《靈寶領教濟度金書》Vol. 55

The "Mountain Petition Rite" (Toushan Jianyi) recorded in the fifty-fifth volume of the Lingbao Lingjiao Jidu Jinshu is a crucial liturgical procedure within the Daoist Yellow Register Retreat (Huanglu Zhai) — a ritual for the salvation of deceased souls. This ceremony was transmitted by the Southern Song dynasty master Ning Quanzhen and later compiled by Lin Lingzhen.

The ritual begins with priests lighting incense, chanting hymns, and paying reverent homage to ancestral masters while focusing their minds to visualize the divine presence. They then recite the "Guardian Spirit Incantation" (Weiling Zhou) to summon the powers of the Five Stars: Mercury to dispel calamities, Jupiter to attract blessings, Mars to eliminate misfortunes, Venus to avert warfare, and Saturn to safeguard the four directions — all for the peace of the nation and prosperity of the people. Through this incantation, the priests seek to have their names recorded on the celestial jade tablets of the heavenly court, attaining the ability to ascend to the Great Void and traverse the ten directions, ultimately achieving the state of commanding myriad spirits and protecting immortal truths.

The ritual master then strikes the ceremonial drum twenty-four times (in Daoist belief, these drumbeats ascend to the heavenly court) to solemnly invite the supreme Daoist deity — the "Supreme Dao Lord of the Three Primordial Qi of the Three Heavens" (Wushang Santian Xuanyuan Shi Sanqi Taishang Daojun) — to manifest. At this moment, the master visualizes the internal guardian spirits known as the "Three-Five Merit Officers" (Sanwu Gongcao) and numerous celestial officials and divine generals mobilizing together, including thirty-two golden boys serving incense and thirty-two jade maidens scattering flowers, all converging to open the ritual altar. Local earth gods (Tudi), city gods (Chenghuang), and other territorial deities are summoned to provide protection.

The master declares the performance of the Yellow Register Dragon Petition ritual (Huanglu Tou Long Fashi), devoutly praying for the Dao-Qi from the Jade Purity Realm (Yuqing Jing) and the wondrous light of Lingbao to descend, ensuring his sincere intentions reach directly before the Jade Emperor (Yuhuang Shangdi). Following Daoist liturgical protocols, he announces his ritual rank and respectfully invites all the deities of the Great Canopy Heaven (Daluo Tian), the guardian spirits of the thirty-six sacred scriptures, the holy assemblies of the Three Pure Ones (Sanqing), and all other numinous powers to descend. Special invitations are extended to the immortal officials of nearby grotto-heavens and blessed lands (Dongtian Fudi) — sacred Daoist cultivation sites — along with realized adepts (Zhenren) and flying immortals to join the assembly. Simultaneously, the local earth deities, celestial inspectors of the void, and other spirits are summoned to partake in offerings of fragrant tea and pure wine.

Through the threefold offering of tea and wine, flower scattering, and other ceremonial segments, the entire ritual expresses profound reverence toward the celestial and terrestrial deities. Its ultimate purpose is to harness divine power for the salvation of deceased souls and the universal benefit of humanity.

This is a memorial document used in Daoist purification rituals (Zhaijiao), divided into two sections: the petition to deities and the mountain tablet text.

The first half contains the priest's address to celestial beings. The Daoist humbly identifies himself as an insignificant person fortunate to live in an era of flourishing Daoist teachings. Having received the Lingbao tradition's spiritual instruction, he now conducts the Grand Yellow Register Retreat (a major salvation ritual for deceased souls) to deliver sentient beings. The current ceremony is performed for a specific deceased individual, involving repentance for sins and prayers for blessings. Upon completing the ritual, the tablet will be delivered to sacred mountains. The priest petitions the deities to expunge the deceased's records of transgressions, liberating nine generations of ancestors and all departed relatives from purgatorial suffering. May they attain radiant blessed realms, their graves remain peaceful, and living family members enjoy safety.

The second half presents the formal mountain tablet inscription (carved on bamboo slips), detailing ritual specifics: In the Great Ming nation's [location], [name] conducts the Grand Yellow Register Retreat spanning [number] days and nights for deceased relatives, establishing [number] ritual altars (indicating ceremony scale). The text implores the Celestial Official to bestow blessings, the Earthly Ministry to erase sins, Mount Fengdu to remove indictments, and hell realms to pacify grievances—enabling souls' salvation, the living to attain the Dao, and the dead to ascend heavenward. Finally, it specifies ritual implements: silk fabrics and golden dragons (ceremonial objects) as tokens for message conveyance, along with the ceremony's date and proclamation location.

The "Three Venerables" refer to the Daoist supreme triad Sanqing (Three Pure Ones); "Five Marchmount True Lords" denote the sacred mountain deities; and "Three Officials" represent the celestial, earthly, and water administrators who assess human virtue. The entire memorial exemplifies Daoist religious practice—using Zhaijiao rituals to save deceased souls and pray for communal peace.

This passage describes the complete procedure of the Daoist "Dragon Tablet Offering" ritual, which consists of two main parts: offering mountain tablets and water tablets. First, the ritual master petitions the Three Officials of Heaven, Earth, and Water (the Daoist deities governing these realms) to request the removal of karmic transgressions from their records.

The ceremony begins with the master reporting to the "Great Deity of the Dark Depths" (the deity governing life and death) and the "Registrar of Life Supervision" (the divine official recording life spans), requesting that their cultivation merits be recorded on jade tablets (inscribed jade plaques containing prayers) to absolve their sins. Through the accumulation of merits from purification rituals (Daoist ceremonies for physical and spiritual cleansing), practitioners can not only transcend their own karmic burdens but also redeem nine generations of ancestors, liberating their souls from suffering. After completing the ritual, the jade tablets are cast into sacred mountains, ensuring all transgressions are pardoned and the soul ascends to the Nine Heavens (the highest Daoist celestial realm).

This is followed by the Tablet Offering Hymn, praising the profound power of the Supreme Great Dao (the highest Daoist divinity). Through the Golden Register Tablets (records of salvation merits), all beings can be universally delivered. During the offering, twelve great vows are made: praying for celestial and terrestrial harmony, the ruler's longevity, favorable weather, national prosperity, the widespread benefits of ritual offerings (Daoist ceremonies), and more.

During the "Preserving the Spirits and Burning Incense" segment, the Incense Official Envoys (deities governing ritual incense) and numerous immortal beings descend upon the altar, causing golden elixir (Daoist alchemical medicine) and numinous herbs to manifest. The master prays for successful cultivation leading to immortality, while the ritual patron receives blessings. Ten-directional jade maidens and immortal youths guard the incense, conveying the prayers to the Jade Emperor (the supreme celestial deity).

Finally, the water tablet offering commences. The master invokes Laozi (the founding patriarch of Daoism), the Thirty-Six Sacred Scriptures (core Daoist texts), and various water palace deities (river gods), beseeching the Water Emperor (the presiding deity of a specific river) and attained immortals to descend and receive the submerged tablets. The entire ritual employs dragon-engraved tablets as sacred tokens, with golden dragons serving as messengers to communicate across the three realms of heaven, earth, and water.

This scripture records the complete ritual procedure and prayer content of a Daoist Huanglu Great Zhai (a grand ceremony for the salvation of the deceased). The ritual master first reverently invites the descent of various deities: including the Supreme Three Pure Ones (Sanqing, the highest Daoist deities), immortals from the four directions, gods of the sun, moon, and stars, as well as deities of mountains, rivers, and water palaces, requesting their collective witness to the ceremony.

The master humbly confesses his own limited wisdom but expresses gratitude for encountering the Orthodox Dharma (Zhengyi). He now conducts this Zhaijiao (purification ritual) for a specific deceased individual. Through ritual offerings of incense, tea, purified wine, and scattered flowers, he earnestly beseeches the deities to absolve the sins of the departed soul: removing their name from the registers of life and death, cleansing their transgressions, and liberating them from suffering. Special prayers are made for the deceased's ancestors across nine generations to escape the cold darkness of the underworld, attaining transcendence through the "Bathing and Refinement" (a purification process in Daoist salvation rituals), while also blessing the living relatives with peace and prosperity.

The latter part contains the formal "Water Petition" (a prayer inscribed on bamboo slips and cast into water), detailing the time and location of the ceremony, the deceased's native information, and the duration of the Zhaijiao. Finally, it petitions the Water Official (the deity governing water realms) to dissolve the misfortunes of the departed soul, erasing their records of sin and resolving grievances, enabling their ascent to heaven. Golden silk, jade tokens, and dragon-shaped talismans serve as divine intermediaries, transmitting the prayer through the "celestial courier system" (the divine communication network) to reach the heavens.

The text repeatedly employs specialized Daoist ritual terms such as "Huanglu Great Zhai," "Refinement and Salvation," and "Water Petition," characteristic of the Lingbao school's salvation rituals during the Song Dynasty. These emphasize the merit of Zhaijiao in liberating souls from hell's torment, reflecting the Daoist concept of "merit transference" in spiritual cultivation.

This scripture describes the liturgy for invoking deities during the Daoist "Yellow Register Great Purification" (Huanglu Dazhai), a major ritual for the salvation of deceased souls. The content can be divided into several key sections:

The invocation begins with priests using jade tablets (engraved with prayers) to petition the celestial pantheon. The divine hierarchy mentioned is vast, including: the Five Supreme Sovereigns of Primordial Beginning (highest Daoist deities), the Ten Directions' Most Perfect Transcendent Immortals of Mount Taihua, the stellar deities of the Sun, Moon, Five Planets and Seven Stars of the Northern Dipper (Beidou Qiyuan), mountain and river deities of the Five Peaks and Four Rivers (Wuyue Sidu), and various water palace deities. The priests request these beings to witness the ritual, liberate wandering souls, and redeem the karmic debts of the sponsor's ancestors through seven generations.

Next comes the tablet-casting ceremony, where golden dragon jade tablets inscribed with prayers are cast into water realms. Through the "Golden Dragon Courier" method (using golden dragons as divine messengers), these petitions are delivered to the Water Officials (aquatic deities). This section contains three recitations of casting hymns expressing wishes for the liberation of souls and blessings for the living.

The ritual then proceeds to the "Returning to the Brazier" ceremony (sending deities back to their celestial abodes), mirroring the earlier invocation sequence. The priests, speaking as humble subjects, respectfully send off: the Supreme Dao Lord (one of the Three Pure Ones/Sanqing), the personified Thirty-Six Sacred Scriptures, and the Great Master of Mysterious Center (legendary transmission patriarch). Subsequently, they bid farewell to terrestrial deities including the Grand Year God of Earth (Tufu Taisui), Ninefold Earth Emperors, and local earth gods who descended to the altar.

The conclusion features the triple offering of tea and wine. Priests present fragrant tea and pure wine to all invoked deities while declaring the ritual's purpose: to liberate souls, repent transgressions, and seek blessings for the sponsor. Special mention is made that this Yellow Register Great Purification—specifically designed for soul salvation—has now been completed with all liturgical procedures properly observed.

Note: The frequent appearance of "so-and-so" in the text represents standard liturgical placeholder terminology for either the presiding priest or ritual sponsor, which would be replaced with actual names during performance.

This is a ritual document from the Yellow Register Zhai (a major Daoist purification ritual for the salvation of souls) concerning the Ceremony of Casting the Petition. It expresses the wish to seek celestial pardon for sins through the golden dragon's divine delivery.

In the ritual, the Daoist priest represents devotees from a certain region of the Great Ming Kingdom in conducting this grand Yellow Register Zhai for the deceased, which continues for several days and nights. At the ritual's conclusion, supplications are made to the Earth Official (one of the Three Daoist Officials, responsible for granting amnesty), seeking pardon for the souls' transgressions so they may be liberated from the torments of Mount Knives and Sword Trees in the netherworld of Luofeng. Simultaneously, prayers are offered to the Central Earth Deity of the Wu-Ji position (the soil deity among the Five Phases) to convey these petitions to Heaven, that all departed souls may receive deliverance.

The text mentions the "golden dragon courier transmission" (jinlong yichuan), a crucial theurgic method in Daoist rituals where golden or jade petitions inscribed with prayers are attached to a golden dragon figurine, symbolizing swift delivery to the celestial court. The petitions include: eradicating the deceased's karmic burdens, elevating seven generations of ancestors, ensuring the living family's safety, and praying for national prosperity.

The latter portion contains the formal incantation for casting the petition, addressed to the "Five Supreme Elderly Lords" (the Five Directional Ancient Deities) and the "Nine Earthly Imperial Spirits" (local earth deities of all regions), declaring the successful completion of the purification merits. It prays for the deceased souls' names to be registered in immortal records, their punishments annulled, and their swift ascension to the Southern Palace (the Daoist celestial abode in the south), with nine generations of ancestors attaining rebirth. The phrase "golden dragon courier transmission" is repeatedly emphasized to ensure the petitions reach their divine destination.

The ritual concludes with the "Returning to the Brazier" (fulu) ceremony, marking the completion of the entire petition-casting ritual. This text demonstrates the complete liturgical procedure and sincere aspirations of Daoist salvation rituals for the deceased.