Supreme Sacred Scripture of the Dipper 玉清无上灵宝自然北斗本生真经

Author unknown, presumably compiled between the The Tang Dynasty and the Song Dynasty.

Consisting of one scroll, it is included in the Scripture Text category of the The Dongzhen Section within The Daozang.

Supreme Sacred Scripture of the Dipper

The scripture fabricates a discourse delivered by the Primordial Emperor to the Perfect True Lord of the Precious Upper Heaven. It recounts that during the Longhan Kalpa, there was a king named Zhou Yu, whose consort, the Lady of Purple Radiance, undressed to bathe in a lotus pond. Suddenly inspired, nine lotus flowers bloomed, each giving birth to a son. The eldest became the Great Emperor of Heaven, the second the Great Emperor of the Purple Forbidden Enclosure, and the others the Seven Primordial Lords of the stars—Tanslang, Jumeng, Lucun, Wenqu, Lianzhen, Wuqu and Pojun. These are the nine deities of the Big Dipper.

The scripture exhorts all living beings to recite The Scripture of the Nine Lights regularly, hold the Ritual of the Nine Lights, and reverently welcome the Holy Mother of Purple Radiance and the Seven Primordial Lords. By doing so, one can absolve sins, accumulate blessings and prolong life, ensure prosperous offspring, and ascend to heaven after death. A five-character gatha is attached at the end of the text.