Page 689 - The Encyclopedia of Taoism v1_A-L

LIANDU

the idea of "salvation through refinement" dates from the Six Dynasties. In
particular, the *Duren jing (Scripture on Salvation) contains evidence of the
idea that rebirth results from a process of refining when it states that "the
*hun soul of the deceased (sihun l,tbW-.) is refined and, through transcendent
mutation (xianhua {lU {t), becomes human" (see Bokenkamp 1997, 418). The
Miedu wulian shengshi miaojing ~ Jt Ti i* 1:. P trJ>#Jli: (Wondrous Scripture on
Salvation through Extinction and the Fivefold Refinement of the Corpse; CT
369), dating from the Six Dynasties, further reveals that rebirth of the body
of the deceased can be brought about through the "living breath" (shengqi
1:.~) of the five directions, by burying a stone inscribed with the Authentic
Scripts (zhenwen ~)() of the five directions in the graveyard. According to
the Tang-dynasty *Chisong zi zhangli (Master Red-Pine's Almanac of Petitions,
6.16b), the petitions offered to the deities in the Way of the Celestial Masters
(*Tianshi dao) included a petition for rebirth connected with the idea of "sal-
vation through refinement."
The Taoist rite of Salvation through Refinement, on the other hand, was
developed during the Northern Song period and was incorporated into the
*Lingbao dafa (Great Rites of the Numinous Treasure) corpus. Evidence that it
was a new rite is found inJin Yunzhong's 1£:it ql (fl. 1224-25) *Shangqing lingbao
dafa (Great Rites of the Numinous Treasure of Highest Clarity; CT 1223, 17.19a)
which states that when *Du Guangting (850-933) edited ritual texts in the late
ninth century, Salvation through Refinement was not yet being performed. Its
importance in the Song period may be gauged by the fact that liturgical texts
associated with the various forms of Great Rites of the Numinous Treasure
devote much space to explanations of the liandu rite, to the extent that they
surpass in number all other rites in the Walking the Way (*xingdao) section
of the ritual. As described inJin Yunzhong's work (j. 37), the central element
in the rite of Salvation through Refinement is the refinement of the "spiritual
body" through the power of water and fire. As a result, the "spirit pneuma"
(shenqi f41 *\) is animated in the organs and limbs of the deceased through the
power of both the "living breath" of the five directions and the recitation of
the *Shengshenjing (Scripture of the Life-Giving Spirits).
Alchemical techniques for the salvation of the dead. The Song-dynasty *Lingbao
yujian (Jade Mirror of the Numinous Treasure; eT 547, j. 38) explains the
liandu rite by saying that externally the priest prepares water and fire, while
internally he joins the trigrams kan .J:A: == and li ~ --, which represent Real
Fire and Real Water. This is related to the idea that the priest can extend the
efficacious power of the inner alchemical (*neidan) techniques that he performs
within his own body to the soul of the deceased.
More details on these techniques are found in Wang Qizhen's £~Jt (fl.
ca. 1250) *Shangqing lingbao dafa (Great Rites of the Numinous Treasure of

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