Daily Morning and Evening Liturgy of the Mysterious Gate玄门日诵早晚功课经

Also known as

Morning and Evening Liturgy, Most High Liturgy of the Mysterious Gate, Quanzhen Liturgy Scripture

Author / transmission

Compiled by Quanzhen Daoism

Period

Ming–Qing · Took its fixed form at Quanzhen public monasteries during the Ming–Qing transition (around the 17th century); the White Cloud Temple, Beijing, woodblock edition circulated most widely.

Canon division

Outside the Canon

Collected in

Outside the Canon (temple woodblock editions; collected in the Daozang Jiyao and the Zangwai Daoshu)

Category

Ritual Protocol (Keyi)

Fascicles

2 juan (morning liturgy and evening liturgy)

Synopsis

The Xuanmen Risong Zaowan Gongke Jing (Daily Morning and Evening Liturgy of the Mysterious Gate) is a compilation of scriptures and litanies recited daily, morning and evening, at Quanzhen Daoist temples; it took its fixed form at the public monasteries (shifang conglin) during the Ming–Qing transition, and is likewise in common use at Zhengyi temples. The morning liturgy recites in sequence the eight great spirit-incantations for purifying the heart, mouth, body, the local earth, heaven and earth, the incense offering, the golden light, and the mysterious accumulation, followed by the Qingjing Jing (Scripture of Clarity and Stillness), the Xinyin Jing (Mind Seal Scripture), the Yuhuang Jing (Jade Emperor Scripture, or alternatively the Jiuku Jing, Scripture of Salvation from Suffering), litanies (baogao) to the various sages, hymns, and the Threefold Refuge; the evening liturgy recites the Jiuku Jing, the Shengtian Jing (Scripture of Ascending to Heaven), the Jieyuan Jing (Scripture of Resolving Grievances), and litanies to Doumu and the Taiyi Celestial Worthy Who Saves from Suffering, and ends with a "dedication of merit." The liturgy compilation combines scripture recitation, incantation, prostration, and repentance in a single practice, serving both as cultivation (the morning liturgy for "refining the self," the evening liturgy for "delivering the dead") and as the framework of daily monastic order; it is the scripture most commonly used and best known to believers at contemporary Daoist temples, and is also an introductory text for understanding the Daoist pantheon (through its litanies) and the music of the daily liturgy (its chant melodies). Liu Shouyuan's Qingwei Hongfan Daomen Gongke (Broad Model Liturgy of the Daoist Community according to Qingwei) is one of its early compiled editions.

Key Ideas

• The eight great spirit-incantations
• Morning liturgy: the Qingjing Jing, the Xinyin Jing, and the Yuhuang Jing; evening liturgy: the Jiuku Jing
• Litanies to the various sages and the Threefold Refuge
• Daily cultivation and the deliverance of the dead
• The core of daily monastic order at Daoist temples

Structure

Two fascicles, morning and evening liturgy, each containing incantations, scriptures, litanies, hymns, and a dedication of merit.

Editions

• White Cloud Temple, Beijing, woodblock edition
• Daozang Jiyao edition (as the Qingwei Hongfan Daomen Gongke)
• Zangwai Daoshu edition
• Chinese Taoist Association printed edition

Full Text & Online Resources

• Wikipedia: Zaowan Gongke Jing
• CTEXT search

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