Page 721 - The Encyclopedia of Taoism v1_A-L

LINGBAO YUJIAN

::kit+! pg §'1TM';j~It~: (Crucial Essentials in the Nurninous Treasure Tradition
for Practicing and Upholding the Inner Purport for the Great Refinement; CT
407; BoltzJ. M. 1983, and Lagerwey 1987C, 233- 34).
The text's division into ninety sections was the work of a scholarly disciple
familiar with most of the contemporary twelfth-century Taoist traditions, and
represents a finely woven synthesis of many of them, even though its major
focus IS on the saving of deceased ancestors. The text first directs the disciple
to master the making and use of talismans (j. 4- 21), the basic ways of imbib-
ing pure essences, and the sending of petitions to the heavens. Adepts are
taught to combine traditional Celestial Masters (*Tianshi dao), Lingbao, and
*Shangqing methods with new practices derived from Shenxiao and *Tianxin
zhengfa (Correct Method of the Celestial Heart) that aim to exorcise impure
energies from the body so that pure energies will replace them. Once these
preliminaries are mastered, the adept will be able to work toward his final
goal-to save all souls from hell by traveling beyond the stars, and ultimately
to be initiated by the Celestial Worthy of Original Commencement (Yuanshi
tianzun 5f:Jf:172$). Once this has been achieved, the adept can order about
the deities of heaven and earth and practice Thunder Rites (*leifa). Besides
being now able to thoroughly work through rites of confession (j. 27), the adept
learns how to attain a place within the ranks of the transcendents (j. 28) and
to find his way among all the celestial realms with various divine aides (j. 29).
Once he has completed this program, the adept is qualified to perform public
ritual, exorcising demons for the benefit of the living (manifest in j. 30-45) and
delivering the lost souls of the dead (detailed especially inj. 46-71).
Lowell SKAR

ID BoltzJ. M. 1983; BoltzJ. M. 1987a, 28- 29; BoltzJ. M. 1994, IQ
~ Lingbao dafa

Lingbao yujian

Jade Mirror of the Nurninous Treasure

This important thirteenth-century ritual text (CT 546 and 547), although incom-
plete, may be related to the same tide mentioned by *Bai Yuchan (u94-I229?;
see Haiqiong Bai zhenren yulu #jf31 B JiA ~g~ , CT 1307, 4.I2a-b). The tide's
"Numinous Treasure" refers to the *Lingbao dafa (Great Rites of the Nurninous
Treasure) tradition to which this text belongs, while "Jade Mirror" refers to