《道門科範大全集》Vol. 28

This scripture documents the specific procedures of the "Night Court Ritual" (a nighttime liturgy) performed during Daoism's "Grand Rites for Offspring Prayer" (a major zhaijiao purification ceremony for seeking progeny).

First, the ritual master must ascend the altar platform according to established protocols, maintaining a reverent state of mind while silently recalling their spiritual lineage. Next comes the recitation of the "Guardian Spirit Incantation" (a protective dharma chant), whose general meaning conveys: the Five Planets (Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, and Water stars) radiate auspicious light, the Celestial Worthy of Primordial Beginning summons all deities, and Heaven-Earth energies harmonize. Holding jade talismans and precious ceremonial instruments, the master commands the underworld realms, dispersing malignant influences. All demonic forces are subdued, calamities dissolve, and the Qi of the True Way circulates unimpeded. Divine illumination permeates the dark night, dispelling all shadows as ten thousand deities descend amid auspicious clouds. May all beings receive this grace and unite with the Great Dao.

The master then strikes the ritual drum twenty-four times to solemnly invite Daoism's highest deities: the Three Pure Ones (Celestial Worthy of Primordial Beginning, Celestial Worthy of Numinous Treasure, and Celestial Worthy of Dao and Virtue), along with the Jade Emperor and other exalted divinities. Simultaneously, the master summons their personally cultivated guardian generals: the thirty-six divine attendants including merit officials, messenger officers, golden boys and jade maidens, requesting their majestic manifestation to assist in activating the ritual space.

In the stillness of night, the master makes reverent petitions, praying for the descent of the Ten Directions' Dao Qi and the auspicious radiance of Numinous Treasure to empower their supplications to ascend directly to the celestial court and reach the Jade Emperor and other venerable deities. Finally, all participating masters jointly and sincerely entreat the various Celestial Worthies and Great Emperors - including the Three Pure Ones who govern all heavens, the Jade Emperor, the Purple Tenuity Emperor, the Earth Mother Goddess, the Thunder Patriarch, and other divinities - to protect all living beings and bestow blessings.

This liturgy demonstrates the complete ceremonial process in Daoist zhaijiao practice, where incantation recitation, drum signaling, general summoning, and memorial presentation form an integrated system for human-divine communication and blessing supplication.

This scripture enumerates the extensive pantheon of deities in Daoist belief, showcasing the vast celestial hierarchy. The mentioned divinities include:

The highest celestial rulers such as the Nine Heavens Sovereign Gods (Jiutian Shangdi) and the Thirty-Two Heaven Sovereign Gods; the Five Directional Emperors (Wufang Wudi, also called Five Ancient Sovereigns) representing the Five Phases (Wuxing) and cardinal directions; the important Yin-Yang symbols of Lord Donghua (Eastern King) and Queen Mother of the West (Xi Wangmu); solar and lunar deities like the Solar Emperor of the Sun Palace and Lunar Empress of the Moon Mansion; stellar officials including the Twenty-Eight Lunar Mansions, the Seven Primordial Stars of the Northern Dipper, and the Six Southern Dipper Officers; as well as functional deities like the Five Blessings and Ten Spirits Great Unity Sovereign and the Celestial Minister of Records at Zitong.

Additionally, it mentions thunder deities such as the Nine Thunder Offices' Appointed Sovereigns, birth-related deities like the Nine Heavens Birth-Registering Sovereign and Nine Heavens Birth-Protecting Holy Mother, underworld administrators including the Great Emperor of Fengdu in the Northern Yin, and water-dwelling dragon spirits. Local deities like City Gods (Chenghuang) and Earth Gods (Tudi) are also referenced.

The text particularly emphasizes that these deities collectively embody the "Supreme Vast Virtue of Cherishing Life" (Taishang Guang Haosheng zhi De), representing Daoism's reverence for the ceaseless creative power of existence. Through reciting relevant scriptures (such as the Six Jia Embryo-Protection Texts or the Nine Heavens Spirit-Birth Chapters containing the "hidden melodies of hundred spirits"), practitioners can open their nine bodily orifices (jiuhu) and illuminate the three Dantian (sangong) energy centers, achieving the meditative state of "embryonic spirit infusion."

This passage clarifies that these sacred texts are not only cultivation methods for female practitioners but serve as crucial steps for all Daoists seeking to "transcend mundanity and enter sanctity." Through scripture recitation, practitioners may comprehend the fundamental connection between the Dao and the physical form, realizing the goal of dual cultivation of nature and life (xingming shuangxiu).

In Daoist purification rituals (Zhaijiao), the officiating priests (referred to as "ministers") begin their sacred duties with sincere devotion to saving the world and delivering sentient beings. From the moment they accept this solemn commission, they wear efficacious talismans (Lingzhang) and pledge to uphold the strictures of ritual purity (Zhaifan). Each dawn, they rise to purify both body and mind, maintaining vigilance through the night while refining their essence through incense meditation.

They meticulously adhere to the celestial protocols, conducting ceremonies according to the covenant format of the Golden Register Ritual (Jinlu Zhai), the highest tier of Daoist liturgy. With compassion for mortal supplications, they gaze heavenward to present their petitions, now preparing with utmost reverence to address the celestial realms.

The essence of their prayer states: "With hearts of unfeigned devotion, we look upon the profound grace of heaven, beseeching the Dao to respond to this vast vow. Steadfast in single-minded sincerity, we honor the Great Way—though humble, we plead repeatedly. Mortals receive physical form from their mothers’ wombs, originally one with the Dao, yet become fragmented through the six roots (eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, and mind): eyes chase colors, ears drown in sounds, noses discriminate scents, tongues crave flavors, and limbs pursue motion. Only that primordial spark of spiritual light remains as the work of creation. Just as a potter shapes vessels or puppets move by external force, human existence requires divine guardianship."

During the ritual, orchid incense (Lan Zhu) burns through the deep night as cloud-gongs (Yun'ao, a ritual instrument) resound, ceremonially welcoming the descent of the Nine Dragons’ jeweled carriage. They pray for the Celestial Worthy to radiate divine light, for the Dao to bestow harmonizing Qi (Chong Qi) that nourishes all beings like the Jade Infant (pure Yang embodiment). Further blessings are invoked for all creation.

The Midnight Procession of Stillness then commences. The ritual masters first offer pinched incense (a ceremonial gesture). May its fragrant clouds ascend to the Nine Heavens as offerings to the Ten Directions’ Supreme Celestial Worthy of the Dao (the highest deity). With body, spirit, and life surrendered to the Dao, they prostrate in full devotion. Through this incense offering’s merit, they pray for the emperor’s reign to stand firm as bedrock, governance to flow with the effortless ease of Wuwei, imperial authority to endure like vermilion ceremonial robes (Zhu Fu), and the royal house to flourish in peace. May the Imperial Ultimate (Huangji) extend blessings to all people—prosperous as fragrant pepper plants (Jiao Liao), benevolent as the unicorn’s hoof (a divine omen). Let acclamations of "Ten Thousand Years" echo like Mount Song’s peaks, and royal offspring multiply like the auspicious Hua Feng blessings.

Again, incense is burned in homage to the Dao’s majesty, praying that upon attaining the Way, practitioners may merge with its essence, eternally abiding between heaven and earth.

The second pinched incense offering follows, dedicating fragrant clouds to all celestial divinities.

This scripture is a liturgical prayer from Daoist Zhaijiao (purification ritual) ceremonies, describing the ritual procedures and devotional content performed by priests during nocturnal services.

The presiding priest leads the faithful in reverent homage to the Supreme Scripture Treasure Celestial Worthy of the Ten Directions (one of the highest deities in Daoism). Through the incense-offering ceremony, the merit is dedicated to the ancestors of the devotees. The prayer expresses the wish that ancestors may ascend to the celestial platforms of the immortal realm and that descendants may live in an era of great peace. The scripture mentions that through cultivation, one can open the "Dao eye" (insight into truth), eliminate negative karma, and illuminate the Five Viscera (heart, liver, spleen, lungs, and kidneys) with radiance while bringing tranquility to the Three Palaces (upper, middle, and lower Dantian). It beseeches the Celestial Worthy to protect the healthy growth of a fetus in the mother’s womb (the "mysterious feminine," referring to the uterus) and to fill body and mind with primordial Qi.

During the nocturnal ritual, the assembly offers incense three times, praying that the fragrant smoke transforms into auspicious clouds to nourish the Celestial Worthies of the Ten Directions. Through this merit, they hope to establish virtuous connections throughout the Three Realms (the Realm of Desire, the Realm of Form, and the Realm of Formlessness), enabling all beings to attain salvation. The prayer further seeks an end to war, the absence of plagues, and the constant presence of good fortune. It asks that the master and disciples participating in the ritual, as well as the guardian spirits, may realize the fruits of the Dao and receive celestial appointments.

Finally, the prayer invokes the Supreme Sovereign of the Golden Palace (referring to the Jade Emperor) and the Three Pure Ones (Yuanshi Tianzun, Lingbao Tianzun, and Daode Tianzun), along with all divine beings. It explains that the Dao of Heaven values ceaseless generation and that the Daoist path universally delivers all beings. The text presents the Daoist cosmological view: "The Dao gives birth to the One, the One gives birth to the Two, the Two give birth to the Three, and the Three give birth to the myriad things"—this is the fundamental principle of life’s cyclical transformation. Meanwhile, "humanity follows Earth, Earth follows Heaven, Heaven follows the Dao, and the Dao follows nature"—this is the fundamental law of embodied existence. It emphasizes that all life originates from the Dao and that all sages abide by this principle.

This scripture reveals the core elements of Daoist Zhaijiao rituals: through ceremonies such as incense burning, prostration, and repentance, communication between humans and deities is established, seeking the dispelling of calamities and the bestowal of blessings. It embodies the Daoist doctrinal ideal of "valuing life and delivering all beings."

This liturgical scripture describes the Daoist practice of Neidan (internal alchemy) and rituals for the salvation of departed souls, with its core focus on attaining the state of "sacred embryo formation."

The practitioner harmonizes the body's Yin-Yang forces (represented by the infant symbolizing Yang and the maiden symbolizing Yin), applying the generative and controlling cycles of the Five Phases (Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, Water) to circulate Jing (essence) and Qi (vital energy) through the three Dantian (upper, middle, and lower energy centers). Successful cultivation enables the consolidation of hundreds of Shen (spiritual energies), transcending the constraints of the three realms. The mentioned "sacred embryo" refers to the life-energy entity formed within the body through Neidan practice.

The presiding priest humbly acknowledges limited De (virtue) while performing the Zhaijiao (purification ritual) with utmost sincerity. Through incense burning and repentance, the ritual officiant beseeches deities like the Great Emperor of the Purple Tenuity (the North Star deity) to witness this devotion, petitioning the Five Directional Heavenly Emperors, the Three Officials (Heavenly, Earthly, and Water Officials), and various divine beings to carry Fulu (talismans) for soul salvation.

The scripture specifically prays for ancestral souls to receive refinement and purification through the ritual, erasing karmic debts in the underworld, and having their names registered in the Southern Palace's ledger of immortality. Practitioners achieve mental and physical purity through inner cultivation with "the heart of a newborn child," allowing Yang energy to spontaneously regenerate during the winter solstice (symbolizing the revival of life force).

The ceremony concludes by praying for perfection through the six paramitas (generosity, precepts, etc.), refining Qi into form, and attaining longevity. Final prayers request the incense smoke to reach the celestial realms, with jade maidens delivering the memorial to the Jade Emperor (one of Daoism's supreme deities).

The "Twelve Vows" represent the aspiration segment of the ritual, "returning to the furnace" signifies gathering ritual energies, while the "Hall Exit Eulogy" serves as the closing hymn. The entire Keyi (liturgy) demonstrates Daoism's integrated system of pursuing transcendence through internal-external cultivation and heaven-human resonance.