Page 258 - The Encyclopedia of Taoism v1_A-L

BASU JI NG 219

Basujing

Scripture of the Eight Pure Ladies

The basu are carriages of clouds for the divinities, the Yin counterpart of
the *bajing (Eight Effulgences) which are Yang carriages of light. The same
term also denotes eight female divinities. The scripture that concerns them
belongs to the original *Shangqing revelations, and is divided into two
parts in the current Taoist Canon: the Basu zhenjing J\ :~O~U~ (Authentic
Scripture of the Eight Pure Ladies; CT 426) and the Basu zhenjingfushi riyue
huanghua jue J\ :~f~ ~~ ~IHt B jj £ ~ ~ (Authentic Scripture of the Eight
Pu're Ladies and Instructions on the Absorption of the August Efflores-
cences of the Sun and the Moon; CT 1323). Both texts belong to the group
of Shangqing writings that teach how to follow the yearly and monthly
journeys of the Sun and the Moon across the sky in order to ingest their es-
sences. These meditation exercises play an important role in the Shangqing
practices and vision of the world, and parts of them were included in later
rituals.
The Basu zhenjing consists of three main sections. The first describes ex-
ercises to visualize the divinities of the planets and absorb their light. The
second is a rite to call upon the divinities of the planets and ask them to erase
one's name from the registers of death (siji ~~) . This rite complements
a similar one addressed to the divinities of the Northern Dipper (*beidou)
described in the *Jiuzhen zhongjing. The third section focuses on two meth-
ods to pacify the hun souls (see *hun and po) and expel the Three Corpses
(sanshi; see *sanshi and jiuchong); it also contains a list of Shangqing texts
arranged into four classes according to the spiritual ranks granted by their
practice.
The Fushi riyue huanghua jue teaches how to absorb the essences of the Sun
and the Moon by ingesting water previously exposed to their rays. It contains
several talismans (*FU): two for Yin and Yang, two for the Sun and the Moon,
and one for each of the Eight Pure Ladies. Then it describes the rite of the
Xuanmu bajian K -BJ:J\ fl.~ (Eight Tablets of the Mysterious Mother), which
consists in visualizing divinities who ride in carriages of light (jing jjt) and
clouds (su JK) on the eight nodal days of the year (bajie J\ 1§!1J, i.e., equinoxes,
solstices, and the first day of each season), which are related in turn to the