On Daoist Morning and Evening Liturgies
The morning and evening liturgies are essential daily practice scriptures of the Daoist gate. Currently popular morning and evening liturgies in China are roughly divided into Quanzhen and Zhengyi; apart from slight differences they are largely the same, while special schools transmit different morning and evening liturgies.
The Zhengyi and Quanzhen liturgies are largely the same. The Quanzhen morning liturgy begins with the Clearing and Clarifying Melody, suspended notes, outline, mid-invocation and other melodies. Then follow the Divine Incantations of Purifying Mind, Purifying Mouth, Purifying Body, Stabilizing Earth, Stabilizing Heaven and Earth, and Blessing Incense. Finally are recited the Constant Clear and Still Scripture, the Scripture of Disasters Averted and Life Protected, the Scripture of Calamity Averted and Calamity Crossed, and the Wondrous Scripture of the Jade Emperor's Heart Seal, along with precious injunctions of the Three Pure Ones, Four Sovereigns, Southern Pole, Northern, Southern Five Patriarchs, Seven Perfected, and Thunder Ancestor.
The modern Zhengyi Longhu Mountain morning and evening practice scriptures actually come from the Clear Subtlety Invocations and Rest Rites; their content is largely the same as Quanzhen. The openings are basically identical; only the middle scriptures are the Clear and Still Scripture and the Wondrous Scripture of the Highest Jade Emperor's Heart Seal; afterwards are also precious injunctions, and finally the precious injunction of the Thunder Statute and the Earth Bureau Incantation.
Because the precious injunctions in the middle are relatively numerous, generally when reciting them one does so according to which ancestral master's or Perfected one's birthday is encountered, and adds bowing and worship. On ordinary days, what Quanzhen must mainly recite is worshipping the precious injunctions of the Jade Emperor and Thunder Ancestor; Zhengyi must include those of the Three Pure Ones and Celestial Master Zhang; in addition are the precious injunctions related to the method lineage and dharma transmission one cultivates oneself.
In the evening liturgy, Quanzhen begins with the Void-Walking Melody, suspended notes, outline, mid-invocation and other melodies. Then recite the Wondrous Scripture of Saving from Suffering and Extracting Sin, the Scripture of Ascending Heaven and Gaining the Dao, the Scripture of Resolving Grievances and Extracting Sin, along with precious injunctions of Dipper Mother, Three Officials, Dark Heaven, Ancestral Lü, Ancestral Qiu, Ancestral Sa, Spiritual Officer, and Saving from Suffering—these have the function of saving from suffering, extracting sin, and delivering the dead.
Zhengyi is relatively freer: for example, the Celestial Master's Palace on Longhu Mountain often recites the Dao De Jing for evening practice; and other Zhengyi schools' evening practice usually also recites scriptures related to saving from suffering, extracting sin, delivering the dead, or repentance—common ones being the Dipper Scripture and the Three Officials Scripture.
These are the generally accepted Daoist morning and evening liturgies. Those transmitted by lineages with inheritance differ more greatly; for example, some schools perform methods such as the Morning and Evening Combined Refinement Rites, usually led by a high ritual master conducting a Daoist service. The details are similar to the morning and evening liturgies, but more detailed than the generally accepted ones—for example with a more complete foul-clearing step, and also practicing summoning all the Thunder generals once, finally concluding with Golden Light. The daily morning and evening practice is in fact continually training the summoning of generals and the wielding of methods.
Apart from ordinary recitation in the morning and evening liturgies, some details need attention. If believers or ordinary Daoists set up an altar at home, they generally do not perform circumambulation of the altar. In larger temples and monasteries, a high ritual master leads the circumambulation; morning liturgy circumambulates clockwise, evening counterclockwise.
Also, every first and fifteenth of the month, to show difference from ordinary days, one needs to add recitation of repentance texts and dedication of merit.
One sees online the claim that one cannot recite morning liturgy at night—this is pure superstition. The morning liturgy mostly contains scriptures and incantations for blessings and prayers; they have no side effects and can be recited without problem at any time of day or night. What one should note instead is the evening liturgy: if one does not know how to protect oneself, household believers or Daoists are not advised to freely recite those scriptures about saving from suffering, extracting sin, and delivering the dead. Repentance-type ones are fine.
Because in a Daoist temple the field is constantly protected, plus long periods of incense maintenance, priests reciting without problem—but household practitioners must be careful. If the altar set up at home has sufficient power, or one is oneself familiar with Daoist methods, then naturally no problem; if one is merely an ordinary believer, one is not advised to do so freely.
For example, in Buddhism there are many who do not understand the craft; whatever happens, they recklessly tell people to recite the Ksitigarbha Scripture. As a result many go and do it, and after reciting the Ksitigarbha Scripture not only does their situation not improve, their luck becomes worse, or they attract yin, becoming more and more unfortunate.
Of course not everyone who recites recklessly will have problems. For example, some people in their destiny charts carry the Kui Gang destiny, or have the protection of the White Tiger star, or other auspicious stars shining on their destiny—because of the characteristics of their destiny, there are no taboos and no trouble. But among such people, more disbelieve in ghosts and spirits, rarely forming religious faith or reciting scriptures. Yet there is also risk, because some people's fortune periods are long and some short; when the fortune period passes, because they are accustomed to recklessness, they more easily attract trouble. This is also why some people never believed in ghosts and spirits, lived most of their lives without incident, and then fell into the ditch.
To summarize: for generally accepted lineages, household believers may consider Dao De Jing, Dipper Scripture, Three Officials Scripture and similar scriptures, or various repentance texts—none are a problem. If one oneself lives in a Daoist temple or is oneself a ritual master, one may consider changing the evening liturgy to scriptures related to saving from suffering, extracting sin, delivering the dead, or repentance.