《無上祕要》Vol. 66

Scroll 99 of the Supreme Secret Essentials

Section on Ascending to the Great Purity

On the day of the Spring Equinox, the Celestial Emperor of Taiwei ascends to visit

The day of the Spring Equinox is when the Celestial Emperor of Taiwei goes to the High Jade Emperor’s court for a banquet. It is also the day to begin practicing the Dao and receive immortality. On that day, follow the method described above: at midnight, face east and click your teeth nine times. Gaze upward and contemplate clouds of black, blue, and yellow Qi as they circle toward the northeast. Then silently recite the secret words in your heart, praying that the Celestial Emperor of Taiwei turn his divine carriage around and descend upon your body, bestow on you the Emperor’s tablet, and make you immortal.

When you have finished, contemplate the Lord Daoist Laozi Shijing in the Palace of Mystery and Subtlety, in the Upper Eastern Azure-Yang Court. His surname is Yu and his name is Youwan. He is nine inches tall, wears a purple-blue sash, and has on his head a nine-colored Precious Crown that Reaches Heaven. His feet are shod in nine-colored shoes, and he holds the writ of the Life Spirits. Thirty-six immortal youths of the sun attend him. He rides in a carriage adorned with the Eight Radiances, drawn by a blue-cloud chariot and accompanied by a blue dragon. He descends to govern the Palace of the Bright Hall within your body. Then recite this brief invocation:

“Shijing, High Origin, summon the numinous and bring forth the Real. Receive Qi and the mandate’s tally; follow the imperial forebears’ canon. Turn the essence toward the mysterious canopy; feast above at Yuchen. Turn the numinous spirit downward to settle and strengthen my body. Preserve my essence and refine my Qi; cleanse and brighten my five organs. Let purple Qi flow and shine; penetrate through and master the spirit. Join the procession and ride the flying radiance; feast above in the jade pavilion.”

When you have finished, gaze upward and swallow nine breaths of Qi. Practice this Way of Shijing for eight years, and a wheel of dark clouds will come to welcome you; your body will ascend to the Great Purity.

On the day of the Beginning of Summer, the Three-Origin Perfected of the Supreme Ultimate, the Highest and Unmanifest, ascend to visit

The day of the Beginning of Summer is when the Three-Origin Perfected of the Supreme Ultimate, the Highest and Unmanifest, go to the Purple Tenuity Palace for a banquet. It is also the day for practicing the Way of Dark Radiance and receiving immortality. On that day at dawn, face southeast and click your teeth nine times. Gaze upward and contemplate clouds of purple, blue, and yellow Qi as they circle toward the northwest. Then silently recite the secret words in your heart, praying that the Supreme Perfected Three-Origin Perfected turn their divine carriage around and descend into your chamber, inscribe your jade name, and make you immortal.

When you have finished, contemplate the Lord Daoist Dark Radiance Jade Luminosity, Without Limit, in the Taiwei Palace of the Upper Southeastern Shaoyang Court. His surname is Wang and his name is Wuying. He is eight inches and eight tenths tall, wears a cinnabar brocade sash, and has on his head the Jade Cap of Advancement and Worthies of the Limitless. His feet are shod in nine-colored shoes, and he holds the writ for summoning the numinous. He rides a Dark Radiance green carriage and a five-colored cloud chariot, accompanied by a phoenix and attended by thirty-nine flying numinous immortal youths. He descends to govern your body. Then recite a brief invocation in the same form as the one above.

When you have finished, gaze upward and swallow nine breaths of Qi. Practice this Way of Dark Radiance for the corresponding number of years, and a cloud chariot will come to welcome you; your body will ascend to the Great Purity.

[Continuing from the previous passage] In the Cavern Chamber Palace, a subtle inner aperture in the lower part of the human body within the Dantian system, recite this quiet invocation:

“Numinous spirit of the Mysterious Radiance, you who join in harmony with the Eight Qi and create visions in the Nine Mysteries, soaring beyond all limits: turn back and send down the true Qi. Release the obstructions from my former lives. Let the Azure Dragon bear me and the Purple Canopy shelter me, so that I may ride the Eight Visions and ascend to the edge of the heavens.” When the rite is complete, raise your head, swallow and draw in the Eight Qi, and stop. If you practice this Way of the Mysterious Radiance for eight full years, clouds of three colors—purple, white, and blue-green—and the green carriage of the Mysterious Radiance will come to welcome you. Your body will ascend to the Great Clarity.

The day of the summer solstice is when the Great Emperor Lord of Fusang, the deity of Fusang in the east, ascends to the Taiwei Palace in the celestial court to roam and feast. It is a day for practicing the Way of Empty Vision and receiving immortality. On that day, follow the method above: at dawn, face south and click your teeth eight times. Looking upward, envision clouds of red, white, and blue-green turning back from the southeast. Then silently recite the brief words in your heart, asking the Great Emperor Lord of Fusang to turn back his divine radiance and shine it down upon your body, enter your name in the records of Donghua, and enable you to ride the flying mists. When the rite is complete, face south again and envision the Lord Daoist of Empty Vision, Grand Marshal of Primordial Origins, in the Supreme Palace of the Sun and the Purple Tenuity Palace. His surname is Xuan and his personal name is Bashi. He is eight inches and eight tenths tall, wears crimson brocade with a red sash, and has on his head a jade crown of radiant essence, flat as the heavens. His feet tread shoes of nine colors, and in his hand he holds a seal for controlling demons. He rides a radiant carriage with eight paths and a vehicle of red-cloud Qi, attended by phoenixes. Accompanied by thirty-six jade youths from the Upper Palace of Cinnabar Radiance, he descends to govern the Middle Origin and Dantian Palace within your body. Then recite this quiet invocation:

“Empty Vision opens the clouds; riding Qi, it wheels back. Swiftly the carriage races along the eight paths; bright radiance releases its might. Descend into my chamber and illuminate the glow of my Cinnabar. Seize demons and command spirits; let all the myriad numinous beings be subdued. Make me penetrate the hidden depths and fly on equal terms with the Radiance.” When the rite is complete, raise your head, swallow the Eight Qi, and stop. If you practice this Way of Empty Vision for eight full years, the radiant carriage with eight paths will come to welcome you, and your body will ascend to the Great Clarity.

The day of the Beginning of Autumn is when the Most High True One, the White Emperor Lord of Great Simplicity, the revered deity of the White Emperor of Great Simplicity Heaven, ascends to the Jade Heaven’s Dark Emperor and the High Perfected One’s Primordial Radiance to practice the Way and receive immortality. On that day, at dawn, face southwest and click your teeth twelve times. Looking upward, envision clouds of white, red, and purple turning back from the southwest. Then silently recite the brief words in your heart, asking the True One of Great Simplicity to turn back his divine radiance and send it down upon your body, present your name to the Jade Heaven, and enable you to become a perfected being. When the rite is complete, envision, in the southwest, the Lord of Primordial Radiance, the Great One of Fiery Heaven, within the Upper Palace of Lesser Yin and the Palace of Numinous Subtlety and Yang…

A Plain-Language Interpretation of the Scripture from the Wushang Miyao

This passage describes Daoist methods of visualization and guiding and swallowing Qi: at particular solar terms, the practitioner visualizes a heavenly deity descending into the body, recites an invocation silently, and swallows Qi. After eight years of practice, the deity is said to arrive and escort the practitioner to heaven. The explanation below follows the order of the scripture.

The passage on Lord Daojun Yuanjing

Lord Daojun Yuanjing, whose surname is Huang and personal name Yunzhou, is seven cun and eight fen tall (the dimensions of the divine image as it appears in the mind during visualization). He wears a plain silk sash in dark yellow, a Seven-Treasure Worthy-Cap, and shoes in nine colors. In his hand is a talisman of the Life Spirit, which governs life and destiny. He rides in a Xiaotiao jade carriage, with a canopy of five colors and vermilion, surrounded by purple clouds. Six dragons draw the carriage, accompanied by twenty-four immortal youths from the Yellow Silk Upper Palace.

The image descends from heaven and settles in the practitioner’s lower Dantian palace. The practitioner then silently recites this invocation:

Perfected One Yuanjing, mysterious spirits of the Eight Paths: govern the Yellow Mother above and strengthen my form below. Let the divine carriage wander, its light flowing through the Purple Clarity. Order the cycles and guide the Qi; let the Three and Five shine brightly. Restrain spirits and subdue demons; let my Dao-body penetrate the essence. Preserve me long in the Upper Radiance, and grant me flight as an immortal and everlasting life.

The invocation’s general meaning is: the practitioner asks Perfected One Yuanjing and the mysterious spirits of the Eight Paths to govern the Yellow Mother (the deity of the center) above and secure the practitioner’s body below. The divine carriage wanders as purple light shines around it; the cycles of Qi turn and the Three and Five grow clear (numbers in Daoist traditions often refer to correspondences between body, mind, and the cosmos). Spirits and demons are subdued, the Dao-body becomes fully luminous, and the practitioner is preserved in the Upper Radiance and attains immortal flight and long life.

After reciting, the practitioner looks upward and swallows seven breaths of Qi (drawing in and swallowing seven mouthfuls of breath while facing upward), then stops reciting and concludes the practice. This is called the Way of Yuanjing. If practiced exclusively for eight years, the Xiaotiao jade carriage will arrive to escort the practitioner, who will ascend to Great Clarity (Taiqing), one of the Three Pure Ones’ heavens and a realm of the immortals.

The passage on the Autumn Equinox and Lord Daojun Mingjing

The day of the Autumn Equinox is when the Perfected One of the Southern Pole, the Red Emperor travels to the Terrace of Langfeng to feast with Lady Ninefold Numinous. It is also a day for practicing the Way of Mingjing and receiving the immortal path. The practitioner should carry out the practice as prescribed: at dawn, face west and click the teeth twelve times. Then look upward in thought and visualize blue, yellow, and red clouds circling back from the southwest, while silently reciting:

Perfected One of the Southern Pole, Red Emperor, Supreme Sovereign: I beg you to turn back your divine light and descend into my chamber. Grant me a jade tablet and present my request to the Ninefold Numinous. Let me ride the flying radiance and ascend into the realm of the formless.

In other words, the practitioner asks the Red Emperor to turn his divine light back and enter the practitioner’s body (the “chamber” and “body” here both refer to the practitioner), grant a jade tablet, and report to the Ninefold Numinous, so that the practitioner may ride the radiance of flight and ascend to the formless realm.

Next, the practitioner visualizes Lord Daojun Mingjing Taihe in the Palace of the Subtle Essence of the Supreme Yin, the Dui Palace in the west. His surname is Hao and his personal name is Renyi. He is six cun and eight fen tall, wears a plain sash of white-patterned spiritual silk, and a Crown of the Boundless Treasure of Heaven. He wears shoes in nine colors and holds a jade chapter for transcending death and preserving life. He rides the Jianglin jade-and-emerald carriage, a white spiritual chariot drawn by a White Tiger and accompanied by twenty-two youths of plain dark jade. He descends into the practitioner’s Huagai Palace, an inner palace associated with the upper Dantian region around the head.

The practitioner then silently recites this invocation:

Mingjing, source of the Dao, command the nine heavens. Protect and encircle the Purple Empyrean; swiftly ride the eight mists. Turn and halt your jade carriage, descend into my body. Open me to radiance and grant me Golden Truth. Clear away obstructions and summon the numinous Qi; let no delay hold me back. Let me ride the flying radiance and feast above among the dawn clouds.

The invocation’s general meaning is: Mingjing is the source of the Dao and commands the nine heavens, protecting the Purple Empyrean. The practitioner asks him to halt his carriage and descend into the body, open the practitioner to radiance, and grant Golden Truth. He is asked to dispel obstructions and draw in numinous Qi, so that the practitioner may proceed without delay, ride the flying radiance, and ascend to the heavenly dawn.

After reciting, the practitioner likewise looks upward and swallows seven breaths of Qi to conclude the practice. This is called the Way of Mingjing. If practiced exclusively for eight years, the Jianglin jade carriage will arrive to escort the practitioner, who will ascend bodily to Great Clarity.

Additional notes

• Seven cun and eight fen: These are the dimensions of the divine image in visualization, following the conventions of inner imagery. They need not be understood as measurements of its physical size.
• Lower Dantian and Huagai Palace: These are inner palaces of the body, corresponding respectively to the lower abdomen and the area around the head.
• Looking upward and swallowing seven breaths of Qi: This accompanies visualization by drawing in breath while facing upward and swallowing it, forming part of the secret methods of guiding Qi.
• Eight years: Daoist esoteric teachings often prescribe a long period of practice. This is a religious commitment and should be understood as a textual statement, not as a real-world guarantee.

The overall structure is: solar term (Autumn Equinox) + direction (facing west) + visualization of a divine image entering the body + invocation + swallowing Qi + the promised results after eight years. This is characteristic of visualization practices in the Shangqing and Dongzhen traditions.

The Day of the Beginning of Winter

On the day of the Beginning of Winter, the Perfected Ones, Emperor Lords, Imperial Ancestors, and other revered deities of the Shangqing realm attend a feast and gathering in the palace of the Jade Emperor of the Nine Heavens. It is also an auspicious day for practicing the “Cavern Radiance” method, following the Dao, and receiving immortality. At dawn, face northwest and click the teeth nine times. Look up toward the three-colored auspicious clouds—green, purple, and blue—descending through divine grace. Then turn southwest, silently recite the secret incantation, and pray that the Perfected Ones, Emperor Lords, and Imperial Ancestors of Shangqing turn back their divine carriages and descend into your own body (the chamber of the adept). Ask them to bestow a jade name and report your name to Shangqing, so that you may ride the Flying Radiance and ascend into the formless realm.

When the rite is complete, visualize the Cavern Radiance Registrar, the Lord of the Sun, in the Yin Radiance Upper Palace of the northwest, within the Qingwei Palace. His surname is Xuan and his personal name is Yuanfu. He is five cun and eight fen tall, wears a dark yellow sash, and has on his head the Ninefold Mystery Jade Crown of Flying Dawn. His feet are shod in five-colored shoes, and he holds the statute for capturing and slaying. He rides the Cinnabar Carriage of Eight Lights, surrounded by dark radiance, and a carriage of purple clouds. The Dark Warrior serves as his conveyance, while twenty-four immortal youths of Great Mystery follow in attendance. He descends to govern the Granary-Life Palace within your body. Then recite the following invocation softly:

“Cavern Radiance, august sovereign; mysterious spirit, yin deity. Riding clouds and driving dragons, you join the ranks of the flying mists. Above, you roam through Jade Clarity; below, you govern Great Mystery. Turn back your purple carriage and descend to enter my body. Let me ride the Eight Radiances and hold a station equal to the Perfected Ones.”

After reciting the invocation, raise your head and swallow the Five Qi. This completes the rite. After eight years of practicing this way of Cavern Radiance, the Cinnabar Carriage of Eight Lights, surrounded by dark radiance, will descend to welcome the adept’s body and raise it to Great Clarity.

The Day of the Winter Solstice

On the day of the Winter Solstice, the Jade Consort of Great Empyrean and the Perfected Ones of the Great Void attend a feast and gathering in the Palace of the Great Sovereign and the palace of the Celestial Lord of Great Tenuity. It is also an auspicious day for practicing the “Clear Radiance” method, following the Dao, and receiving immortality. At dawn, face due north and click the teeth twelve times. Visualize auspicious clouds of vermilion, blue-green, and yellow turning back from the northeast. Silently recite the secret incantation, and pray that the Jade Consort of Great Empyrean and the Perfected Ones of the Great Void turn back their divine carriages and descend into your body. Ask them to establish and bestow a jade name and report it to Great Empyrean, so that you may become a Perfected One and attend feasts in the upper palaces.

When the rite is complete, visualize the Admonitory Lord of Mystery and Harmony in the Yin Essence Upper Palace of the north, within the Palace of Subtle Dao. His surname is Wang and his personal name is Yin Jing. He is five cun and eight fen tall, wears a sash of five-colored dark clouds, and has on his head the Dark Dawn Treasure Crown. His feet are shod in the five-colored shoes of the master, and he holds the staff for summoning spirits. He rides the Jade Carriage that Circles and Lingers, amid the Qi of Brocade Clouds, in a carriage of pearls and jade. The black-feathered Dark Phoenix serves as his conveyance, while immortal youths of the Upper Palace of Great Mystery follow in attendance. (The ritual that follows is of the same kind; continue according to the scripture.)

Essential Secrets of the Highest Mystery: A Plain-Language Reading

1. The Way of Clear Radiance and Pure Truth (Thirty-Six Youths Descend to Refine the Body of the Adept)

In the Palace of the Dark Valley, one must still silently recite this brief invocation:

“Clear Radiance and Pure Truth, whose numinous nature is one with the Primordial Beginning; transformed by the Nine Origins, you contain Qi within the Vermilion Infant. You wander beside the Jade Carriage and ascend into Purple Clarity; your wheel turns through the Eight Nodes, traversing the heavenly scriptures. Erase my original register and preserve my life in the South; may I ride upon flying radiance, reins in hand, in a green carriage.”

When the invocation is finished, tilt the head back and swallow the Five Qis to conclude.

By practicing this Way of Clear Radiance, after eight years one may attain the sight of the Jade Carriage arriving below to welcome the adept, who then ascends to the Great Clarity heaven.

Source: From The Scripture of Flying Through the Eight Radiances of the True Gold and Jade Light of the Cavern of Truth.

2. The Secret Sounds of the Brahma-Treasure Heavenly Soul and Essence

Within are the secret sounds and inner names of the Brahma-Treasure Heavenly Soul and Essence, as well as a Jade Pendant Talisman for Communicating with Yang. The Qi of the Brahma-Treasure Heaven that communicates with Yang governs the true inner spirits in the Palace of Utmost Yin.

Write it in yellow on white silk and wear it on your person. Also write it on white paper and take it on the day of your birth sign at each of the Eight Nodes. After three years of inward contemplation, with your perception firmly settled, you will be able to see the true spirits. The Mysterious Mother of the Nine Heavens will bestow upon you the Nine Heavens’ Upper Scriptures and the Eight Refined Blossoms of the Elixir Plant. You will attain the Way of Spontaneity, fly through the air in broad daylight, and ascend to the Great Clarity heaven.

3. The Cavern of Truth Talisman for Summoning Spirits, Bringing Forth the True Ones, and Subduing Demons

Talisman of the White Emperor

The White Emperor’s Talisman for Summoning Spirits, Bringing Forth the True Ones, and Subduing Demons: Write it in yellow ink on a white wooden board, nine inches wide and one foot two inches long, and place it on the west side of the room. Practice, recite the scriptures, and remain in the room for one hundred days; you will speak with spirit beings. After three years, clouds of naturally arising white numinous mists will appear in the room.

• To summon Perfected Beings and Celestial Immortals: Write the talisman according to the prescribed method and place it in the center. Focus your contemplation for one hundred days. A Perfected Being will manifest, and an Immortal will come to your chamber to teach you the Way of the divine and true.
• If you wish to subdue demons: Write the talisman according to the method above and place it on the east side. Recite the Chapter of the Great Void once. The Northern Emperor will take up arms; the heavenly demons will lose their forms, the radiance of the myriad spirits will vanish, and all will be pure and still, within and without.

Alternatively, write it in yellow on white silk, nine inches in size, and wear it on your person. After eight years, the Emperor will descend in a mysterious radiant green carriage to welcome the adept below and raise them to the Great Clarity heaven.

Talisman of the Black Emperor

The Black Emperor’s Talisman for Summoning Spirits, Bringing Forth the True Ones, and Subduing Demons: Write it in white ink on a black wooden board, nine inches wide and one foot two inches long, and place it on the north side of the room. Practice, recite the scriptures, and remain in the room for one hundred days; you will speak with spirit beings. After three years, clouds of naturally arising black numinous mists will appear in the room.

• If you wish to summon Perfected Beings and Celestial Immortals: Write it according to the method above and place it on the west side. Focus your contemplation for one hundred days. A Perfected Being will manifest, and an Immortal will come to your chamber to teach you the Way of the divine and true.
• If you wish to subdue demons: Write the talisman according to the method above, place it on the south side, and recite the scripture; the demons will be subdued.

Note: In this text, “adept” refers to the practitioner or the spirits within their body. “Entering the room” means withdrawing for quiet cultivation; “focused contemplation” means concentrating the spirit in visualization; and “ascending to the Great Clarity” means the spirit rising to the heavenly realm of Great Clarity. The White Emperor and Black Emperor are among the Five Directional Emperors. Their directions, talisman colors, and board colors correspond to one another. This is a characteristic account of visualization and ascent practices in the Shangqing and Cavern of Truth traditions of Daoism.

The Supreme Secret Essentials: A Plain-Language Interpretation

(1) Reciting the Chapter and Being Welcomed by the Northern Emperor

Recite the Chapter of the Great Void once. The Northern Emperor, the Daoist deity who rules the northern heavens, will mobilize troops to protect the Dharma. Demons of heaven will lose their forms, and the myriad spirits will conceal their radiance, bringing purification within and without. You may also write the text in white ink on black silk, make it nine inches long, and wear it for eight years. The Emperor will send a conveyance with eight rays of light to greet you, and you will ascend bodily to Supreme Purity, one of the celestial realms of Shangqing.

Source: the Dongzhen Scripture of the Nine True Yang Talismans.

(2) Yang Talismans, Inner Taboo Names, and the True Ones of the Palace of Utmost Yin

There are secret characters written in gold, the Three Origins and Nine True Yang Talismans, and the secret sounds of the Brahma Treasure and Heavenly Soul. When the Inner Taboo Name, a secretly transmitted honorific title, is paired with the Yang-Penetrating Talisman worn as a jade pendant, it accords with the Yang-penetrating Qi of the Brahma Treasure Heaven and governs the true inner spirits in the Palace of Utmost Yin.

Write the talisman in yellow on plain white silk and wear it. You may also write it on white paper and swallow it on the eight seasonal days associated with your birth destiny, while inwardly contemplating the true ones in the Palace of Utmost Yin. After three years of verification and confirmation, you will be able to see the true spirits clearly. The Mother of the Ninth Heaven will impart a portent, and the Ninth Heaven will transmit a celestial writ. After eight refinements of the zhi herb, you will attain the Way of spontaneity and ascend through the air by day to Supreme Purity.

Source: the Dongzhen Upper Scripture of the Jade Pendant, Golden Clapper, and Supreme Ultimate Golden Writing.

(3) Talismans for Overcoming Calamity and Preserving Life: Great, Small, Yin, and Yang Types

Great Talisman for Overcoming the Hundred-and-Six Calamities and Preserving Life: Write it in cinnabar ink on white silk and wear it on your head. It protects against floods and sudden calamities, preserves your body and lengthens your life, giving you a lifespan equal to that of the Three Luminaries—the sun, moon, and stars. Wear it for nine years, and you will become an immortal and ascend by day to Supreme Purity.

Small Talisman for Overcoming the Hundred-and-Six Calamities and Preserving Life: Write it in yellow ink on white silk and wear it on your left elbow. It protects against the calamities caused by a thousand demons and ten thousand spirits, and by rampant epidemics. It preserves your body and lengthens your life, giving you a lifespan equal to that of Heaven and Earth. Wear it for nine years, and you will ascend by day to Supreme Purity.

Yin-Yang Talisman for Overcoming Calamity and Preserving Life: Write it in black ink on white silk and wear it. You will share the lifespan of Heaven and Earth and the radiance of the sun and moon. After nine years, you will fly upward to Supreme Purity.

Source: the Dongzhen Scripture of the Azure Essentials and Purple Writings.

(4) A Formula for Ingestion, Recorded in the Azure Essentials and Purple Writings

Take five parts sesame, three parts weixi, two parts Sichuan pepper, one part dried ginger, and one part calamus. Use fresh, top-quality ingredients for all five substances and clean them thoroughly. On a day when the relevant Phase is flourishing, have a young boy pound and grind them. Pound and sift each ingredient separately, then place each in its own red cup. Arrange the five cups on a red table and leave them exposed overnight. At dawn the next day, use a measuring scoop to combine and mix them. Add white honey or white malt syrup, then pound the mixture thirty thousand times and form it into pills the size of Chinese parasol tree seeds. At dawn, kneel facing the sun and swallow three pills, saying, “May I long obtain what I desire.” Take another dose at dusk, facing the setting sun.

Wushang Miyao (Essential Secrets of the Supreme)

1. Medication Ritual and Prohibitions

Then kneel and bow toward the west. Following the morning ritual, swallow three pills; this is the regular practice.

Dietary prohibitions: Raw fish, pork, and meat or fish dishes.

Things to avoid touching or encountering: Funerals, corpses, pigs, women who have recently given birth, and anything unclean. These should be carefully avoided.

Medication schedule: The period is measured from the Jiazi “Establish” day through the end of the Guihai count. Be sure not to neglect or forget the schedule. It consists of sixty-one divisions, corresponding to the constant number of Heaven and Earth. Each period runs from a Jia day to a Gui day: begin taking the medicine on a Jiazi “Establish” day, and continue through the Gui day to complete one division. If that Jiazi day has no “Establish” designation, it is also acceptable to count until a “Set” or “Open” day.

Before taking the medicine, observe a three-day purification fast and burn incense while cultivating the spirit. Only then should you proceed.

2. Effects After Taking the Medicine (each stage lasting about sixty days)

Effects after about one year

The body becomes light and one walks with ease → the limbs become free-flowing → the complexion grows radiant → the stomach and intestines are regulated, the Five Viscera become full, and harmful spirits cannot intrude → the body becomes strong and healthy → hearing and sight become keen.

Effects after about two years

The bones and marrow become firm → the fingernails shine → one’s form and shadow become distinct → Jing and Qi increase day by day → white hair turns black → the teeth become strong and secure.

Effects after about three years

One connects with the Dao → the Six Jia spirits accompany and attend one → the spirit reaches throughout the body → with resolve and faith, one’s actions manifest spiritual efficacy → the heart opens and the eyes grow clear → one can know what is happening in distant places.

Effects after about four years

Divination and vision shine with light → the Five Spirits do not perish → one no longer feels hunger or thirst → the hundred spirits come to pay court → the Five Viscera are inexhaustible → one can withstand both cold and heat.

Effects after about five years

One can float or sink → move through shallow or deep water → become round or square → be weak or strong → extend vertically or horizontally → become short or long.

Effects after about six years

One can be beautiful or ugly → become large or small → become light or heavy → pass in and out without obstruction → a kitchen for preparing food is at one’s side, and one’s rank equals that of an immortal.

3. Long-Term Practice

If one continues taking the medicine without interruption for a long time, one’s course aligns with the Way of Heaven. The body transforms in a thousand ways, and one may ascend to the Great Clarity, one of the highest reaches of the celestial realm.

A Plain-Language Explanation of the Wushang Biyao

Source: Dongyuan Wufu Jing

The Method Transmitted by the High Sage Jade Emperor Daoist Lord

The High Sage Jade Emperor Daoist Lord said: If you wish to have your name written in the “White Tablets and Mysterious Register” (the celestial records of those enrolled among the immortals) and ascend to the Upper Palace of Jade Clarity (one of the highest celestial realms), you should practice as follows.

Ritual preparations:

On the first day of the first lunar month, at the “time of upper conjunction” (an auspicious moment when the energies of Heaven and Earth meet), bathe and cleanse yourself, observe ritual abstinence, and enter a room at dawn. Burn incense, face north, perform nine bows, and pay homage to Jade Heaven.

Visualization and entering stillness:

After bowing, sit upright facing north and click your teeth nine times. In your mind, visualize blue clouds filling the room, lush and dense, shrouding the entire space. Imagine the “Five Immortal Elders” (five ancient immortals who attained the Dao) standing among the blue clouds:

• One wears a flowing blue feathered cape, a jade crown reaching to Heaven, and holds a register inscribed with blue characters.
• The other, who commands the Immortal Jade Attendants, wears a robe of cloud-patterned brocade, a crown adorned with seven treasures, and holds a white silver tablet.

Visualize the two perfected lords recording your name on the white tablet and entering it in the register of blue characters. Ask them to deliver my tablet and register to the “Envoy Who Inspects the Perfected.” Then the Left Immortal Who Confers Registers submits them to the Emperors of the Nine Heavens and the Seven Sacred Powers. They send down the tablet and register and establish my name. The Five Immortal Elders and the Chief of the Immortal Attendants then merge into the Hall of Light within my body, the area between the eyebrows.

Recitation:

On the day of upper conjunction, the celestial origin is pure and still;
the Most High appears beneath the canopy, and the Jade Emperor presides in the court.
The Nine Perfected command the void; the Seven Sacred Powers unite their numinous force.
My name is entered in the mysterious register, inscribed on the white tablet;
it is recorded in the primal register, ending death and engraving life.
The Western Tortoise binds the register, preserving the immortal’s flourishing blue radiance.
Above, I receive the cloud sash; it shines down through the Five Forms.
Grant me feathered robes; send down my green carriage.
Let me ride the flying heights and ascend to the purple jade realm.
The three radiances unite in brilliance; the Seven Primordials shine as one.
May I preserve the two principles forever, and remain with Heaven and Earth for all time.

After reciting the spell, perform seven bows to the Seven Sacred Powers and swallow Qi (vital energy) seven times. The ritual is then complete.

Effects:

This “Method of Forming Bonds with the High Sages and Having One’s Tablet Inscribed throughout the Six Directions,” if practiced for seven years, enables even someone who previously had no mysterious name—someone not listed in the celestial registers—to have their name inscribed in the mysterious records. The Three Origins descend, the Four Extremities awaken their numinous power, and understanding opens naturally, allowing the practitioner to fly through the Great Purity, the highest celestial realm.

As Recorded in the Great Mysterious Metropolis: Luminous Statutes of the Four Extremities

The “Way of the Eight Paths and Nine Perfected, for Joining the Sun and Moon through the Luminous Essences of Chang’e and Yuyi,” cultivated by the Nine Perfected of the Central Scripture and the Great Emperor of Heaven of Supreme Subtlety, was once secretly transmitted to the Central Yellow Old Lord and kept in the Palace of the Supreme One of the Six Directions. Under the old ritual regulations, it could be transmitted only three times in seven thousand years.

If someone is among the “people of the purple network, whose life is preserved in the Upper Clarity Treasury of the Jade Palace of Eastern Florescence”—that is, a person who has attained the Dao in the Upper Clarity realm—the teaching may be transmitted three times within seven hundred years. At the time of transmission, an oath must be sworn, with ninety feet of silk, one jin of blue silk thread, and twenty-four feet of crimson-patterned silk offered as tokens.

On this auspicious day—

Notes

• White Tablets and Mysterious Register: Celestial records of those enrolled among the immortals. Having one’s name entered in them confers immortal status.
• Five Immortal Elders: The Five Elders of the Five Directions in Daoism, five ancient immortals representing the Way of the Five Phases (Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, Water).
• Hall of Light: In Daoist inner visualization and cultivation, the area between the eyebrows.
• Great Purity: One of the Three Pure Ones (Sanqing) realms, among the highest celestial heavens in Daoism.
• Person of the purple network: An immortal who has attained the Dao in the Upper Clarity realm and is qualified to transmit the teaching.

I am now searching for the source of this passage and for background on related Daoist transmission covenants and oath texts.

Plain-language interpretation

This passage describes the oaths required when receiving scriptures, entering a covenant, and practicing cultivation, as well as the penalties for breaking those oaths. At the end, it identifies the source as the Dongzhen: Scripture of the Primordial Record of the Seven Sages of the True Emperor and advises careful observance of rules such as those in the Statutes of the Lady of Azure from the Left Palace of Xuandu.

Objects and rites used in the covenant oath

When receiving a transmission, one must swear an oath and prepare the appropriate tokens of trust, such as:

• Twenty-four feet of azure silk: a length of blue-green silk used as one of the tokens of the covenant oath.
• The Oath of Moonlight: an oath corresponding to the designation “Moonlight,” one of the oath formulas used in covenant transmission rites.
• Three pairs of gold rings: also used as tokens of the covenant oath.
• The Oath to the Impermanent Youth: one must also swear an oath to the Impermanent Youth, a spirit child in Daoism often associated with apprehension, examination, and enforcement in the underworld. This shows that the covenant is solemn and cannot be revoked.

As for the rite, one must observe purification—face the altar and maintain ritual purity and precepts. The text mentions different periods of purification, including nine and twenty-four days. One must also face north to enter the covenant and transmit the teaching: that is, face north to swear the covenant and transmit scriptures and teachings. In Daoist liturgy, facing north is often associated with covenants and ordination.

After the teaching is transmitted, seventeen Jade Youths and seventeen Jade Maidens serve as attendants and protectors. These are familiar names for divine guardians and attendants in Daoist scriptures and transmission texts, signifying that spirits protect and support the practitioner and the keeping of the scriptures.

The fruits of cultivation and severe penalties for breaking the oath

By practicing this method for seven years, one may ride a dragon and ascend, rising to the highest heavens of Taiqing. Taiqing is one of the Three Pure Ones’ realms; here it refers to ascending into the realm of immortals, among the highest celestial beings. At the same time, the text stresses that this method is especially strict:

• On the second offense: one’s merits are cut down and one’s ritual work is brought to an end; these refer to offenses such as damaging one’s merit or bringing ritual services to a halt.
• On the fourth offense: officials on the left and right register the case and conduct an examination; these are officials who investigate and assess conduct in the underworld.
• The offender’s seven generations of ancestors and the offender personally are implicated and subjected to severe punishment.

The punishments are described as the mountain of knives, consuming fire, and the hells, where the offender must serve the three labors of suffering. Only after ten thousand kalpas may the offender again obtain a human body, and they will no longer be able to enter the human path—that is, they will find it difficult to be reborn among humans or to cultivate the human way.

Source and requirements for observance

The passage recorded on the right comes from the Dongzhen: Scripture of the Primordial Record of the Seven Sages of the True Emperor.

It also warns that those who need the relevant statutes must understand their meaning and observe them carefully. This refers to the Statutes of the Lady of Azure from the Left Palace of Xuandu, a well-known set of underworld regulations and merit-assessment provisions in Daoism, often associated with oath violations and examination by the underworld authorities.

Points to bear in mind when reading this passage

This is a typical account combining covenant transmission, precepts and oaths, and examination by the underworld. Tokens, purification days, and facing north to enter the covenant make receiving the scripture into a binding contract. The Jade Youths and Jade Maidens represent protection and support, while the Impermanent Youth and the statutes of the Lady of Azure represent surveillance and punishment. This plain-language rendering gives the literal sense and common interpretations. Whether “the Oath of Moonlight” and the periods of nine and twenty-four days are explained in more detail elsewhere in the full text should be checked against the surrounding fascicles of the Wushang Biyao and the quoted original text of the Scripture of the Primordial Record of the Seven Sages.