Page 270 - The Encyclopedia of Taoism v1_A-L

BI ANS H BN 231

part of Taoi t physiological and meditational techniques during the early Six
Dynasties, and were developed in the texts of the *Shangqing tradition such
as the Shenzhou qizhuan qibian wutian jing i4J j+l --\:; -'lil¥ --\:; ~ ~ *- ~~ (Scripture
of the Divine Continent on the Dance in Heaven in Seven Revolutions and
Seven Transformations; CT 1331). A central object of identification in these
early traditions was *Taiyi, the Great One, the supreme celestial deity who
emerged during the Warring States as a personification of the concept of
cosmic unity or totality, and who was addressed as an alter ego of the ruler
in the imperial cult of the early Han dynasty. Practices for the transformation
of the body appear in the Taoist liturgies instituted at the end of the Han, as
for instance in the *Zhengyi rite of Lighting the Incense Burner (*falu) which
is described already in the *Dengzhen yinjue (3.6b-8a, compiled from original
Shangqing material), in which there is a strong focus on the "cosmification"
and externalization of the energies of the body of the priest. The function of
this rite is to initiate communication between the priest and the divine world,
and it has been transmitted to the present day as part of the basic framework
of major Land of the Way (*daochang) and Audience (*sanchao) rituals in the
classical *jiao liturgy. It was not until the early Song dynasty, however, that
practices of transformation, occurring as standard elements of ritual, were
subsumed under the heading of bianshen.
Methods labeled as bianshen are described in all the major ritual compen-
dia of the Song dynasty, as for instance in those of the *Tianxin zhengfa, in
which the term refers to relatively simple acts of identification with specific
deities, and to the more comprehensive series of transformations that initi-
ate whole services of exorcism (see *Taishang zhuguo jiumin zongzhen biyao,
2.Ia-2b; Shangqing tianxin zhengfa ..1 r~ *-ie." .lE 1! , CT 566, 2.Ia-5b). In addition
to the identification with the first Celestial Master, *Zhang Daoling, the latter
comprise both practices of "walking along the guideline" (*bugang) and "prac-
tices in the hand" (*shoujue), as well as visualizations of the basic emblems of
cosmic power surrounding the practitioner. They also often include the long
spell that in present-day ritual manuals is referred to as the Great Spell for the
Transformation of the Body (da bianshen zhou "* ~~ %; see Andersen 1995,
195, and Lagerwey 1987C, 71).
Poul ANDERSEN

ID Andersen 1995; Lagerwey 1987C, 69-73; Schipper 1978, 96-98
* TAOIST VIEWS OF THE HUMAN BODY