《太上黃籙齋儀》Vol. 6

This passage records the ritual procedure for the second day's sunset procession (luojing xingdao) from the Supreme Yellow Register Purification Liturgy (Taishang Huanglu Zhaiyi) compiled by Du Guangting during the Tang Dynasty. The Yellow Register Purification (Huanglu Zhai) is a major Daoist zhaijiao ritual for redeeming deceased souls and praying for blessings while averting calamities.

The ceremony begins with priests reverently paying homage to their masters, focusing their minds to enter the proper ritual state. They then recite the Weiling incantation to summon celestial deities for protection, dispel malevolent forces, and purify the ritual space with radiant light. The chant invokes Daoist divinities such as the "Golden Truth" (Jinzhen), "Jade Emperor" (Yudi), and "Nine Luminaries" (Jiuchen), along with purifying imagery like "flowing gold casting fire."

Through twenty-four ritual drumbeats, the ceremony summons protective deities within the body (such as merit officials [gongcao] and jade maidens [yunü]) and local earth gods for assistance. The presiding priest declares the purpose of conducting this grand Yellow Register Purification—whether for the state or a specific patron—while beseeching the descent of the Supreme Dao's Qi (Taishang Daoqi).

The text enumerates Daoism's highest pantheon: from the Celestial Worthy of Primordial Beginning (Yuanshi Tianzun) and Lord of the Dao (Taishang Daojun) to the Jade Emperor (Yuhuang Shangdi) among the Three Pure Ones (Sanqing), along with directional deities like the Emperor of Eastern Florescence (Donghua Dijun) and the Ancient Immortal of the South Pole (Nanji Xianweng), as well as judicial deities such as the Eastern Peak's Controller of Fate (Dongyue Siming Zhenjun) who oversees the registers of life and death. All these deities must be invoked during the ritual.

Through sequences of incense burning, incantation recitation, and drumming, the ceremony constructs sacred space to bridge heaven and humanity, ultimately achieving its goals of soul redemption and disaster prevention. Figures like the "Three-Five Merit Officials" (Sanwu Gongcao) and "Five Emperors' Direct Talismans" (Wudi Zhifu) represent key roles in Daoism's protective deity system.

This scripture records the prayer text from the Daoist Yellow Register Zhai ritual (a ceremony for salvation of the deceased). The presiding Daoist priests refer to themselves as "your servants," indicating their role as intermediaries between sentient beings and the divine.

The priests first establish their credentials: We practitioners are fortunate to live in an era of flourishing Daoism, having received secret transmission of Fulu (talismanic registers) from our masters. Though we have not yet attained the state of dwelling in sacred mountains and communing with deities, we maintain sincere devotion in praying for the salvation of departed souls. According to Daoist principles, assisting the state and delivering all beings is our primary duty, hence we now reverently petition the divine.

The specific prayer content follows: In accordance with the Purple Yang Jade Records (a Daoist classic) and Yellow Register Treasure Texts (salvation liturgy), we prepare silk offerings, dragon-jade artifacts, incense and flowers, and construct the ritual altar. We humbly beseech the Celestial Worthy of the Ten Directions and the Most High deities to descend and bestow blessings.

The ceremony involves three incense offerings:

The first incense is offered to the "Supreme Truth of the Dao" (ultimate reality), dedicating merit to the imperial ancestral temples. May the emperor be wise and benevolent, the empress and consorts virtuous, the crown prince and nobles enjoy enduring blessings, and all officials attain realization of the Dao.

The second incense honors the "Supreme Truth of the Scriptures" (sacred texts), praying for blessings upon the nine generations of ancestors (including seven immediate forebears) of a particular household. May the departed souls be cleansed of transgressions, liberated from the Nine Darknesses (hell realms), find salvation in the Southern Palace (where souls are refined), and ascend to immortal realms.

During each incense offering, the priests prostrate fully with foreheads touching the ground, demonstrating complete surrender to the Three Pure Ones (supreme Daoist deities). They simultaneously pray for their own future attainment of Dao-realization and union with the Great Dao.

This scripture describes the core procedures of the Yellow Register Retreat (Huanglu Zhaiyi) in Daoist liturgy—a ritual for redeeming deceased souls and praying for blessings while dispelling misfortunes. Practitioners seek union with the supreme Dao through ceremonial acts such as incense burning, prostrations, and repentance.

The ritual begins with the lighting of three twists of incense (a specific Daoist offering method), with prayers that the fragrant smoke may ascend to the celestial court to nourish all deities. Devotees kneel in deep reverence, dedicating body and mind to the supreme "Three Pure Ones" (Sanqing, referring to the highest triad of Yuanshi Tianzun, Lingbao Tianzun, and Daode Tianzun). They pray that these meritorious deeds may bring blessings to their families, dissolve calamities, and grant all kin the protection of the Dao.

The text mentions the "three wretched paths and six realms of rebirth" (santu liuqu—the three lower realms of hell, hungry ghosts, and animals, along with the three higher realms of heavens, humans, and asuras), expressing the wish that all beings may escape the sea of suffering in the cycle of rebirth. Practitioners pray for the widespread diffusion of the "true wind" (the teachings of Dao) and the universal showering of "nourishing rain" (metaphor for the moistening grace of Daoist practice), so all life may attain the fruit of enlightenment.

Subsequent stages include "orientation bows" (lifang—prostrations toward sacred directions), "repentance" (chanhui—introspection of transgressions), and "pacing the void" (buxu—ritual dance imitating immortal movements). Through chanting verses praising the Dao, practitioners visualize celestial beings descending to the ritual assembly in dragon-drawn chariots and cloud-borne carriages (divine vehicles of immortals).

The ceremony culminates in the solemn "Three Declarations and Three Prostrations": practitioners sequentially bow to the "Supreme Ultimate Dao" (the source of all existence), the "Thirty-Six Sacred Scriptures" (the complete Daoist canon), and the "Great Master of Mysterious Centrality" (referring to Laozi). Identifying as "disciples of Shangqing and Mysterious Capital," they reverently petition all Daoist deities, scriptures, and perfected immortals, praying for guidance in attaining the ultimate truth of the Dao.

This is a repentance and vow text from the Daoist Yellow Register Zhaijiao (purification ritual for salvation of souls), expressing the practitioner's sincere intention to repent for all beings' transgressions and pray for their deliverance.

The practitioner reflects with deep devotion: both oneself and all beings have committed various transgressions by indulging the six senses (sight, hearing, smell, taste, touch, and thought) and violating the five constants (benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom, and faithfulness). These transgressions are recorded in the Black Registers (the underworld's ledger of sins), causing deceased ancestors and loved ones to suffer in the netherworld, enduring endless kalpas without seeing the light. Only through the compassionate salvation of the Celestial Worthy (Tianzun, the supreme deity of Daoism) can they be liberated.

The text mentions that the Celestial Worthy universally delivers all beings through the eight gates (eight methods of cultivation) and illuminates the Ninefold Dark Hells (the deepest hells in Daoist cosmology) with nine-colored divine light. Therefore, the practitioner burns incense and repents at the imperial altar (the ritual platform), beseeching the Celestial Worthy's mercy. May all transgressions be purified in the Vermilion Mound and Cinnabar Grove (a Daoist celestial realm), allowing the souls of the departed to be saved and the living to receive blessings.

Following this, nine great vows are made:

1. May the Dao spread widely throughout the world.

2. May all beings awaken to the Dao.

3. May the souls in hell be liberated.

4. May orphaned spirits attain rebirth.

5. May the world enjoy peace and abundance.

6. May rulers and subjects, parents and children, each fulfill their proper roles.

7. May all enmities in the world be resolved.

8. May fetuses and all creatures born from eggs survive and thrive.

9. May illnesses be cured and blessings and wisdom increase.

These vows ascend to the compassion of the Celestial Worthy and align with the sincerity of all beings, so that all living things may together reach the realm of ultimate bliss.

This scripture describes the concluding segment of the Daoist Yellow Register Zhai (Huanglu Zhai) – a grand ritual for salvation of the deceased and dispelling misfortunes. At the ceremony's culmination, the ritual master expresses ten auspicious vows to the deities, such as swift recovery for the afflicted and abundant provisions for the destitute.

The subsequent "Returning to the Brazier" (Fulu) ceremony involves the Incense Official Emissaries (deities overseeing ritual offerings), the Left and Right Dragon-Tiger Lords (guardian generals), and various divine officers gathering around the incense brazier. Through this ritual, the master believes golden elixirs (immortal medicine), cinnabar-jade herbs (xiancao), and luminous ganoderma (sacred fungus) will spontaneously manifest around the altar as auspicious signs. All celestial beings converge before the brazier, ensuring blessings for participants – both the living and the deceased.

The master further prays for divine grace to extend to the nation and its people. Celestial youths and jade maidens (attendants of the gods) from the Ten Directions will escort the rising incense smoke, carrying the master's petitions directly to the throne of the Jade Emperor (Yuhuang Shangdi) – one of Daoism's supreme deities.

The final "Exiting the Altar" (Chuhu) marks the master's departure from the ritual space. This passage concludes the sixth scroll of the Supreme Huanglu Zhai Liturgy (Taishang Huanglu Zhaiyi). Through incense offerings and invocations, the entire ceremony constructs a bridge between humans and deities, fulfilling its dual purpose of redeeming souls and invoking blessings while averting calamities.