Page 710 - The Encyclopedia of Taoism v1_A-L

668 THE E N CYC LOPEDIA OF TAOISM A- L

2. Non-pareil (Wuying $.1€~), with the byname Lordling (Gongzi 0r),
and
3. White Prime (Baiyuan El :JE;), with the byname Cavernous Yang (Dong-
yang WiI ~), two spirits who inhabit the Palace of the Cavern Chamber
in the head (dongfang gong WiI m g ; see *niwan) and also descend into the
liver and lungs, respectively
4. The Director of Destinies (*Siming POJ tfP), whose residence is in the heart
and the sexual organs
5. Peach Vigor (Taokang ;fj~J*), or Peach Child (Taohai ;fjU't), who resides
in the lower Cinnabar Field (*dantian)
In addition, the *Ershisi sheng tu (Charts of the Twenty-Four Life[-GiversJ)
lists the powers and envoys of the three registers of the body who are dis-
patched in ritual to present petitions and vows to the celestial hierarchy.
Salvation and practice. In the Lingbao scriptures, rebirth has been fully integrated
with earlier Taoist views of the afterlife. Through adherence to the practices
of the scriptures one might hope for a fortunate rebirth "in the family of a
Marquis or Prince" or into the heavens themselves. A fortunate few are able to
"ascend in broad daylight," avoiding death altogether. At the highest reaches
of the celestial bureaucracy are those who rejoin the Dao at the end of the
world to reemerge in the new age.
While the scriptures contain ritual programs for lengthy Retreats (*zhai),
Offering rites (*jiao), burial rites, and penitentials, they also include a number
of practices for the individual. Adherents were enjoined to regularly recite
the *Duren jing (Scripture on Salvation), keep the ten precepts (Bokenkamp
1989,18-20), and adhere to the commemorations and vows of the texts. The
moral component of the Lingbao scriptures- a mixture of traditional Chinese
morality and Buddhist salvational ethics-is much more prominent than that
found in earlier texts. There is also a pronounced proselytizing emphasis.
One scripture in the corpus, the Zhihui dingzhi tongwei jing ~ ,:;J JE $:@ 1; ~~
(Scripture for Penetrating the Subtle through Wisdom and Fixing the Will;
CT 325), specifically presents itself as a text to be granted for a small fee to
Taoists, but free to Buddhists and, one suspects, other non-Taoists. The text
expounds at some length on the ten precepts, modifying them slightly for
special circumstances, and presents its message with lively stories, one a ver-
sion of a popular Buddhist tale.
Most important doctrinally for the Lingbao scriptures is its Taoist version of
the 'bodhisattva ideal." This is the central message of the scriptures. Precepts
and rituals regularly contain the wish for the salvation of all beings, from the
emperor down to 'beasts that wriggle and crawl." In practice, rites enunciating
these wishes were most often conducted for the ancestors of the practitioner.