Page 266 - The Encyclopedia of Taoism v1_A-L

BEN]I ]ING

Benjijing

Scripture of the Original Bound

According to Xuanyi's 1r ~ (fl. 684-704) *Zhenzheng lun (Essays of Exami-
nation and Correction), the authors of the Benji jing were Liu jinxi ~~ Ji:@
(ca. 560-ca. 640), who wrote the first five chapters at the turn of the seventh
century, and Li Zhongqing ~ Nl ~NIl, who appended the latter five chapters
shortly thereafter. Only two of the original ten chapters can be found within
the texts of the Taoist Canon. The second chapter appears in the Taixuan
zhenyi benji miaojing J.:. ~ ~ ~ '* II*~) ~JlI (Wondrous Scripture of the Original
Bound of the Perfect Unity of Great Mystery; CT nn) and in the Jueyi jing
7jHiU~ (Scripture on Resolving Doubts; CT 59), while the ninth chapter is
included in the Kaiyan bimi zangjing mJ i1i[ fi' m~ ~~~,£ (Scripture on Elucidating
the Secret Storehouse; CT 329). Various chapters also exist in over seventy
*Dunhuang manuscripts, which preserve the Benji jing almost in its entirety
and allow a partial reconstruction of its table of contents: I. "Protecting the
State" CHuguo pin" 11 [9lJ Jb); 2. "Entrustment" CFushu pin" 1i JI3 Jb); 3·
'i\ctions of the Sages" CShengxing pin" ~ -1 i- ilb); 4. "Dao-Nature" CDaoxing
pin" ill n Ml); 5. '1\ttesting to the Truth CZhengshi pin" J'lw. t.f rIb); 6.-9. Titles
unknown; 10. "Penetrating the Subtle Concerning the Origin of the Dao"
CDaoben tongwei pin" ill;$:.@ fitQ: ® ).
The authors of the Benji jing derived their inspiration for the text from
Buddhism. Not only was the term benji a second century translation of the
Pali term pubbiikoti (Skt.: purvakoti), which designates the original "point of
genesis" (Wu Chi-yu I960, 5-IO; Sharf 2002, 229-38), but late-fourth-century
translations of the Madhyamiigama (Zhong ahanjing rf1 pilJ a~~, T. 26 [5IJ) and
the Samyuktiigama (Za ahan jing ~ pilJ *~.lli:, T. 99 [937-55]) contained sutras of
the same name. The format of the text, a question and answer session between
the highest deity and advanced practitioners, resembles that often found in
Mahayana (Great Vehicle) Buddhist sutras. Throughout the Benji jing, Buddhist
terms are discussed, such as faxiang l~ m (marks of the dharma, dharmalak$alJ.a),
fayin it f[J (seals of the dharma), and jingtu l'Y, I: (pure land, Sukhiivatt). The
text also emphasizes two important Buddhist ideas, upiiya (skillful means) and
nirmiilJ.akiiya (the "transformation body" of the Buddha), which are used to
justify the existence of different and often conflicting teachings and scriptures.
Related to the Buddhist idea that reality is illusory, it describes meditation