Page 709 - The Encyclopedia of Taoism v1_A-L

LlNGBAO

Emperor and populated by the "heavenly Perfected" (zhutian zhenren i'itf*
$t A) of earlier kalpa-cycles (*jie). Elements of the celestial language, *dafan
yinyu ("secret language of the Great Brahma"), of these heavens, written in
elaborate graphs, serve as talismans and as powerful chants.
As the above shows, the Lingbao scriptures follow the tendency of the
Shangqing scriptures to organize the cosmos in terms of three and five (see
*sanwu). The cardinal directions and center come under the rule of the Five
Emperors (wudi Ji *) adopted from Han imperial cult and the "weft texts"
(weishu ~Jil:~; see *TAOISM AND THE APOCRYPHA). In one scripture, the three
heavens are further subdivided into nine cosmic heavens, which are given San-
skrit-sounding names and associated particularly with the gods of the human
body. The "earth-prisons" or hells of the scriptures, however, are divided ac-
cording to the "ten directions" -the four cardinal directions, their intermediate
points, above and below-more frequently seen in Buddhist texts.
While the narrative structure of the first part of the Lingbao scriptures
places all events many kalpa-cycles into the past, they foretell the violent end
of a kalpa-cyde in the jiashen I j1 $ year (the twenty-first of the sexagesimal
cycle; see table IQ) of our own world-system. In this, they respond to the es-
chatological fervor already evident in the Shangqing scriptures, but portray
the new age as beginning with the appearance of the Lingbao scriptures them-
selves to sweep away all other religious doctrine. (See the entry * APOCALYPTIC
ESCHATOLOGY.)

Gods and spirits. The Lingbao texts describe an elaborate cosmic bureaucracy
and instruct practitioners to approach these celestial powers through ritual and
supplication. At the apex of the pantheon is the Celestial Worthy of Original
Commencement (Yuanshi tianzun JIJ;$ X:!f; see * sanqing). This deity plays
somewhat the same role in the Lingbao scriptures as the cosmicized Buddha in
Buddhist scriptures. His emergence in the heart of the primeval Dao is traced
through a series of five groups of kalpa-cycles that are given reign-names in
the manner of human dynasties (for their names, see *COSMOGONY). Next in
importance is the Most High Lord of the Dao (Taishang daojun ;tI@~n,
a deity who serves as the disciple of the Celestial Worthy and interlocutor in
many Lingbao scriptures. With the exception of Laozi, whose existence in
the prior heavens was as the Emperor of the West, the Five Emperors of the
four directions and center do not appear as actors in the scriptures, but are
invoked in ritual.
The deities resident in the human body include those already elaborated
in the Shangqing scriptures. Particular reference is made to a group of five
internal deities who date back to Celestial Master practice:
l I. Great Unity (*Taiyi :X. --), essence of the embryo of perfection, who lives
in the palace of the head known as the Muddy Pellet (*niwan)