《法海遺珠》Vol. 14

The Beads of the Dharma Sea, Volume Fourteen

The Method of Praying to the Dipper for Long Life

Lineage

Patriarch: Wang Xingzhen, Taiji Perfected One of Mount Wangwu

Patriarch: Zhongli Quan (Yunfang), Perfected Lord of Awakening to the Dao and Transmitting the Way, of Zhengyang

Patriarch: Zheng Siyuan, Perfected One Who Assists Within the Taiji

Patriarch: Lü Yan (Dongbin), True Lord of the Spiritual Treasure of Pure Yang

Master: Zhang Guo the Elder, Perfected One Who Penetrates the Mystery

Masters: Mr. Qiongguan and Bai Yuchan, the Purple Clarity Perfected One of Settled Wisdom

Method for Recognizing the Three Terraces

The Three Terraces are six stars above the handle of the Northern Dipper, linked in pairs. A man who can recognize them may avoid the calamity of imprisonment; a woman who can recognize them may avoid the peril of difficult childbirth. Those who study immortality and cultivate the Way should especially learn to recognize them.

Whenever you see the six stars of the Three Terraces, bring your hands together and stand still, silently reciting this incantation:

Upper Terrace, Empty Essence; Middle Terrace, Six Purities; Lower Terrace, Crooked Life: remove me from the register of the dead and enter me in the register of long life. Raise me to a high position; place me among the ranks of the heavenly court. Let my mind be open and clear, my ears and eyes keen, and my Three Hun souls endure forever. Extend my life for a thousand years. May I attend court at the Golden Palace, pay reverence to Jade Clarity, ride a dragon and drive the clouds, and ascend to the rank of an Immortal Minister. Quickly, quickly, in accordance with the statutes and ordinances.
The Three Terraces bring me to life; the Three Terraces nurture me; the Three Terraces protect me. Quickly, quickly, in accordance with the statutes and ordinances.

When you have finished reciting, look up toward the stars and pray for Dao’s grace in accordance with your wishes. Bow three times inwardly, click your teeth twice, then withdraw.

Method for Seeking the Emperor’s Seat

The two stars at the Dipper’s mouth are the Venerable Star on the left and the Emperor Star on the right, shining down like the sun and moon. Only those who possess the Dao receive their light; it does not reach the unworthy. Whoever can see the Venerable Star will live three hundred years; whoever can see the Emperor Star will live six hundred.

Keep watch for the stars on the nights of the third and twenty-seventh days of each lunar month. Wait until night has fallen and everyone is quiet; let no one know. When the two stars appear, seek the Dao with utmost sincerity and speak of it to no one. Those who are not single-minded and steadfast, who do not learn the stars with precision, who carelessly divulge the secret, grow lax midway, or lack moral discipline will not see them.

Those who cultivate the Way should silently maintain and recite the invocation at all times. Never tell outsiders the names of the two stars. You may keep them in mind, and when necessary, silently call their names to make a petition. But never face north, shed tears, remove your clothes, let down your hair, and expose yourself beneath the starlight—this is a supreme prohibition.

Each time you keep watch for the two stars, you must first … (The text appears to be missing words after “first.” Common ritual procedures include calming the mind and observing purification and abstinence; some versions may read “first calm the mind.” The wording here is retained as transmitted, pending further study.)

Note: This text presents a secret Daoist method of praying to the Dipper—that is, bowing toward the north and petitioning for longevity. It includes stellar lore, incantations, and prohibitions on practice. The “Three Terraces,” “Emperor’s Seat,” “Venerable Star,” and “Emperor Star” are all connected with stars that support the Northern Dipper and with beliefs about extending life. Any practice should be undertaken in accordance with a teacher’s transmission and precepts, and should not be attempted independently.

A Plain-Language Reading of Pearls Left Behind in the Sea of the Dao

Perform the ritual steps of the Dipper, burn incense, and bow twice. Visualize two stars at the mouth of the Dipper, bright as the sun and moon. Then recite this spell:

“Revered Emperor, Twin Stars, numinous powers of the Northern Pole, may I behold you soon; on seeing you, may I attain long life. Record me among the flying immortals; erase my name from the register of the dead. May blessings and joy be without end, and may I live as long as Heaven. Speedily carry me beyond the Immortal City; let me fly through the Highest Clarity. Quickly, in accordance with the statutes and commands.”

Bow twice again. Imagine the two stars descending as purple clouds of Qi, entering through the Niwan Palace at the crown of your head and filling your eyes. Then recite this spell:

“Revered Emperor, Twin Stars, numinous powers of the Northern Pole, now appearing, now vanishing—may I thereby attain long life. Record me among the flying immortals; remove my name from the register of the dead. May blessings and joy be without end, and may I live as long as Heaven. May I soon cross beyond the Three Realms and roam through the Highest Clarity. Quickly, in accordance with the statutes and commands.”

When you have finished the spell, bow again. Stand quietly for a short while, gathering your spirit and fixing your gaze on the mouth of the Dipper. Silently recite the spell seven times. Then wait a little before withdrawing. If you see the stars, bow again and pray earnestly for long life, expressing your heartfelt wish. Continue to pay homage each night without interruption; if you stop, all your previous efforts will be wasted.

A person who observes the precepts and cultivates the Dao can transcend the ordinary and enter the sacred, serving the Jade Emperor above. Those of superior attainment who practice this will attain long life, complete their merit, and ascend. Ordinary people who practice it will extend their years. Do not show it to the unworthy; keep it treasured and secret. Long ago, the Perfected of Taiji of Mount Wangwu transmitted this method to Master Zhang Guolao, who practiced it in secret and later ascended through the air, becoming one of the ancient perfected immortals.

The Secret Method for Summoning Cranes

There are several kinds of cranes: Mount Dongcheng has the bamboo crane; Khotan has the reed crane; the Huai Mountains have the soaring crane; and Mount Qingcheng has the feathered crane. These names have been passed down from ancient times to the present. The Celestial Master of the Han ascended on a crane to the Nine Clouds; Perfected Xu rode a crane on the wind; Ge Zhichuan flew on a crane through jade-colored clouds; and Lord Zhongli Zhengyang ascended on a crane to the Great Empyrean. These accounts are indeed credible.

A saying goes: “The stork bears three young; one of them is a crane.” This refers only to a crane born from an egg. It is not the feathered bird of Penglai, nor the red-crowned bird that cries to the sky in the Purple Tenuity palace. It is not like the phoenix that dances in white robes on the Jade Terrace, nor the white-robed bird at the Celestial Pivot that whistles amid the smoke. How could the crane of Lord Lü Dongbin, the Pure Yang Perfected, be merely an apparition?

When cranes come, they soar through the clouds in the clear autumn air and cry to the moon in the deep of night. Immortals who arrive and depart riding cranes are truly people who have attained the Dao and cultivated the Real.

Brief Notes

“Stepping the Dipper” refers to the liturgical practice of following the Dipper’s positions with ritual steps.

“Revered Emperor, Twin Stars” generally refers to revered stars near the Northern Dipper or the Northern Pole. Here they are associated with long life and becoming a flying immortal.

“Niwan Palace” is the upper Dantian, behind the space between the eyebrows. In internal cultivation, practitioners often visualize Qi entering there.

Zhang Guolao was a reclusive figure of Tang-era legend associated with the Eight Immortals. According to this account, the Perfected of Taiji secretly transmitted the method to him.

“The Secret Method for Summoning Cranes” discusses the names given to cranes in different places and stories of immortals riding them, distinguishing an ordinary crane born from an egg from the divine cranes of legend.

Plain-language interpretation

If a practitioner who has truly transcended the world of dust obtains this scripture, they can send talismans to summon the immortals. The perfected immortals will descend gracefully, flying to and fro through the air. How could this be merely the clear cry of “a crane in the nine marshes”?

This text was composed by the Perfected One of the Sea of Lapis Lazuli, Bai Yuchan, a master of the Shangqing Great Cavern method, who oversaw the registers of the Divine Empyrean and commanded the troops and horses of the Thunder. He was a major Southern Song practitioner of Neidan and thunder rites.

Lineage

• Li Zhe, revered as the founding ancestor of this lineage: the Teaching Master of the Immortals, Dao Lord of Compassionate Aid at Huayang, Immortal King of Long Life and Deliverance from the World, Emperor of Azure Florescence, and Heavenly Worthy of True Mystery and Spiritual Response.
• Patriarch Zhongli Quan, courtesy name Yunfang, one of the Eight Immortals: Teaching Master of Numinous Truth, Envoy of the Golden Gate in the Nine Heavens who selects immortals, True Lord of the Upper Spirit of Zhengyang, Wonderful Response, Awakening, and Transmission of the Dao, Immortal King Who Preserves Life, Directs Destiny, and Protects the State, and Heavenly Worthy of the High Primordial Emperor Manifesting in Response.
• Patriarch Wei Huacun, revered by the Shangqing school as the Lady of Mount Heng: True Lady of the Nine Heavens, the High Origin, Purple Void, and Pure Truth.
• Patriarch Lü Yan, courtesy name Dongbin: Teaching Master of True Rectitude, True Lord of Pure Yang, Numinous Treasure, Wondrous Penetration, Correct Performance, and Awakened Transformation—namely, Lü Dongbin.
• Patriarch Liu Xuanying, known as Liu Haichan: Teaching Master of Luminous Truth, True Lord of the Sea Toad’s Enlightenment and Broad Transmission of the Dao.
• Patriarch Zhang Yongcheng, also known as Zhang Boduan, author of the Wuzhen pian (Awakening to Reality): Teaching Master of Mysterious Truth, True Lord of Purple Yang at Tiantai, Awakening to Truth, Wondrous Being, and Perfect Penetration.
• Patriarch Shi Tai, courtesy name Dezhi: Perfected One of the Apricot Grove, of Jade Mystery and the Expounding of the Dao.
• Patriarch Xue Daoguang: Perfected One of Piling, of Purple Worthiness, Recovery of Destiny, and Assistance.
• Patriarch Chen Nan: Perfected One of the Muddy Pellet, of Jade Void, Universal Aid, and Broad Salvation.
• Lineage master Bai Yuchan: Perfected One of the Sea of Lapis Lazuli, of Purple Clarity, Settled Wisdom, and the Dao’s Expounding.

Summoning the official talisman spirit

Burn incense and summon the spirit in charge of the year, the spirit who must be matched with the day’s Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches, the spirit in charge of the day, the spirit of the command-issuing day, the True Lord overseeing the spirits on duty, and the talisman officials and soldiers of the Twenty-Eight Lunar Mansions. On hearing the summons, they must descend at once.

Dispatching the petition talisman

Write the talisman in red ink on yellow paper. Form the hand-seal for the Twelve Palaces, corresponding to the palaces and the time of day, burn the talisman, and carry out the rite.

The pass-and-escort talisman

Attach this talisman before the official pass document.

Incantation: “Seize the earth and capture the mountains; official talisman spirits and mighty soldiers, hasten as swiftly as the statutes command.”

On the right, specify that the official talisman of the particular lunar mansion on duty that day is being dispatched, together with the Merit Officer of the Middle Realm (see works such as the Guangji). Record each day which lunar mansion is on duty and which official talisman is dispatched. Also include the Merit Officer of the Middle Realm for the jiazi day, who has a mouse’s head and wears plain clothes, with a knife at his waist. When burning the talisman, visualize and summon him so that he arrives immediately.

The paired talismans for summoning cranes

Write two talismans in red ink on yellow paper. Attach one before the petition and the other on top of the official document.

Plain-language interpretation of related passages from Fahai Yizhu (Pearls Left in the Sea of Dharma)

Crane-Urging Talisman (Jade Talisman of the Primordial Azure of Yuqing, Pledging an Alliance)

With the Jade Talisman of the Primordial Azure of Yuqing, swear an oath and pledge an alliance. Issue a direct order to the Southern Peak (Mount Heng in the south, where the Daoist Holy Emperor of the Southern Peak resides) to summon the crane spirits with all haste. They must come as soon as they hear the command, without delay or lingering. Wherever the talisman arrives, all the spirits obey. Hasten to carry this out, in accordance with the decrees and commands of the Supreme Divinity of Yuqing, the highest deity of the Yuqing Heaven.

How to use the Crane-Urging Talisman

Write the Crane-Urging Talisman in cinnabar on yellow paper, then burn it in an incense burner. You may prepare and burn twenty or thirty copies; this will make it more effective.

Incantation of the Supreme, Mysterious Thirty-Six Heavens

The Supreme, Mysterious Thirty-Six Heavens (the Daoist realm of thirty-six layers of heaven) grant me the true talisman to command ghosts and spirits. When the talisman arrives, they must act; all the spirits obey. May the six senses become clear, and may I awaken to the Dao and enter the Mysterious. May I foresee good and ill fortune, comprehend the Dao, and attain long life. I now summon the luan birds and cranes: descend swiftly. May the Spirit Officials arrive with them; they must not be negligent or disobedient. Star Lord Kui and the Six Ding and Six Jia (divine generals who protect the Dao), hasten to obey, in accordance with the ordinances.

Luan birds and cranes, come quickly, come quickly! When the noon court ritual is complete, each return to your appointed place. Hasten to obey, in accordance with the ordinances.

Incantation for Returning the Cranes

Those from the mountains return to the mountains; those from the sacred peaks return to the sacred peaks. Come as soon as summoned, and do not miss the appointed time. Hasten to obey the decree of the Supreme Divinity of Yuqing.

Petition to the Holy Emperor of the Southern Peak (formal document presented to the Holy Emperor of the Southern Peak)

I, [surname and name], holding the office of [Daoist title], respectfully submit:

In accordance with my original intention, I have been deeply moved by the fact that ignorant people of the world do not believe in the Daoist rites. I now wish to proclaim the teachings, so that the people may come to revere them and the Great Dao may flourish. I therefore dare to request the loan of several luan birds and cranes from your sacred peak (the Southern Peak). May they come to the ritual altar at noon on [date], flying and circling above and below, to the left and right, and present themselves in the rite of offering their crowns and revealing their forms (a ritual manifestation that offers them to Heaven and makes them visible as a sign of spiritual efficacy). When the noon court ritual is complete, I will send them back to their office at once and will not dare keep them longer. I also beg that the Spirit Official in charge of the cranes at the Penglai Office (the divine official who oversees the register of luan birds and cranes on Mount Penglai) be assigned to attend the ritual altar and witness the covenant and the fasting rite. This petition is submitted for your attention.

I, [name], respectfully submit this petition to the Southern Peak Office of the Celestial Administration and the Illustrious Holy Emperor (before the Holy Presence). I humbly hope that your sacred compassion will grant this sincere request and issue special instructions to the official in charge of the register of luan birds and cranes, directing them to comply immediately with the matters stated here and release and dispatch the birds to us without delay. In this way, the rite may transform both the human and celestial realms and be brought to completion. I have presumptuously intruded upon your sacred authority and am filled with trepidation. Respectfully submitted.

On [day] of [month], in the [year] of the sexagenary cycle, I, [surname and name], holding the office of [Daoist title], submit this petition.

Petition to the True Lord, Chief of the Register of Luan Birds and Cranes on Mount Penglai (same format as above)

(On the following day, in accordance with the ritual, use a separate dispatch document to assign the True Official of the day’s presiding constellation to attend and carry out the matter.)

Note: The text presents a complete set of documents for “borrowing the numinous power of luan birds and cranes” in a Daoist Zhaijiao (purification ritual): talismans and incantations summon them, the noon court rite offers them, and the return incantation sends them back. Formal petitions are submitted in stages to the Holy Emperor of the Southern Peak and the chief of the register of luan birds and cranes at Penglai. The wording imitates the documents of human government: the divine realm, too, conducts its affairs through offices, releases, and returns.

A Plain-Language Interpretation of Pearls Left in the Sea of the Dao

A Talismanic Command to Urge the Loan of Luan Birds and Cranes

Send a talisman to the Directing Officers and Merit Officers of the Middle Realm, ordering them to go at once and urge the loan of twelve, twenty-four, or thirty-six luan birds and cranes. Ask that a troop of divine officers accompany them to the ritual altar, and then send another talisman to hasten their arrival.

The Names of the Seven Divine Officers Who Oversee the Cranes of Penglai Mountain

Penglai Mountain has seven divine officers who oversee its cranes:

1. Huixia

2. Yuguang

3. Jinrong

4. Bianwen

5. Baoguang

6. Qiyang

7. Xiushi

These seven officers take turns serving, beginning on the first day of each month. Only on the last and fifteenth days of the month is the divine officer Zhuhu outside their jurisdiction. If you summon him and he does not answer, you must perform a Ninefold Netherworld Yellow Register rite and a Great Offering to the Net of Heaven; then he will arrive at once. On ordinary days, if you summon him frivolously as a joke, the summons will not work.

The Lineage and Origins of This Method

This method comes from the Patriarch, the Immortal Master Tieguai, Lord Donghua. He gathered the immortals atop Mount Qingcheng. At the pass of Mount Heng, he called for the cranes, which came flying through the air; when the matter was finished, they returned. The teaching was later transmitted to Lord Zhongli Zhengyang and Lord Wei Yuan of Mount Heng, the Purple Void. It then passed to Lord Lü Dongbin, the Pure Yang Immortal, who gave it to the Immortal Liu, the Toad Elder. The Elder passed it to the Perfected Zhang, the Purple Yang of Mount Tiantai. From then on, it was transmitted through successive generations, reaching the ninth-generation inheritor, the Immortal Master Qiongguan, the Immortal Elder. Through him, it spread throughout the world and has continued without interruption.

How the Author Became a Disciple and Made a Vow

At the end of the Jiachen year, I was unexpectedly received at the gathering in the cave of Baogai Wuyang, and devoted myself wholeheartedly to serving the Dao. On the Heavenly Waxing Day of the Yisi year, I prepared a petition, offered incense, and bowed in prayer, asking the master to accept me as a disciple and reveal the transformations and timing of the Golden Elixir. From then on, our hearts silently understood one another, and everything was confirmed by signs and experience. I reflected that my master’s kindness was higher than Mount Sumeru and deeper than the great sea; even if I were ground to dust and my body shattered, I could never repay that Virtue.

Did the master not say: “If you practice diligently but have not yet met the right person, you will surely meet a Perfected One. If you meet one but do not practice diligently, you will end as a ghost in the underworld.” Day and night, through all twelve double-hours, I keep this admonition in mind. I am resolved to persevere and advance, growing ever more steadfast, and to attain the supreme, true, and perfect Great Dao of purity and liberation. In this way, I hope to deliver my ancestors and parents in the unseen realms, my three teachers and fellow practitioners, and my kin through countless kalpas, extending salvation to all beings throughout the Dharma Realm, so that together they may reach the joy of the immortals. How could I dare grow slack in this life?

Plain-language interpretation:

This method is easily missed. I suddenly realized it amid stillness and activity, yet only years later received from an immortal master the secret manual for summoning cranes. How could this have been mere chance? So I prostrated myself three times, thanking the patriarch and immortal master for their gracious transmission. Through it, I could put the method into practice, honor and revere it, undergo immortal transformation, and attain realization and transcendence.

Anyone who summons cranes must be a cultivator who wears registers of the Dao, has accumulated merit in virtue and human relations, and whose merit is recorded in Heaven. They must have benefited the people, prayed for clear or rainy weather, delivered beings in the hidden and visible realms, and attained profound and extensive accomplishments. Only those whose names are listed among the ranks of immortals and who hold the highest or second-highest official rank may practice this method; it is extraordinarily efficacious.

Yet it may be practiced three days in advance, and is efficacious only at the appointed time, only within the lineage of the patriarchs, the Crane Assembly purification rite, or a great karmic affinity. Those who lack high rank, official standing, or virtue cannot summon cranes.

Those who receive this method must take care never to divulge it lightly. Anyone who does so will at once incur Heaven’s punishment. How could one fail to be cautious? Keep it secret, and more secret still.