars, and Saturn) radiate auspicious light as Yuanshi Tianzun (the Celestial Worthy of Primordial Beginning, highest deity in Daoism) gathers the collective power of all divinities, merging celestial and terrestrial energies. The jade talismans and precious ritual instruments emit subtle resonances while flaming talismans are cast to subdue malevolent forces. Myriad demonic entities are vanquished, baleful qi dissipates, and the Dao's energy circulates unimpeded. Divine illumination dispels darkness as ten thousand immortals descend upon the mortal realm, riding auspicious clouds to shower blessings across the sacred land.

The ritual master then strikes the ceremonial drum twenty-four times (symbolizing the twenty-four solar terms) to summon celestial deities. Addressing himself humbly as "your servant," he reverently invites the Three Pure Ones (Sanqing) - Yuanshi Tianzun, Lingbao Tianzun, and Daode Tianzun - along with the Jade Emperor, the Great Emperor of Purple Tenuity, and other heavenly deities to descend. Local earth gods and city deities are also invoked for assistance.

The master declares this Zhaijiao is specifically established to eradicate locust calamities, beseeching the numinous radiance from the Jade Purity Heaven (highest celestial realm) to infuse the ritual altar, ensuring prayers reach the celestial courts directly. Finally, all participating priests collectively offer their solemn petitions, sequentially paying homage to the Three Pure Ones, the Jade Emperor, the Great Emperor of Purple Tenuity, and numerous celestial and terrestrial deities, including the Six Offices of the Southern Dipper, Seven Primordials of the Northern Dipper, and Twenty-Eight Lunar Mansions star lords - vividly manifesting the Daoist cosmological principle of "resonance between heaven and humanity."

This passage is a ritual petition from the Lingbao Lingjiao Jidu Jinshu (Golden Book of Lingbao Salvation), detailing how Daoist priests submit memorials to celestial deities on behalf of people to avert locust plagues.

The text first enumerates the deities being addressed: the Three Primes and Three Officials (divine rulers of heaven, earth, and water), the Four Saints of the North Pole (including the Big Dipper deities and guardian spirits), the True Lords of Heavenly Ministries (celestial administrators), the Ten Directions' Limitless Flying Celestial Kings (directional protectors), and the Five Great Demon Kings of the Three Realms (guardians of cosmic boundaries). It also includes immortals governing the Five Sacred Mountains, grotto-heavens, agriculture, pestilence, as well as local earth gods like City Gods and Land Deities.

The narrative describes how the Celestial Worthy of Primordial Beginning (Daoism's supreme deity) operates creation from the Qingwei Heaven, while the Celestial Worthy of the Void Sovereign initiated the Red Bright kalpa to generate all things. Cosmic divine forces circulate, celestial light shines pure, and life perpetually renews itself. We priests (the ritual voice) approach the Daoist scriptures with reverence, aspiring to deliver sentient beings and committing to self-cultivation that rectifies faults and seeks truth. Having received the people's petitions, we now present their case to Heaven.

The petition then details the calamity: "The state relies on agriculture as its foundation; the people depend on food as their heaven. Now malignant qi fills the countryside, breeding locust swarms that darken the sky. Wherever they pass, crops are utterly destroyed. Half a year's peasant toil vanishes in moments, foreshadowing imminent famine." Therefore, through the zhaijiao purification ritual (Daoist ceremonial practice), repentance is offered to Heaven while beseeching disaster relief.

The text embodies the Daoist concept of "salvation" (济度), using liturgical keyi to bridge human and celestial realms—expressing reverence for deities while demonstrating the religion's compassionate mission. The "memorial petition" format resembles an imperial court memorial, adapted as a unique Daoist document addressed to the celestial bureaucracy.

The ritual platform erected a solemn Danbi (the elevated altar in Daoist ceremonies), adorned with magnificent ceremonial furnishings arranged according to the grand protocols recorded in the Jade Register (Yuji) and the pure standards prescribed in the Qiong Gang. Golden bells resonated with ninefold harmonies, while the ceremonial procession stood in orderly ranks like a dragon's tail. The gemstone ritual instruments sounded three clear tones, and the assembly sat reverently around the Dharma seat like a gathering of lions.

Rainbow-hued banners descended along the sacred path, and feathered canopies (ceremonial parasols) danced across the celestial avenue. The congregation performed the ninefold prostration, offering sincere prayers for the patron's blessings, dispelling malevolent Qi (vital energy), and banishing pestilence. They prayed for swift rains to cleanse traces of evil, for fierce winds to sever ominous signs. May winter's frost freeze lingering calamities, and summer's scorching sun dry up floods without a trace. They beseeched abundant harvests in the fields, with grains thriving along the ridges, ensuring the people's sustenance throughout the year.

Now, as the evening liturgy (Keyi) begins, the masters are invited to perform the first incense offering. May this fragrant smoke rise to the Nine Heavens, making offerings to the Supreme Treasure of the Dao (one of the Three Treasures of Daoism). With body and mind in devotion, we prostrate ourselves, dedicating these merits to His Imperial Majesty: May his sage virtue rival that of Fuxi, and his governance emulate the Yellow Emperor. May he rule the realm like a soaring dragon, wielding the Great Dao (the Way) in eternal harmony. May his longevity surpass the Northern Sea, his blessings endure like the Southern Mountain. May auspicious signs manifest like the Star of Jing, and benevolent governance descend like sweet dew upon all.

Now, we burn incense in reverence to the masters and the sacred virtue of all realized sages, praying that upon attaining the Dao, we may abide eternally with Heaven and Earth, united with the Great Dao.

Proceeding to the second incense offering, may the fragrant smoke make offerings to the Supreme Treasure of the Scriptures (another of the Three Treasures). With devout bows, we dedicate these merits to the imperial court officials and regional administrators: May the radiance of the Purple Star (symbolizing official rank) shine upon all, their achievements fragrant as cinnamon blossoms. May officials at every level govern with diligence and compassion, serving with loyalty. May benevolent rule extend across the Nine Provinces, with enfeoffed lords demonstrating their protective merit, and territorial governance achieving peace and stability.

Finally, we burn incense in reverence to the sacred virtue of the masters and all realized beings, praying that upon attaining the Dao, we may share the longevity of Heaven and Earth, merging with the Great Dao.

During tonight's ceremonial worship, all ordained masters and devotees shall perform the incense-offering ritual with threefold prostrations. May this rising incense smoke ascend to the celestial realms as an offering to the supreme sacred venerables. With utmost devotion of body, mind and spiritual essence, we prostrate ourselves completely, praying that these meritorious deeds may bring blessings to all living beings under heaven.

May the people across all regions dwell in peace and prosperity, with armies safeguarding our homeland. May households live in harmony, the vast territories remain tranquil, with no lost items left unattended as all consciously uphold this golden age. Farmers shall respectfully yield field boundaries to one another, focusing on cultivation to bring peace to all things. May rice paddies be filled with diligent tillers, and wheat fields abound with industrious weeders. No nighttime alarms of war shall disturb the peaceful grazing of livestock; no daytime war drums shall force people into displacement.

Now we devoutly burn incense and take refuge in the supreme sacred venerables. May we, upon attaining the Dao, abide eternally with heaven and earth in perfect union with the Great Way. We repent and bow to all directions, making three invocations with threefold prostrations.

Here we reaffirm the ritual protocol: The presiding master and all attending officials and devotees shall with utmost devotion invoke: The Celestial Venerable of Primordial Beginning from the Jade Pure realm, the Celestial Venerable of Numinous Treasure from the Upper Pure realm, and the Celestial Venerable of Dao and De (Virtue/Power) from the Great Pure immortal realm; the Jade Emperor of the Vast Heaven, the Great Emperor of Purple Subtlety at the North Pole of the Central Heaven, the Great Heavenly Emperor of the Supreme Palace of Grand Tenuity, and the Imperial Earth Deity; the Divine Emperors of the Nine Heavens who Generate Spirits, the Five Numinous Five Ancient Emperors, and the Thirty-Two Heaven Emperors; the Eleven Luminaries Star Lords of the Upper Pure, the Six Directors Star Lords of the Southern Dipper, and the Seven Originals Star Lords of the Northern Dipper; the Twenty-Eight Mansions Star Lords, the Celestial Field Star Lord, and the Eight Grains Star Lords; the True Lords of the Three Offices at the Pivotal Mechanism of Grand Mystery, and the Five Masters True Lords of Numinous Treasure; the Three Origin Three Officials Imperial Lords, and the Four Saints True Lords of the North Pole; the True Lords of the Three Heaven Departments and Various Offices, and the Flying Divine Kings of the Ten Directions Without Limit; the Great Demon Kings of the Five Heavens and Three Realms, and the Three Origins True Lords at the Gate of the Three Heavens; the Numinous Officials for Submitting Memorials and Petitions, and the High True Ones of the Three Caverns (Dongzhen/Dongxuan/Dongshen) and Four Supplements Scriptures, Registers and Ritual Traditions; the Divine Immortals, Generals and Functionaries, and the Five Peaks Five Emperors True Lords; the Imperial Lords of the Five Heavens, and the Perfected Assembly of Cavern Heavens, Blessed Lands, Pure Abodes and Governance Sites who attained the Dao; the Patriarch Perfected Persons of our lineage, and the Perfected Persons who transmitted scriptures and conferred ordination; the Immortal Officials of the Eastern Peak in charge of seedlings and crops, and the Immortal Officials of the Locust Case; the Sacred Assembly of Agricultural Worship Traditions, and the Officials of Earth and Water Departments; the City Gods, Community Deities, Local Earth Spirits, and all divine officials throughout the Three Realms.

This scripture describes a Daoist zhaijiao (purification ritual) performed to eliminate a locust plague. The text begins by explaining how heaven possesses the virtue of nurturing life (De), bestowing its grace to transform and nourish all beings, and how people should rightfully live in peace and prosperity. Yet now the fields suffer from locust swarms, crops are devoured by insects, and harvests seem hopeless—all consequences arising from humanity's daily disregard for food, selfishness, and violation of moral principles.

The jiaoguan (ritual officiant) leads devotees in confessing their transgressions through fasting, incense offerings, and ritual processions, beseeching heaven to grant its benevolent grace. They pray for divine power to dispel the disaster, that the locusts may scatter with the wind and dissolve with the rain. They vow that in the coming year, field ridges will stretch like connecting clouds, granaries will overflow like piled snow, and people will once again rejoice in abundant harvests.

The ceremony further invokes the Three Luminaries (sun, moon, and stars) to shine brightly and the Six Qi (energies of heaven, earth, and the four seasons) to harmonize, that mountains and rivers may manifest auspicious signs. It prays for insects, fish, birds, and beasts to grow naturally, for people to dwell in peace and prosperity, realizing the ideal state of governance through wuwei (non-action). Finally, it reverently invites divine envoys like the Incense Official and the Dragon-Tiger Lords to protect the ritual altar, that the sacred space may spontaneously produce auspicious substances like golden nectar and cinnabar jade, with perfected beings descending to bestow blessings.

Notes:

1. Zhaijiao: Daoist sacrificial rituals encompassing fasting, scripture recitation, and worship

2. Three Seasons: refers to the three busy agricultural periods of spring, summer, and autumn

3. Three Bonds: traditional social ethical principles (ruler-subject, father-child, husband-wife)

4. Ten Karmas: a Buddhist concept referring to ten kinds of good and evil actions, here borrowed to denote various misdeeds

5. Six Qi: in Daoism, refers to six essential energies of heaven, earth, and the four seasons

Before the incense burner, the Daoist priest devoutly prays: May I attain the Dao through cultivation and achieve immortality through seeking transcendence. May all officials participating in this zhaijiao (Daoist communal ritual) receive divine blessings, and may the locust plague be eradicated. May the immortal youths and jade maidens (celestial attendants) from the ten directions guard the curling incense smoke, swiftly conveying my prayers to the supreme Jade Emperor on high.

After the ceremony concludes, the assembly chants the "Departure Hymn" as they return to the Hall of Silent Cultivation (meditation space), offering bows of gratitude to the transmitting master before performing the dedication of merit (a ritual to redirect spiritual merits toward specific purposes). This passage comes from the 258th volume of the Lingbao Lingjiao Jidu Jinshu (Scripture of the Numinous Treasure for Salvation and Deliverance), a pivotal Daoist text documenting the prayer segment of zhaijiao rituals.

(Note: This scripture exemplifies the core Daoist concept of "resonance between heaven and humanity," where incense smoke serves as a medium to elevate earthly petitions to the celestial realm. The phrases "attain the Dao through cultivation" and "achieve immortality through seeking transcendence" reflect Daoism's emphasis on experiential practice, while the plea to eliminate locusts demonstrates the tradition's compassionate commitment to relieving worldly suffering.)