Qingwei Mighty Thunder Esoteric Rites 清微神烈秘法

The original text has no recorded author.

Judging from the lineage of the Qingwei Sect listed in the book, it was presumably compiled by Taoist priests of the Qingwei Sect at Wudang Mountain during the Yuan Dynasty.

It was probably completed in the late Yuan Dynasty. One scroll, included in the Methods category of the Dongzhen Section of The Daozang.

Qingwei Mighty Thunder Esoteric Rites

This book is divided into sections such as Arcane Treatise on Thunder Methods, Lineage of Masters, Hierarchy of Sages, Sitting Practices for Cultivating Stillness, Ritual for Establishing the Outer Altar of the Four Oceans for Prayers, and The Single Tradition of Talismanic Commands. It mainly elaborates on the arcane secrets of the Qingwei Sect's thunder arts, the origin and development of the sect, the internal methods of cultivating stillness, as well as various talismanic spells and rituals for fasting altars.

It proclaims that the Qingwei Thunder Arts were bestowed by the Yuanshi Tianzun and passed down in an unbroken line through masters such as Huang Shunshen, Ye Yunlai, Zhang Daogui, Zhang Shouqing, and Zhang Shouyi. The arcane secret lies in "uniting my spirit with their spirits, my numinosity with their numinosity".

However, in daily life—whether walking, standing, sitting, or lying down—one must gather one's mind and body, abide in non-being while guarding being, bring all karmic conditions to an abrupt halt, eliminate both body and mind, and rest in the Great Void. "A single point of numinous clarity will naturally illuminate the ten directions extensively; when the field of the mind is free from defilement and the ground of nature is purified of dust, one will eventually be tranquil and unperturbed, responding instantaneously upon being moved." This is the root of the Great Dao and the foundation of all methods; the internal cultivation of stillness morning and evening also does not go beyond practicing this way.

In addition, the talismanic spells and rituals listed in the book also take internal cultivation of stillness as the foundation, rather than emphasizing external sacrificial prayers and ceremonies. It advocates that the essence of writing talismans and performing rituals lies in proficiency through daily cultivation and not obscuring one's true nature. When performing rituals at the altar, one should act spontaneously from "a single point of numinous light", drawing talismans freely. By uniting one's primordial spirit with the spirits of the thunder generals and commanders, mutual resonance will naturally occur.

It can be seen that this book was influenced by Chan Buddhism, taking the enlightenment of the mind and realization of nature as the internal basis for talismanic spells and rituals.