Badao Mingji Jing: Repentance Rites on the Eight Sacred Days

Dongzhen Taishang Badao Mingji Jing (The Cavern of Truth: The Supreme Scripture of the Eight Dao Days and Life Registers)

The author of this text is unknown. Judging from its content and linguistic style, it was presumably composed by Taoist priests of the Shangqing School during the Southern and Northern Dynasties (420–589 CE) or the Sui and Tang dynasties (581–907 CE).

Consisting of two scrolls, it is included in the "Zhengyi Section" of the Daozang (Taoist Canon); Volume 51 of the Yunji Qiqian (Seven Lots of the Clouds’ Repository, a major Taoist encyclopedia) also excerpts the first scroll of this scripture.

The scripture elaborates on methods for cultivating the Dao, resolving disasters, and repenting sins on the "Eight Dao Days."

The first scroll contains the "Essential Instructions for Resolving Sins," stating that people often encounter twenty-four types of disasters and calamities in life. On the Eight Dao Days, one should look up to observe the "cloud qi" (cosmic vital energy), practice cunshen (visualizing deities) and pay homage to eight revered gods—including the Supreme Three Yuan Lords (Taishang Sanyuan Jun) and the Heavenly Lord of Taiwei (Taiwei Tiandi Jun)—recite incantations to repent for transgressions, dispel disasters, and gather blessings. By doing so, one can obtain the "mingji" (life register, i.e., the immortal tally) and attain sainthood to become a zhenren (true immortal).
The second scroll records the "Fasting Method for Repentance," noting that performing this fasting ritual can help repent for transgressions and resolve sins. The procedures of this fasting method include explaining the "Seven Gratitudes and Seven Sorrows," chanting ritual prayers for repentance to the Five Directions, reciting the "Returning to Mystery for the Ten Directions," reciting the "Poems of the Four Seasons and Five Sufferings," and presenting the "Five Vows," among others.

As defined in this scripture, the "Eight Dao Days"—also called the "Eight Days of the Four Seasons"—refer to the eight solar terms: the Beginning of Spring, Spring Equinox, Beginning of Summer, Summer Solstice, Beginning of Autumn, Autumn Equinox, Beginning of Winter, and Winter Solstice. On these eight days, all things in nature cast off the old and embrace the new, making them auspicious days for practicing the Dao.

Glossary of Key Taoist Terms

Shangqing School: A major Taoist school founded in the 4th century CE, focusing on esoteric meditation (cunshen), deity worship, and ritual practices to attain immortality.
Daozang (Taoist Canon): The comprehensive collection of Taoist scriptures, commentaries, and ritual texts, serving as the core repository of Taoist religious heritage.
Cunshen: A foundational Shangqing practice of "visualizing deities" to connect with the divine realm, often used for disaster relief and spiritual advancement.
Zhenren (True Immortal): A revered title in Taoism for practitioners who have mastered the Dao and transcended mortal limitations.
Eight Solar Terms: Key seasonal nodes in traditional Chinese cosmology, believed to be times of significant cosmic energy shifts, ideal for Taoist cultivation.