The Ritual of Penance to the Thirty-Six Celestial Emperors 洞玄灵宝河图仰谢三十六天[帝]斋仪

Author unknown.

Judging from its content and writing style, it is believed to date from the Tang or Song Dynasty, and is suspected to have been compiled by someone of Du Guangting’s caliber. Originally consisting of four scrolls, it is included in the Dongxuan Section (Mysterious Grotto Section) of the Daozang under the category of Rituals and Ceremonies.

This text records the ritual procedures for performing the "Grand Retreat of Prayer on the Zhongyuan Festival of the Three Sovereigns." First, it lists important matters to note when establishing the retreat, such as prohibitions, altar lamps, streamer inscriptions, differences in retreat officials, differences in pre-retreat gatherings, differences in the main retreat proceedings, and so on.

Next, it details the retreat rituals: sequentially paying homage and repenting to the Heavenly Emperors of the Thirty-Six Heavens (nine heavens in each of the four directions—east, south, west, and north), praying to the Heavenly Emperors to transcend the ancestors of the retreat host from the sufferings of the underworld, ascend to paradise, and attain true enlightenment through reincarnation. Additionally, it offers blessings to the imperial family, praying for the continuous prosperity of their virtue, the elimination of disasters across the four seas, the convergence of auspicious omens, peace during the eight solar terms, and all living beings to be blessed, uphold the true teaching, return to nature, and unite with the Heavenly Emperors upon attaining the Dao.