Discourses on the Esoteric Meaning of Thunder Rites 當法议玄篇

Compiled by Master Wan and others during the Southern Song Dynasty.

One scroll, included in the Zhengyi Section of The Daozang.

This book expounds on the Thunder Arts of the Shenxiao School and contains four treatises.

The first, Discussion on the Mystery of the Thunder Arts, was written by Master Wan in the early Southern Song Dynasty.

It states that the books on Thunder Arts handed down in the world number several hundred, with miscellaneous contents and ineffective practice. The author claimed to have received a simple and direct Thunder Arts from his master, who pointed out the essential formulas. He held that wind, rain, thunder and lightning are all governed by the celestial constellations. Therefore, practitioners of the Thunder Arts must grasp the wonder of the Qi of the Thirty-Six Heavens and understand the way of the movement and transformation of the stars, so as to unite with the Dao, rather than relying on empty and elaborate writings.

The second, Deep Source and Orthodox Explanation of Numbers of the Thunder Arts, was written by Gu Yin in the Southern Song Dynasty. It argues that the essence of the Thunder Arts lies in “rectifying the mind and making sincere intentions, becoming companions of Heaven”. It also states: “In ancient times, practitioners sensed things with their minds and controlled evil with orthodoxy. When the mind is upright, all spirits show their efficacy; when the body is upright, all evils vanish.” Later degenerate followers only knew to use talismanic arts to summon spirits and control ghosts, and to invoke thunder through teachings, which is not the true way.

The third, Detailed Discussion on the True Forms of the Fire Numbers, and the fourth, Rite for Sacrificing to the Spirits of the Four Dimensions at the Taiji Thunder Altar, were written by unknown authors, also during the Southern Song Dynasty. They contain methods of writing talismans and circulating Qi to summon thunder and pray for rain.