The Scripture of the Illuminating Lamp 上清洞玄明灯上经

The Scripture of the Illuminating Lamp

Judging from the text content, it seems to have been written by Taoist priests of the Northern and Southern Dynasties or the Sui and Tang dynasties.

It consists of one volume and is included in the "Dongxuan Section, Main Text Category" of the Daoist Canon.

The scripture states that for the methods of Taoist fasting and thanksgiving, "nothing is better than the Upper Clarity Cave Mystery practice of burning incense, lighting lamps, and offering prayers." The bright lamps represent stars and planets and illuminate the seven ancestors. "Practicing this for three years will lead to ascending to heaven in broad daylight."

The main content of this book is the ritual methods for Taoist priests' fasting and thanksgiving lamp offerings, as well as the lamp-offering eulogies recited by Taoist priests during the rituals.

The lamp-offering eulogies are further divided into the Eulogy on the Lamp King Recited by the Taiji Immortal and the Eulogy for Carrying the Lamp, the Eulogy on Receiving Precepts from the Taiwei Celestial Emperor and the Lamp-Lighting Eulogy, and incantations for offering food to all living beings, all of which are five-character eulogistic poems.