《法海遺珠》Vol. 43

The Great Rite of the Taixuan Marshal Guan, Demon-Queller of the Great Sha Ghosts

From the Fahai Yizhu (Fahai Precious Pearls), Volume 43, Section 10

Roster of Generals (Shenjiang Banlie)

Supreme General Guan, Great Sha Ghost Warden, Inspector-General of the Northern Emperor's Fengdu Court, Who Slays Demons

(Honorific titles: Supreme General of the Northern Emperor's Fengdu Court Who Slays Demons and Inspector of Punishments; Marshal Guan, Commander of the Great Sha Ghosts. Personal name: Guan Yu, courtesy name Yunchang.)

Appearance: Red jujube complexion and a fierce, valiant bearing. He rides a red horse, wears a Dongling cap, a blue binding cloth, and black boots.

Summoning Incantation (Zhaoqing Zhou)

The Northern Emperor commands the great general Guan Yu, who governs earth and heaven, slays demons and sha ghosts, and whose majesty terrifies the demon kings. At the sound of a single summons, he is to leave the dark gate at once and descend without delay. Swiftly, swiftly, by the statutes of the Northern Yin Fengdu Great Emperor!

Incantation:

Om zhe (chou) zhuo (kun) ji (mao) pan (si) tuo (zhong) ▲ (zi) li (dui) ru (gen) lan (li) shen she (wu / chu)

Om hong ha cha li, Guan Yu, descend swiftly and be summoned.

Om zhe zhuo ji jin tuo qie li cha di she, nine times (one breath / nine repetitions).

Om hong mo ni da li hong ha she, (one breath / nine repetitions).

Om pi pai jin guang ▲, appear swiftly.

Om hong hong ha bo, great general Guan Yu, descend swiftly and seize the punishment.

Visualization (Cunxiang)

Draw the black qi from behind the elbow into the Xian Palace, and hold it for a while. Then exhale toward the right elbow. Visualize that within the Northern Dipper there is this Marshal, who takes form before you within the Dipper.

Praise: Fei fei huang huang, Guan Yu, fierce and mighty, grasps a golden blade and slays calamities and evils. Luminous Lord, Luminous Lord, Great General Guan Yu, appear swiftly in your true form.

Incantation: Om jin cha om jin cha jie cha, descend and come to receive.

Great Vow Incantation (Da Shi Zhou)

Luminous one, luminous one, General Demon-Slayer! In the Fengdu court, the sha energy is stern, and the black sha qi rushes and gathers. In white robes on an iron horse, with a red brow and blue binding cloth, you seize souls and interrogate them, summon wandering spirits and possess the body, drive out demons and bind ghosts, and show no favor to kin or stranger. Once your work is complete, you are the marshal of the peak; you command the realm of darkness and the nine springs. Sha energy billows and gathers, sorrowful winds blow cold, and a million mighty soldiers, hearing that a summons has come, quickly manifest their golden bodies. Swiftly, by the statutes of the Purple Subtle Great Emperor, summoned and commanded!

Incantation: Om du hou lun, tuo bo da jiang, appear swiftly in your true form, swiftly.

Dispersal of Form (San Xing; Sending Off the Deity and Closing the Altar)

(By the true essence of water and the heroic soul of fire, Guan Yu of the Northern Capital, fierce and valiant, with five thousand or ten thousand soldiers, banners and flags.)

Note: This text is a summoning ritual of the Northern Emperor Fengdu lineage in Daoist liturgy. It makes Guan Yu the "Taixuan Sha-Ghost Guan Marshal" and combines directional characters, Northern Dipper visualization, and om-syllable incantations to summon him, interrogate, drive out demons, bind ghosts, and finally dismiss him and close the altar. In the original, "▲" marks a character missing from the source or a secret symbol, and bracketed text gives marginal glosses or variant readings.

(Luo, Lie) Swiftly descend your awe-inspiring numinous power (weiling), slay (annihilate) the ghostly bandits, pursue souls and seize spirits, and search out and pursue them in the most distant corners of the eight directions and the dark, murky regions of the four seas.

With sharp blades turning back and treasured swords striking in return, annihilate the demonic essences. The Northern Emperor (Beidi, the Supreme Emperor of the Purple Tenuity of the North, revered in Daoism as the chief deity for expelling demons) has issued his decree, and the command of Fengdu (the capital of the netherworld) resounds. Thunder roars through the heavens, wind howls across the earth, and retribution is clear.

Black qi and a growling voice: recite (chant) the order to slay the demonic spirits.

Six Palaces Secret Incantation: write the decree and present it to the venerable deities.

(What follows consists of secret names of deities, palaces, roads, and other items. Much of the text is damaged.) Names and events such as Zhujue, Biaodi, and Chenliang. Flame qi rises like smoke into the clouds, and its glory shines brilliantly and martially. The spirit bears a divine blade and serenely illuminates and swallows the clear river. The Heavenly Gate (Changhe, the gate of heaven) faces the Elixir Well, and the divine gate looms high and steep. The seven non-passages are open, and the canopy extends and spreads. The six heavens of demons block the northern road. This is the abode of ghosts and spirits.

Heavenly thunder crashes and lightning flashes. Use the Ziwu Dou (the Dipper formation arranged by the hour and the Dipper's directions).

Om, Tianji Di, ni, swiftly seize (the Ziwu Dou).

Om, hūm, hā-zhā, seize (the Yin-Wu Dou may also be used, or written into the talisman).

Lang Ling Talisman (Lang Ling Fu)

In an auspicious month (liangyue), on the day corresponding to the taboo of the Northern Dipper and the taboo of the Southern Dipper, summon the qi of the Twenty-Eight Lunar Mansions and the Three Dantian. Thunder and fire enter the two bureaux and are struck into the talisman.

Utter one sound, and the heavens roar and the earth is swept, with retribution clear. The names of the Eight Killers (the deities of the eight malevolent directions) enter the talisman, moving from such-and-such a place to Xun, to Kun, and to Gen. The Dipper turns the Kuigang (the Dipper's handle and the directions of the Heavenly Guard). Hasten as the decree of the Northern Emperor's Supreme Mysterious Demon-Slaying Statute commands.

Swiftly enter the Thirteen Golden Silences and face the Supreme Emperor. Visualize black-gold light shooting from the Yintang (the space between the brows) as the "killing" (sha) light. Visualize yourself as the demon-ghost, first one killer and then a second killer, and only then act.

When the power of the thunder first stirs, it startles people. Chant heng, hong, hua, la, jiu, jing, she (use the Ziwu Dou or the Yin-Wu Dou).

Double Dipper in the two bureaux: rub the kidneys (focus the mind on the kidney region), move water and fire to form thunder, and make a sound in the mouth to match the voice of the thunder. Strike once loudly, then draw the power into the talisman. Wind, thunder, lightning, and fire rage and move onward.

Fengdu Nine Springs Command Talisman (Fengdu Jiuquan Hao Ling Fu)

(This accords with the Way of Heaven, the Way of Earth, and the Way of Humanity; the Great Yin, the Great Yang, the Five Planets, and the multitude of stars of the Twenty-Eight Mansions; the Three Qi Celestial Lords; the generals of the Eight Killers. Marshal Tianyou revolves the killers and carries out the order.)

Cure-Pestilence Formula (Zhiwen Jue)

My body's three hundred and sixty bones all transform into five-thunder fire carriages, circling and surrounding me.

The passage belongs to Daoist forbidding incantations (jinzhou), which were typically used with talismans (fulu) and exorcistic rites, and recited together with hand seals (shoujue) and the issuing of the "True Fire" (fa zhenhuo). It opens by invoking the founding patriarch of the practitioner's lineage and their teachers: the patriarch in front, the master behind, the scripture transmitter (jingshi) on the left, the keeper of the registers (jishi) on the right, and the ordaining master (dushi), who brings the practitioner into the Way, at the center. Next come the phrases "seize the temple" and "overturn heaven and earth," which mean taking control of the sacred hall and turning the cosmos upside down to display overwhelming power. "Seal the plague-throat, block the plague-nose, [and seal] the plague-ears" means sealing the mouths, noses, and ears of the plague spirits so that they cannot work harm.

The text then calls on General Copper Nail to pierce the ears of the hundred ghosts, so that they cannot hear the practitioner's movements. The officiant declares, "My coming and my going," and then assigns the ancestors, father, mother, wife, concubines, sons, and grandsons to the First through Seventh Palaces. The three palaces on the left conceal the dwelling, and the three on the right conceal the practitioner's own body. The text further summons the Office Director and Guan Yu to transform the officiant's body rapidly, so that evil spirits cannot recognize it. The line "Heaven is black, earth is black, people and ghosts are black, and mountains, rivers, heaven, and earth are all as black as ink" evokes an image of darkness that conceals everything.

Beginning with the "Formula for Cutting Off the Rear" (duanhou jue), the text severs evil paths one by one: the roads of the mountain spirits (shanxiao), the gates of the stone essences, the traces of human beings, the descendants of the hundred ghosts, the paths by which the Celestial Master (Tianshi) and the Earth Master come and go, the gates of curses and the Eight Fierce Spirits, and the entrances of the great temples in the southern and northern suburbs. Then, through the Ways of Heaven, Earth, Humanity, and Ghosts, it cuts off respectively the divine, earthly, human, and ghostly spirits, with the corresponding directions of Hai, Si, Shen, and Gen, so that celestial plagues, earthly monsters, false masters, and ghostly thieves cannot turn back. Finally, with the gesture of "turning the horse and striking upward and downward," the officiant makes the motion of "heaven split into two pieces and earth into two sides," severing the five roads of Yin-Yang and the evil methods of Mount Lu.

The passage closes with the "Copper Fence and Iron Barrier," in which the two hands move in a bounding gesture. Borne on the winds of karmic force, the stars of the Dipper are then locked in place, cutting off the earth's veins. At the end, the text summons the divine soldiers, including the officials and soldiers of the Five Directions and the chief officers of the Nine Prisons, and orders them to act swiftly. Anyone who disobeys the command is to be seized by the lightning of the Nine Heavens and taken into the netherworld. The incantation concludes with the formula "Urgent, urgent, as the laws of the Northern Emperor (Beidi)," invoking the decrees of the Northern Perfected Warrior (Zhenwu Dadi), and ends with Sanskrit-derived syllables, "Om, kim vajra tum ṭha, nī, hūṃ hūṃ."

Incantation for Descending the True Form

(Jiang zhenxing refers to the bodily posture and spoken formula used to summon true spirits to descend.)

Om hūṃ dì lì chì (Marshal Tianpeng, the dispatch document used on the day and hour of Yin, yin ri yin shi), then Om hūṃ lì dá (ōm hōng lì zhá). Chì (Marshal Yisheng, in the Chinese-script format). Om hōng duō lì chì (Marshal Yousheng, the dispatch document for the day and hour of Si, si ri si shi). Decree of the Great Emperor of Fengdu: the black statutes are strictly upheld; execute swiftly.

Om hūṃ hūṃ gōu dǐ nà, bái dǐ nà, jí jí nà, lóu nà, xī dá nà, dǐ xī nà, bá tóu nà, bá yē shè. Om hūṃ hūṃ jù dǐ dì, shē sū zhā, hē rě mì dì, wū dōu zhā, jù qí zhā, suō lài dì, zhā yē wēi rě zhā, jù yē zhā, shì mó zhā, suō hē. These lines are phonetic renderings of Sanskrit-derived syllables, and their meaning is conveyed by ritual function rather than literal sense.

Essential Formulas of the Fengdu Office for Adjudication, Transformation, and Concealment of Form

I enter through the Heavenly Gate, at the Hai position, and my body emerges from the Earthly Gate, at the Si position. Spring thunder sounds on my left, at Mao, and autumn thunder on my right, at You. Summer thunder sounds before me, at Wu, and winter thunder behind me, at Zi. Heaven's thunder is over my head, as the hands form the seal and cover the crown, and Earth's thunder is beneath my feet, as the hands form the seal and press to the ground.

The Great Method of Marshal Wen of the Earth Spirits (Diqi Wen Yuanshuai)

Lineage. Patriarch: the Thirtieth Celestial Master, Perfected Zhang Xujing (Zhang Zhenren Xujing). Patriarch: Master Zhang, written with a rare character that cannot be rendered here. Masters: Master Chen, with a rare character that cannot be rendered here; Master Zi-ran Meng (Zìrán Mèng); Perfected Fangping Zhang (Zhang Zhenren Fāngpíng); and Master Huiming Liang (Huìmíng Liáng).

Ranks of the spirit generals. The Earth Spirit Supreme General of Spiritual Brilliance, Martial Manifestation, and Manifest Virtue, and the Envoy of the Fire Crow and Barbarian Thunder. Marshal Wen of the One Qi, personal name Qiong, is depicted with a blue face, red hair, yellow eyebrows, fangs, and a wrathful expression. He wears a purple headcloth, a red brocade or green gauze robe, and green boots. His left hand forms the Killing Seal (shā jué), and his right hand holds a gold club (jīn gǔduǒ) or a bamboo whip (jiǎn biān).

Deputy marshals. Marshal Tie, personal name Ding; Marshal Bi, personal name Guang; Marshal Hei, personal name Xian; and Marshal Fang, personal name Xiong. Marshal Liu, personal name Ze; Marshal Zhang, personal name Jian; Marshal Zhao, personal name Guang; Marshal Shi, personal name Hong; and Marshal Zhou, personal name Chang. Also the Five Fierce Generals, the Duty Talisman (zhífú), and the Minor Marquis Zhang Xian, who listens to orders.

Entering the altar, the three purifications, and summoning the merit officer. One stick of incense is burned, and the ten directions are cleansed. The Dharma drum sounds three times, and the myriad spirits gather. Burn incense at the altar and proclaim the summons to the Five Thunders' duty-day merit officer envoys, the incense officers, the earth gods, and the others: having now heard this summons, come swiftly.

Incantation and Breathing

Recite: "Om hum hum, Gongcao, swiftly arrive, svaha." (Gongcao is the messenger spirit-underling who serves the Northern Emperor.) Recite this same incantation seven times in succession. While reciting, visualize a Gongcao already in position in the upper region of the northwest. Then inhale once and exhale toward the front.

Formal Address

Now that the Gongcao envoy has arrived at the altar, please carry this incense of the heart up to the Thunder Office (Leifu) and petition that a certain general come swiftly to the altar to await orders.

General Principle of Summoning

Respectfully invoke the Northern Emperor (Beidi), the root of all Qi, spiritually transformative and naturally perfect, around whom five-colored clouds swirl and the constellations stand in dense array. Act swiftly, by the decree of the Purple Subtle Great Emperor of the Northern Pole.

Incantation for Seizing the Generals (with Directions)

"Kui lian ... zi tianyuan, lei lei wu sheng jin, bian ya mao, hong hong zhendong you ..." and similar lines. The intent is to correspond, through the directions zi, wu, mao, and you, with the Qi of the Dipper lodges, to split the peak of Kunlun and command the killing Qi to be seized.

Again recite: "Om xiyi tiluotuo ye, she (xu, chen/Dipper position)." And: "Om ... suchu chisha, she (xu, chen/Dipper position)." Here "she" means to seize, gather, or summon spirit-generals or killing Qi to the altar.

Visualizing Marshal Wen

Using the sword-finger, draw from right to left while visualizing misty green Qi. See the wrathful countenance of the Marshal appear within the Yiling Courtyard of the Southern Sacred Peak (Mount Heng). Breathe toward the character "ou" and illuminate it, then recite: "Om hum cha li he an ... di, she."

Respectfully summon Wen Qiong, the Earth Deity Supreme General of Yiling, Illustrious Martial Might (one of the Northern Emperor's Four Marshals, commonly called Marshal Wen), to come swiftly.

Then exhale one breath of green Qi toward the east. With both eyes, release golden light toward the green Qi visualized on the left. See the Marshal drawn in through the secret character and returned to the palace of the gallbladder, where the ancestral Qi merges. The golden light becomes thunderous sound, moving wood-Qi, with golden light overcoming wood and metal overcoming earth. Visualize the Marshal's majesty, and use the "xi yi" sounds for support. The Marshal's blazing might arrives at the altar and appears at the front left. In your mind, recite again: "Hu hum li xi, she."

This incantation is also recited seven times in one breath, and the mind then directs the generals according to the task at hand.

Talisman of the Marshal (in His Own Words)

"One iron club weighing a thousand catties, striking down every unrighteous spirit under heaven."

When leaving the altar, flick the character "she" toward the southwest (kun) and strike it out. Leave again and flick "she" toward the northeast (gen), following the light of the Dipper and the Sacred Peak.

Secret Incantation

(The original text uses "▲" in many places to mark missing characters, which must be completed according to the master's transmission.) The general meaning is that it commands summoning, releases killing Qi, and enters a purified place. It links names such as the celestial stars, the earthly radiances, Purple Subtle True Sovereign, and the Edict of the Sacred Peak, and it concludes with a sound incantation of the type "Om hu lu li zha fu." The exact wording must be checked against the full text and oral transmission, and it should not be reconstructed on one's own.

Background note: This is a typical passage on Northern Emperor (Beidi, Purple Subtle Great Emperor of the Northern Pole) thunder-rite summoning of generals. First, a Gongcao is dispatched to carry the incense, and then directions, Dipper lodges, visualization, breathing, and talismanic formulas are coordinated to summon Wen Qiong specifically to the altar to receive orders. The "▲" marks are mostly lacunae in the manuscript or secret characters, and practitioners should fill them in through their lineage rather than alter the text themselves.

Fahai Yizhu Plain-Language Commentary

Summoning Marshal Wen to Seize Evil

Gist of the incantation: Dispatched with the Tianpeng Mantra, this marshal goes to a certain household to seize the evil spirits.

Incantation: Om... Wen Qiong, seize! If you will not seize, the Earth Sovereign Earth Spirit (Tuhuang Diqi) will come and seize on his own! Hurry, in accordance with the decree of Houtu, the Earth Sovereign Earth Spirit, command the seizing of the miasma! Swift response, shake!

Use: When a serious illness afflicts a household, this petition (a talisman, or fulu) may be hung before the household's Siming (Overseer of Fate) shrine, or the patient may swallow it.

Taboo Characters and the Command of the Eastern Peak

▲ (taboo sign): Insert the brush at the point called bangzui on the talisman, draw the sha qi of the Gen trigram of the Bagua (Eight Trigrams) into the talisman, and recite: "Hurry, in accordance with the decree of Dongyue Taishan Tianqi Renshengdi, seize!"

Procedure: Once the recitation is finished, shout once loudly. With the left and right hands, write the Sun and Moon commands (taiyang, taiyin), bring them together, and rub them until warm. Circulate the rising and falling of water and fire within the body so that they mix, and strike them into the talisman with a sound like thunder. Stamp the left foot once on the ground. With both hands, pinch the zi-wen hand seal, pass the thumb over the four fingers to form the pattern, and circulate the union of kidney and heart toward the heart. Strike this into the talisman with a sound like thunder.

When urgent: Use this text when entering the talisman, together with the taboo name of the Peak, and recite "Hurry, in accordance with..."

Transmission: Lady Zhang Daohui of the Taisu Xuanding transmitted this to a man surnamed Wen. It is to be carried out in accordance with the tiger-mouth command.

Marshal Wen Sweeps Away Plague

Use: When Marshal Wen is summoned to a household to sweep away raging evil, raging spirits, and the epidemics of the age (tianxing shiqi) and plague, enter these Five Thunders into the talisman. The yin thunder should answer with a resounding report, and the yellow evil ghosts will withdraw on their own.

Writing the talisman: After writing, recite the four syllables Om, Hum, Zha, and Li into the talisman. Write one character at the center, and visualize a golden radiance glowing within the ancestral qi. The five thunder spirits, each with a pig's head and each bearing a royal drum, come up from the Kun palace and join at the incense character, merging into one. Then take a single breath and draw them into the talisman. Dispatch them only with the Tianpeng Mantra.

Function: Use the two hands as described above, shout to produce the thunderous sound, and strike it into the pattern of the talisman. This is the "Eight-Point Gold," which refers to the eight circles.

Commanding the Earth Spirits

Incantation: Om, Qian yuan heng li zhen, command the seizing of the sha! Om, Hum, Zha, Li... Zha, Li, chi... Xi! I, by the command of the thunder, command the seizing of the sha! Great Sage of the Three Heavens, Venerable of the Four Sages, Tianpeng, Tianpeng, Nine Mysterious Sha Youths, the Heavenly Gate and the Earthly Axis are in my hands...

Notes

The symbol ▲ and the other taboo and talisman glyphs in this text have fixed written forms that were mostly passed down orally from teacher to disciple. They are represented here by symbols. Tianpeng and Wen Qiong are marshals and spirit generals in Leifa (thunder rites) and exorcism. The Earth Sovereign and Houtu are earth deities who govern the seizing of evil beneath the ground and within the home. The Dongyue Taishan Tianqi Renshengdi is the Great Emperor of the Eastern Peak, who governs life, death, and the seizing of evil. The Five Thunders and the Tianpeng Mantra are the incantations and thunder generals used in liturgy (keyi) for exorcism, curing epidemics, and subduing sha.

Overall, this is a practical set of instructions from the Fahai Yizhu for summoning Marshal Wen, the earth spirits, and the Eastern Peak, using talismans and thunder rites to treat serious illness, epidemics, and raging evil. It includes taboo characters, pacing the stars (bugang), visualization (cunsi), and talisman writing, which are common elements of thunder rites.

I. Incantations for Subduing Demons and Protecting the Dharma

The Five Ding Dushi (Wuding Dushi), Gao Diao Beiweng, the Seven Governors and Eight Spirits, and Taishang Haoxiong are venerable deities who lead long-skulled giant beasts and hold the Imperial Bell in hand. The three Su Xiao deities solemnly drive their chariots, wielding the Kui-dragon awe-inspiring sword, and the Divine King slays evil and erases its traces. Purple Qi rides the heavens and vermilion clouds blaze forth. They swallow demons, devour ghosts, and, with their bodies spread wide, drink the wind. The Old Man of the Four Eyes, with green teeth and blue tongue, and the Heavenly Ding Warrior-Guards mightily hold the south against evil. The Heavenly Charioteer rouses his fury and checks the north, while three hundred thousand soldiers guard my nine heavens, banish corpse-spirits a thousand li away, and drive off all misfortune. If any little ghost seeks to appear in visible form, the Great Heavenly Axe strikes its five forms. The Blazing Emperor's crimson blood, the bones burning with the Northern Dipper, the Four Brightnesses shattering its remains, and the Heavenly Dao extinguishing its kind: with one stroke of the divine blade, the ten thousand ghosts collapse on their own. Swiftly, swiftly, as the statute commands.

Decree of the Venerable Spirit Lord Ninth Heaven's Father of the Lingkui, Grand Marshal of the Great Void of the Hanyuan: Bind tightly and hold fast, swiftly seize the mountain spirits, the wang-liang demons, the Five Pestilences and Six Afflictions, and the fifteen kinds of unrighteous evil spirits, and quickly bring them into dizzy, bewildered submission.

Ge Zheng Ji Gang Heng Wei Wen (This is the name of the talisman formula.)

Note for the right-hand formula: Starting at the root of the thumb, pinch the Sha-script inward at the Yin, Mao, Chen, and Si hours, and sweep the Dipper Gang. This is also effective.

II. Qingling Jue / Qingling Gang

(Xu is the Qi of the liver and gallbladder; the Heavenly Gang lies at Chen.)

Note on the talisman, after drawing it, to unlock this secret: Draw again a single Kui-Dipper figure, then recite the "Great Sage Northern Dipper Seven Primal Stars Mantra." To protect and nourish the six domestic animals, use the Tianpeng mantra to dispel them. For cattle and pig plague, add the three characters ▲▲▲. In ordinary use, do not employ this taboo. If the matter is urgent, use the fire-dipper, and the response will appear immediately.

III. The Creation and Transformation of the Five Qi

IV. Talismans Transformed by the Celestial Master Xujing

(The Demon of One Sha: the pen becomes a halberd.)

(The Halberd Sha strikes three thousand, subduing the Sha of killing.)

(The officers and soldiers enter the well and then emerge from the pen.)

Explanation: In the text, "Five Ding" and "Heavenly Ding" refer to the guardian deity-generals. "Kui Dipper" refers to the figure of the Dipper's Kui star. "Tianpeng Mantra" is a mantra for dispelling evil. Celestial Master Xujing is Zhang Boduan of the Northern Song dynasty, who transmitted secret fulu methods. The ▲ in the talisman is a concealed notation in the original text, and when put into practice it should be filled in according to the oral instructions of one's teacher.

Fahai Yizhu (Pearls from the Sea of Dharma), Scroll 43: A Modern Vernacular Interpretation

(ōm hōng hōng táo táo / Qīnglíng Gāng Jué, the Qingling Gang Formula)

The incantation is the five syllables ōm, hōng, hōng, táo, táo, used together with the Qingling step pattern (bù gāng) or the gang rite.

(ōm ▲ sū zhà chì / shā shè wǔ zǐ)

A second formula reads shà, sū, zhà, chì. The character marked ▲ is either missing from the source or a variant form. The formula is used during the wǔ (noon) and zǐ (midnight) hours to suppress evil influences and gather them in.

ōm (xīn, heart), hōng (zǔ / gōng, ancestral qi or palace qi), zhà (dǎn, gallbladder), lì (exhaling through the nose, with the left foot stamped on the ground and a fierce posture so that qi surges up from the earth). This is the formula of the Heavenly Lord's Command (Tiānzūn Dìlìng).

In this formula, one visualizes the heart while chanting ōm. Hōng corresponds to ancestral qi or the qi of the palace. Zhà corresponds to the gallbladder (dǎn). When chanting lì, one inhales through the nose, stamps the left foot, and adopts a wrathful bearing, so that qi rises from beneath the ground. The whole sequence is a method of moving qi by the command of the Heavenly Lord.

The Edict of the Eight-Headed Yuanjun (nine recitations, visualizing a single golden disc of light, with the generals appearing within)

Recite the edict of the Eight-Headed Yuanjun nine times. The Yuanjun here refers to the eight generals led by Tiānpéng Yuánshuài, the Marshal of the Heavenly Mound. As you recite, visualize a single disc of golden light in the mind, and the generals will appear within the body or within the mind's eye.

Visualize the sun wheel in the heart, and send out the qi with the syllable yì. Visualize the moon wheel shining clearly in the kidney palace, and send out the qi with the syllable zhá. Let the gallbladder vessel rise, like a vase.

These are internal visualizations. In the heart, one visualizes a sun wheel and uses the image of the syllable yì to send yang qi outward. In the kidney, one visualizes a clear moon wheel and uses the image of the syllable zhá to send the qi outward. The sun and moon qi join in the gallbladder and rise like water in a vase. The "gallbladder vase" (dǎn píng) is a common image in internal alchemy.

Sitting Practice

Sit quietly at dawn and dusk, with not a speck of dust in the mind and all thoughts stilled. Visualize golden light for three sevens (twenty-one times), raise both palms, and knock the teeth nine times to open the way for the spirits.

Sit quietly in the morning and evening. The mind should be free of dust, and all thoughts should be emptied. Visualize golden light twenty-one times, which is the meaning of "three sevens." Raise both hands and knock the teeth nine times. Knocking the teeth to open communication with the spirits is a standard ritual step.

(Xū day / rat correspondence) (Wēi day / swallow correspondence)

For choosing the day, the Xū lodge is favorable and corresponds to the rat. The Wēi lodge is to be avoided and corresponds to the swallow. Auspicious days are chosen according to the lunar lodges for carrying out the practice.

Press the palms together so that the water and fire qi rub and merge. Visualize a single disc of light in the left palm, born from the Great Yin and the sun. Recite the Tianpeng incantation and the heart incantation forty-nine times. Visualize Wen Qiong (Marshal Wen) appearing in the light in the right palm. Pray silently for what you seek, recite the Tianpeng incantation again, and draw the light into the gallbladder.

Press the two palms together so that the qi of water and the qi of fire rub against each other and combine. Visualize a disc of light in the left palm, arising from the sun and transformed from the Great Yin. Recite the Tianpeng incantation and the heart incantation forty-nine times. Visualize Wen Qiong, also called Marshal Wen, appearing in the light of the right palm. Silently state your intention, recite the Tianpeng incantation again, and draw the light into the gallbladder, holding it there in visualization.

Then take nine breaths of the blue qi from the east and draw them into the gallbladder. Visualize the gallbladder as a liuli vase (glass vase), in which the Dragon and Snake (Guī Shé) coil and turn together. This forms a golden ball of light, like a silver pearl. Breathe a single breath onto the incense, and a round light will appear above it, like a clear mirror. In the mirror, Marshal Wen appears.

Next, face east and draw in nine breaths of blue primordial qi, guiding them into the gallbladder. Visualize the gallbladder as a glass vase in which the Tortoise and Snake (Guī Shé) intertwine and circulate. These two represent the union of Water and Fire, Kan and Li, in internal alchemy. They condense into a golden ball of light, like a silver pearl. Exhale one breath gently over the incense, and a round light appears above it, like a clear mirror. In the mirror, Marshal Wen manifests.

Note: This passage belongs to the Daoist thunder-rites and Tianpeng practices. It contains incantations, visualizations, calendar selection, and instructions for summoning generals, including step patterns, teeth-knocking, sun and moon visualizations, and the Tortoise-and-Snake imagery of the gallbladder vase. Actual practice must be done with reference to the full scripture and under a teacher's guidance. This English rendering is intended only to clarify the meaning of the text and is not a guide to cultivation.