Page 667 - The Encyclopedia of Taoism v1_A-L

LEI SHIZHONG 6 2 5

W Kato Chie 1996; Lagerwey 2004a; Maeda Shigeki 1988; Pregadio 2006a;
Schipper 1979a; Schipper 1993, 105-12; Schipper 1995C

* INNER DEITIES; MEDITATION AND VISUALIZATION

Lei Shizhong

1221-95; zi: Kequan PTm; haD: Mo'an !AA~ (Silent Hermitage),
Shuangqiao laoren ~m~ A (Old Man of the Double Bridge)

This important thirteenth-century ritual master and advocate of the basic
harmony of the Three Teachings (Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism) was
a native of Wuchang it ~ (Hubei), although his ancestors came from Yuzhang
ffl{ J'l[ (Jiangxi). Reputedly a talented writer, he also came to study philosophy
and the recondite aspects of the universe in his youth. He later encountered,
through dreams and while awake, divine beings who taught him the fine points
of the Thunderclap Rites (leiting ~ 1't; see *leifa), and the fundamental parallels
between Buddhist and classical forms and aims of self-cultivation with those
available among the Taoist traditions he had mastered. Of the many disciples
who had reportedly studied with him before he passed away in 1295, some
returned to Sichuan and others to the southeast coastal areas.
Lei's substantial annotations to the *Duren jing (Scripture on Salvation) were
part of the edition (Duren shangpin miaojing tongyi 1t A...t &b fl) #~,@ ~; CT 89)
assembled by the forty-third Celestial Master, *Zhang Yuchu (1361-1410), which
also includes the explanations of a clerk of the Thunderclap Lord Xin (Xin
tianjun **!t), another strong proponent of both the Thunder Rites (*leifa)
and the fundamental unity of the Three Teachings. One of Lei's disciples named
Chen Yuanheng [)i1! 5I: -'7 recorded some of Lord Xin's revelations to his master.
Lei is also credited with a two-chapter Chaotic Origin (Hunyuan 1fE.X) ritual tra-
dition that is part of the *Daofa huiyuan (Corpus of Taoist Ritual,). 154-55)
Lei's passing in 1295 did not prevent him from presenting *Xue Jizhao (fl.
1304-16) with a copy of his Xuxuan pian fiN. R,\'lil (Folios on the Mystery of the
Void) in 1308. The texts and diagrams associated with Lei bear comparison
with those of *Xiao Yingsou (fl. 1226) and texts associated with him, as well
as with the traditions central to *Bai Yuchan (II94-1229?) and his disciples.
Lowell SKAR

m Boltz]. M. 1987a, 209-10; Qing Xitai 1994, I: 343-44
* leifa