Dongzhen Shangqing Taiwei Dijun Scripture of Pacing the Heavenly Rope, Flying the Earthly Records, and the Golden Slips with Jade Inscriptions
As one of the early Shangqing scriptures, it was presumably compiled during the Southern and Northern Dynasties (c. 420–589 CE).
- Shangqing Dadong Zhenjing Mu (Catalogue of the True Scripture of the Great Cavern of Shangqing) records an entry titled "One Scroll of Shangqing: Flying Steps on the Heavenly Rope and Treading the Seven Origins";
- Volume [XX] of Wushang Miyao (The Supreme Secret Essentials) cites passages from Dongzhen Scripture of the Golden Books and Jade Inscriptions — both references denote this very scripture.
Consisting of one scroll, it is included in the "Zhengyi Section" (the core section of the Taoist Canon focusing on orthodox rituals and doctrines) of the Daozang (Taoist Canon).
The scripture expounds on the esoteric techniques of "butiongang" (pacing the Heavenly Rope, a ritual of stepping according to the positions of celestial bodies) and "feidiji" (flying the Earthly Records, a practice related to aligning with earthly cosmic patterns). At the beginning of the scroll, there are two diagrams: "Diagram of the Seven Stars of the Big Dipper and the Three Terraces (Santai)" and "Diagram of the Five Planets of the Five Directions," as well as fifteen divine talismans.
Practitioners of this Dao perform the technique of "pacing the Heavenly Rope" according to the diagrams, which includes three procedural steps: "shunxing" (forward pacing), "daoxing" (reverse pacing), and "fanxing" (counter pacing). It also involves specific actions such as "judou" (leaning on the Dipper), "pankui" (clasping the Kuixing — the first star of the Big Dipper), "jiezhen" (connecting with the True [Deities]), "budou" (pacing the Dipper), "nieji" (treading the Records), "bugang" (pacing the Rope), "chenglong" (riding a dragon), "youxing sanming" (wandering through the Three Destinies), "paihuai sanyang" (lingering in the Three Yang [Realms]), and "churu sansheng" (entering and exiting the Three Lifespans). Interspersed among these steps are esoteric practices such as "sishen" (visualizing deities), "songzhou" (reciting incantations), and "peifu" (wearing talismans).
It is claimed that practicing this Dao technique can ward off evil spirits and avoid military disasters, achieve immortality without death, and ultimately become a "Shangqing Zhenren" (True Person of the Shangqing Realm — a revered title for accomplished Shangqing practitioners).
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