Page 711 - The Encyclopedia of Taoism v1_A-L

LlNGBAO BIFA

This traditional emphasis on the post-mortem fate of family members is
explained in the scriptures as necessary since, though one's "true" father and
mother is the Dao, one still owes debts to the family of one's earthly origin.
Originally, the scriptures seem to have contained a ten-stage path, parallel
to the Buddhist system of ten bhumi, or stages of bodhisattva attainment. This
began with the arousal of the thought of the Dao (comparable to Buddhist
bodhicitta, or Awakening Mind) and ended with the adepts' attainment of
extended life in the heavens with no further rebirths. As with the bodhisattva
ideal described in indigenously-composed Buddhist scriptures, those of wealth
and status are seen as having achieved such favorable rebirth through adher-
ence to the scriptures in previous lives. Because of this, the Lingbao scriptures
played an important role in the spread of Taoism to the gentry class.
Stephen R. BOKENKAMP

m Bokenkamp 1983; Bokenkamp 1990; Bokenkamp 1996-97; Bokenkamp
1997,373-438; Chen Guofu 1963, 66-71; Ishii Masako 1983b; Kamitsuka Yoshiko
1999, 272-97; Kobayashi Masayoshi 1990, 13-185; Ofuchi Ninji 1974; Ofuchi Ninji
1997, 73-218; Qing Xitai 1988-95, I: 377--98; Ren Jiyu 1990, 127-33 and 143-68;
Robinet 1997b, 149-83; Yamada Toshiaki 2000; Ziircher 1980

* For related entries see the Synoptic Table of Contents, sec. I1L5 CLingbao")

Lingbao bifa

Complete Methods of the Numinous Treasure

The Taoist Canon contains two editions of the Bichuan Zhengyang zhenren
lingbao bifa 1-1::, 1~ jf ~ Jl! A:m. ,Ifldt (Secret Transmission of the Perfected
Zhengyang's Complete Methods of the Numinous Treasure). One is an inde-
pendent text (CT II91), the other is an abridged version in the mid-twelfth-cen-
tury *Daoshu 0. 42; trans. Baldrian-Hussein 1984). The work describes *neidan
practices and is conceived as a continuation of the *Zhong-Lii chuandao ji. It
is ascribed to the semilegendary *Zhongli Quan (also known as Zhengyang
zi jf ~f- or Master of Correct Yang) who, in an undated preface, states that
he discovered a copy of the Lingbao jing ~]lt;i:~ (Scripture of the Numinous
Treasure) within a cave in the Zhongnan mountains (Zhongnan shan ;i:'i-m
ill, Shaanxi). This thirty-juan text was divided into three sections containing
revelations of Yuanshi tianzun :7C ~t *-. (Celestial Worthy of Original Com-
men cement; see *sanqing), Yuanhuang 7l: ~~: (Original Sovereign), and the

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