Page 334 - The Encyclopedia of Taoism v1_A-L

DADONG Z H E J I NG 295

Dadong zhenjing
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Authentic Scripture of the Great Cavern

The Dadong zhenjing, also known as "Sanshijiu zhang" -=: + 11 ~ or "Thirty-
Nine Stanzas," is the central scripture of the *Shangqing revelations. The term
dadong, which also means Great Profundity and is sometimes used as a syn-
onym of "Shangqing," is glossed as "supreme, unlimited darkness where one
attains the Void and guards tranquillity." It alludes therefore to the primordial
Origin, the state in which the two complementary principles (Yin and Yang,
or Heaven and Earth) are not yet separated and nothing can be seen.
The Taoist Canon contains several versions of this scripture, all of which
date from the Song or Yuan periods. All have undergone interpolations but
are largely authentic. The version in the Shangqing dadong zhenjing 1: f~:* ~
;R~ (Authentic Scripture of the Great Cavern of the Highest Clarity; CT 6) is
the closest one to the original text, except for the first and the sixth juan which
are later additions. This version bears a preface by *Zhu Ziying (976-1029) and
two postfaces dated to the late thirteenth and early fourteenth centuries. The
version in the Wenchang dadong xianjing )( /§ :* ~ {W ~~ (Immortal Scripture
of the Great Cavern by Wenchang; CT 5) is named after the god *Wenchang
and has Song prefaces; it is also available with a commentary and with prefaces
dating from the early fourteenth century (Wenchang dadong xianjing )( /§ :* ~
{W ~~ ; CT 103). Another version of the scripture in the Taoist Canon is entitled
Dadong yujing ~,~~ (Jade Scripture of the Great Cavern; CT 7), while
three other fragmentary editions and commentaries are in the *Daozangjiyao
(vol. 3).
The Dadong zhenjing teaches how to join the celestial and corporeal spirits,
and accordingly follows a double structure. Each of its thirty-nine sections
contains two levels, one celestial and one corporeal. The central part of each
section consists of stanzas addressed to celestial kings; they describe heavenly
palaces and the salvation of the believer and his ancestors who, once delivered
from the bonds of death, participate in the heavenly frolicking of the deities.
These stanzas are inserted between two shorter parts devoted to the inner
deities (see figs. 14 and 27) who close the "gates" of the body where mortal
breaths blow in. Before the practitioner recites the celestial stanzas, he must
summon and visualize the guardian of each mortal breach, and cause him
to descend from the brain (corresponding to heaven within the body) to the