The Yellow Register Fivefold Dirge 黄箓五老悼亡仪

The compiler remains anonymous.

Its ritual proceedings are largely identical to those ofRitual of the Ten Recitations in the Yellow Register Fasting, and it was presumably compiled in the Song Dynasty as well.

It is included in the Ritual Norms Section of the Cavern Mystery Division ofThe Daozang.

This text records the ritual of extolling the Five Elders of the Five Directions to repent sins and offer salvation for deceased spirits. The Five Elders of the Five Directions are: the Azure Numinous Primordial Elder, the Celestial Lord of the Nine Qi in the East; the Vermilion Numinous True Elder, the Celestial Lord of the Three Qi in the South; the White Numinous Pure Elder, the Celestial Lord of the Seven Qi in the West; the Black Numinous Mysterious Origin, the Celestial Lord of the Five Qi in the North; and the Yellow Numinous Imperial Elder, the Celestial Lord of the One Qi in the Center. InThe Daodoctrine of Taoist ritual, practitioners pay homage to the Five Elders of the Five Directions in sequence and read aloud the prayer text in this ritual. The concluding line of the prayer text states:"We burn incense and reverently invoke the Great Compassionate Honored Ones, to guide all spirits to ascend and enter the blissful realm."