Explanation of Longhushan Orthodox Unity Daily Morning and Evening Liturgy (2): Incantation for Purifying the Heart
Incantation for Purifying the Heart:
Supreme Lord's Terrace Stars respond to change without pause
drive out evil and bind apparitions protect life and guard the body
Wisdom clear and pure mind-spirit at peace
The three souls forever firm the po without loss or downfall
Supreme Lord's Terrace Stars—what are the Terrace Stars?
Book of Jin, Treatise on Astronomy, Part One: “The Three Terraces have six stars, dwelling in pairs, rising at Wenchang and stretching to Taiwei. The first is called the Heavenly Pillar—the position of the Three Excellencies. In humans called the Three Ducal Ministers; in heaven called the Three Terraces, responsible for opening virtue and manifesting tokens.”
Tang: Li Bai, Poem on a Hundred Worries Sent to Minister Cui: “The terrace stars clear again; heaven's net is restored.”
Song: Yang Wanli, Visiting the Tomb Hermitage of Grand Preceptor Qin at Buffalo-Tending Pavilion: “Heaven's pole eightfold deep, the heart not yet dead; three terrace stars crack before it rests.”
Ming: Chen Ruyuan, Golden Lotus Record, “Accompanying the Plans”: “The mountain-rivers give birth to genius; numinous portions of plants and trees—how often have flames outshone the terrace stars.”
Qing: Gu Yanwu, Seeing the Four Former Calendars of Dongwu at Master Lu's House: “The dragon chariot—where has it gone? Terrace stars fall, Heng and Nai extinguished.”
Thus the Terrace Stars mean the Three Terrace Stars. More detailed is the explanation in Daoist scriptures:
The Yunqi Qiqian, scroll 24, says: “The Three Terraces have six stars, rising in pairs, lying horizontally before the second {Guishao} star of the Northern Dipper. The first is called the Heavenly Pillar—the position of the dukes and lords; in heaven called the Three Terraces, in humans the Three Ducal Ministers. The two stars to the west, near Wenchang, are called the Upper Terrace, Office of Longevity, governing lifespan. The next two are the Middle Terrace, Office of the Center, governing the imperial clan. The two eastern stars are the Lower Terrace, Office of Emolument, governing military affairs. It is also said: Upper Terrace Office of Longevity is the Grand Commandant; Middle Terrace Office of the Center is the Minister of Education; Lower Terrace Office of Emolument is the Minister of Works. It is also said: the Tai Steps—Upper Terrace's upper star assists the Son of Heaven, its lower star is the empress; Middle Terrace's upper star is the feudal lords, its lower star the high ministers; Lower Terrace's upper star is the scholars, its lower star the common people—thereby harmonizing yin and yang and ordering the ten thousand things.”
In Daoism the naming is further elaborated, as in the Scripture of the Northern Dipper:
Upper Terrace Xujing-Kaide Star-Lord; Middle Terrace Liuchun-Sikong Star-Lord; Lower Terrace Qusheng-Silu Star-Lord.
The Lower Terrace was not it Sikong? How did it become Silu? How did Sikong go to the Middle Terrace? And what do these titles mean?
First one must understand that Sikong, Silu, Sikong, and Siming are all official titles.
One must first explain what “Sikong” (Minister of Works) is. It was an ancient official title, one of the Three Ducal Ministers. What were the Three Excellencies? People often said “ranked among the Three Excellencies”—this was an extremely high office, the three greatest officials under the Son of Heaven.
The meaning of the Three Excellencies kept changing. In the Zhou dynasty they were Grand Tutor, Grand Guardian, and Grand Preceptor; in the Han they were the Chancellor, Grand Commandant, and Imperial Censor. Later Han made them Grand Commandant, Minister of Education, and Minister of Works. Wei, Jin, Song, Qi, Liang, Chen, Northern Wei, and Northern Qi all used Grand Commandant, Minister of Education, and Minister of Works. Later Zhou used Grand Preceptor, Grand Tutor, and Grand Guardian. Sui used Grand Commandant, Minister of Education, and Minister of Works; Tang followed Sui, largely the same. Though the office of Minister of Works existed in the Northern and Southern Dynasties and Sui–Tang, it was essentially a sinecure without real power; Song also used Minister of Works as an honorary title for high officials. Liao and Jin followed; from Yuan it was abolished. Later ages often honored the Minister of Works with the title Grand Minister of Works for the Minister of Works (Ministry of Works).
In the Han, from late Western Han to early Eastern Han, the Three Excellencies were Grand Marshal, Grand Minister of Education, and Grand Minister of Works; in Emperor Guangwu's Jianwu 27th year they became Grand Commandant, Minister of Education, and Minister of Works.
So seeing this and comparing, one should understand:
The Upper Terrace means Siming (Office of Longevity), governing lifespan; its upper star assists the Son of Heaven—roughly comparable today to a ministerial-level official—and its lower star is the empress, the ruler's wife or mother.
The Middle Terrace means Sikong (Minister of Education) and Sizhong (Office of the Center), governing the imperial clan; its upper star is the feudal lords—today one might understand this as high officials—and its lower star the high ministers, a general term for ordinary officials.
The Lower Terrace means Sikong (Minister of Works) and Silu (Office of Emolument), governing the military; its upper star is the scholars—men of learning and standing—and its lower star the common people, ordinary folk.
Now consider Silu. Silu is an ancient official title. In the Rites of Zhou, Earth Officials, Preface: “Silu”—Zheng Xuan's commentary: “in charge of distributing emolument.” Sun Yirang's Correct Meaning quotes Jiang Yong: “Though the Silu's functions are missing, seeing its place after the granary-keeper, warehouse-keeper, and household-keeper, and before the agricultural official—all dealing with grain—it is clear it was in charge of distributing grain emolument to the ministers.”
Also according to: Song History, Treatise on Astronomy III: “Silu has two stars, north of Siming, in charge of extending years and prolonging virtue, and also in charge of merit rewards, food allowances, and official ranks.”
Also examined: Book of Jin, Treatise on Astronomy says: “The Three Terraces have six stars, dwelling in pairs, rising at Wenchang and stretching to Taiwei. The first is called the Heavenly Pillar—the position of the Three Ducal Ministers. In humans called the Three Ducal Ministers; in heaven called the Three Terraces, responsible for opening virtue and manifesting tokens. The two western stars near Wenchang are the Upper Terrace, Office of Longevity, governing lifespan. The next two are the Middle Terrace, Office of the Center, governing the imperial clan. The two eastern stars are the Lower Terrace, Office of Emolument, governing military affairs—thereby illuminating virtue and blocking transgression. It is also said: the Three Terraces are heaven's steps, which the Great One treads to ascend and descend; also called the Tai Steps. Upper steps: upper star is the Son of Heaven, lower star the empress; Middle steps: upper star the feudal lords and Three Excellencies, lower star the high ministers; Lower steps: upper star the scholars, lower star the common people—thereby harmonizing yin and yang and ordering the ten thousand things. When ruler and ministers are harmonious and gathered, as in the normal measure; if there is change, one divines it in that person.”
“Wenchang has six stars, before the Dipper's Kui—the six treasuries of heaven, in charge of gathering and reckoning the Dao's way. The first is the Upper General, the great general who establishes martial valor. The second is the Secondary General, the Secretariat Directors who correct left and right. The third is the Noble Minister, the Grand Ceremony Master who orders literary threads. The fourth is Silu and Sizhong, the Supervisory Commandery who rewards merit and advances. The fifth is Siming and Siguan, the Grand Historian who extinguishes disasters. The sixth is Siguan, the Grand Judge who assists in ordering jewels. What is meant by one is that which rises before the Dipper's Kui, near the inner steps. Bright and lustrous, of even size, heavenly omens arrive.”
Understanding these, one finds that in the Scripture of the Northern Dipper the definitions—Upper Terrace Xujing-Kaide Star-Lord, Middle Terrace Liuchun-Sikong Star-Lord, Lower Terrace Qusheng-Silu Star-Lord—at first seem odd; closer study shows them even stranger.
Here explanation is needed. The Scripture of the Northern Dipper is widely transmitted, but it mainly addresses common people—especially the less educated—and among them most are craftsmen. Although Sikong originally governed water and soil, it later oversaw construction projects, vehicles, dress, and instruments, and supervised crafts. For ordinary people engaged in skilled work or plain trade, distinguishing the Middle Terrace's Sikong from Silu could not be better (the literati had already gone to worship Wenchang). Some like to say the Scripture of the Northern Dipper is a spurious scripture; but if one deeply understands these principles, one knows whether it is spurious or not does not matter—what counts is that it works. And from this one can see that the Scripture of the Northern Dipper was actually very careful in considering the masses; though not stated openly, it was quietly done—the low-key side of ancient Daoists benefiting the populace.
Although the Scripture of the Northern Dipper's definitions of the Three Terraces differ somewhat from the original clear ones, overall the Upper Terrace governs lifespan, the Lower Terrace governs emolument, and the Middle Terrace governs the imperial clan—this qualitative determination is consistent.
So much has been said above and it may seem strange—but all this was to explain “Supreme Lord's Terrace Stars respond to change without pause.”
The meaning of this line does not rest only on the movement of the Three Terrace Stars in the sky, but has deeper meaning: “respond to change without pause” means one should flexibly use the definitions of the Three Terrace Stars rather than applying them mechanically. At this point some may already be dizzy—we'll stop here.
“Drive out evil and bind apparitions, protect life and guard the body”—why can the Three Terrace Stars drive out evil, bind apparitions, and protect life? Because there is Siming (Office of Longevity), and the Middle Terrace is Sizhong (Office of the Center); for Sizhong governs life and Siming governs death.
In the Book of Jin, Treatise on Astronomy: Wenchang has six stars, before the Dipper's Kui—the six treasuries of heaven, in charge of gathering and reckoning the Dao's way. The first is the Upper General... The fourth is Silu and Sizhong... The fifth is Siming and Siguan, the Grand Historian who extinguishes disasters. The sixth is Siguan...
Within Wenchang, Siming often shares office with Siguan, so it can serve to “drive out evil and bind apparitions.”
“Wisdom clear and pure, mind-spirit at peace”—relatively simple, no explanation needed.
“The three souls forever firm, the po without loss or downfall”—this needs a note. Three hun and seven po are concepts unique to Daoism; women have three hun and fourteen po. The ancients often said “the hun flies and the po scatter.” Note that hun flies, because the hun is clear and rises to heaven, while po scatter, because the po are turbid and cannot fly—but also cannot directly sink into the earth, so they scatter. Therefore when a person dies they must enter the earth for the po to return to the soil. Here “three souls forever firm, po without loss or downfall” means the hun and po are firm and will not fly off and scatter.
But why start with “Supreme Lord's Terrace Stars” and end related to hun and po? Very simple: human beings correspond to the cosmos. The three hun correspond to the Three Terraces, and the seven po correspond to the Seven Stars. to probe the structure of the three hun more deeply: each hun is itself composed of yin and yang. A common use of the Northern Dipper employs the Seven-Star Lamp; the actual operation is to condense hun and po to achieve life extension. The famous life-extending Seven-Star Lamp method used by Zhuge Liang in Romance of the Three Kingdoms draws on a method that truly exists in Daoism—and in reality there are many systems, such as the common Purple Court Northern Yin Method, the Hetu Primordial Chronology Southern–Northern Two Offices Life-Extension Method, and the Mysterious Clarity Northern Dipper Seven Lords Life-Extension—all relatively efficacious methods.
This incantation is called the Incantation for Purifying the Heart because once deeply understood, one knows that the Three Terraces' offices govern all under heaven; in the body they govern oneself. Once everything is ordered, wisdom naturally manifests, and all is peaceful. When the body is at peace the mind is quiet; when the mind is quiet it purifies itself—hence the name Incantation for Purifying the Heart.
Whoever holds this incantation should do so in a quiet, undisturbed time, putting down all the entanglements of the mind, and entering completely into a state of purity—only then is it true holding of the incantation.
In some schools this incantation is paired with finger formulas. In my personal view, however, this incantation seeks stillness of mind and, further, body at peace and hun and po firm; it is better recited stably and without motion. Fingering would seem superfluous—but each master has his method; if you have such a transmission, following the master's instruction is fine.
If one wishes to strengthen this incantation's effect, another key must be掌握ed: face the direction in which the Three Terrace Stars are located.
Then how is the direction of the Three Terrace Stars calculated?
The answer is simple—it is left for readers to work out themselves.