The Water Confession for Sin-Extinguishing 太上慈悲道场灭罪水忏

The Repentance Scripture of Supreme Compassion Dharma Assembly for Eradicating Sins with Water No author is indicated.

It was probably compiled between the Tang Dynasty and Song Dynasty. Originally consisting of three scrolls, it was combined into one scroll in the woodblock edition of The Daozang (the authoritative collection of Taoist scriptures), categorized under ritual texts in the Dongxuan Division.

Claiming to be the doctrine preached by Yuanshi Tianzun (Primeval Lord of Heaven) in the Great Luo Jade Capital, the scripture states that on each of the Three Yuan Festivals every year, deities including the Three Yuan Officials, the Four Agencies, the Five Emperors, and the Good and Evil Boys ascend to the Golden Palace to review the ledgers of life and death, merits and sins of all mortals, as well as the karmic records of wandering souls in the hells and water palaces. If a grand ritual offering is held at this time to pray sincerely to heaven and earth, the Heavenly Honored Ones will dispatch various deities to descend upon the ritual altar, eradicate sins, dispel disasters, bless the living, ensure the stability of the state, and enable the salvation of deceased souls. The main procedures of the ritual offering include paying homage to sixty Heavenly Honored Ones corresponding to each of the heaven, earth, and water realms of the Three Yuan, and repenting in sequence for the sins committed by oneself, one’s teachers, parents, and relatives. It also exhorts people to hold ritual offerings on the Five La Festivals for deceased relatives and ancestors, perform Taoist rituals and repentance, so as to pray for the ascension of the deceased souls and the prosperity of the nation and its people.