Page 388 - The Encyclopedia of Taoism v1_A-L

DAO Z AN G XUBIA N 349

JW El ~ IW Ill$] m ill {ill f.:~ (Immortal Scripture Testifying to the Path of Opening
and Closing the August Ultimate According to the Orthodox Lineage of the
Eastern Florescence; no. 2 in table 3) and the Liaoyang dian wenda bian ~ ~
~ rll~ ~ ~ (Questions and Answers from the Liaoyang Hall; no. 3). Although
both texts focus on the cultivation of the Vital Force, their purpose is to help
adepts to achieve the joint cultivation (*shuangxiu) of both Original Nature
and Vital Force (*xing and ming). The Daozang xubian accordingly includes sev-
eral texts describing methods to awaken adepts to the "Celestial Mechanism"
(tianji 51( It see *ji), i.e., their Original Nature. These texts contain alchemical
and symbolic methods, such as the Xie tianji M5I(1m (Disclosing the Celestial
Mechanism; no. 4) and the Shangpin danfa jieci ..1 &b fJ ~ W iJ( (Alchemical
Process of Highest Rank; no. 6); physiological techniques, like the Gufa yang-
sheng shisan ze chanwei I'S"~~~ +- = .fllj F1iiJ~ (Uncovering the Subtleties of
the Thirteen Principles Concerning the Ancient Methods of Nourishing Life;
no. 5); and methods of visualization and practice close to those of Tantrism,
such as the Erlan xinhua = i*JH:"~1S (Heart-to-Heart Dialogue between the
Two Leisurely [Masters]; no. 16; trans. Esposito 1993, 2: 389- 440, and Esposito
1997,97-120). Finally, some texts in this group contain explanations of moral
and ethical principles inspired by Confucianism, including the Jiuzheng lu g,jt
lE ~ (Account of the Realization of Rectitude; no. 8) and the Yu Lin Fenqian
xiansheng shu :W;f'*.T:5t~ if (Letter to Elder Lin Fenqian; no. 9)·

Ethics, universal salvation, and exegesis. The third category of texts testifies to
the importance of moral precepts within the Longmen school, which was
formally charged with the education of Taoist clergy. As explained in the
Tianxian xinchuan 5I(1WJL,'{,\!J (Heart-to-Heart Transmission of Celestial Im-
mortality; no. 13), adepts can achieve the highest stage of immortality through
strict ethical discipline. The relevant texts are the Tianxian dao jieji xuzhi 51( 1W
illftl<;;8@[~iJ (Required Knowledge on Precepts and Prohibitions for the Path
to Celestial Immortality; no. 14) and the Tianxian daocheng baoze 5I(1WJ1[;f~
~.Q1j (Precious Principles for the Path to Celestial Immortality; no. 15). This
program of moral and practical precepts is specific to the Longmen school
and is a product of its officially standardized teachings.
Also typical of the Longmen school are many technical terms found only in
texts of the Daozang xubian. One of them is yishi ~1!t (lit., healing the world),
which defines the Longmen doctrine of universal salvation (see *pudu). This
term delimits the fourth category of texts in the collection, namely, the Lii
zushi sanni yishi shuoshu g 1J3. em = ~ W1!t~j£ (Explanation of the Three
Sages' Doctrine of Healing the World by the Ancestral Master Lii; no. IQ),
the Du Lii zushi sanni yishi shuoshuguankui lin g :tIHm = ~~1!t~j£~m (A
Personal Reading of the Explanation of the Three Sages' Doctrine of Heal-
ing the World by the Ancestral Master Li.i; no. II), and the Lii zushi sanni yishi