《無上祕要》Vol. 67

The Supreme Secret Essentials, Scroll One Hundred, Section Nine

Chapter on Ascending into the Formless

The High Sage Lord says: If you wish to have your name engraved in the Mysterious Register—the heavenly roster of immortals—and have your title shine across the Nine Heavens, proceed as follows.

On the fifth day of the fifth month, when the vital forces of Heaven and Earth are in harmony, first bathe and purify yourself, observe a fast to clear your mind, and enter a quiet chamber with your thoughts settled. Burn incense while facing north, and perform nine bows in homage to the Jade Heaven, the northern celestial realm revered in Daoism. When the rites are complete, face north and click your teeth together twelve times. This gentle tapping of the upper and lower teeth is a common Daoist practice for gathering the spirit before visualization.

At this time, a cloud of Cinnabar Qi appears in the fasting chamber. Clouds shimmer in the empty space, filling the room with radiance. Visualize the Five Immortal Elders and the Immortal Jade Officer who Commands the Immortals. The former wears a flying blue mantle, a crown of jade that reaches to Heaven, and holds a register inscribed with blue characters. The latter wears a robe of cloud brocade, a crown adorned with seven treasures, and holds a tablet of white register. See the two perfected sages record your name on the white tablet and enter it into the blue register. Then see them entrust these records to the divine offices for review: the Envoy Who Inspects the Perfected, the Left Immortal Who Settles the Registers, the High Minister of the Nine Heavens, the Seven Sages of Imperial Jade, and others. Next, visualize the Five Immortal Elders and the Officer Who Leads the Immortals transforming into you and entering your body through the Crimson Palace, the vital aperture around the chest and heart that is important in internal alchemy. Then softly recite the incantation:

Vermilion Light of the Southern Cinnabar, joy joins with Supreme Yang.
The Heavenly Origin meets and unites; the six vows flourish within.
The Nine Perfected and Seven Sages, the spirits of the fast, fill the Jade Hall.
Above, inscribe the mysterious tablet; enter the register in the Western Palace.
Engrave and write in true sounds, clear and reaching in all four directions.
Cinnabar clouds wheel back to the heavens and descend into my chamber.
Flying blue-feathered attendants, radiant and splendid.
On the left I ride the vermilion phoenix; on the right I control the roaming dragon.
The six reins rise together; I soar up to the resplendent hall.
The Five Elders bear the covenant; the four poles stand paired in harmony.
May I preserve the mysterious radiance forever, sharing the form of the sun and moon.

When you have finished reciting, bow seven times to the Seven Sages, swallow seven breaths of Qi—drawing in or visualizing seven breaths of pure energy according to the ritual—and then conclude the practice. If you cultivate in this way for seven years, your name among the realized ones will be established in the Mysterious Register. The Upper Palace and Nine Heavens will shine upon you, and you will be able to ascend into the formless realm.

From the Scripture of the Original Register of the Seven Sages of the Cavern of Truth

The Dao says: Those who cultivate this scripture and attain the rank of High Immortal can fly up into the void, their bodies becoming one with the formless, and remain united with the Dao for a long time.

From the Instructions of the Natural Scripture of the Cavern of Origin

With one recitation, all the heavens receive homage; with ten transformations, dry bones come to life. The seven generations ascend to the Vermilion Palace, enjoy blessings, and enter the formless realm.

From the Scripture of the Numinous Writings of the Cavern of Origin

The Virtue of the Perfected, the Great Sages: after attaining the Dao, they ascend into the formless and become one with the Dao.

From the Scripture of the Yellow Register and Simple Writings of the Cavern of Origin

Chapter on Responding and Transforming

The High Jade Emperor, the Supreme Sage Lord, and the Jade Perfected of the Nine Heavens all arise by receiving the Qi of Nature…

(The text of this chapter does not continue in the transmitted record; only its title is preserved.)

A Plain Language Interpretation of The Supreme Secret Essentials

Born from the Jade Womb and hidden in the Purple Origin, the numinous and harmonious spirit had to encounter and unite with other powers before a human form could come into being. He was descended from the lineage of the August Sovereign, and from birth became a perfected being. Taking the hollow expanse as his dwelling and combining the Three Qi as his name, he received the title of Emperor. He responds to transformations in the highest purity, governs all immortals and perfected beings, and presides over the lofty void—mysterious beyond all measure. The four seasons change in turn, and he adapts as their cycles shift. Through bathing, dressing, refining, and adorning the long talisman, he transforms his form and appearance, arising in response to each encounter. The hidden and obscure are elusive; the Dao has no fixed name. It is unfathomably deep and inexhaustible in its subtlety. Heaven and Earth stand by virtue of it; the Great Mystery joins with it to attain purity; the sun and moon rely on it for their radiance; and the Five Phases receive it and thereby become numinous. Vast is the honored source of De, boundless the exalted one: the Dao is so lofty and wondrous that words cannot fully describe it. The Primordial Beginning recorded this and concealed it in the Palace of the Supreme One of the Six Directions. Later sages who study the Way of the Highest Perfected should refine and fully understand the forms taken by the Primordial Beginning in its transformations, changing with the seasons in order to connect with the truth, return to its Qi, and refine its spirit.

Take, for example, the Primordial Beginning’s August Sovereign, the Elder: on the day spring begins, he receives the Qi of the Primordial Beginning’s Jade Void and takes the title August Sovereign, the Elder. This is his true form, clothing, and proper color. For the full ninety days of spring, he dwells in truth and maintains his proper state. On the day summer begins, the August Sovereign, the Elder, changes his proper color and receives the season’s transformation. He bathes in the numinous and perfected—what is meant by changing forms and appearances, connecting with truth, receiving the numinous, and sustaining Qi so that it endures. Throughout the full ninety days of summer, the immortal soul is bathed, and the numinous and perfected are brought into communion. On the day autumn begins, the August Sovereign, the Elder, transforms his form in keeping with the season and puts on the robes of the Five Constants. This is called immortal transformation: Qi connects with the deepest mystery, fills the inside and overflows to the outside, and radiance shines forth. He transforms into the perfected state and nourishes Qi, bringing it to inexhaustible abundance. Throughout the full ninety days of autumn, he wears the robes of the Nine Heavens, and immortal transformation brings him to perfection. On the day winter begins, the August Sovereign, the Elder, joins with the perfected state in fetal breathing and returns Qi to its natural state. He releases form and spirit, changes his appearance and enters the light, returning to the Primordial Beginning. Through refinement he returns to essence and nurtures the purified numinous and perfected, whose luminous color blends into the misty haze of clouds and smoke. Throughout the full ninety days of winter, he gathers Qi and concentrates spirit, returning once more to his proper form. The four transformations complete their cycle, then begin again: this is the Primordial Beginning’s transformation through four changes, altering its appearance with each season.

The workings of Heaven and Earth all have their periods of flourishing and decline, obstruction and ease, activity and rest, in response to the heavenly pivot. In times of flourishing, they maintain their proper state; in times of rest, they nurture and preserve. By putting on their robes and refining their essence without departing from their regular course, Heaven and Earth endure forever.

The Dao of this wondrous transformation is boundless

The above is taken from the Shangqing Primordial Beginning Transformation Register.

On the Quality of Forgetting Both

A Perfected One who receives and upholds the Lingbao True Writings each day and practices this kind of purification ritual can naturally attain this great blessing. Helping others comes first. Thus, by placing others before oneself, one forgets both sides amid the interdependence of misfortune and fortune; one sets one’s mind on what is to be forgotten, and one’s nature and being become one with the Mystery—the substance of the Dao.

The above is taken from the Scripture on Spreading Purification through the Cavern’s Origin.

Misfortune and blessing are not brought about by others; they arise from oneself. For this reason, the great worthy closes his mouth, seeking to sever every evil connection, extinguish thoughts, and return to the forgetting of both. Amid the interdependence of misfortune and fortune, he awaits their eventual disappearance.

The above is taken from the Scripture on Settling the Will through the Cavern’s Origin.

Refine the embryo and return to the beginning; forever ride the bridge of flying Mystery. If you crave accumulation, you lose Heaven’s true nature; scatter your thoughts and await the practice of the ordinary. Cut down the tangled tree of the womb; let the mind roam beyond the highest capital. When the longed-for meeting is at last utterly mysterious, awaken to my principle of forgetting both.

The above is taken from the Scripture of the Nine Heavens through the Cavern’s Origin.

On Human Nature’s Spontaneity

The Dao says: Spontaneity is the Dao’s true substance; Wuwei (non-action) is the Dao’s utmost reach; emptiness and nothingness are the noblest aspects of De (Virtue/Power); quietude and detachment are De’s dwelling place; stillness and silence are De’s abyss; purity and tranquility are close to Shen (spirit); sincerity is Shen’s gateway; and harmony and balance are the source of all things. When a person follows the Dao, if they can be spontaneous, the Dao can be reached; if they can practice Wuwei, life can be prolonged; if they can be empty, Qi (vital energy) can flow; if they can be quiet and detached, their will can remain steadfast; if they can be still and silent, their voice can be concealed; if they can be pure and tranquil, Shen can shine; if they can be sincere, their will can accord with the Dao; if they can be harmonious and balanced, transformation can be brought into alignment. Therefore, anyone who follows the Dao should fulfill its name through spontaneity.

Earlier, I transmitted the Dao to Yin Xi, Guardian of the Pass. As I was about to depart after writing the two parts of the Dao De Jing (Classic of the Dao and De), I admonished him: The Dao is spontaneous by nature. Those who attain it know its spontaneity; those who do not attain it do not know what makes it so. It is like recognizing a sound but being unable to understand the depths of another person’s heart, or knowing something but being unable to put it into words. How wondrous the Dao, unbroken and continuous! Words cannot convey the fullness of meaning, and writing cannot exhaust what words express. So I have written this for you, hoping you will awaken to spontaneity; once you attain it, you will fulfill it through yourself.

Yin Xi asked: How does one learn spontaneity?

The Dao replied: Do not seize upright Qi and make it your own; do not drive away deviant Qi, for it will depart by itself. This is not the way of praying to or sacrificing to ghosts and spirits, nor is it about trying to ward off what is impure or remove what is improper. In purity and tranquility, petition for life…

(The transmitted versions may continue here with various rites for “petitioning for life.” The scripture ends at this point.)

Note: This section compiles two parts, “Forgetting Both” and “Human Nature’s Spontaneity.” The cited Scripture on Spreading Purification through the Cavern’s Origin, Scripture on Settling the Will, and Scripture of the Nine Heavens, along with the dialogue between the Guardian of the Pass and the Dao, belong to the Shangqing and Dongxuan traditions of purification rites and self-cultivation literature.

Plain-Language Interpretation of The Supreme Secret Essentials

First passage (source: the Scripture of Wondrous Truth)

That life can naturally be prolonged without limit—is this not simply the way things are? I am neither trying to be original nor claiming that this is the only path. If the Dao were not natural, what could it be called? Freedom from desire and Wuwei (non-action) are how the Dao operates. The Dao dwells in emptiness, where there is nothing and nothingness itself. Stillness and silence are the Dao at their utmost. Detachment and tranquility allow De (Virtue/Power) to deepen gradually. Clarity, stillness, and peace are where Shen (spirit) resides; wholehearted devotion and single-mindedness are what glorify Shen.

Use Wuwei to nourish the body, emptiness to settle Shen, detachment to preserve one’s intent, silence to cultivate one’s presence, clarity and stillness to calm the heart, wholehearted devotion to keep one’s resolve, and balance and harmony to nourish Shen. Let the heart rest and Shen roam freely, like vast waters deepening and clearing of themselves. Dwell at ease in a quiet place, like a dragon lying coiled and hidden.

Embrace emptiness without drifting into mere nothingness; hold fast to what is real without sinking into the mire. Be like the Southern Luminary—a constellation symbolizing brightness—letting go of attachment to emptiness. Transform De and preserve Shen, like the god of the soil and grain preserving its radiance. Establish and honor the divine spirits, like an ancestral temple that keeps its proper place.

Let people be unable to see me, like a giant fish hidden in deep water; let no one know me, like the light of the sun rising in the east. My endlessness is like the root of the Great Dao. Things call forth one another in response, as mountains, forests, and great marshes draw birds, beasts, tigers, and wolves; as deep woods and towering trees attract flying birds and insects; and as rivers and lakes attract fish, turtles, and dragons. Abundant De naturally brings peace and such auspicious beings as qilin and phoenixes; clarity, stillness, and purity naturally bring Jade Maidens and numinous fungi, beings and plants of the immortals; balance, harmony, and auspicious signs naturally bring good fortune; and strange calamities and foul influences naturally bring misfortune and disaster.

From the Scripture of Wondrous Truth

The Flying Immortals bear and guide one onward, roaming and feasting in Purple Dawn. They hold the power to preserve one’s years, enjoying the natural way forever.

The Daoist Scripture says:

Human beings take Earth as their model; Earth takes Heaven as its model; Heaven takes the Dao as its model; the Dao takes what is natural as its model.

From the Scripture of the Numinous Chapter of the Empty Cavern of the Primordial Grotto

The vast ridge of Great Emptiness floats in the distance; flowing radiance shines in the highest heavens. Its beginning reaches across kalpas without end, ever preserving the wholeness of Heaven and Earth. Rulers of the world study to attain the perfect state known in Buddhist contexts as Brahma; Daoist practitioners recite this text and attain immortality. Today, the worthy receive and uphold it, passing it on in accordance with the teachings. If there is no person of supreme De in an age, keep it secret and do not proclaim it recklessly. Follow it, and you will ascend to the Highest Clarity; abandon it, and you will descend among the Nine Springs. I speak of the Dao of Wuwei: through clarity and stillness, one attains the natural way.

Note: This text is compiled from several scriptural passages. The first half focuses on cultivating the body and nourishing Shen through Wuwei, emptiness and stillness, and balance and harmony. The latter half cites the principle that the Dao takes what is natural as its model, along with admonitions about transmitting the scriptures. Images such as the Jade Maidens, numinous fungi, and Purple Dawn evoke Daoist paradises and the celestial realm; they are best understood symbolically rather than taken as literal descriptions.

Plain-Language Commentary on The Supreme Secret Essentials

1. Hidden Commentary on the Great Ultimate of the Cavernous Origin (excerpt)

Source: Hidden Commentary on the Great Ultimate of the Cavernous Origin

A Daoist scripture says: A perfected person—one who has attained the Dao—embodies emptiness and nothingness, shares the truth of the Dao, and accords with what happens naturally. There is nothing they cannot do, nothing they cannot know, and nothing they cannot understand.

2. Chapter on the Profound Stillness of the Cavern (excerpt)

Source: The Nine Paths of Returning to the Origin in the Cavern of Truth, and related texts

The emperors of the various heavens each have their own domains, and the perfected beings each have their own palaces. In stillness, rosy clouds appear above; in the shadowy depths, they arise within the Great Void. Transformation unfolds in the grotto of cinnabar clouds, where the vast, silent reaches communicate with the Nine Mysteries. Through deep contemplation, one carries stillness within and arrives at it; the Eight Radiances can then fly through empty space. The Great Cavern encompasses the Three Realms, while the primal transformation gives form to both being and nonbeing. The teaching of stillness has no root: it is desolate, yet endowed with awe-inspiring spiritual power.

3. The Meaning of Laozi’s Daoist Scripture (excerpt)

Source: The Daoist Scripture of Laozi

There is a thing formed from undifferentiated wholeness, born before Heaven and Earth. Silent and vast, it stands alone without changing; it moves everywhere without growing weary. It may be regarded as the mother of all under Heaven.

4. The Most High Addresses Daoling (excerpt)

The Most High, at the forge of Kunlun, ascended to the Seven Treasures Daoist Abbey in the Great Governance of the Celestial Summit. He summoned Daoling and said to him: “My Dao emerged from emptiness and nothingness, before the time of the Great Beginning. It arose from nowhere, yet in its diffuse state it formed no shape. Long ago, here in this abbey, I received the wondrous teaching from above. I gathered my attention through keen hearing, clear sight, and wisdom, and put the teaching into practice. Once I had purified myself for the Dao, I attained subtle, wondrous, and mysterious communion.

“To seek the Dao and become an immortal of the highest rank, and to earn the name of one who has traced the Dao, you must seek immortals among immortals, spirits among spirits, and the Dao through the Dao. Seek nothing in the extinction of existence, and you will attain the essential principle of emptiness and nothingness. Empty, unbeing, and stillness are the foundation of the Dao.

“The highest Dao is forever mysterious; once spoken, it is no longer true. In taking and relinquishing, there is no change; something persists, continuous and subtle. Understand the teaching of nonbeing, and also recognize the spirit within being. Let thoughts of coming and going fall away; forget your attachments and become one with all things.”

5. Scripture of Ascending to the Origin (excerpt)

Source: Scripture of Ascending to the Origin

Those who study to become immortals must put aside worldly thoughts. Thoughts follow one another and accumulate; they disturb my spirit as they come and go. When the spirit is agitated, it passes through every sort of experience. Let thoughts dissolve and settle into quiet openness; enter, serene and still, into emptiness.

Approach the scriptures as though thirsty and hungry; hold to your resolve as firmly as metal and stone. Keep yourself on the path to flying immortality, and pass through the registers and talismans of the Five Spirits.

The Most High’s profound and empty tradition honors the Dao and upholds its scriptures. Bowing and rising, one may already attain immortality, enduring countless ages through kalpas. Lofty is the virtue of the Great Perfected; silent and still, it arises from nonbirth. In the heavens, radiant scenes gather into structures of emptiness. Riding the void, one travels naturally, while the sun and moon shine brilliantly.

Note: This work gathers key teachings from various traditions. Its language draws largely on Daoist thought of the Wei and Jin periods and on Laozi, with frequent use of terms such as “emptiness,” “stillness,” “cavern,” and “mystery.” These passages are best read in connection with terms in the surrounding text, such as “perfected person,” “Eight Radiances,” and “Five Spirits,” rather than translated sentence by sentence in isolation.

The Supreme Secret Essentials, juan 100 (excerpt): A Plain-Language Interpretation

Peace and joy without end

The Supreme One’s subtle mysteries and the Three Caverns’ primordial origins are expressed in words of the utmost profundity, difficult to hear.

Vast and boundless, dim and indistinct, they encompass every kind of thing. Their jade-like Virtue (De) towers high and rises majestically. They are where the honored Real Ones dwell, the gateway to all mysteries.

(From the Hidden Commentary on the Primordial Origin of the Caverns and the Great Ultimate)

The Perfected One of Great Mystery said: All the myriad things, tangled and various, must ultimately return to emptiness. Between being and nonbeing, one should attach oneself to neither. By refining and cultivating Virtue, nourishing the spirit, and accumulating emptiness until the Real coalesces, the true body becomes settled. One enters and leaves being and nonbeing, hidden in stillness, and reaches the utmost mystery.

(From the Scripture of Questions on the Caverns’ Origin)

To preserve the Dao (the Way) over time is to nourish life; to remain in its company for a long time is to take in Qi (vital energy). When Qi is complete, life endures, and only then can it be nourished. When nourishment reaches its fullest, one becomes one with the Real and can endure. Ascend to the realm of life-giving Qi, gaze upon the stillness of complete nourishment, and look at the dark and yellow hues of the myriad things: all of them are merely temporary lodgings.

(From the Scripture of the Traces of the Dao)

Human life is like an illusion, a brief sojourn between Heaven and Earth, with little time to spare. If one gathers Qi, tends the spirit, and painstakingly focuses on the Real, one may attain the Dao of longevity. When the Dao is realized, one becomes one with Heaven and Earth, dwelling for a time within the Great Nonbeing.

If one penetrates emptiness and nonbeing and embodies nonbeing, one dwells together with the Great Nonbeing, abiding in stillness. Whoever fully penetrates stillness sees nothing and hears nothing.

(From the Declarations of the Perfected)

The Supreme Secret Essentials, juan 100