《上清靈寶大法(二)》Vol. 14

The Great Shangqing Lingbao Methods, Scroll Fourteen, Section Five: Chapter on Dispelling Demons and Relieving Calamity

Compiled by: Dongxuan Lingbao Master Quan Zhou and others, Chief Archivist of the Southern Bureau of Judgment (edited by Jin Zhong, Right Assistant Magistrate of the Prefecture)

How the Lingbao Great Methods Are Put into Action

The operation of the Lingbao Great Methods is always governed by the Great Demon Kings of the Three Realms. Beneath them are the Flying Divine Kings of the Ten Directions, who serve as the generals of the method. Beneath the divine kings are messengers, clerks, and soldiers. When dealing with a matter on site, one must send a memorial (an official document) to the divine kings and issue a formal notice (a formal proclamation) to summon their service. One must also dispatch the officers and clerks of the sacred mountains and great rivers (famous peaks and great waterways) to carry out the work. When the task is complete, they are sent back to their proper offices. One must not arbitrarily establish officers and soldiers or privately bestow names and titles, for otherwise the method will fail to respond when needed. This is precisely why the Demon Kings' seals (formal dispatches) were established. What follows is the method of talismans and prohibitions.

On the Three Paths

The human path is remote and obscure, the immortal path is distant and hidden, and the path of ghosts delights in ending (that is, takes pleasure in termination and death). The human path turns on the gate of life, since its key lies in "birth." The Way of Heaven values life, while the ghost path values ending. The immortal path is always auspicious, while the ghost path is always ominous.

Wearing Talismans to Expel Fox Spirits

The talisman below should be carved on the fifth day of the fifth month. If a person suffers from fox spirits or similar afflictions, have them wear it, and the ghost will reveal itself. If a household has long been plagued by strange phenomena that have not yet been completely expelled or captured, simply have the matter separately handled (disposed of according to ritual procedure) so that it does no further harm.

Pinching the ghost's eye: Using the upper joint of the fourth finger of the right hand (the ring finger), pinch the formula point known as the "ghost's eye." Recite the preceding incantation seven times, then write one talisman to suppress it. The demon will be eliminated permanently.

The Method of Expulsion and Capture

When demonic spirits cause disturbances in a household, and hundreds of monsters and thousands of evils refuse to leave, one may use the Yuwen (a formula related to the Hour of You or the position of You) and write this talisman in cinnabar.

One must write one true text (zhenwen) and attach it to the front of the memorial. Then send a transmission (a written order) to the divine kings and deliver a proclamation (a written document) to the officers of the sacred mountains and great rivers so that they may join forces to capture the demon. Attach the true text, affix the seal, grasp the formula, and proceed. If the matter involves one's own clan, relatives, or those with ancient grievances, one must weigh the circumstances carefully and must not use this method rashly.

Incantation (Summoning the Bi-luo Fengdu, Halting the Gate of Fate, and Others)

Supreme Shangqing, spirit-clear,

Bright and mournful, singing across the great void.

I only wish that the path of immortals be accomplished,

And that the path of humans not be brought to ruin.

In the Northern Capital, within the Prison of the Spring Bend (the northern ghost prison in Daoist tradition), there are myriad ghosts in crowds,

Who only wish to halt the reckoning of humans and sever the gates of human fate.

I chant the Dong Cave hymn,

To gather the Bi-luo Fengdu, bind and send away the demon essences,

And strike down the six ghosts with the edge of my blade.

The celestial powers surge vast and full,

And my Way rises higher each day.

Lingbao Great Methods: Formal Memorial (Format for Official Correspondence)

Lingbao Great Methods Office Memorial to the Wuji Flying Divine King of a certain region

This office has received the statement and, after investigating and verifying, it is confirmed that a certain demon is causing this disaster. The matter has already been reported to the Supreme Emperor. A sacred writ is hereby issued, and this dedicated memorial is therefore sent.

Note: The "right talisman," "pinching the ghost's eye," "Yuwen," "true text," and similar terms in the original work were accompanied by specific talisman shapes and hand-formula diagrams, which are not preserved here. Only the textual ritual instructions remain. Actual practice must rely on the complete illustrated edition and oral transmission from a qualified teacher, and should not be attempted on the basis of this excerpted translation alone.

Memorial (Official Document for Summoning Spirits and Subduing Demons)

Once the matter has been examined in detail, you are hereby ordered to lead the spirit-soldiers and attendant troops, descend together to a designated place, seize the ghosts and demons who defy Heaven and harm the people, escort them to the Heavenly Prison, and punish them according to law. Cut off their baneful vapors and purify the region. Upon receipt of this memorial, respond and carry out the order with all speed. So memorialized.

Year, month, day, and hour of the memorial. Submitted by the officiant of [ritual rank], name [so-and-so], signed.

Notes on Usage

The memorial described here is folded with its corners turned in and sealed. Summoning the retinue follows a fixed formula, and the memorial is addressed to the Divine Kings. Beyond this, one may send documents to the nearby mountain and river spirits, the Zhengshen (Orthodox Deities) empowered by decree, the local shrine guardians, or the City God (Chenghuang), requesting them to assemble and carry out the task. The choice of memorial or tablet depends on the rank of the deity and the weight of the matter.

Method of Summoning the Retinue

The Divine King of the East, associated with the trigram Zhen (Thunder) and the first day of the lunar month, is called Hu. The Divine King of the South, associated with Li (Fire) and the eighth day, is called Fei. The Divine King of the West, associated with Dui (Lake) and the fourth day, is called Pu. The Divine King of the North, associated with Kan (Water) and the fifth day, is called Yunshang. The Divine King of the Southwest, associated with Kun (Earth) and the sixth day, is called Dise. The Divine King of the Southeast, associated with Xun (Wind) and the third day, is called Wujing. The Divine King of the Northwest, associated with Qian (Heaven) and the seventh day, is called Nayu. The Divine King of the Northeast, associated with Gen (Mountain) and the second day, is called Duxian. The Divine King of the Upper Direction, designated by the middle-finger nail and the upper initial nine, is called Wuwu. The Divine King of the Lower Direction, designated by the middle of the middle finger and the tenth day, is called Ying.

Each Divine King commands envoys and attendant troops. From the first to the tenth day of the lunar month, each direction is in charge for one day, and the cycle then repeats. In a small month of twenty-nine days, the Upper and Lower Directions are used together. Beginning on the first day of the following month, the Divine Kings descend to the human world in rotation. For major matters, the memorial is addressed to the Divine King; for minor matters, the envoys are used.

Method of Averting and Suppressing (Rangzhen)

Whenever a household is unsettled, one's wishes are unfulfilled, affairs are obstructed, or one's personal fortune is poor, one may carry the talisman on one's person or affix it to the dwelling as a seal.

Incantation: Luoluo gaozhang, ming qi siqian, fanxing zhutian, zhouhui shifang, wuliang dashen, jie you wo shen. (Recite seven times, or write as a talisman.)

Method of Release and Dispersal (Jiedu)

When the merit of ancestors cannot be gathered to aid the living, or when sins and transgressions are difficult to dissolve, write a talisman and burn it. This is the use in this scripture for dispatching ghosts.

Incantation: Kongzhong wanbian huiqi fenpa, baozhen zhe shao, mihuo zhe duo. (In the void, countless changes and foul vapors swirl; those who preserve their authenticity are few, and those who are deluded are many.)

On the Three Ways

The Way of cultivating immortality (Xiudao) is hard to uphold, and the way of ghosts easily falls into deviance. The human way lies in one's own heart, and it truly cannot be decided for you by others.

The way of the immortals prizes truth and simplicity, while the human way values glory and outward appearance. If you take no delight in the way of the immortals, how could you transcend the Three Realms and be released from the cycle of the Five Paths of rebirth? If they insist on wandering through the Five Paths, what can I do about it?

(The preceding matters, such as the seven recitations while drawing the talisman and its dispatch, are the same as the five supreme methods in the scripture and are omitted here.)

Three Talisman Methods

I. The True Talismans of the Upper Section, Three Realms

The divine lords invoked include the Great Emperor of Heaven of the Jade Clarity Sacred Realm, the Officials of the Nine Heavens of the Shangqing True Realm, the Ghost-Generals Who Bring Forth Ascent of the Taiqing Immortal Realm, the Ghost-Binding Generals of the Jade Emperor, the True Qi of the Five Directional Emperors who descend swiftly, and the Five Directional Perfected Lords whose Qi follows the talisman.

Gathering the form (drawing Qi): Use the Jade Clarity formula to draw Qi from the Heavenly Gate.

Write on yellow paper with a cinnabar brush. Where the brush moves, spirits and ghosts move; where the brush stops, spirits and ghosts halt.

Sincerely invoke the Supreme Primordial Sovereign of Wondrous Dao, the Perfected Lord, and the Elders of the Nine Heavens, the Immortal Officials and Attendants of the Five Sacred Peaks: swiftly descend true Qi into this minister's talisman, so that it acts as the talisman commands. When ghosts are dead and people are at peace, quickly, quickly, as the statute commands.

Talisman Command of the Three Pure Ones (Sanqing)

Once the talisman is written, recite the incantation, draw the Qi of the five directions and blow it into the talisman, then dispatch the talisman. Recite again, then burn the talisman and mix its ash into fragrant broth to drink. For every illness, take three doses a day. Practice with a sincere heart, and the effects will appear at once.

II. The Assisting True Talismans of the Middle Section

The malevolent spirits (sha) invoked include the Emperor of the Purple Tenuity and Northern Pole, the Malevolent Force of Marshal Tianpeng, the Malevolent Force of Deputy Marshal Tianyou, the Malevolent Force of the Perfected Lord Yisheng Baode, the Malevolent Force of the Perfected Lord Youshen Zhenwu, and the Great Malevolent Spirits of the Heavenly Barrier and the Earthly Axis, among others.

Gathering the form: Draw the Qi of the north.

After the malevolent-force text is written, touch the eyes to the talisman (fix the gaze on it) and say: Open the heavens and pierce the earth, illuminate and destroy evil demons.

Respectfully invoke the Nine Heavens' Cloud-Road Pursuing and Capturing Generals, the Four Marshals Jiang, Zhai, Zhao, and Xu. Following the talisman's command, let them move before and behind it, seize ghostly things, heal illness, and bring peace, quickly, quickly, as the statute of the Shangqing Primordial Descent commands.

Write in black characters on yellow paper. Use eight talismans each time: one large character talisman, burned together with gold paper at the inner gate of the house, and seven small-character talismans, burned to ash and mixed into decoction of peach-heart wood (taomu xin) to drink. This produces extraordinary results.

III. The Lower Section, Talismans of the Five Emperors

(The specific articles of this section were not continued in the original text provided. Generally, like the upper and middle sections, it contains talismans of the Five Emperors for subduing malevolent forces and treating illness. Its methods are similar to those described in other volumes of the Shangqing Lingbao Great Rites.)

(The Azure Thearch guards the hun-soul, and the Eastern Dipper governs the reckoning. / The Azure Heaven Demon King Ba Yuan, with Bo as his consort.)

(The White Thearch attends to the po-soul, and the Western Dipper keeps the registers of names. / The White Heaven Demon King Fan Shan, Six-Eyed.)

(The Red Thearch nourishes the qi, and the Southern Dipper presides over life-giving. / The Red Heaven Demon King Fu Tian, who bears stones on his back.)

(The Black Thearch circulates the blood, and the Northern Dipper governs death. / The Black Heaven Demon King Jian Chou Lang Fu.)

(The Yellow Thearch holds the center, so that the myriad spirits do not stray, and the Central Dipper, the Great Leader, oversees all the numinous beings. / The Yellow Heaven Demon King Heng Tian Dan Li, the Great Demon of the Five Thearchs, the ancestor of the myriad spirits.)

The Flying Drum commands the ghost soldiers in general, raising banners and beating the drums in measured rhythm. It tours the vast void, proclaiming itself a power whose merit equals that of all the heavens. It ascends to ferry out the living, strictly restrains the Northern Fengdu, receives its divine mandate, and sweeps away every inauspicious presence. Its Eight Awesome Ones spew poison, four fierce steeds gallop in formation, the Heavenly Guardians lead the way, and the Great Master carries banners and hurls fire, scattering jingling bells across ten thousand li. If any of the Eight Thoroughfares dares to harm or kill, or to obstruct the Supreme Perfected, the golden axe strikes them down in front and the great heavenly executioner punishes them from behind. It slaughters and dismembers the ghosts and spirits, its wind and fire never ceasing. A thousand heads are severed, ten thousand bodies are cut apart, so that no demon dares to transgress and no ghost or goblin remains. The Three Offices carefully examine the ghost encampments of Northern Fengdu, allowing none to hide. Golden horses speed along the post roads, proclaiming this everywhere without end, and all the myriad spirits, along with the Five Thearchs of the Three Realms, are bidden to listen and to receive these orders.

Shangqing Gathering of Forms (Yuqing Jue / Qi of the Heavenly Gate)

We respectfully invite the True Lord of the Five Dippers, the Five Thearchs who Directly Hold the Talismans of the Five Directions, and the Celestial Officials of the Twenty-Two Heavens. Receiving the commands of the August Thearch, let wind and fire never cease, return the corpse to life, reverse death and restore tranquility, harmonize and soften the hun and po souls, and bring the myriad spirits to peace. Hasten, hasten, as the statutes command!

The above talisman is written in cinnabar on yellow silk. Swallow it with pure water, and it will ward off and cure everything.

Method for Testing Afflictions (Yanzui Fa). When one has received a petition but cannot yet clearly perceive the ghosts and spirits, first use the method of the Nine Palaces, turning and setting the chart in motion according to the diagram. The Flying Palace and the Central Palace are not used. For men, begin the count of years at Li and turn leftward in forward order, omitting the Second Palace on the first turn. For women, begin the count of years at Kan and move rightward in reverse order, omitting the Eighth Palace on the first turn. Next, count through each palace in turn: the year sets the starting point for the month, the month for the day, the day for the hour. Where the count stops, reason it out with insight, so that it becomes spiritually clear and luminous, and rests with the practitioner. This method is established for those who have not yet reached the level of penetrating the unseen, and of old...

Vernacular Interpretation

This book originally recorded only phrases such as "to a certain palace lord for a certain matter," without any rhymed verse. To aid recitation and memorization, later generations arranged it into rhyming verse, forming a poetic formula (shijue) that could be chanted silently.

Qian Palace (Northwest)

Patients governed by the Qian Palace have fates beset by calamity; chills and fever alternate, and illness comes and goes. The agents of harm are often kin within the household or external ghosts and evil spirits, and a jiao offering must be held to deliver them to the Yellow Springs. Ancestral-grave afflictions and killing qi (yansha) arise from the northwest, and old vows and former pledges remain unfulfilled, so the spirit officials press their claims ever more urgently. Moreover, ghosts who died violent deaths in madness draw others in, and a rite must be performed to sever the root of the disaster.

Kan Palace (North)

Patients governed by the Kan Palace are physically frail and mentally dull. Yin afflictions take the form of dark-robed spirits, and the Kitchen God is also implicated. Chills and fever come and go, with abdominal pain as the most frequent complaint; the patient's stature is diminished, and there is risk of injury during childbirth. The celestial spirits' original vows have been broken, and the years of the tiger, dog, and sheep are inauspicious when they coincide with the monthly construction star. Those who drowned, and kin entangled with the River Lord (the water-realm deity), bring complaints before the underworld, and the demands for redress are repeated again and again.

Gen Palace (Northeast)

Patients governed by the Gen Palace may speak wildly, suffer abdominal distension and oppressive stupor, and experience chills and fever as if being fried. Before the incense altar, old vows are examined, the Kitchen Lord is harmed, and ghosts entangle one another. The monthly construction star should not meet the years of the snake and rooster, and goblins often come from the northeast. Those of small stature suffer injury to the soul, and their complexion turns yellow. Talismans must be drawn to lift the affliction, and only then can safety and full recovery be assured.

Zhen Palace (East)

Patients governed by the Zhen Palace are often infected by pestilential qi. Their ears are blocked, their faces swell, and their speech is mournful. Weakness in the legs and bodily pain may stem from curses, and demonic spirits or heavenly retribution may place them in danger. Deceased elders, green-robed ghosts, the Earth God (the local deity), and disputes at the eastern kitchen are the foundation of the harm. When the illness is grave, one must guard against the days of seven and five; only after these days have passed may talismans be given for treatment.

Xun Palace (Southeast)

Patients governed by the Xun Palace suffer heart pain that spreads, the illness lodged in the intestines, and invasion by lustful desires. The Five Paths and the Five Penetrations give rise to slanderous speech. The deceased who were tall and robust, with deep-set eyes and brows, stir the demonic spirits in the trees to the southeast. Where wells are blocked and channels are smoky, the source must be searched out with care. One must urgently perform a jiao to pray for the protection of the Exalted Perfected, and the intention must be sincere and heartfelt.

Li Palace (South)

Patients governed by the Li Palace lose their appetite, suffer heart pain and headaches, and often run a fever. The Earth God, the Kitchen God, and the ancestral spirits in the southern temple appear small in form. Their complexion is reddish and flushed, and a woman in red dies in childbirth. Vomiting comes and goes, and serious illness is added on top of it. Moreover, a yang soul may be found with blood on its body; when relatives are offered in ritual and the affliction is shown to be the cause, the diagnosis must not be mistaken.

Kun Palace (Southwest)

Patients governed by the Kun Palace suffer disorders of the intestines and stomach, with diarrhea and dysentery, and their bodies gradually waste away. Eye disease and thinning hair are present, and ghosts who died of plague lurk in the wood of trees in the southwest, whether in trees, elms, or other woods. The celestial court holds grievances, and the earth spirits are also offended. The paternal kin and clansmen of the patient have blood upon their skin. Those without graves, those who died untimely deaths, and those hard to deliver must be examined thoroughly and carefully reasoned out.

Note: This text belongs to the Lingbao school's "palace-based diagnosis of illness" poetic formulas. It correlates the eight trigram directions with symptoms, the origins of spirits and ghosts, and the key points of ritual procedure (jiao, talismans, severing the root). It is intended for Daoist priests to recite silently and consult when diagnosing illness, and it is not a modern medical diagnosis.

Talismans for Expelling Spirits (Explanation of Talismanic Uses)

When a patient under the Dui palace (the western position of the Bagua) develops scars over the heart, startled sleep, and cold sweat, the cause may be ancestral spirits reproaching the patient or an earth deity offended by a young woman. Calamity arises from these causes. If a long-held vow remains unfulfilled and spirits come to demand it, or dream omens linger constantly, or the Hearth God takes advantage of an opening to cause trouble, then talisman methods (fulu) should be applied with careful judgment to expel the affliction.

On the Lingbao (Numinous Treasure) Methods of Yunzhong and the Debate over "Universal Governance of the Netherworld"

Yunzhong respectfully records: the Lingbao methods, from antiquity to the present, have aided both the visible realm and the hidden netherworld. Zhai (purification) rites serve to ferry the dead onward and rescue wandering spirits, while talismans serve to restrain and heal the living. Yet in recent lineages, a separate three-tiered method of "universal governance of the netherworld" has been established, which greatly contradicts the fundamental purpose of this method.

The Way of Lingbao is by origin both a method for transcending the world and a method for saving the world. Every character and every word aims to aid both the visible realm and the netherworld, and this principle is not confined to the Lingbao method alone. Within the Three Caverns and Four Supplements of Daoism, whoever holds to a method of discipline does likewise.

The Way of the Three Bonds and Five Constant Virtues holds that Heaven gives birth to the people, establishes rulers, and spreads transformation to govern the yang world. The teaching of void and naturalness holds that the Dao transcends the world, transmits masters of method, and removes evil while repelling the yin netherworld. If a separate category of "universal governance of the netherworld" is established within the methods, then should not all the other methods also universally govern the netherworld? What the ancient books record cannot easily be conformed to common opinion, and such discussions are meant for those of broad learning and lofty discernment. Those who cannot distinguish the upright from the perverse, who are ignorant of ancient and modern matters, and who merely borrow the name of Daoist methods without shedding vulgar habits, are not worth speaking with about this.

If such mediocre people condemn it as wrong, Yunzhong does not regard it as consequential in the least. Among later generations under heaven there will surely be those who recognize its worth, so how could it be obliterated? If one acts from private opinion and seeks to block it, one resembles a frog in a well, unable to exert effort beyond the well.

What Yunzhong has compiled merely recounts the origins, which is why it differs from recent methods. As for the formal articles of the method, they follow the masters' transmissions. Yet this method is not a text composed by Yunzhong or the three teachers; it is an ancient book transmitted to Yunzhong. Only when committed seekers travel widely through the rivers and lakes and consult and examine extensively will they come to know that Yunzhong's lineage and sources are not mistaken.

As for the many talisman names listed in the "Supreme Grade of Universal Governance of the Netherworld" of the Tiantai lineage, none derive from this method. Only the "Nine Palaces Penetrating-Sight Formula" (Jiugong Dongshi Jue) is an ancient method, and its procedural rules are likewise. Since it accords with the old canons, how could one dare deliberately advance a dissenting view?

Among the incantation-formulas, the wording of the poem-formulas differs and the meanings are not entirely the same, but they are broadly similar. This is the only such case.

According to Yunzhong's teacher's lineage, when the text was compiled into the middle section of the Zongzhi Youming (Comprehensive Governance of the Netherworld), it included the Long-Life Talisman, the Talisman for Rescuing from Suffering, the Talisman for Ascending to Heaven, the Left and Right Tallies, the Reverse-Side Script, and the Four Garrisons Joint Talisman. Like the Joint Talisman, these were recorded in the section on talismans and their proclamations. Beyond that section there were also the Three Officials, the Three Slips for Deliverance, the Six Paths, and the Four Modes of Birth talismans. The patterns of these talismans have no clear source in the Lingbao methods as originally transmitted.

The Divine Tiger and Seven Jade Maidens talismans, the Yangyao Tongguan Altar, the Yinling Sheshi Altar, and others were all recorded under the Divine Tiger section, and by rights none of them should have been crammed into the lower section of the Zongzhi Youming. The lower section also includes invoking True Water and True Fire and recording the Refining and Deliverance section. This so-called division into upper, middle, and lower sections is in fact a patchwork, assembling scattered talismans from the various method sections into one set.

If the three sections were arranged according to the old method, the incantations of the talismans in each would belong to their own sections and remain where they were originally recorded. Even if one wished to add yet another such heading, no other talisman method would be available to supply further material.

This was probably done by people eager for profit, who wanted to split the method books into fragments for piecemeal transmission, and so established this heading to suit the fashion of the time. Outside the prefectures of Zhedong, the Tiantai Lingbao Keyi (liturgy, meaning the methods of practice and administration) is rarely practiced, so this book had no need to describe it in such detail. But the author feared that erroneous teachings would spread easily and that later people would be misled, so although Yunzhong's transmission reached other prefectures and counties, he could not avoid explaining the origins and development of the Tiantai tradition in full.

Those who have only heard the Tiantai teachings and have become skilled at them, yet do not know their ultimate basis, and who refuse to enter through the correct doctrine, stay within their own door and assume that heaven and earth are narrow. Those who lack independent judgment and rely on others' eyes and ears are merely living in a jar's heaven.

End of volume. Shangqing Lingbao Dafa (Great Methods of Shangqing Lingbao), Volume Fourteen.