《靈寶文檢》Vol. 3

Afterword to the First Volume of Lingbao Wenjian (A Plain-Language Reading)

The practice of offering prayers is already recorded in the Analects, in rites such as the offering for averting calamity and the ritual dismemberment offering, and it also has established precedents in the Rites of Zhou. I believe that the early kings used the way of the spirits to guide and transform the people, while ordinary people relied on calling out and supplicating to convey their sincerity. This is why written petitions—prayers that set forth one’s words before the spirits—have always been held in such high regard.

Yet my learning is limited, and I cannot fully grasp the classics. Citing the texts is already a struggle; composing petitions fit to be presented in formal appeal is harder still, and it is difficult to make them resonate with the spirits. Moreover, petitions follow different forms, each with its own conventions, and some matters are truly difficult to express appropriately.

I happened to come across Miaoyu of the Mind’s Incense, compiled by Master Chen. It contains more than a thousand petition texts, composed with coherence and fluency, with wording chosen for its precision and ideas grounded above all in earnest sincerity. After reading it, I could not help but marvel: this practice can indeed be carried out by someone, and the spirits of Heaven can indeed be moved to respond.

Master Chen’s personal name is Fuxuan, and his courtesy name is Hanpu. He is well versed in Daoism and broadly learned in the Confucian classics. In his leisure, he exchanges poetry and prose with the literary community, and is highly respected. His petitions are polished and accomplished in style. I have often seen the forms in circulation at the time: they are either careless or vulgar, and sometimes errors are passed along as truth. Even if they do not incur the censure of spirits and ghosts, they can hardly satisfy a gentleman of learning. For this reason, Master Chen personally corrected errors, cut away excess, and gathered the texts in his chest before having them printed and circulated. They are truly worthy of being treasured.

Alas, unless a thousand-mile horse encounters Jiufang Gao, the ancient master horse judge, who could recognize its true ability beyond whether it is male or female, chestnut or yellow? In obtaining this book and passing it on, Master Chen likewise shows the profound meaning of trusting people and thereby trusting the spirits.

In the autumn of the Gengzi year of the Daoguang reign (1840), Weiyunshang of Xiangshan respectfully wrote this afterword.