《太上黃籙齋儀》Vol. 54

This passage describes the origin and efficacy of the "Zhen Tan Zhen Wen" (True Texts for Altar Protection) from the Taishang Huanglu Zhai Yi (Supreme Yellow Register Purification Ritual), a key scripture of the Lingbao (Numinous Treasure) tradition in Daoism.

Originally, the Five Supreme Elders of Primordial Beginning (Yuanshi Wulao) and the Supreme Lord of the Dao (Taishang Dadaojun) gathered with other highest deities at the Southern Cinnabar Cavern's Upper Solar Abode, a celestial realm. Seated upon seven-colored jeweled thrones, they were attended by the Five Directional Thearchs, the Mysterious Harmony Jade Maidens (Xuanhe Yunü), and over fifty-two thousand five hundred Perfected Persons (Zhenren) and Great Immortals (Daxian). Celestial flowers rained from the sky, divine dragons performed music, and purple clouds filled the air, creating an atmosphere of supreme sacredness. Moved by compassion, the Supreme Lord of the Dao sought to universally deliver all beings—regardless of gender—promising that all sincere seekers could encounter the true methods of the Numinous Treasure.

The scripture explains these True Texts originated when the Celestial Worthy of Primordial Beginning (Yuanshi Tianzun) created heaven and earth. Condensed from the primordial Qi of the Great Dao, they manifested as crimson script (Chishu) that descended upon the five directional worlds. These texts possess inconceivable power: they stabilize heaven and earth, illuminate sun and moon, deliver ghosts and spirits, and grant longevity to humanity. When circulated in the world, they can avert celestial disasters, protect rulers, dispel poisons, deliver common people, subdue demonic forces, and redeem lost souls.

The text particularly emphasizes that without these True Texts, the world would lose its light, order, and vitality. The mentioned "crimson script with jade characters and eight awe-inspiring dragon patterns" (Chishu Yuzi, Bawei Longwen) holds marvelous efficacy for protecting the world through kalpic disasters and perpetuating the Dao's celestial order. These Numinous Treasure True Texts can rectify cosmic patterns, harmonize Yin-Yang, deliver deceased souls, safeguard emperors, relieve suffering, communicate with the underworld, resolve grievances, avert death, prolong life, and liberate beings from the cycle of birth and death.

Du Guangting (a renowned Tang dynasty Daoist master) specially notes that these True Texts represent the supreme method only accessible to those with perfected merit from lifetimes of cultivation. Now, during this flourishing era of the Dharma's momentum, their profound mysteries are being explained to aid in delivering beings throughout the ten directions.

This passage explains the methods for using Zhenwen Yuzi (sacred Daoist script) in the Huanglu Zhaijiao ritual—a ceremonial practice for liberating deceased souls and dispelling misfortunes. Those seeking transcendence through cultivation can inscribe these sacred characters on jade tablets on specific dates and deposit them in famous mountains. This act erases karmic debts from past lives and ensures one's name is recorded in the celestial registers of the heavens.

The procedure is as follows: On major festival days (such as the Three Primes and Eight Nodes, Jiazi days, or one's birth zodiac day), the sacred text is written and then burned, its ashes transforming into blue smoke that ascends to the heavens. Performing this ritual three times ensures that the Three Officials and Nine Bureaus (celestial deities overseeing human morality) will record one's virtuous deeds. Ten thousand spirits will offer protection, and malevolent forces dare not approach. The scripture states that with unwavering devotion, even ancestors can ascend to the celestial realms, bringing blessings to both the living and the deceased.

The text further details the ritual application of the talismanic incantations of the Eastern Green Emperor (one of the Five Directional Celestial Sovereigns):

1. The twenty-four-character sacred text must be written in cinnabar on green paper on the day of Lichun (Beginning of Spring). It can be worn personally or deposited in a famous mountain to aid the practitioner in achieving immortality. The text describes the celestial realm of the Eastern Green Heaven, where immortals oversee the registers of transcendence and select worthy cultivators.

2. The thirty-two-character disaster-dispelling text must be placed in an open courtyard for nine days, accompanied by recitations of specific mantras. This neutralizes the influence of calamitous stars. The text references the protective power of the Wood Star (Jupiter) over the liver and the movement of the twenty-eight lunar mansions in the eastern sky, capable of warding off all misfortunes.

3. Another thirty-two-character demon-subduing text must be written in cinnabar on black paper and recited while facing northeast. This compels evil spirits to surrender. The incantation invokes the power of the Nine Heavens to suppress demons from Mount Fengdu (the Daoist underworld).

4. A final thirty-two-character flood-control text is used during water disasters. Written on green paper and cast into the water, it summons dragon kings to ensure safe passage. The text describes mastery over the Eastern Sea, with flood dragons carrying the practitioner across turbulent waters.

Each talismanic text requires specific accompanying mantras and distinct methods of inscription, corresponding to their unique functions.

This scripture elucidates Daoist methods for communicating with celestial beings and dispelling calamities through specific talismanic rituals (Fulu). The system is primarily divided into southern and central directional talismanic traditions.

The southern talismans comprise three sets:

The first set of thirty-two characters is for spiritual cultivators. Written in cinnabar on bamboo slips during the solar term of Lixia (Summer Commencement) or on Jiazi days (significant temporal nodes in Daoism) and deposited in sacred mountains, these inscriptions enroll one's name in the celestial register (Xianji) to attain longevity. It references the Great Scarlet Emperor (Chihuang Dashen) of the Southern Cinnabar Heaven who governs the circulation of the Three Qi (the primordial energies of heaven, earth, and humanity), with all deities obeying the solar cycles.

The second set of thirty-two characters specifically neutralizes disasters caused by southern asterism anomalies. Written in cinnabar on blue paper and employed during the Yellow Register Purification Ceremony (Huanglu Zhaijiao), these talismans restore celestial harmony and avert natural calamities. The text details astrological correspondences: Mars (Yinghuo) guarding the Heart constellation, while Well and Ghost constellations protect the Chamber constellation.

The third set of forty characters subdues demonic entities. Inscribed with vermilion ink on yellow paper, these potent incantations command ghosts to surrender. The verses invoke the sacred power of Mount Fengdu (the Daoist underworld) to eradicate evil, with the Southern Mountain Divine Chant shaking the eight directions.

The central talismanic system features:

The forty-character authentic script of the Yellow Thearch (Huangdi Jun), one of the Five Directional Sovereigns. Practitioners write these in cinnabar during equinoxes, solstices, or personal Jiazi days, either ingesting them or depositing them in mountains to attain celestial enrollment. The chant extols the Yellow Thearch's governance over myriad spirits, with Saturn (Zhenxing) radiating light to purify divine palaces and the Northern Emperor (Beidi) commanded to seal ghostly gates.

An additional forty-eight character formula specifically controls floods. Written with black ink on yellow paper, it summons the Dragon Kings of the North Sea and aquatic spirits. The incantation commands the Nine Waters of the Yellow River (representing all waterways) to obey directives—diverting currents and opening channels. Disobedient spirits face confinement in the Fire Palace (a Daoist punitive realm). Wherever these scarlet mandates reach, none dare resist.

This scripture primarily discusses the ritual practices involving talismans (fulu) associated with the Western White Emperor (Baidi) and Northern Black Emperor (Heidi), along with their corresponding cultivation methods.

Regarding the Western White Emperor: As the ruler of the west, he commands a set of 48 jade-character talismans specifically used for registering immortal names. Practitioners should inscribe these characters with white pigment on white wooden tablets during the Beginning of Autumn solar term (Liqiu), then deposit them in famous mountains to secure their names in the celestial registers. The west corresponds to the Metal phase, represented by white. Its sacred landscape features towering white cliffs enveloped in seven-colored clouds of Qi, governed by the Great Deity of Primordial Life who oversees lung Qi and administers the immortal registers.

Another 24-character talisman neutralizes calamitous astral anomalies in the west. Written with cinnabar on blue paper, it realigns wayward stars and averts celestial disasters. A separate 16-character talisman subdues western demons, requiring black ink on white wood. Forty-eight red-jade characters summon the Dragon Kings of the Western Sea and water officials to control floods, to be inscribed in yellow on blue paper.

Concerning the Northern Black Emperor: This sovereign of the north commands 40 jade-character talismans. Practitioners should write these with cinnabar on their bodies during the Beginning of Winter (Lidong), simultaneously inscribing them with black ink on white wooden tablets deposited in sacred mountains to enroll in immortal registers. The north corresponds to the Water phase, represented by black, where five Qi currents spiral. The Black Emperor wears azure feathered robes with dragon-phoenix patterns, commanding talismanic mandates and forging the Eight Powers sacred implements.

These talismans must be executed with strict adherence to prescribed timings, colors, and materials to activate their divine efficacy—whether for immortal registration, disaster prevention, or spirit summoning. They represent essential zhaijiao purification rituals and cultivation methods within Daoist practice.

This passage describes several incantations and talismanic writings used in the Daoist Yellow Register Retreat (Huanglu Zhai) — a major purification ritual for redeeming deceased souls. The first is a 32-character Northern Dipper incantation, written in cinnabar on blue paper, used to suppress demonic stars disturbing the ritual altar. The spell invokes the Seven Stars of the Northern Dipper (Beichen) and stellar deities from the Twenty-Eight Lunar Mansions such as Dou, Niu, Nü, Xu, Wei, and Shi. Its meaning is to request these celestial lords to dispel malignant influences, cleanse impurities, and allow the radiance of the true Dao to illuminate all.

Next is a 24-character Northern Exorcism Incantation, written in black ink on blue paper, specifically designed to subdue demons from the northern regions. The phrase "Northern Mountain Divine Curse" activates Yang Qi to summon thunder, while "flowing bells" represent ritual implements. "Northern Feng" refers to the legendary Daoist capital of ghosts. This incantation causes all demonic forces to scatter.

There is also a 24-character Water Control Incantation written in yellow ink on black paper, used to regulate floods. The term "Nine Rivers" symbolizes all waterways, "Bird Mother" represents the water deity, and "vermilion-jade scriptures" signify celestial writings. The spell's purpose is to dredge watercourses, pacify flood dragons, and ensure unobstructed water veins.

The text then details the Lingbao School's (an important Daoist tradition) ritual for submitting sacred texts: First perform twelve tooth-knockings (a Daoist cultivation practice), then recite the redemption incantation. The chant essentially petitions the Celestial Worthy of Primordial Beginning (Yuanshi Tianzun, Daoism's supreme deity) and other exalted beings to descend. Through "cinnabar-written vermilion characters" (sacred script), it reports to the Five Directional Thearchs, seeking to absolve the sins of seven generations of ancestors, liberate them from hell's torments (the Three Paths and Five Bitternesses), align them with the radiance of sun, moon and stars, and ultimately enable their ascension to immortality. The ritual concludes by casting the inscribed bamboo slips into deep mountains and scattering incense upon sacred peaks.

Finally, there is a brief incantation recited after three tooth-knockings, emphasizing that the Celestial Worthy has recorded the immortal names, while the Three Officials and Nine Bureaus (Daoist institutions governing human karma) have erased transgressions. Through incense burning, it establishes a covenant with the Five Directional Thearchs, praying for eternal existence across countless kalpas.

The concluding explanation states: Celestial stars each follow their ordained orbits. Abnormal astral phenomena or mutual disturbances signify disruptions in Heaven-Earth Qi movement that portend calamities. These talismanic writings and incantations serve precisely to rectify astral anomalies and stabilize the ritual altar as "true scriptural jade secrets" (sacred textual formulae).

This passage describes a ritual method for dispelling calamities and seeking blessings from the "Yellow Register Purification Ceremony" (Huanglu Zhaiyi) in Daoist practice. When natural disasters occur or the nation faces unrest, practitioners must perform specific procedures to avert misfortune.

First, sacred scriptures (Zhenwen) should be arranged in the courtyard, facing the direction where the calamitous star resides (such as the orientation of the seven eastern constellations Jiao and Kang). The practitioner loosens their hair, raises their head, and recites incantations, petitioning the Celestial Worthy of Primordial Beginning (Yuanshi Tianzun, the supreme deity in Daoism) to report the calamity. The ritual requests the use of Red Script True Texts (Chishu Zhenwen) to be presented to the celestial court, eliminating disasters and restoring harmony between Yin-Yang, thereby bringing peace to the nation.

The specific ritual varies according to the direction of the calamity: nine days and nights for eastern disasters, three days and nights for southern ones, twelve days and nights for the central region, seven days and nights for the west, and five days and nights for the north. Each direction requires lighting a corresponding number of lamps (e.g., nine, ninety, or nine hundred lamps for the east) and using silk cloth of the appropriate color (blue-green for the east, red for the south, etc.) along with golden dragon-shaped ritual implements. Finally, the sacred texts are burned, allowing the blue smoke to ascend to heaven.

The central direction specifically refers to the three celestial palaces—Tianshi (Heavenly Market), Taiwei (Grand Tenuity), and Ziwei (Purple Tenuity)—considered crucial celestial regions in Daoist cosmology. The entire ritual employs golden dragons, lamps, silk cloth, and other ritual objects, combined with cultivation practices at designated times, to convey sincerity to heaven in dispelling calamities.

This scripture passage describes two key rituals in the Daoist Yellow Register Retreat (Huanglu Zhaijiao): the methods for subduing demonic spirits and averting flood disasters.

Regarding the subduing of demonic spirits, the text states: One must prepare fifty or five hundred lamps, a golden dragon figurine, and fifty feet of black silk fabric, then conduct the retreat ceremony continuously for five days and nights according to the Primordial Lingbao Shangyuan Liturgical Code (Yuanshi Lingbao Shangyuan Keyi). During the ritual, the practitioner must face the northeast (considered the "ghost gate" in Daoist cosmology), knock the teeth thirty-six times, hold the breath nine times, and then recite a specific incantation. The gist of this incantation is an invocation to the Three Officials (Tian Guan, Di Guan, Shui Guan) for assistance, using the Red Script Jade Text (Chishu Yuwen) to capture wandering ghosts and dispatch celestial soldiers and divine generals to apprehend demons. After chanting, one must maintain silence, inwardly sensing the descent of divine presence, but must not speak aloud to avoid disrupting the ritual's efficacy.

Concerning the aversion of flood disasters, the scripture mentions: When heaven and earth face great calamities and floods surge, only those who possess the Lingbao True Script (Lingbao Zhenwen) and the Great and Small Tribulation Talismans (Dajie Fu/Xiaojie Fu) can ascend to safety. The "Primordial Five Elders" (Yuanshi Wulao) referenced here are the five supreme Daoist deities, while the "flood dragon’s aquatic palace" (Jiaolong Shuigong) refers to the abode of the Dragon Kings of the Water Realm. The text implies that through specific True Script Jade Formulas (Zhenwen Yujue), one can summon water deities to aid in surviving the flood disaster.

Both rituals are standard practices in the Yellow Register Retreat, primarily used for dispelling misfortunes, resolving disasters, and delivering lost souls. They incorporate distinctively Daoist concepts, such as teeth-knocking, breath retention, and visualization techniques, as well as guardian deities like the Golden Tiger (Jinhu) and Heaven’s Warriors (Tianding). The entire ceremony emphasizes sincerity as the key to efficacy, requiring the practitioner’s full mental and spiritual engagement to achieve results.

This scripture describes a special ritual method from the Yellow Register Retreat (a Daoist rite for salvation of souls and disaster relief) to be performed during catastrophic floods. When encountering great floods, divine beings will dispatch flood dragons to open waterways, and the River God (Hebo) will come to guide the waters, preventing the deluge from becoming an obstruction. The text emphasizes that these sacred words possess genuine mystical power capable of transcending calamities of cosmic proportions.

The specific practice involves: Facing north (symbolizing the Water Phase direction), clicking the teeth five times, then holding the breath and regulating Qi for twenty-five cycles. At this point, the practitioner visualizes flames arising from the heart, erupting from the crown of the head to incinerate all surrounding mountains, forests, plants, and even one's own body—reducing everything to ashes that transform into blue smoke dispersing (this visualization helps the cultivator achieve a state of pure Yang, becoming impervious to fire damage). Next, one imagines vast floodwaters purging the world while one's ashes scatter with the currents, followed by twenty-five more teeth clickings (this ritual aids in saving flood-afflicted beings, akin to how Yu the Great summoned divine dragons to dredge rivers).

The practitioner then recites an incantation roughly meaning: "Through the disordered interplay of the Five Phases and Yin-Yang imbalance, disasters descend; we pray for calamities to dissolve and floodwaters to recede." The water palace deities of the nine rivers will open waterways, flood dragons will answer the summons to escort the practitioner safely through. Whether encountering mountain torrents or great floods, immediate deliverance is assured ("mountains float when encountered, waters part when traversed"). The scripture concludes by explaining that this method can be used not only individually—when regions suffer floods, communities may conduct purification rituals (Zhaijiao) and inscribe sacred texts to relieve disasters.

The text reveals these sacred words were originally manifested by the Celestial Worthy of Primordial Beginning (Yuanshi Tianzun) during cosmic creation, formed from primordial Qi and true essence, possessing power to control cosmic cycles and protect nations. Only those who accumulated virtuous karma in past lives may encounter such profound methods.

In ancient times, people's hearts were simple and sincere, preserving their natural essence in perfect harmony with the Great Dao (Daode). In that era, there was no need for deliberate purification rituals (Zhaijiao); spiritual cultivation yielded immediate results. But in this degenerate age, human hearts have become scattered and corrupted—few truly follow the orthodox path (Zhengyi), while many deviate from the true Way.

Today, when performing the Yellow Register Purification Ritual (a Daoist ceremony for salvation of the deceased), one must strictly adhere to the standards set in the "Writings of the Three Primes" to establish the ritual altar and practice the methods. Practitioners must concentrate their spirit (Shen) and cultivate sincere devotion in visualization to commune with the Mysterious Sages (referring to Daoist deities). Without such preparation, one will be disturbed by demonic obstructions, wasting all effort in vain.

One should select practitioners of impeccable virtue to conduct ceremonies in pure lands far from worldly clamor—preferably at sacred mountains or places where vital energy (Qi) converges—for only then can divine resonance be achieved. This demonstrates the Great Dao's compassion in saving the world and delivering beings, as well as the boundless grace of the Most High Lord Lao (Taishang Laojun). Those who propagate these teachings should take this as their solemn duty!

This scripture was compiled during the Zhongyuan Festival (one of Daoism's Three Primes Festivals, held on the 15th day of the 7th lunar month) in the Gengzi year.