《上清靈寶大法(二)》Vol. 13

A Vernacular Interpretation

Shangqing Lingbao Great Rites, Scroll Thirteen, “Illustrations, Part Four”

(Compiled by Quan Tong, a Dongxuan Lingbao ritual master, a holder of legal authority in the Southern Court, and an assistant administrator of the Right Wing of the Golden Tower in the Chu Prefecture)

On Delivering and Refining the Souls of the Dead

We respectfully observe that the methods of the middle vehicle teach that the Way of the Nine Perfected Ones of the Dongxuan tradition was originally transmitted by the Great Lord of the Dao, the Most High, at the beginning of the Yan Kang kalpa, in the Heaven of Yu Yu. Its scriptures are the eleven divisions of Dongxuan. In the second year of Guanghe under Emperor Ling of the Han, the Perfected One of the Supreme Ultimate, Xu Laile, entrusted thirty-six volumes of the Shangqing Treasure Scriptures and thirty-seven volumes of scriptures such as the Lingbao Admonitions and Precepts to the immortal elder Ge Xuan. He is the person later generations called the “Left Immortal Elder of the Supreme Ultimate.” The teachings of Dongxuan and the Way of Lingbao became widely known only at this time. The immortal elder was truly a master who transmitted the teachings.

In recent times, however, the methods of “ritual offerings and refinement” in circulation all call themselves “the ritual offerings and refinement of Immortal Elder Ge.” Some even drop the words “Immortal Elder” and call them simply “ritual offerings and refinement of the Supreme Ultimate.” This is especially inappropriate. The Wuji, the state of primordial nature before Heaven and Earth existed, comes before the Taiji, the beginning of Heaven and Earth before they were divided. The Taiji is the origin of Heaven and Earth; it cannot be used as the title of a ritual manual. “Perfected One of the Supreme Ultimate” refers to Lord Xu; “Left Immortal Elder of the Supreme Ultimate” refers to Lord Ge. Without honorifics such as “Immortal Elder” or “Perfected One,” the word “Supreme Ultimate” on its own must not be used in the title of this rite of ritual offerings and refinement.

Consider, too, the texts that different groups call the “ritual offerings and refinement of the Immortal Elder.” In many places, they center on the “Register of the Treasures of Birth in Heaven,” while their wording and ritual procedures follow modern conventions. It is wrong to insist that these are ancient rites of the Immortal Elder. People often see that the Immortal Elder once achieved merit by making offerings to ghosts, then collect texts under his name, unaware that he lived during the Eastern Han, when the conventions of writing differed from those of today. Why should there be anything wrong with using the texts now available, expressed according to the established standards of the ritual tradition? Why establish a different name before one can claim to benefit and deliver the souls of the dead?

If people purify their thoughts and intentions, discipline body and spirit, and carry out the rites with reverence, their sincerity will bring a response. But if they are careless in performing the rites or harbor contrary intentions, then even if they personally receive the Jade Voice of the Celestial Worthy, they will find it difficult to extend its blessings in the underworld. Accounts from earlier times, as well as what people have heard and witnessed, show that many have succeeded through this book. Students should reflect deeply on this.

Plain-Language Explanation

You can consult the kinds of books compiled by Yunzong: there are dozens of texts on ritual offering and refinement in circulation. Their general procedures are much the same, but the invocations and explanations in plain language are often disorganized, and pronunciations vary, making them hard to recite smoothly during a ritual. The talismans, incantations, and ritual procedures in this book all come from Lingbao methods. Those beginning with the “Heavenly Heart Orthodox Method” are generally suitable for common use. Yunzong collected and organized the wording for opening invocations and ritual practice so that all the relevant steps would be included without encouraging people to cling rigidly to the text.

Those just beginning the practice, and wishing to submit petitions to the Jade Emperor and report to the underworld authorities, should state their intention plainly in the invocation: for example, that they vow to perform offerings and refinement for lonely souls. To begin by saying, “I carry out the Immortal Elder’s Great Method of Offering and Refinement,” often has no basis in the scriptures. Offering and refinement are just one practice within the Great Method. Practitioners should both distribute talismanic medicines to aid the living and perform offerings and refinement for spirits to support the underworld. What matters is steadfast focus and lasting commitment.

Many people have practiced this method in recent times, but most begin with great energy and then grow lax, so their practice falls away. It is certainly good to perform it on the Three Primordial Festivals, the Eight Seasonal Nodes, the Four Pardon Days, Gengshen and Jiazi days, birthdays, the first and fifteenth days of the month, and the seventh day of the first lunar month. But if something forces you to stop midway, you may feel that you have “missed the appointed time,” and your good intentions can easily be discouraged. What is more, on the appointed night, spirits may already be waiting at the site, disturbing the living and causing the original intention to be abandoned.

If you want to maintain the practice over time and perform it regularly, it is better to avoid fixed dates and practice when you can. You might do it once or twice a month, combine sessions when time allows, or take advantage of an auspicious day without making rigid rules. This frees you from the burden of having “missed the time” or “failed to fulfill your vow,” and spares the spirits the distress of waiting long for an offering. Neither side is constrained, and the merit is all the greater. Only by avoiding attachment and rigidity can the practice endure.

Some may disagree and still wish to select dates and wait for the appointed time; they may do as they find convenient. Each practice in this book requires no lengthy memorials or official documents, for the sake of simplicity. The construction of a grand ritual platform and the universal salvation of sunken souls should follow the prescribed liturgy and are not covered by this guidance.

Preparing the Offering Platform

For each session, use one, two, or several sheng of rice, according to your means, and cook it as plain rice. Avoid meat, fish, and anything unclean. While it is still hot, place it in a small offering vessel; there is no need to use flour-based foods or the like. Those with sufficient means may prepare a more abundant offering. Perform the ritual that evening.

Plain-Language Interpretation

Items Required

Prepare three talismans, five copies of the true text of the talisman for summoning and calling down, three to five copies of the diagram of Fengdu Mountain, ten copies of the middle section of the numinous scripture, ten registers for ascending to Heaven, three to five bundles of paper money, pure water, candles or lamps as one can afford, and incense.

The more of the items listed above, the better. If one is performing meritorious work according to one’s means, use the quantities given above as a guide. On the day of the ritual offering and refinement, wash and bathe at dawn, then observe a fast and maintain purity throughout the day. Before daybreak, make a spoken petition in advance, presenting the matter to Heaven.

First, Offer Incense

Incense of the Dao, incense of De (Virtue/Power), incense of Wuwei (non-action), incense of purity and naturalness, wondrous incense of the Cavern of Truth, incense of Lingbao wisdom, incense that transcends the Three Realms, and true incense of the Three Heavens—may they fill the jade towers and capital, and spread throughout the Dharma realms of the entire cosmos. Now, with reverence, we burn incense as an offering to the Three Pure Ones (Sanqing) and the Celestial Worthies of the Three Heavens; the Jade Emperor, Sovereign of Heaven; the Great Emperor of the North Pole; the compassionate Celestial Worthy Taiyi, Savior from Suffering, of the Azure Palace of the Eastern Pole; the Great Emperor of Longevity of the Southern Pole; the Duke of Wood of the Eastern Florescence; the Lord of the Way, the High Minister, the Azure Youth; the Primordial Lady of the Ninefold Numinous Golden Mother of the White Jade Turtle Terrace; the Immortal Worthy Who Saves People from Death; the True Lord Han, Elder of the Nine Heavens Who Cherishes Life; the Great Spirit Sima of the Nine Heavens; the honored spirits who govern destiny, record official merits, extend life, increase allotted years, and deliver from calamity in the Southern Upper Office; the True Lords, Masters, and Officials of Refinement and Deliverance in the Southern Nanchang Upper Palace of the Vermilion Mound Fire Court in the world of the Southern Red Heaven; the officials of the Divine Tiger who summon and capture spirits in the Northern Dipper’s Mysterious Model Court; and the jade maidens, divine generals, officials, and soldiers. We respectfully hope that Heaven, in its compassion, will graciously take notice and record this petition. Jade radiance scatters its light; the nine Qi gather into clouds of smoke; incense clouds billow and rise, shooting directly through the heavens. May the Incense Attendant Golden Youth and the Word-Bearing Jade Maiden convey this petition upward before the Emperor. May they enable me to submit this invocation, so that all may come to pass as requested.

Taking One’s Ritual Position

(I, the Daoist priest) so-and-so, now venture to express my humble feelings, though this presumes upon Heaven’s hearing. I reflect that I was born in a time of clarity and have, through grace, received the Daoist registers. Yet I have achieved no merit that benefits others, while guilt has accumulated upon me. I presume to wish to deliver beings in both the realms of the living and the dead, and perhaps to help those who have sunk into hardship ascend beyond it. Accordingly, tonight, at such-and-such a place, I will prepare pure food as an offering for the solitary souls among the Three Paths and Five Destinies, the ten classes and four kinds of birth. I intend to write and put into practice the Supreme registers of the treasures for ascending to Heaven and the true talismans of Water and Fire, and to stamp and distribute images of Fengdu Mountain, carrying out refinement and transformation everywhere, in order to aid the deceased.

Explanation (for understanding the ritual background)

This text belongs to the Lingbao tradition’s rites of offering and refinement, or deliverance of the dead. It describes preparing ritual food, writing talismans, and performing refinement through Water and Fire for solitary souls in the “Three Paths and Five Destinies,” including those in hell and the hungry ghost realm, to help them ascend to Heaven and become immortals. Many of the named deities come from Daoist pantheons and the tradition of the Scripture of the Limitless Deliverance of Humanity (Lingbao Wuliang Duren Shangpin Miaojing). For example, the Celestial Worthy Taiyi, Savior from Suffering, presides over deliverance; the Vermilion Mound Fire Court presides over refinement; and the image of Fengdu Mountain represents the gates of the underworld. “Offering incense” means burning incense while inviting the deities to attend, so that the rising smoke may reach Heaven. A “spoken petition” is a declaration to Heaven, made before dawn, explaining the purpose of the ritual.

The Great Lingbao Rites (II): A Plain-Language Reading

[Petition to the Most High Lord of the Dao]

I, your humble servant, was born with ordinary abilities and have not yet understood the principles of the true Dao. I look up and pray for your compassion and pity, so that I may communicate with the higher realms. I respectfully hope for heavenly mercy: grant me living Qi, allow me to write talismans and registers, and authorize me to promulgate and put them into practice. I further beg that a heavenly decree be issued to the City God, the local Earth God, the officials of the underworld, the spirit courts responsible for sacrifices, and the Yellow Springs and Artemisia Hamlet. Let every divine officer and attendant who governs registers and souls comply with the decree, open and close the gates of the underworld, and release the sinful souls. At the Hai hour tonight, let them come to the ritual altar, receive offerings and refinement, and look up to partake of the mysterious grace, returning to their original true nature. I wait with hands clasped for heavenly favor and pray that a clear response be granted. I am sincerely fearful and humble; I bow my head repeatedly and respectfully submit this petition.

[If Practicing the Orthodox Method of the Heavenly Heart]

Remove the divine tiger generals and their officers, and instead summon the youths of the Primordial Mystery and the Six Jia Path-Opening Envoys, together with the divine generals and troops who command the army and assist the rite. At nightfall, make the proclamation as described above.

[Next: Addressing the Generals and Officers]

The Bureau of the Great Lingbao Rites (if practicing the Orthodox Method of the Heavenly Heart, this may be changed to “the Northern Pole Court for Expelling Evil”) hereby issues this notice to the myriad gods serving in their offices; the officials, lords, generals, and officers of the Lower Primordial Yellow Registers Court for Deliverance; the officials, lords, generals, and officers in charge of refinement at Nanchang; the two great generals He and Qiao of the Northern Pole’s Mysterious Model Prefecture; the Seven Perfected Jade Maidens; the envoys and troops of officials who summon and seize souls from the Three Bureaus; and the local gods of the land, village, and state altars. Hasten to the ritual altar, where there is a matter to report. (Visualize that the generals and officers have arrived.)

All officials and generals from the various bureaus have come to attend. In humble service, I wear the sacred Lingbao insignia and carry out the Great Rite. My guiding purpose is to accomplish merit, and I must diligently save and deliver those in need. Today, at nightfall, a food banquet has been prepared at [place] to provide for the lonely and forsaken spirits. In addition to having already informed the Supreme Emperor and the perfected beings above, and having issued talismanic orders, I now invite the officials, generals, and gods of the various bureaus to go throughout the gates of the underworld and its hidden prisons, the night courts and shadow palaces, the sacred realms of the mountains and rivers, and the jurisdictions of the City God and local Earth Gods, the Yellow Springs and Artemisia Hamlet. At every place responsible for recording the dead, gather all those who belong there: souls in the Three Paths and Ten Destinies, the beings of the Five Paths and Four Births, wandering souls with no home in the countryside, spirits who have flown away, those with or without sacrificial rites, those who died peacefully or violently—in short, all the lonely souls who are to be delivered. Ensure that they all arrive at [place] at the Hai hour tonight, ready to receive ritual offerings and refinement, and to be reborn in an auspicious realm. Carry out this order at once; hasten to make its effects manifest, extending grace throughout the realm of ghosts. All of this is accomplished through your divine power. Carry out this order at once.

[Explanation]

This passage is a proclamation to the gods in a Lingbao rite for delivering the souls of the dead. It has three parts:

The petition asks the Most High Lord of the Dao for permission to write and promulgate talismans, and instructs the gods of the underworld to release souls and send them to the altar for refinement that night.

When practicing the Orthodox Method of the Heavenly Heart, the rite is adjusted: the Primordial Mystery youths and Six Jia envoys are summoned in place of the divine tiger generals and their officers.

The proclamation formally notifies the Bureau of the Great Lingbao Rites and the various divine officials and generals—including those of the Yellow Registers Court, the officials in charge of refinement at Nanchang, and the two great generals He and Qiao. It asks them to gather lonely and wandering souls from all jurisdictions and bring them together at the ritual site at the Hai hour that night, so they may receive offerings and refinement and be delivered to a favorable rebirth.

Precious Register for Bringing Life to Heaven

(The text of this proclamation may be written freely below, or beneath the register.)

Open the passage for the solitary souls and lingering spirits among the Five Paths and Four Births. Let them leave darkness behind and be reborn in accordance with their karmic results. The officiant shall follow the command of the talisman and carry it out.

Issued under the cyclical designation of the year, month, and day. The ritual official, your servant of the surname [name], records and carries out this command.

Sit upright and visualize: the Heavenly Worthy Who Relieves Suffering is in midair, with the Greatly Compassionate, Greatly Merciful, Greatly Gracious Perfected One and the Perfected One Who Relieves Suffering standing in attendance on either side. Next, visualize the Dipper of the South above your head, transforming into the form of a Perfected One. Then see the Heavenly Worthy send a Jade Maiden, riding a radiant treasure light and carrying the precious register, down to the space before you. Recite the middle section once in a low voice, then take up the brush and write the seal script, writing the four characters “om, hong, zha, li” one atop another. Recite this spell:

“Supreme, Mysterious Origin, Most High Lord of the Dao: command your servant to wield the talisman and illuminate the dark prisons, so that the souls of the dead may depart. Hasten, hasten, in accordance with the statutes and ordinances.”

Use ten talismans each time, writing the seal script on each according to the prescribed form. Next, write one Water Talisman and one Fire Talisman. When finished, recite the middle section another three to five times, pass the talismans through incense smoke, and place them respectfully in a clean location. At night, use:

Talisman for Invoking True Fire

(Sun Qi, Li hand-seal; write in cinnabar on yellow paper)

Sun-Soul Spell: “Sun-soul, pearl radiance, shine and veil; green reflections circle back through rosy clouds. Red youth, dark flames, fiery forms. Hasten, hasten, in accordance with the statutes and ordinances.”

Talisman for Invoking True Water

(Moon Qi, Kun hand-seal; write in black ink on yellow paper)

Moon-Po Spell: “Moon-po, warm and fragrant, radiant and lovely; veiled, vast, gentle, and empty. Spiritual orchids, luxuriant blossoms, join and rise in plumes. Day, four and six; pure gold, clear and lustrous, the radiant countenance marks the terrace.”

True-Form Talisman of Mount Fengdu

(Already presented in the section on refining and delivering the dead.)

Next, hold and recite the middle section of the numinous text thirty times. If time allows, reciting it more often is even better.

Food-Transformation Talisman

Carry out the rite at night, in a clean place. Set the food offering in an open, spacious area. Do not place lamps or candles beside it. Instead, set the altar table several zhang away; it is better still to leave some open ground between them. Place the incense burner, water, lamps, and candles on the altar. The rite is intended to offer food to ghosts, so human breath and lamps or candles should not be brought close to the offering. People today often place it amid noisy crowds and lamps, which is highly unsuitable. Then the ritual master burns incense, approaches the altar table, and begins the rite by invoking the sacred ones.

Report to the sacred image enshrined at the incense altar:

With compassion, we respectfully invite the Celestial Worthy to bear witness to and preside over this rite of salvation. May the Celestial Worthy transmit the jade utterance and gather the numinous Qi, bringing the sacred winds together with the incense smoke, and assembling the pure Qi of the Purple Void with the flourishing, harmonious Qi. May the myriad immortals lend their aid, carrying the registers and records as they come together before the Emperor Lord, so that all I report may be carried out in accordance with the liturgy.

I, a minister serving in the ritual office, dare to risk offending the gods and presumptuously disturbing the Celestial Hearing. I earnestly beseech you to look upon this rite and grant your testimony. Though my nature and capacities are humble, I have accepted the charge of propagating the Supreme Dao. I therefore dare not spare my lowly self, and venture to make this report: In the Three Paths and Nine Earths—the underworld realms, including the hells—linger the souls of the ten classes of beings and the four forms of birth: womb-born, egg-born, moisture-born, and transformation-born. They have little chance to encounter good conditions or receive the subtle grace of the Mysterious. Long confined within the dark passes, they wish to amend their ways but have no path forward; trapped in a sea of suffering, they wish to be released but do not know where to begin. This is indeed the consequence of their past deeds and habits, yet their loss of the correct path also calls forth our compassion. Without Heaven’s forbearance and the Dao’s mercy, how could these fallen souls ever leave the underworld?

I respectfully follow the true teachings, prepare offerings of food with reverence, proclaim the talismanic writings for rebirth and refinement, and recite the Great Brahma Numinous Scripture, a secret liturgical text used in Daoist rites. Through these means, I seek to deliver all beings and aid the four forms of birth. With sincere intent, I do what little I can to rescue those sunk in the underworld. I earnestly beseech the Daoist Worthy to look upon this rite with compassion, bestow Heaven’s grace, and extend forgiveness and mercy. In particular, may you send down the radiance of the sun and moon, spread the vital energies of the Five Phases, and entrust them to me for refinement and application, so that darkness may be illuminated and the fallen may be rescued and delivered. My heart is earnest as I hope to receive this grace and repay it. In reverence and awe, I bow twice.

Then withdraw to the original position.

Next, burn the invitation talismans and true writings. Visualize yourself transforming into a divine general and summon the officers and attendants; carry out the visualizations and ritual actions according to the prescribed liturgy.

The Office of the Great Lingbao Rite issues a formal dispatch to the officers and attendants (follow the Clear Dawn rite, with the following additions): We summon the Great Gods of the Five Roads, the local Earth Gods, the righteous gods of the village altars and land, and all the officials who govern the Yellow Springs and Reed Hamlet, the places of the underworld. They must immediately hasten to the ritual altar and carefully inspect the matters this office has already reported to the Supreme Emperor and formally dispatched earlier. Now gather the ten classes of beings and the four forms of birth, along with the wandering souls and lingering spirits, from the Five Roads and Three Paths within the regions of the Nine Provinces. Bring them swiftly to the ritual altar, where they shall respectfully receive sacrificial refinement, accept Heaven’s grace, receive proof of their rank, leave the underworld, and ascend through rebirth and deliverance. Carry this out urgently, in accordance with the Supreme Emperor’s laws.

Next perform the food-transformation rite using the true writings, and burn talismanic texts around the offering vessel to the extent possible.

After visualizing the primordial Qi generated in the five directions, guide it downward into the offering food in the hu (a vessel used in food-offering rites). Then burn the talismans and blow their ashes into the air.

The food in the hu should quickly transform into rare delicacies from the Celestial Kitchen, becoming abundant and plentiful, piled high. If a Lingbao rite is not being performed, a food-transformation talisman may be used in place of the true text recited in the rite. When using it, softly recite the middle section once in each direction.

The ritual master stands at a distance and performs the rite for summoning and gathering the spirits. If performing it alone, recite silently.

“The yellow banner of Taiwei turns back; the spirit banner is commanded by Wuying. Gather and summon those in the realm of the Long Night; open the way and deliver the souls who are to be reborn.”

Summon with care all beings in the heavenly realm, the realm of spirits, the human realm, the hell realm, the hungry ghost realm, and the animal realm; those born from wombs, eggs, moisture, or transformation; and all beings throughout the world and within the Six Directions, whether they have kin or none. Gather all beings with sentience and awareness, whatever their form, male or female, whether they have long been reborn in distant lands or have died only recently. Summon all souls mired in the underworld to receive this rite of deliverance and salvation.

I have heard that the wondrous Dao is hidden from sight. It turns Yin-Yang and establishes the foundations; the supremely divine is elusive and unfathomable, driving the transformations of creation and bringing forth the myriad things. Once Heaven and Earth took shape, the myriad things came into being as well. All were formed by the workings of creation and sheltered beneath Heaven and Earth.

Yet as the things of the human world multiplied, the ways of the people grew less honest and generous. The age of primordial antiquity had long since passed, and customs grew ever more shallow. Wealth and poverty, high and low status, continually shifted; people’s dispositions differed from one another. Fortune and misfortune, prosperity and decline, depended on each other. As people pursued official careers, each gave rise to thoughts of good or evil, and so distinctions emerged between rising and sinking.

The distance between past and present is vast, and the underworld is silent and boundless. Unless one can be reborn in accordance with one’s karma, one cannot escape sinking and remaining there, subject to the workings of circumstance. Thus, few are able to rise upward, while many fall. Poverty and wealth may differ, but in life and death all are equal: those who enjoyed wealth and status to the full while alive should, after death, be freed from sinking. If they cannot hold office in the realms of the immortals, they should at least be reborn into a noble family.

Yet merit may be great or slight, and virtue deep or shallow. Some of the dead may still wander in places they once knew, or remain in Youdu, the capital of the underworld. Those who once served as generals or soldiers knew only how to give their utmost in loyalty and diligence; how could they have concerned themselves with being left exposed in the wilderness? Their wives and children have gone far away, and no offerings reach them. Their bodies have nowhere to be buried; where, then, can their souls find refuge? Some left home to pursue their studies.

A Plain-Language Interpretation

Some people carry document cases and luggage as they seek out teachers, hoping for a salary and chasing fame and rank, though these aims do not accord with their usual aspirations. They have talent and skill, yet things do not go as they hoped. Who could have known that the sun and moon would turn, and the allotted time would pass before they noticed? In the meantime, some rise high in official life and take their places at court; some reach the height of fame but fall into danger; some never attain high rank or income before their allotted years run out. Some are sent as envoys to foreign lands, others take posts far from home. At times they cannot even keep their lives, much less protect their wives and children.

Others leave the dusty world behind, donning feathered robes and coarse garments—the dress of Daoist priests—or shaving their heads to enter the Buddhist path. They hope to gain insight from arcane scriptures and seek awakening through the cultivation of one’s nature. Yet people differ in how far they can progress. How could everyone succeed? They may have nowhere to remain, and fear losing all support in the vast unknown. Some dwell among rocky valleys, conceal their traces and names, avoid the world, and seek nothing, living in poverty while cultivating themselves. But who would have thought that the years pass so quickly and life’s scenes cannot be held? The orchid-curtained tent stands empty; one grieves that the mountain recluse has died. The pine-framed window is still and silent; one laments, wondering where the hermit has gone.

Fortunately, some are born into wealthy families, raised among the well-fed and well-clothed. They have exhausted their enjoyment of money, fine food, and sensual pleasures. When it is over, everything comes to nothing; looking back, they see that none of it was truly theirs. When their allotted time is spent, they must die, and the body cannot remain. People labor to feed themselves, bound together by the needs of body and mouth, and so become servants of wealth. Some trade and some do business, busying themselves over tiny gains. Their toil brings illness and ultimately death, while their home villages lie forever beyond reach. Since people depend on food to live, farmers make their living by tilling the land. They work so hard that sweat soaks their bodies and mud covers their feet, yet after planting in spring and harvesting in autumn, they earn only enough for bare subsistence. If their wives and children are fed and clothed, they may grow old and die with timely burials and offerings. If their families are destitute and scattered, no one may be left to make offerings to their spirits.

Some devote themselves to a particular craft or make their living in one of the nine occupations. They toil through the days and nights, all caught in the turning cycle. Those who stay in their hometown may reach a good end; those who wander far from home often die among strangers. Some choose their trade unwisely and take up slaughtering; others fall into it by chance and join the ranks of performers and entertainers. Now that life has proved so fleeting and illusory, how can anyone know what rises or falls along the road ahead?

And among the countless people who are born and the multitudes who are clothed, there are widowers and widows, old people living alone, and orphaned children. Some have lost legs or hands, or are blind or deaf. Some cannot speak, and their words cannot be understood; some are so dull-witted they cannot tell beans from wheat. Some die after taking poison with no remedy in time; some die in childbirth before the baby is delivered.

Great Method of the Highest Clarity and Numinous Treasure (II): A Plain-Language Interpretation

The Suffering of Lonely Souls (Text for Summoning Souls and Offering Food)

Some die in epidemics; some die under the law of the state; some are suddenly killed in fights, on one side or the other. Some bring harm upon one another through mutual curses. Some drown or leap into fire; some hang themselves or mutilate themselves. Some are crushed by rocks or struck by falling trees; some are bitten by snakes or devoured by tigers. The disasters of life take myriad forms, and the circumstances of death are countless.

The burial mounds stand thickly together. Those who died long ago have decayed, and their graves can no longer be identified; those buried later lie in layer upon layer—how many there are! The green mountains stretch without end, and no one knows whose family lies beneath each grave. The bright sun shines, yet for the dead there is no longer daylight. On nights of cold dew and bright moonlight, lonely graves sit in desolation. In lands where the wind mourns and the rain darkens the sky, empty valleys lie desolate. Some bodies have been cremated, their remains scattered; others have not understood life and death, and their lonely souls drift without rest. The faces and voices of the human world have grown distant, while sorrow in the underworld knows no end. They gather and wail in piercing cries—how sorrowful! They sink into shadow and silence, still awaiting deliverance.

There are also spirits and strange creatures, demons and specters, yin spirits, as well as birds, beasts, insects, and fish, and beings born from wombs, eggs, moisture, or transformation: the Three Paths, the Ten Classes, the Five Destinies, and the Four Modes of Birth. Across all under Heaven and within the Six Directions, throughout the Four Seas and Nine Provinces, their voices cannot all be recounted, nor their kinds fully described. May all lonely souls and spirits of every kind humbly receive the power of the Dao, and respectfully rely on its true rites. May they be guided and supported as they come, attending with focused minds to receive this food, and gathering their thoughts in earnest to join the morning audience with the True Ones. May they receive this blessed opportunity for sacrificial purification and attend this ritual assembly offered with pure sincerity. We now summon them all; we trust they have arrived.

Incantation for the Food Offering Bowl

Offered for: Supporting lonely souls on their journey through the clouds, so they may be reborn in the realm of the immortals.

Recite the Incantation of the Jade Clarity’s Merciful Command (general meaning):

I bow to the Venerable One of bright wisdom and emptiness; I bow and dedicate myself to the Lord of profound mystery. You shape and complete Heaven and Earth, and no virtue fails to bear its name; you serve as support and refuge for all living beings. With compassion, you guide the Five Destinies through the cycle of rebirth; with pity, you save those suffering in the Three Paths of Hell. I dedicate myself to the Venerable One in Heaven’s Golden Portal; I dedicate myself to the compassionate father of the Six Paths; I dedicate myself to the unsurpassed Venerable One of Jade Clarity. Having left birth and death, one abides in unending continuity, emerging from existence and entering emptiness, dependent on nothing. You can transform the withered and decayed into immortals—a rare encounter even across a thousand kalpas, ten thousand kalpas. For the sake of all beings, you broadly explain the causes and conditions of karma; you restore remains and raise the dead, preserving them forever, so that body and spirit undergo no change.

Incantation for Breaking Open the Hells

Within the boundless Fengdu, layer upon layer of diamond mountains stand. The immeasurable light of the Numinous Treasure shines through, illuminating the torment of the blazing pools. May the souls of the seven ancestors in the netherworld ride in a carriage of fragrant clouds, settle upon the pure lotus of concentration and wisdom, and find lasting peace in the realm of the spirits.

Incantation for Ascending to Heaven

(The original text gives the heading “Incantation for Ascending to Heaven,” but the passage itself does not continue, so only the heading is included.)

Shangqing Lingbao Dafa (II): A Vernacular Interpretation

Merit's golden light glimmers faintly, opening the hidden barriers; the Flowery Pool (Huachi) releases true fragrance. The lotus canopy drifts along the clouds, a thousand numinous beings gather in primordial harmony (yuanhe), and one constantly dwells in the Twelve Towers. Swiftly proclaim the decrees of the Numinous Treasure (Lingbao), and let the eye-spirit roam as if in Heaven.

The golden light produced by merit glimmers faintly, opening the closed gates of the body. Flowing from the Flowery Pool, which refers to the saliva of the mouth and the "pool" where cultivated energy gathers, comes true fragrance. The lotus-shaped canopy floats along the clouds, the thousand numinous beings gather in the primordial harmony of Qi, and the practitioner constantly abides in the "Twelve Towers," symbolic levels of pavilions within the body or in Heaven. By swiftly proclaiming the decrees of the Numinous Treasure, the eye-spirit seems to wander in the realm of Heaven.

Throat Incantation

A vast crystalline radiance gives rise to a Qi of Dharma power, which billows and condenses in the heavens. The sun and moon, the two luminaries, shine clear together, and the five planets (the five celestial bodies) pass through one another. The three lights blaze brilliantly, treasure-qi fills the Three Palaces (the upper, middle, and lower Dantian, or the head, heart, and abdomen), the Celestial Capital gathers the Nine Elders, and after swallowing it, the hundred bones are nourished and full. The golden flower shines with radiant scenery, and the body shares the same light as the sun and moon. Holding the thought of the Dao and the supreme sages before oneself, one's lifespan becomes boundless across countless kalpas.

Incantation for Swallowing the Dharma Food of the Flowing Essence of the Three Lights

The wondrous Dao gives rise to a single Qi, and within the Qi it divides into yin and yang, condensing into sun, moon, and stars, which blaze and circulate as the Three Lights. The Nine Flowers join with the Nine Paths, the Eight Colors delight the Eight Chambers, and their brilliance penetrates the true body, flowing crystalline essence back into the Great Radiance. Below, it is born in the Abyssal Spring Palace; above, it is arrayed in the Realm of Nothing-Whatsoever. Though there is form, it seems to have no traces, and in a flash, self and other are both forgotten. The Seven Treasures condense their flowing essence, and chaos mingles within the Flowery Chambers. After swallowing it, the nine clouds dissipate, and this bliss is truly without end (wei yang, "unending").

Incantation for the Dharma Food of Jade Yang

The true Qi of Jade Yang: the wondrous Dao separates the three radiances (sun, moon, and stars) and then unites them again. The primordial harmony responds with numinous sound, and the Eight Assemblies spread out jade-like writings. The Five Elders swallow the cinnabar dew and drift along on the auspicious clouds. The Great Sage and the multitude of heavens ride dragons and drink jade fluids. The three and five determine their registers of life, roam in the Capital of Supreme Clarity (Taishang), and their radiance shines boundlessly. Hand in hand, they come to pay homage to the Jade Palace (Yuchen).

Incantation for Empowering the Dharma Food

Turning the head to gaze upward at the Primal Net, one gathers the numinous radiance of the scenery. Restraining the hun-souls and controlling the seven po-souls, one visualizes the navel fixed at the center. Whether walking or resting, one treads upon emptiness, and in sleep or repose, one feasts in the mysterious chamber. When hungry, one eats the yellow-green flowers; when thirsty, one drinks the jade-forest elixir. The spirit banner commands the great demons (subduing them or summoning the hosts of demons), the body merges and refines into true light, which again shines upon the great void, and one forever wanders in the sky. The perfect penetration dissolves into the waves of the boundary, and the true flowers scatter until they finally vanish into endless obscurity, without beginning or end. The practitioner should clearly understand this stillness and silence, forget the teachings of principle, respond to the turning of fate, and complete the great norms (hong gui, "vast regulations"). To reflect upon the Dao, one cannot transcend it by oneself; one must first be grounded in what one practices. The point of return has no duality, and one joins and separates according to the heart.

Incantation for Nourishing the Embryonic Souls and Cultivating the Corporeal Souls

The numinous fungus has no root; it is the origin of all transformations. Centrally it condenses the seven po-souls, above it forms the three hun-souls. The twenty-four true spirits come and go without a gate, within the dark obscurity and the subtle primordial essence, living and dying with the kalpas and moving with the Qi to be born. Outwardly they condense into primordial simplicity; inwardly they nourish the seven true spirits.

Note: Most of the passages above are Dharma-food incantations (fashi zhou). In practice, one visualizes swallowing "Dharma food," which is not worldly nourishment but spiritual sustenance transformed from essence-qi, radiance, and jade writings. This is paired with the Three Lights (sun, moon, and stars), the Three Hun and Seven Po Souls, and the Three Palaces and Five Elders, which reflect the bodily deities and celestial structures of the Shangqing and Lingbao traditions. The aim is to refine the form, nourish the spirit, and unite with the Dao. These texts should be recited according to the instructions and visualization sequence of one's teacher; the notes here are offered only to clarify their meaning.

Vernacular Interpretation

The Five Spirits spread their canopy and the Three Terraces bloom in brilliance. The Purple Mist Plain Youths return to the womb and revert to infancy. They rise on the clouds and float through the mist, and within the void dwells the Jade Perfected, named Divine Efficacy (Shengong).

The Five Directional Spirits set up their canopy above the altar, and the stars of the Three Terraces shine with light. Within the purple mist, the youths in plain white guard the rite through the method of returning to the womb and reverting to infancy (fantai guiying). They ascend on clouds and pass through mist, and in the void the Jade Perfected descends, whose title is Divine Efficacy.

On the left, the Wuying spirit protects; on the right, the Baiyuan spirit guards. The Mysterious Beast blocks the rear, and the Cinnabar Bird embraces the front. Above floats a jade-green canopy, and below, golden lotuses surround. Fragrant clouds gather in the sky, sweet dew flows without end, and its use is inexhaustible, its source never ending.

Wuying spirits guard the left, and Baiyuan spirits protect the right. A Mysterious Beast blocks the rear, and a Cinnabar Bird gathers at the front. Above is a canopy of jade-green, and below it golden lotuses encircle the altar. Fragrant clouds coalesce in the air, and sweet dew flows unceasingly. It can be drawn upon without exhaustion, for its source has no end.

The Chief Officiant (gaogong) speaks again.

The Chief Officiant, the presiding master, addresses the assembly once more.

Having previously recited the incantations, offered the ritual food, and chanted the numinous texts, we hope the countless orphan souls will receive special grace and all be fully nourished. Now we ask each of you to clarify a single thought, gather your original nature, and proceed to the altar to receive this refinement.

Earlier, the incantations were recited, the ritual food was offered, and the numinous texts were chanted. We hope the orphan souls will receive special grace and all be fully satisfied. Now, each of you is asked to calm the mind, gather your true nature, and come forward to the altar to receive this refinement.

Next, establish the Fire Pool (burn the True Fire Talisman in the incense burner or set up a blazing fire with fragrant incense, and recite the middle section once)

Next, establish the Fire Pool. Burn the True Water Talisman in the incense burner, or set up a blazing fire with abundant incense, and recite the middle section once.

Visualize the true qi of the Crimson Palace (jianggong, the heart) rising, gradually filling the entire body and overflowing outward, then pouring into the furnace and transforming into True Fire.

Visualize the vermilion qi of the Crimson Palace (jianggong, the heart) rising up, gradually filling the whole body. Then direct it into the furnace, where it transforms into True Fire.

Secretly petition the Supreme Minister of the Eastern Florescence, the Lord of the Azure Youth of the Wood Father, and the Sun Lord of the Sun Palace, humbly asking them to send down the True Yang Fire to refine the orphan souls below.

Privately petition the Supreme Minister of the Eastern Florescence, the Dao Lord Mugong Qingtong, and the Sun Lord of the Sun Palace. Humbly ask them to send down True Yang Fire to refine the orphan souls in the lower realm.

Visualize the Crimson Palace descending from the void, pouring into the furnace and forming a vast fire pool, its flames reaching the heavens.

Visualize the vermilion qi of the Crimson Palace descending from the void and pouring into the furnace. It forms a vast fire pool whose flames rise to the heavens.

Respectfully summon the Refinement Officials and generals of the Nanchang Bureau of Refinement, the Fire Pool Keepers, and the fire-refining divine generals, soldiers, and officers. Together, let them descend, guide the souls to the altar, and lead all the orphan souls of the Five Paths and Four Births into the fire pool to be smelted according to the rite. (Visualize the talisman envoys leading the souls into the refining.)

Respectfully summon the Lord Refinement Official and the generals of the Nanchang Bureau of Refinement, the Keepers of the Fire Pool, and the divine generals, soldiers, and officers of fire refinement. Let them all descend together, lead the assembly to the altar, and guide all orphan souls of the Five Paths and Four Births into the fire pool, to be smelted according to the rite.

Fire Refinement Incantation (General Meaning)

Flame Spirit and Fire Bell, reaching above to the Purple Subtlety and below to the Yellow Darkness, dispel impure qi and refine the souls. The Spirit of the Red Emperor, the Two Spirits of Flame Essence, and the streaming light of the Three Terraces refine the embryo, transform the substance, and temper the soul and strengthen the vital spirit. Impure qi dissipates and rises with the smoke. Yin qi recedes, and yang qi blends in harmony. Essence and spirit become full and penetrate into the realm of fire. Blending the Nine Qi, they unite with the August Void. When the Lord of Heaven issues his command, golden flames shine forth, and the Nine Primes blaze with light, their benefit and constancy without limit.

After a moment, the souls can be seen emerging from the fire, each having become a pure and cleansed body.

Within a moment, the souls can be seen emerging from the fire, each now a pure and cleansed body.

Next, establish the Water Pool (burn the True Water Talisman into a water basin and recite the middle section once)

Next, establish the Water Pool. Burn the True Water Talisman into a water basin, and recite the middle section once.

Visualize the black qi of the Lower Field (Dantian) rising, gradually filling the whole body, then pouring into the basin and transforming into True Water.

Visualize the black qi of the Lower Field (Dantian) rising and gradually filling the entire body. It then pours into the basin and transforms into True Water.

Secretly petition the Lady Golden Mother of the Nine Numinous and Supreme Perfected of the White Jade Tortoise Terrace, the Yuan Lady, and the Lord of the Moon Palace, the Great Yin Sovereign...

Privately petition the Yuan Lady, the Golden Mother of the Nine Numinous and Supreme Perfected of the White Jade Tortoise Terrace, and the Lord of the Moon Palace, the Great Yin Sovereign... (The text that follows should continue with the rite of summoning the True Yin Water and refining the orphan souls with water.)

Note: This passage belongs to the "fire refinement and water refinement" section of the Lingbao Refinement Liturgy (Lingbao liandu keyi). It draws on the True Yang Fire of the sun and the True Yin Water of the moon to refine the orphan souls of the Five Paths and Four Births. Once the souls emerge from fire and water, they attain a "pure and cleansed body," and then receive ritual food and numinous texts. This is an important step in Daoist rites for delivering the dead. Wuying, Baiyuan, and the Nanchang Bureau of Refinement are the names of protective deities and refinement offices within the Lingbao ritual tradition.

Invoking the Yin Sovereign Lord to Descend

The Officiant of High Rank (gaogong, the chief ritual master who presides over the liturgy) respectfully invites the Yin Sovereign Lord (Yin Huang Jun) to descend and bestow true yin water (yinshui), with which to carry out liandu (refinement, the purification and elevation of the dead through rites of water and fire) for the solitary wandering souls and all the multitudes.

Visualization and Setting Up the Altar

The officiant performs cunxiang (visualization), imagining that true water descends from the heavens and flows straight into the Dharma basin (fayu), where it spreads out to become a vast pool.

He then respectfully summons the Lord of Refinement Offices (Lianduguan Jun), the Masters of the Pool, and the spirit generals and soldiers of water refinement (shuilian), who lead all the solitary souls and multitudes into the pool to cleanse and refine them according to the liturgy. (Visualization: the generals and clerks lead the souls in to be refined.)

Next he recites the Water Refinement Incantation:

Longhan (Dragon Han, a primordial kalpa) stretches vast and boundless, without form or name;

Faint across countless aeons, the Yellow Path opens and grows bright.

The divine spirits are clear and luminous, the nine qi spit forth their essence;

The Jade Void shines with clarity, and the Supreme Taixia rises high and brilliant.

The Jade Emperor opens transformation, universally ferrying gods and humans;

The Three Primes (Sanyuan) nourish the Dao, and the Two Images (erxiang) sustain life.

Withered trees with ancient roots are made to flourish again; wriggling creatures are given long life and transformed into form.

Those who carry wombs and gestate embryos all attain birth and completion; the dead whose fate has ended return their souls to the Three Pure Ones (Sanqing).

The po-soul receives refinement and ascends to the Southern Palace (Nangong); today is greatly auspicious, and all attain radiance.

The Five Emperors look on and illuminate; they proclaim to all the myriad spirits:

the heavenly deities, the earth spirits, and all the sources of the rivers;

the Five Sacred Peaks, the Four Great Rivers, and all the famous mountains;

the immortals of the Cavern Mysterious (Dongxuan), the Cavern Void (Dongxu), and the Cavern Emptiness (Dongkong).

The Supreme Great Sage, the Perfected Venerable Spirit, boundless and without limit, constantly oversees and delivers the living.

Evil roots are cut off, and the Mysterious Capital (Xuandu) records the names; the assembled perfected stand in order and all listen to the words of the Emperor.

The scripture is the Emperor's decree; those who hold, recite, and uphold it are ferried to the far shore of the Dao, and calamity shall not invade them.

I receive the Emperor's mandate, and all shall listen.

Visualization at the End of the Rite

In a brief moment, countless souls should be seen rising from the water, all transformed into jade-like substance, their bearing upright, pure, and luminous.

On the Sequence of Water and Fire

The above follows the older liturgical tradition (jiuke) of performing fire before water. Scholars may also follow the instructions of their teachers or other scriptural authorities, and may perform water before fire, according to convenience, without insisting on one order.

On the Sources of Water and Fire

One method draws the water and fire from the qi of the liver and lungs, which are regarded as the Qi of the Golden Mother (Jinmu). These correspond to Mugong (the Father Wood) and Jinmu (the Golden Mother), a pairing commonly used in Daoist internal cultivation and ritual symbolism, and the yin-yang pure qi is invoked to descend as water and fire.

Alternatively, one may use the qi of the heart and kidneys within the body, and at the moment of invocation call upon the essence of the sun (rijing) and the flowers of the moon (yuehua). Either method may be practiced.

The compiler, Yunzhong, did not dare to fix a single format and left it to scholars to choose whichever explanation is more reasonable.

Recently some have used the Southern and Northern Poles (Nanji and Beiji) as the sources of water and fire. This is harder to justify doctrinally, and the detailed discussion appears in the section on the Liandu Chapter.

Expressing Gratitude and Taking Refuge

The officiant then announces again (zai bai, a second proclamation) that the refinement of the solitary souls and multitudes is complete, that they have been transformed into immortals or humans, and that they now face the palace to give thanks and take refuge in the Three Treasures (Sanbao): the Dao, the scripture, and the master.

Note: This passage belongs to the water-refinement section of the Lingbao liandu liturgy, which complements the fire-refinement that precedes it. Through incantations, the summoning of spirit generals, and the visualization of a water pool, it symbolizes cleansing defilement with yin water and transforming and elevating the dead. The second half is the compiler's flexible explanation of the order of water and fire and of their sources. It does not prescribe only one method.

Shangqing Lingbao Dafa (Excerpts): A Vernacular Reading

The Three Refuges

First, take refuge in the supreme Dao (the Way). Second, take refuge in the supreme Jing (scripture). Third, take refuge in the supreme Master.

Once the lonely spirits and the assembled souls have completed the rite of the Three Refuges and the ceremony of thanks and homage, they must from now on turn their hearts toward the right Way, never forget good intentions, and never fall into evil paths. Whether in the heavens or among the living, all must uphold the precepts, diligently proclaim them, and keep them firmly for all time.

The Nine Perfect Precepts

Respect and yield to your parents, and nourish them with devotion. Be diligent and loyal in serving your ruler. Do not kill, and compassionately save all living beings. Do not indulge in lust, and keep your person upright in dealings with things. Do not steal, and set righteousness above your own gain. Do not rage, and do not lord your anger over others. Do not deceive, and do not use cunning to harm the good. Do not be arrogant, and do not scorn the True. Do not be double-minded, and keep the precepts with undivided devotion.

Receiving the Precepts, Burning Afterlife Wealth, and Rebirth

Since the lonely spirits have now received the precepts and been touched by heavenly grace, they respectfully burn the Heaven-Born Treasure Register, the middle section of the Fengdu Mountain Spirit Writings, and the afterlife wealth and other offerings. Each is to request that the officiants of the altar receive them, and that they be carried to the offices in charge of rebirth, so that their rank may be certified and their transcendence of rebirth secured. Proceed to the altar, where the souls will receive refinement.

Spirits who encounter this cause should awaken and examine themselves, repent fully of past errors, and happily ascend today into the clouds. They should at once leave the company of ghosts and earnestly seek the subtle truths of the Dao.

Admonition: Body and Spirit, Death and Life

The body is an external thing, so its existence was never our true nature. The spirit is the root of nature, and death cannot destroy it. Once one awakens to this original beginning, what obstacle could life and death pose? Our original nature is present at all times, and it is only when the most numinous nature becomes attached to things that it grows obscured.

The illusory body has substance, but whether noble or base, it all ends in emptiness. The yin soul has no form, so how could hunger and cold burden it? Truly, it is attachment to sacrifices and offerings that brings foolish delusion upon oneself. If one clearly understands that the single nature is perfectly clear, then one can be liberated from the dark roads and hidden passes of the underworld. Without clinging to any of the myriad conditions, one can roam freely both among humans and in the heavens.

Those who still have something left behind may become true, while those who give up on themselves mostly become lowly ghosts. Once this good intention arises, all former obstacles of evil dissolve, the dust and grime are washed away into emptiness, and the form and spirit are both made wondrous.

Moreover, those who have awakened should urge those who have not yet awakened, and those who know first should awaken those who know later. The past cannot be pursued, so one should not look back on old affairs. The road ahead is open to travel, so one should earnestly attend to the path that lies before one.

Farewell to the Dead

Bid respectful farewell before the palace gate, and go in peace from the parting banquet. Whether ordinary or sage, proceed in order and be sent off on the road to the clouds. Take good care.

Note (to aid reading the original):

• Three Refuges (sanguiyi): The taking of refuge in the Dao, the scriptures, and the Master, performed when one enters the Way in Daoism.
• Nine Perfect Precepts (jiuzhen miaojie): The nine precepts recited in the ritual. They share a lineage with the common "Five Precepts" but list their items in greater detail.
• Fengdu, afterlife wealth, and offices (caoju): Fengdu is the legendary palace that governs ghosts. Afterlife wealth refers to the "yin-world goods" documents burned for the dead. The caoju are the offices of the netherworld that oversee rebirth and rank.
• Receiving refinement (hunshuang shoulian): The souls of the dead undergo ritual refinement on the altar and gain release from their bonds.
• Sending off on the cloud-road (fengsong yuncheng): Escorting the souls of the dead as they ascend the road to the heavens.

Shangqing Lingbao Dafa (II): A Vernacular Explanation

The solitary spirits that had been nurtured earlier have all been transformed into immortal forms and wondrous bodies and have ascended into the air. What follows is the simplified closing liturgy.

Burning Incense and Thanking the Sages

The officiant, (name, surname), respectfully submits to the Heavenly Honored Ones of the Three Pure Ones (Sanqing) and the Three Realms with a devout heart:

(In the manner of the Qingdan rite) We respectfully beseech the lofty perfected ones to graciously look over and review this. Your servant, not presuming on one's ignorance, has borrowed talismanic writs to carry out the refining rites for the solitary spirits, and all the preparatory safeguards are complete. If there were any shortcomings in the procedures or any lapses of true intention in the mind, may the myriad faults and thousand transgressions all be pardoned. We now dedicate the pure offerings and transfer their merit to universally bestow upon all living beings: the kinds born from eggs, wombs, moisture, and transformation, the creatures that fly and move, that sink and float, feathered and scaled beings, beasts, insects, and fish, that all may share together in heavenly grace and jointly partake of the shade of the Dao (the Way). Those who have once been caught in nets or snared by hooks and bait shall forever be freed from untimely death and injury; those who have met with traps, bows, or blades shall depart from the realm of suffering on their own, leave their alien forms, and have their Qi (vital energy) return to its original root. Your servant has already received broad grace and further prays for final pardon. Gathering this slight merit, we first offer it up for the spirit-consciousness of the ancestors and the honored spirits of the state altars, that they may soar through the jade halls and feast in the royal capital. May the sovereign of today enjoy longevity for ten thousand springs, his benevolence extend to the four seas, grain ripen and the people rejoice, the frontiers be quiet and weapons rest, auspicious responses arrive of their own accord, and epidemics not arise. Next we hope that our nine profound and seven generations of ancestors, our four companions and three teachers, and our kin within and without the family, those who have passed away long ago, may all be universally lifted beyond the yang realm and together ascend to the realm of immortals. Your servant further wishes to attain the true Dao, to meet a perfected master in study, and that one's secular kin and the traces of the mundane world may all rely on the grace of nurture and be led into the blessing of peace and safety. We beseech the summoning of officials and generals and the refining and transferring of the many spirits; for their diligent labor, we humbly request that their merit be recorded. Your servant is beyond measure grateful and moved, with no words adequate to express the fullness of one's gratitude. For this causal connection, we contemplate the inconceivable merit of the Lingbao Heavenly Honored Ones of the ten directions.

Next, the White Cloud (recite the White Cloud Section or White Cloud Verses): The myriad spirits of this office and the officials and generals who summon and refine, having labored in the purification rites, have gradually grown complete in merit; they advance to a true rank, each return to their assigned departments, and all revert to their original registers. When they are summoned again later, it shall follow the established custom.

Editorial Note (written by Yunzhong)

The purification liturgies and talismanic incantations are drawn from the various Dharma lineages, and only those that are simple and practicable have been selected. Many editions of the feeding incantations exist in recent years, with variations as well; here only the eight sections mentioned above have been taken, for general use across regions, so that they may circulate widely. Where some items appear elsewhere but not here, where wording differs, or where practices are mutually considered incorrect, they have been omitted for brevity. As for the petitions, announcements, and dispatches, one may proceed according to local practice.

Yunzhong speaks with false modesty, saying that these words are merely his own narrow view and that he should not have presumed to compose them. If the author wishes to pursue elegance of expression and striking literary flavor, he may revise the text as he sees fit. As for daily practice, offering a handful of rice each day to make sacrifice is of course excellent, but it is hard to sustain every day. Even after eating meat, one may still perform the practice provided that one washes up afterward and recites the Mantra for Purifying the Mouth. If one applies oneself diligently, then whenever night comes one may recite the mantra and offer food without further memorializing the throne; it suffices to proceed according to the ritual. What is listed below is only the simplified liturgical method among them.

Xian Zhu Xiang (Presenting the Incense in Advance) is the opening invocation. The ministerial official of the Dharma Position, Mr. So-and-so, burns incense and makes offerings to the Compassionate Taiyi Savior-from-Suffering Heavenly Venerable within the Palace of the Eastern Pole, together with the True Person of Great Compassion, Great Pity, and Great Benevolence, and the True Person of Great Compassion, Great Pity, and Rescue from Suffering. Reverently, he hopes that all these honored ones will take pity and graciously look down upon them. The official, Mr. So-and-so, sincerely selects pure foods and bestows them universally upon the solitary spirits, praying for grace and humbly requesting that their compassion open the way of salvation, so that these ordinary foods may be transformed into offerings that widely bring salvation to immeasurable beings. The official's sincerity is most earnest, and he seeks boundless favor without limit.

Next, one silently recites the middle section once, contemplating that this food is vast and abundant, and then summons the spirits of the dead. Reverently, one invites all the solitary spirits of the nine regions, the Five Paths, the Four Modes of Birth, the Three Evil Destinies, and the Ten Categories, to come and partake of this pure offering.

Zhou Shi (Mantra for Bestowing Food) refers to the mantra for giving food, the specific wording of which is given in the preceding text.

The lingzhang (numinous sections) and the method of food-giving proclaimed above can nourish beings in the Three Evil Destinies (hell-dwellers, hungry ghosts, and animals) as well as those among the Five Sufferings, enabling all of the Ten Categories and Four Modes of Birth to be fully satisfied, after which they transcend the hardships of the netherworld and together ascend to the realm of the immortals. For this reason, one should recite the inconceivable merit of the Compassionate Taiyi Savior-from-Suffering Heavenly Venerable.

Yunzhong modestly says that, without regard for his own crudeness, he has compiled this text, hoping that fellow practitioners will forever hold fast to good intentions and practice according to the Dharma. He believes that the merit of this method is vast, yet the benefit obtained by those who practice it may be limited; nevertheless, the Creator will certainly record their merit.

Furthermore, previous authors have written no small number of liturgical texts, yet none of them have been examined carefully. Even where the wording is broadly complete, they still contain vulgar expressions such as "reduce mouths and give food," which cause later learners to confuse them with Buddhist scriptures and misunderstand the meaning of the classics. One circulating old printed edition, after the admonition and dispatch of the food-giving rite, even has people recite the Tianpeng Mantra once more, which is especially inadvisable. Its intention is to worry that solitary spirits will linger among the living and, as a result, cause mischief and strange occurrences. From antiquity to the present, people have offered sacrifices to spirits and ghosts out of goodwill; yet even when done with good intentions, if the method is improper, it may still invite uncanny disturbances, so one must not fail to be careful.

On "Dui" and Its Explanation

Dui can also be understood in this way: one should not set oneself against others without cause or treat others as enemies. Heaven and earth do not tolerate such an attitude. Why should one harbor suspicion within oneself and fail to keep goodwill at all times? Thus, once a mind of calculation (jixin) stirs, the gulls circle overhead and will not descend, and how much more so ghosts and spirits. When one's thoughts are utterly pure, boundless blessings and good fortune may be obtained, and there is no need to worry about unforeseen dangers.

The present collection is not compiled out of a desire for fame. Its purpose is to uphold the guiding principles of the teaching so that both the hidden and the manifest realms benefit, and to offer a basic grasp of its meaning so that clergy and laity may practice together. Those who examine it with a sincere and balanced mind will not need to guard against any misuse in its application. Those who dislike its orthodox arguments will inevitably face a hundred accusations and slanders. Yet if it brings even a hair's breadth of benefit to the path of the netherworld, Yunzhong is unconcerned by the confusion of disputes in the human world. The breadth of heaven and earth and the multitude of the people cannot all be made to accept it, after all.

Ritual Refinement and the Danyang Liandu Fu

The various regional traditions of ritual refinement (jilian) take the Register of Ascent to Heaven (Shengtian Lu) as their principal focus. The refinement rites transmitted in Zhedong, however, center on the Talisman of Yellow Qi and Yang Essence (Huang Qi Yang Jing Fu), which is also called the Danyang Liandu Fu, or Talisman of Refining by Danyang. Drawing on the ancient methods of Shangqing and Lingbao, this text does not include the talisman internally, and only what the world calls the refinement practice of the Immortal Elder is preserved. The section that Yunzhong has compiled belongs exclusively to the Dongxuan (Cavern of Mystery) lineage. Since its matters concern Lingbao, it is properly included among the rules of the Dharma, and because it is a meritorious work, it is placed after the section on the virtue of aiding the living.

As for the Danyang Liandu Fu, although its practice has gradually flourished within the Dharma in recent times, the ancient form has not been dared to be incorporated into this Dharma. Yunzhong has already circulated this Lingbao book on ritual refinement for all to share. Those who practice refinement exclusively, or who wish to benefit from this talisman for themselves, should examine the sources more closely and add to it as suits their needs.

Note: This section is the afterword to Volume Thirteen of the Lingbao Dafa (Great Methods of Numinous Treasure). It discusses the explanation of "dui," the state of pure thought and the mind of calculation, and it clarifies the position of the Danyang Liandu Fu within the Zhedong transmission and its relationship to ancient methods, for practitioners to consider and select from.