Exorcism in Daoism, 3 & 5

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pp. 31-49 Lu: Pengzhi : "Jade Instructions on the Red Writings for Summoning Ghosts and Daimones of the Northern Fen Mountain".

p. 31 (0.) the text

The Tai-s^an Don-xuan Lin-bao C^i-s^u Yu-jue Miao-jin "(Subtle Lingbao Scripture of Jade Instructions on the Red Writings of the Supreme Pervasive Mystery, DZ 352 ...) ... contains 23 items of "jade instructions ..." ... revealed by the god "Dao (... ‘Supreme Lord of the Dao’ ...)", among which

the 12th item, the "Jade Instructions on the Red Writings for Summoning Ghosts and Demons of the Northern Feng Mountain" ..., ... is closely related to ... the 4th-8th items (i.e.,

"... the True Writs of the Eastern Blue Sky of the Nine Energies" ...,

"... the True Writs of the Southern Red Sky of the Three Energies" ...,

"... [the True Writs] of the Central Yellow Sky {of the One Energy}" ...,

"... [the True Writs] of the Western White Sky of the Seven Energies" ...,

"... [the True Writs] of the Northern Black Sky of the Five Energies" ... ."

p. 32 (1.0.) a related scripture

Relevant to the Yue-jue Miao-jin is the Yuan-s^i Wu-lao C^i-s^u Yu-pian Z^en-wen Tian-s^u-jin "(Scripture on the True Writs of the Five Ancients of the Primordial Beginning, Red Writings in Celestial Script on Jade Tablets, DZ 22 ...)".

pp. 33-4 (1.2.) a caelestial text & its heavenly exposition

p. 33

According to Son Wen-min (Z^an : Z^on-hua Dao-zan, vol 5, p. 511) the enumeration, by Lu Xiu-jin, of the textual canon into twelve sorts included :

pp. 33-4

pp. 33-4 sort

p. 34 instance

 

p. 33 "The first sort is made up of texts as scriptural sources, the self-generated celestial scripts and the writs of the eight nodes".

Tian-s^u Jin

 

pp. 33-4 "The third sort is made up of jade instructions recounted by heavenly saints, expounding the celestial scripts and the writs of the eight nodes".

Yu-jue Miao-jin

p. 34

"If the former is regarded as a "scripture", then the latter can be regarded as its "commentary".

pp. 34-5 (1.3.) content

p. 34

"The subject of the Tianshu jing is the Lingbao true writs, which ... have been self-generated in heaven prior to the formation of the cosmos, and are afterwards smelted into "red writings" [DZ 22:1:1b] with flowing fire and red breath by the Celestial Worthy of the Primordial Beginning .... .

The Tianshu jing, the "true writs" are grouped into the five directions ... . Writs of each direction are then classified in terms of function into four types ... . ... These five true writs are put in four categories ... on the bases of their functions, which can be summed up as

seeking immortality,

averting constellation calamities,

summoning ghosts and demons, and

averting floods. ...

p. 35

The 4th-8th items of jade instructions in the first juan of the Chishu yujue give renderings of the true writs of each category in each direction, and indicate ... their function and usage ... .

The 9th-12th items, namely the"

 

"Jade Instructions on the True Writs of the Five Ancients of the Primordial Beginning for __"

"Cultivating the Dao and Seeking Immortality

 

Averting Constellation Calamities and Dividing the Heavens"

 

"Summoning Flood Dragons and [Supernatural] Water Officers"

 

"Summoning Ghosts and Demons of the Northern Feng Mountain"

 

... provide the corresponding directions {instructions} for putting the four categories of true writs into practical use. ... . ... the 9th-12th items neglect the direction but give ... an account of how to use the true writs of different categories".

pp. 36-7 (2.) the 4 categories of jade instructions in Yu-jue Miao-jin, as categorized in juan 54 of the Tai-s^an Huan-lu Z^ai-yi by Du Guan-tin (850-933 Chr.E.)

p.

#

Jade Instructions on the __

36

1st

"Red Writings for Cultivating the Dao"

37

2nd

"True Writs ... for Averting Constellation Calamities, Dividing the Heavens"

 

3rd

"Red Writings ... for Summoning Ghosts and Demons of the Northern Feng Mountain"

 

4th

"True Writs ... for ... Summoning Flood Dragons and Water Palace (Officers)"

pp. 46-7 (6.) Northern Fen Mountain

p. 46

"the Northern Feng Mountain ... is the base camp of all ghosts, whose head is called the "Northern Thearch" ... . This ... comes from the Eastern-Jin Shangqing revelations preserved in Tao Hongjing’s ... Zhen’gao ... (DZ

p. 47

1016). According to the Zhen’gao, the Northern Feng Mountain lies in the gui ... area in the north. Its height is 2,600 li and its circumference is 30,000 li. There are six palaces ... on the mountain and another six in a grotto of the mountain. These are the palaces of the ghosts and gods of the six heavens. If people know the gate names of these palaces, then ghosts dare not do harm. [DZ 1210:15:1a-2a]

 

As for the "Northern Thearch", the Zhen’gao says he is the supreme thearch of ghost officers, governor of the first palace and general dominator of the six palaces." [DZ 1210:13.3b]

p. 47, fn. 65 the Northern-Thearch & Fen

"In one account, the Northern Thearch is ... the northern stellar divinity Dark Warrior ..., the incarnation of King Wu ... of the Western Zhou ... and of the Supreme Thearch of Dark Heaven ... ever since the Tang dynasty. It is also taken as the Big Dipper God, who is said to be in control of the Big Dipper in heaven and the Feng capital under earth at the same time in Su Guangting’s Daojiao lingyan ji ... ." [vide :- "MENF"]

"In addition, according to the Zhen’gao, the Northern Thearch lives on Mt. Fengdu, but from the Song one, the dwelling place has been ... identified with the "city of ghosts" ... in Fengdu ... county of Sichuan. [vide :- ZhGDJ, p. 101]

"MENF" = Christine Mollier : "La Me’thode de l’Empereur du Nord du mont Fengdu". T>OUNG PAO 83 (1997), pp. 329-85.

ZhGDJ = Qin Xi-tai (ed.) : Z^on-guo Dao-jiao (San). Shanghai : Z^i-s^i C^u-ban-s^e, 1994.

p. 48 the 9 heavens

p. 48

The Lin-bao scriptures "not only adopt the Celestial Masters’ and the Shangqing’s idea of the six heavens, but also use the idea of "nine heavens" ... to resist the six heavens. ... The ... idea of the "six heavens" was put forward by Zheng Xuan ... (127-200 CE) ... .

p. 48, fn. 71

"The earliest mention of the "nine heavens" if found in the long poem Li Sao ... by Qu Yuan ... of the Chu Kingdom during the Warring States ... period".

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pp. 69-88 Stephen R. Bokenkamp : "Exorcism RituallyTranssubstantiated in ... Lin-bao Scriptures".

p. 70 the Hou Han-s^u Nuo incantation, a malediction of Han times

"the twelve ranks of spirits conjured inthe first part of the incantation are ordered to commit mayhem on their spectral adversaries in the second part :

["NP", pp. 263-4, citing Hou Han-s^u, zhi 5.3128] "Let all twelve spirits be charged to pursue the foul and baleful. ...

Scorch your carcass.

Pull apart your trunk and joints.

Cut away your flesh.

Rip out your lungs and guts.

If you do not quickly depart ... ."

"NP" = Donald Harper : "Wang Yen-shou’s Nightmare Poem". HARVARD J OF ASIATIC ST 47.1 (1987):239-83.

pp. 70-1 exorcists’ doings in Ma Ron’s "Guan-c^en Son", a hymn describing the royal hunt

p. 70

["NP", p. 261, citing Hou Han-s^u, 60A.1964] "Order the lingbao.

Summon the fangxiang. ...

Behead wangliang.

p. 71

Batter youguang.

Put the cangue on tiangou.

Leash fenyang."

pp. 72-4 incantation to be recited "when one ... passes by temples to profane spirits"

p. 72

["Southern Fire-bell Spirit Incantation" in the Perfected Scripture of the Great Cavern, recorded in Z^en-gao, HY 1010, 10.8a10-8b7]

"The crimson crow darts into the heavens;

It spirit might spread within [my body]. ...

From the demon well they flee. ...

And the roots of perversity all hide away.

The hun spirit tower opens in brightness ...,

From its rosegem chambers, the tinkling of stone chimes;

While the Jade Perfected stands erect and lofty.

p. 73

His throne securing the Bright Hall,

His hands glowing with purple auroras,

While from atop his head rise spiritual beams.

He holds and recites the cavernous scripture

In thirty-nine stanzas.

Within it are : dragons, tigers, and perversity destroyers [fn. 10 : "mythical winged beasts"],

Who break off mountains and decapitate ridges. ...

Tearing up mountains and clawing at heaven

Are spirit sparrow are poisonous dragons.

The Six Leaders [fn. 11 : "the six Ding spirits"] spit fire –

Swallowing the demon’s kings.

Lightning boars and fathers of thunder

Drag stars, flowing across space. ...

These heavenly beasts spit fire for myriads of yards

... .

Groups of sprites clear the road ... . ...

Marsh Captains [fn. 74 : "the Yellow Thearch’s advisor on things demonic, "White Marsh." ("ChD", pp. 491-2)] carry torches".

"ChD" = Donald Harper : "A Chinese Daimonography of the 3rd Century BCE". HARVARD J OF ASIATIC ST 45.2 (1985).

p. 75 cosmogenesis

[reference : Yuan-s^i Wu-lao C^i-s^u Yu[=Wu]-pian Z^en-wen Tian-s^u Jin (Scripture in Caelestial Writing of the Perfected Texts in Five Parts, Written in Red, of the Five Elders of Primordial Commencement) HY 22:1.1a-27a] "In void nothingness, there was a stirring and a flickering as the graphs flashed in and out of existence. And then they came into being, creating the sensible world by first supporting ... yin, yang, and the five phases."

p. 76 Lin-bao ritual uses &aims

1) "To summon the gods to revise one’s celestial records"

2) "To summon gods to rectify stellar anomalies"

3) "To control ghosts and demons"

4) "To control the Thearchs of the seas, their dragons and subordinates"

p. 77 text deposited in crevice

"Parts one and four of the script are, like Celestial Master memorials, thrown into crevasses in the mountains for the Celestial Office".

{Likewise, the Khenobokion (Nag Hammadi) MSs were deposited in a crevice in a cliff.}

pp. 78-9 arrival of the deities at a Lin-bao ritual

p. 78

[quoted from HY 532, Tai-ji Z^en-ren Fu Lin-bao Z^ai-jie Wei-yi Z^u-jin Yao-jue, 10b-11a ("RSH")] "The Perfected of the Grand Bourne said : .During the LIngbao .. ritual, the Most High Perfected, the Grand Sages of the Ten Directions, the Thearchical Kings of all the heavens, arrive floating lightly through the air to observe and listen to our practice of the Dao. They ride thousands of chariots and myriads of mounts, with jeweled canopies gleaming and glowing,

p. 79

dotted with flying flowers and flakes of snow. ... Chanted songs swell forth mightily while the flying phoenixes cry in harmony and myriads of dragons advance in unison. When the celestial beings are pleased [with our performance], ghosts and spirits call out their approval and the Demon Kings ... salute in joy and approval of the Great Practice."

"RSH" = Bokenkamp : "Ko reihogyo no senkyo hoho". In :- Fumio & Kleeman (edd.) : Dokyo to kyosei shiso. Tokyo : Taiga, 2009.

pp. 80-1 Lin-bao incantation, with cosmological basis for exorcising

p. 80

[quoted from LB #2, HY 352, 1.21a] "the hundred-six mounted the mainstays. [p. 82, fn. 30 "For ... the apocalyptic "hundred-six,"" vide : "TAT"] ...

Northern [Mount] Feng ... has released its ghostly leaders.

The masses of demons move unrestrainedly,

Magically shutting off the lights of heaven. ...

p. 81

The jade graphs of the Red Script

Oversee and control the land of ghosts.

The Three Offices of Northern [Mount] Feng

Should openly transmit [their summons] ... .

The flowing bells criss-cross, flashing [p. 87 : "the flowing bells are described as spontaneously stirring up their yang qi to aid the Six Ding Spirits in their pursuit of errant ghouls."],

Stirring up the qi of Grand Yang.

Golden tigers charge through the four quarters,

The Celestial Ding spirits arrest the fleeing. ...

This is the command of the Primal Worthy,

Issued throughout the higher palaces."

"TAT" = Stephen R. Bokenkamp : "Time After Time : Taoist Apocalyptic History". ASIA MAJOR, 3rd ser., vol. VII, pt. 1 (1994), pp. 59-88.

pp. 79, 82 reverential response of daimones

p. 79

"that Demon Kings will respond reverentially to the hymns and incantations of the Lingbao ritual is already present in what appears to be the earliest of the scriptures."

p. 82

"As ghosts, demons, and even "small sprites" ... gather to observe the ritual changing of the newly-emerged Lingbao scriptures, they will be commanded to return to Fengdu. Orders have been issued from the highest celestial realms that Fengdu is to resume its judiciary function, inspecting and controlling ... chthonic forces. The Six Ding spirits, mighty phantom beasts, ... are necessary only for those errant spirits who refuse to submit and must be forcibly rounded up."

pp. 82-3 how the caelestial script eradicateth death

p. 82

[quoted from Tai-s^an Lin-bao Z^u-tian Nei-yin Yu-zi, HY 97:1.1a-1b] "The Heavenly Perfected Illustrious One said : The jade graphs of celestial script are concretions of flying mystical qi forming numinous graphs. They

p. 83

join the Eight Convergences of space for their [correct] enunciation and merge the five directions of space for their strophic form. At the opening of the cosmic cycle, they were spontaneously born with the sound of tinkling gemstones – spiritual qi proffered in the void; ancient echoes cavernously sounding. They sparkle above all the heavens and gleam into the tenebrous vastnesses of the underworlds.

They transform together with the opening of the Era of Draconic Magnificence,

spread the era of Vermilion Brilliance across the stygian times of Extended Vigor,

and refine with both fire and water in the courts of Life and Death. ... They break open the eight confining walls of the dark metropolis and plant their revealing light in the Great Yang."

 

"__ rely/depend on them

for their __ ."

 

Yin & Yan

jurisdictions

 

sun, moon, & stars

divisions

 

higher sages

glorification

 

the 5 Holy Mountains

spiritual power

 

all things

breath

 

the kingdom

peace

 

"Vast, O Vast is the Grand Plan! Towering, O Towering in August majesty!" ...

 

"Those who __ them

__ ."

 

gain

"avoid death"

 

revere

"live long"

 

treasure

"enjoy the descent of the Perfected"

 

practice

"transcend in divinity"

 

"They save lifeless cadavers from the Halls of Eternal Night and refine revivified hun in the Vermilion Palace."

p. 83, fn. 32 "In the Lingbao scriptures, unlike ... Buddhist ..., rebirth is invariably described as a desirable outcome. In order to achieve the best rebirth, the scriptures promise that an adept’s physical form will be remade after death {cf. the resurrection-body in the 1st Epistle to the Korinthians 15:35-58} and rejoined for rebirth with his or her spiritual components which have been refined in the Southern Palace. The hun, usually three in number, stand here for all of a person’s spiritual elements.}

pp. 83-4 how humans can obtain benefits from the graphs

p. 83

[quoted from HY 97:2.16b] "Each phrase of the Hidden Language is divided into "words" that are inscribed on various buildings in the thirty-two heavens and can be used

p. 84

by humans in ritual ... . ...

In addition, adepts are enjoined to inscribe the graphs in red on white silk and wear them constantly on the body to achieve ... results." [fn. 34 : "adepts are to inscribe only the graphs appropriate to their natal day".]

pp. 84-5 caelestial Dipper-constellations & heavenly Gold-Flower Mountain

p. 84

[quoted from HY 97:3.21b-22b, cited in extenso in Li S^ao-wei’s commentary to the Du-ren Jin] "The Heavenly Perfected said : ...

 

Miao-miao ... [dim and distant ] refeers to the time when the [Caelestial Worthy] of Primal Origins was sunk in [the kalpa cycle] of Extended Vigor and the jade graphs of celestial writing were occluded and did not shine forth.

 

[Praeviously], when the cycle of Draconic Magnificence opened, the graphs "mang-mang" ... [flourished widely]. [fn. 35 : "The reduplicated binoms miao-miao and mang-mang derive from a couplet in the "Nine Pieces" of the Chuci ... . [vide :- SS, p. 182] Hawkes translates :

"Deep and dim in the distance, without a limit;

Vast, vacant verdancy, sans shape or form.""]

Men and women who met the Dao in that age had a longevity of 36,000 years.

 

When the next cycle [Extended Vigor] had reached its apex, a new kalpa [Red Brilliance] began. The nine qi each gave birth to an animal to injure the wicked. When that kalpa opened, the nine beasts came to be came to be called the "Ghosts of Nine Kinds of Evil ... ." {"Evil" in name only.} The higher perfected, the

p. 85

Northern Thearch, ... set the Nine Kinds of Evil to aiding the Three Offices. When the count [of time] reaches ... 810,000 degrees, the celestial qi will turn with them and the Nine Kinds of Evil will be named the Envoys of the Nine Metropolises {Metropoles}.

Shao ... is the inner name of the Spirit Empyrean King of the Huangjia heaven. He rules the Demon Kings who constantly test the learning of those who study the Dao to see if their teachings are correct or not. ... Those who ... are recommended by the Demon Kings ... ascend directly to the Huangjia heaven.

Yuanzhan ... is the inner name of the Lords of the Southern and Northern Dippers.

 

Those who accumulate merit have their name listed in the Southern Dipper. The Southern Dipper saves them from the calamities of the Three Realms and plucks them forth from the sufferings of the Nine Tenebrous regions, announcing to the Demon Kings that they dare not wreck [their progress].

Those who do evil have [their names] listed and are enwrapped by the Northern Dipper. The Northern Dipper sends down commands to the Demon Kings and the Demon Kings destroy them. Their cloudsouls are entrusted to the Nine Tenebrous regions below, condemned to eternal servitude in the realms of dark night. ...

 

Within the Huangjia heaven, there is Mount Golden Flower. Atop the mountain are the palaces of the Five Thearchs, which constantly emit clouds in the five colors. The sun and moon enclose [these palaces] to the left and right. Flying transcendents soar about in its floriate chariots. Those who accomplish the Dao all visit Gold Flower Mountain, where they receive the warrant of Grand Unity to control the Divine Empyrean ... . After this, they are able to ride in phosphorescent conveyances, traveling and feasting in all directions of space."

SS = David Hawkes : The Songs of the South : an Anthology of Ancient Chinese Poems by Qu Yuan. Harmondsworth : Penguin, 1985.

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ASIEN- UND AFRIKA-STUDIEN DER HUMBOLDT-UNIVERSTITA:T ZU BERLIN, Band 36 = Florian C. Reiter (ed.) : Exorcism in Daoism. Harrassowitz Verlag, Wiesbaden, 2011.