《諸神聖誕日玉匣記等集目錄#》

Directory of Sacred Birthdays from the Jade Casket Records and Other Collections (Modern Interpretation)

This text documents the birth anniversaries of Daoist deities and Buddhist bodhisattvas, along with associated divination and auspicious date selection methods. The main contents are organized as follows:

I. Major Festivals and Sacred Birthdays

1. First Lunar Month:

• 1st Day: Celestial La Festival (major Daoist purification day), Birthday of Maitreya Buddha
• 8th Day: Birthday of Dipankara Buddha, Birthday of the Jiangdong Deity
• 9th Day: Birthday of the Jade Emperor (Yuhuang Dadi)
• 13th Day: Birthday of General Liu Meng
• 15th Day: Birthday of the Upper Primordial Heaven Official (noting that observing precepts from the 8th to 15th multiplies merit ten millionfold)

2. Second Lunar Month:

• 2nd Day: Birthday of the Earth God (Tudi Shen)
• 3rd Day: Birthday of the Imperial Lord of Zitong (Wenchang Dijun)
• 8th Day: Anniversary of Sakyamuni Buddha's Renunciation (reciting scriptures on this day brings extraordinary merit)
• 15th Day: Birthday of Laozi (Taishang Laojun)
• 19th Day: Birthday of Guanyin Bodhisattva
• 21st Day: Birthday of Samantabhadra Bodhisattva

(Subsequent months follow the same format, omitted here)

II. Auspicious Date Selection and Taboos

Includes methods for priests to choose favorable dates, auspicious days for wearing new clothes, haircut days for children, garment-cutting days associated with Manjusri Bodhisattva, and other special occasions.

III. Divination Methods

Documents techniques for predicting fortune through bodily signs (facial warmth, eyelid twitching, ear ringing, sneezing, or irregular heartbeat) and natural phenomena (such as magpie calls).

IV. Special Date Prohibitions

• Days when deities visit the sick
• Auspicious/inauspicious travel days
• Days prone to illness
• Inauspicious days including Withered Scorching Day, Red Sand Day, Yellow Sand Day, and Ghost Weeping Day

V. Supplementary Charts

Includes practical reference diagrams like the Twenty-Eight Constellations Auspiciousness Chart and Sixty Jiazi Deity Direction Charts.

Note: The term "Jade Casket Records" (Yuxia Ji) refers to traditional Chinese almanacs for date selection. "Celestial La" (Tianla) and "Earth La" (Dila) denote important Daoist fasting periods, while "sacred birthdays" mark deity anniversaries. These dates held significant guidance for both religious practices and daily life in ancient times.

This is a Daoist calendar recording the birthdays of important deities and celestial venerables, expressed in modern terms:

The 7th day of the first lunar month marks the birthday of Grand Marshal Zhu (a Daoist guardian deity).

The 11th day is the birthday of the City God (urban protector deity).

The 12th day celebrates the birthday of Lord Bingling (a thunder department general).

The 13th day commemorates the descent of Emperor Guan Sheng (Guan Yu).

The 16th day is an auspicious occasion when the primordial Qi of heaven and earth gives birth to all things—abstinence from wine and sensual pleasures is observed.

On the 4th day of the sixth month, when Dharma assemblies are held in Jambudvīpa (one of Buddhism's four continents), the merit gained surpasses ordinary days by millions of times.

The 13th day honors the birthday of the Well Dragon King.

The 19th day marks the enlightenment day of Guanyin Bodhisattva.

The 23rd day celebrates the birthday of the Southern Fire God, as well as General Wang Tian and the Horse Deity.

The 24th day observes the birthdays of the Thunder Ancestor (Celestial Venerable of Universal Transformation Through Thunder) and Emperor Guan Sheng.

The 26th day commemorates the birthday of Erlang Shen.

The 10th day of the seventh month is the "Daoist La Festival" (an important fasting day).

The 13th day honors the birthday of Mahāsthāmaprāpta Bodhisattva.

The 15th day is the Zhongyuan Festival, celebrating the birthdays of the Earthly Official Emperor and the True Lord Lingji.

The 18th day marks the birthday of the Queen Mother of the West (Xiwangmu).

The 19th day observes the birthday of Grand Duke Yin (the annual Taisui deity).

The 21st day commemorates the birthday of Patriarch Pu'an.

The 24th day honors the birthday of Nāgārjuna Bodhisattva.

The 30th day celebrates the birthday of Kṣitigarbha Bodhisattva.

The 3rd day of the eighth month is the birthday of the Kitchen God.

On the 15th day's full moon night, incense should be burned throughout the night.

The 22nd day marks the birthday of Dipaṃkara Buddha.

On the 3rd and 27th days of every month, the Big Dipper Lords descend.

During fasting days—the 8th, 14th, 15th, 23rd, 29th, and 30th of each month—scripture recitation generates merit millions of times greater than usual.

The 3rd day of the ninth month observes the birthday of the Five Plague Gods.

The 9th day celebrates the birthdays of Immortal Ge Xuan and the Haoli Deity.

On the 15th day, donating even one coin yields merit equivalent to millions in ordinary times.

The 17th day honors the birthdays of the Wealth God of Increasing Blessings and the True Lord Hong'en.

The 23rd day commemorates the birthday of Patriarch Sa Shoujian.

The 28th day marks the birthdays of Marshal Ma (Lingguan Ma) and the Five Manifestations of Divine Officials.

(Note: The "▲" symbol appears in the original text, possibly indicating special annotations.)

This scripture records the birth anniversaries of important Daoist and Buddhist deities, along with cultivation practices to observe on these special days:

Important divine birthdays in the lunar calendar:

• 30th day: Birthday of the Medicine Buddha (Bhaiṣajyaguru)
• 1st day of 10th month: Birthday of the Folk Year Deity
• 3rd day of 10th month: Birthday of the Three Mao Perfected Lords (Mao Ying, Mao Gu, Mao Zhong) of the Maoshan tradition
• 5th day of 10th month: Birthday of Bodhidharma, Patriarch of Chan Buddhism
• 6th day of 10th month: Birthday of all celestial temple deities and the Five Sacred Peaks' Emperors of Five Directions
• 8th day of 10th month: Buddha's Nirvana Day - liberating one creature on this day generates merit equivalent to millions of liberations; however, committing misdeeds also multiplies negative karma a millionfold
• 15th day of 10th month: Lower Primordial Festival, birthday of the Water Official Emperor
• 11th day of 11th month: Birthday of the Supreme Empyrean Savior from Suffering (Taiyi Jiuku Tianzun)
• 17th day of 11th month: Birthday of Amitābha Buddha
• 19th day of 11th month: Birthday of the Solar Deva Prince
• 23rd day of 11th month: Birthday of Zhang Xian, Bestower of Children
• 1st day of 12th month: Reciting one scripture on this day generates merit surpassing millions of recitations
• 8th day of 12th month: Royal Noble La Festival and Buddha's Enlightenment Day - scripture recitation merit is multiplied a millionfold
• 29th day of 12th month: Birthday of the Avataṃsaka Bodhisattva

Special note: On these sacred birthdays, virtuous practices like fasting, almsgiving, scripture recitation and Buddha-invocation generate 100,000 times greater merit than ordinary days.

Birthdays of the Ten Yama Kings (with Danjing Mountain warning):

1st month: 8th day (4th Yama King)

2nd month: 1st day (1st Yama King), 27th day (6th Yama), 28th day (3rd Yama)

3rd month: 1st day (2nd Yama), 7th day (7th Yama), 8th day (5th Yama)

4th month: 1st day (8th Yama), 7th day (9th Yama), 22nd day (10th Yama)

The text concludes with a verified case: During the Ming Dynasty's Jingtai era (1455), scholar Li Qing from Shandong's Linqing County appeared before the Yama King after death. Having observed vegetarian fasting and Buddha-invocation every 8th day of 4th month (Buddha's birthday), he was praised by Yama as having "immeasurable merit."

(Note: The characters "𥘉" and "𡻕" are variant forms of "初" (beginning) and "岁" (year) respectively, while "扵" is equivalent to "于" (in/at).)

This passage recounts a dialogue between a man named Li Qing and Yama, the Lord of the Underworld. Li Qing asks why no one in the mortal realm knows Yama's birthday, to which the King of Hell responds: "I will now reveal my birthdate to you so that after returning to life, you may inform devout men and women—if they observe vegetarianism and chant scriptures on my birthday, they shall receive peace in this life and liberation from the cycle of rebirth after death." Yama then dispatches infernal attendants to escort Li Qing back to the world of the living.

Upon awakening, Li Qing records the birthdays of all Ten Yama Kings (the underworld's ten judges) and spreads this knowledge. He teaches people to make offerings of incense, candles, and spirit money on these dates, ensuring they never fall into hell and are reborn in favorable realms after death.

Contextual Notes:

1. "Observing vegetarianism and chanting scriptures" (持斋念佛) is a shared practice in both Daoism and Buddhism, involving abstaining from meat and reciting sacred texts.

2. The "Ten Lords" (十帝) refer to the ten Yama Kings of the underworld, each overseeing distinct judicial duties.

3. "Rebirth in higher realms" (生天) signifies postmortem transmigration to a better existence, contrasted with "falling into hell" (堕地狱).

4. This episode reflects the Daoist concept of "communication between yin and yang" (阴阳相通), where specific rituals enable interaction with deities to obtain blessings.