Shangqing Purple Essence Lord, Primordial Purple Spirit Dao Lord Bridal Chamber Supreme Scripture (Shangqing Zijun Huangchu Ziling Daojun Dongfang Shangjing), author unknown.
Judging from its content and wording, it is a classic of the Shangqing School from the Southern and Northern Dynasties. This text has already been quoted in Shangqing Golden Book and Jade Characters Supreme Scripture (Shangqing Jinshu Yuzi Shangjing).
It consists of one scroll and is included in the Yujue Lei (Jade Commentaries Category) of the Dongxuan Bu (Mysterious Grotto Section) of the Daozang (Taoist Canon).
The scripture is divided into three parts.
The first part is "The Method of Attracting the Five Divine Energies of the Emperor Lord from the Supreme Purity of Great Primordiality" (Taisu Shangqing Zhi Dijun Wushenqi Fa), which discusses the Taoist practice of contemplating the five deities of the human body (the deities of the two eyes, two hands, and lungs) and the twenty-four deities (the eight-scene deities of the upper, middle, and lower parts of the human body).
It is stated that by contemplating the deities, reciting incantations, tapping the teeth, and swallowing saliva in accordance with this method, one can summon immortals to descend and welcome them, ascend to the Supreme Purity Realm (Shangqing), and attain the status of a high immortal.
The second part is "The Scripture of the Supreme Seven Origins and Nine Celestial Positions" (Taishang Qiyuan Jiuchen Jing), which focuses on the practice of contemplating the Seven Origins (Qiyuan) and Nine Celestial Positions (Jiuchen). The Seven Origins refer to the deities of the seven stars: 天枢 (Celestial Pivot), 天旋 (Celestial Rotation), Tianji (Celestial Axis), Tianquan (Celestial Power), Yuheng (Jade Sighting Bar), Kaiyang (Opening Yang), and Yaoguang (Swaying Light). The Nine Celestial Positions refer to the deities of the Nine Stars of the Big Dipper. It is claimed that by focusing one’s mind on the titles of the deities of the Seven Origins and Nine Celestial Positions, one can become a flying immortal.
The third part is "The Inner Chapter of the Supreme Returning to Origin, Concealing the Dao, and Using [It] to Erase Sin Records" (Taishang Huiyuan Yindao Yong Chuzui Ji Neipian), also known as "The Dao of the Supreme Returning to Origin and Repenting Sins" (Taishang Huiyuan Xiezui Zhi Dao). Practitioners of this Dao should, on auspicious days of the Six Jia and Six Ding (in the Ganzhi calendar), visualize the titles of the Nine Celestial Positions and Seven Origins, pray for the deities to enter their bodies, and eliminate all sins from past and present lives. In this way, they can achieve longevity and vision, and ascend to heaven.
All the above Taoist practices are techniques of contemplating deities to become immortals, practiced by the early Shangqing School.
See the entry for "The Secret of Crimson-Born Divine Elixir from the Supreme Shangqing Scripture of the Nine Trues" (Shangqing Taishang Jiuzhen Zhongjing Jiangsheng Shendan Jue).
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