[Transfer] Examination of Taoist Magic "Family Letter Style" (Part 2)

  In the transmission ceremony of Tianxin Zhengfa, the disciple receiving the transmission must present seven taels of cinnabar to the master to substitute for blood-drinking. They must take an oath, receive precepts, and accept the talisman certificates of Tianxin Zhengfa. The fundamental purpose of the blood-drinking ceremony held between master and disciple is to make both parties "firm their hearts": "Blood-drinking reinforces the oath; using cinnabar to replace blood, each firms their heart. Drinking this cinnabar essence, one connects with the true and reaches the dark. Harmonizing the five qi within, mixing with a hundred deities. Ten transformations return the spirit, ten thousand qi unite as immortals."[1]

 

  Blood-drinking as an oath has a long history. In Taoist transmission ceremonies, only the meaning of blood-drinking is retained, with cinnabar substituting for fresh blood. "Using cinnabar to replace blood" becomes the witness maintaining the "community" of Daoist magic between master and disciple. In magical practice, this "community" shows a tendency toward virtual blood relations. Volume 2 of the Wushang Xuanyuan Santian Yutang Dafa, in the section "Second on the Precepts of the True Master" under "Prohibitions for Ascending the Hall," emphasizes respecting the master who transmits the Daoist magic during the transmission ceremony—namely, the "Degree Master":

 

  Without submitting a petition and offering trust, transmission is not given; without swearing to Heaven and announcing to Earth, degree is not conferred. Illegally transmitting or conferring results in the Three Officials correcting faults and the Four Departments supervising errors. Those receiving the Dharma teaching must revere the Degree Master, treating them with ancient rites as a father. In today's world, selling the Dharma for profit is worse than treating the Degree Master as a servant or concubine. Those learning the True Dao should remember that the Heavenly Master of the Han Dynasty is far away and cannot be seen; those who transmit the Heavenly Master's teaching are the Degree Masters. One should add respect to them, not be disrespectful or frivolous.

 

  Here, Tianxin Zhengfa regards the "Degree Master" as the inheritor of the Heavenly Master of Han's Dharma teaching, and emphasizes that disciples receiving degree must revere the Degree Master to succeed in transmitting the Daoist magic. Reverence for the Degree Master must be shown with ancient rites, and one should "treat them as a father." In the rituals of Tianxin Zhengfa, the "Degree Master" is also called the "Original Master." Volume 2 of the Taishang Zhuguo Jiumin Zongzhen Mi Yao, in the chapter "Secret Instructions for Writing Talismans," points out that the "Original Master" is the "Master of Transmission" or "Degree Master": "Whenever writing talismans and performing magic, first calm your heart and do not let mixed thoughts interfere. Sit facing the auspicious direction and away from the broken direction; visualize the Original Master in front (the Master of Transmission) and the Patriarch behind..." In the ritual practice of Tianxin Zhengfa, the importance of the Original Master cannot be ignored. In rituals invoking deities, the Original Master must be invoked first and possesses the spiritual power to empower the disciple to perform magic. In the "Sending Petitions" ritual of Tianxin Zhengfa, one must form the "Original Master Mudra," visualize oneself transforming into the "Original Master" to perform rituals at the altar:

 

    Sending Petitions: Set up seats for Earth and other deities at the Heavenly Gate, and the master sets up a seat in the southeast corner. The master sits down, first visualizing oneself as the Heavenly Master, wearing a fish-tail crown, adorned with fish mane, and wearing red shoes. Then form the Mudra of Transforming into the Divine: the little finger of the left hand enters from behind the other four fingers to the root of the middle finger, the four fingers curl, pinching the palm center, using the middle finger to hook and secure the little finger, and using the thumb to pinch the middle joint of the middle finger. Snap the thumb, then pinch the root of the second finger. This is the Original Master Seal Mudra. Visualize the Six Jia and Six Ding, the Four Heavenly Gate Kings, Azure Dragon, White Tiger, Vermilion Bird, and Black Tortoise arranged in rows surrounding you. Next, visualize the officials and subordinates of the Earth Deity presenting petitions at the Heavenly Gate, each clearly distinguished...[2]

 

The "Original Master Mudra" is: "Left hand... snap the thumb, then pinch the root of the second finger." Volume 6 of Shangqing Tianxin Zhengfa, in the section "Catalog of Various Mudras," considers the "Original Master Mudra" to be "Yin Wen, also known as the Earth Mudra." The Taishang Zhuguo Jiumin Zongzhen Mi Yao considers the "Original Master Mudra" to be: "Pinch the root of the second finger with the thumb, to summon divine generals, officials, soldiers, and Gong Cao Earth Deities." It is obvious that in the "Sending Petitions" ritual, the master forming the "Original Master Mudra" and visualizing themselves transforming into the Original Master is key to summoning divine generals, officials, soldiers, Gong Cao, and Earth Deities to descend, thereby dispatching talisman documents. In contemporary Fujian Yoga religion's deity-invoking rituals, the master must visualize transforming into three masters: "Patriarch," "Original Master," and "Immortal Master," and must also welcome the ancestral masters of past transmissions. These deities with virtual blood relations, the Three Masters and the ancestral masters of past generations, become the sacred guarantee for the efficacy of the Daoist magic.