Page 477 - The Encyclopedia of Taoism v1_A-L

GAOSHANG SHENXIAO ZONGSHI SHOUJING SHI 439

Gaoshang Shenxiao zongshi shoujing shi

An Exemplar on the Scriptures Received by the Lineal Master of
the Most Exalted Divine Empyrean

The precise origins of this text (CT 1282) remain obscure but it was clearly
composed in tribute to the theophany of Song Huizong (r. 1100-1125) accord-
ing to the *Shenxiao teachings introduced by *Lin Lingsu (1076-1120). It opens
with an account of divine revelation reminiscent of the *Duren jing (Scripture
on Salvation) central to the late fourth-century *Lingbao codification. The
story told here concerns the transmission of a body of scripture from the
Ancestral Master (zushi 1-J3. Bm) to the Lineal Master (zongshi * Bm) and then to
the Perfected Master (zhenshi ~ rim). These three deities are designated as the
three masters of the Gaoshang Shenxiao dadao ~ ~ i$'Jlt::kJ!! (Great Way
of the Most Exalted Divine Empyrean).
The Ancestral Master Yuanshi tianzun jf;ftti17(~ (Celestial Worthy of
Original Commencement; see * sanqing) of the Yuqing I tJ1l (Jade Clarity)
celestial realm initially appears to give voice to the "Shenxiao scriptures on
the Salvation of Lingbao" (Lingbao duren shenxiao zhongjing ~ llf J!t A. fEll 'Jlt
?;iH~). He then delivers them to the Lineal Master, Taishang daojun :;t~
ill)jj (Most High Lord of the Dao) in the Shangqing J:: {~ (Highest Clarity)
celestial realm. The Lineal Master orders the perfected residents of Shangqing
to separate the text into sixty juan, in accord with the sexagesimal cycle (see
*ganzhi). This newly organized scriptural corpus, headed by the Duren jing
itself, was next transferred for safekeeping to Shenxiao yuqing zhen wangjun
i$1it :E Ni ~ I tt (Perfected Sovereign Lord of the Jade Clarity of the Divine
Empyrean). It was not to be revealed again until the Song empire had reached
a zenith of peace and prosperity, at which time the Shenxiao sovereign would
be incarnated as ruler of the people, that is, Song Huizong.
Like the *Shangqing corpus, the cyclical year renchen ~ AA (the twenty-
ninth of the sexagesimal cycle; see table IQ and the entry * APOCALYPTIC
ESCHATOLOGY) demarcates the beginning of a new dispensation. Here it is said
that after the Zhenghe reign period year of renchen (1112), the deity Qinghua
dijun w.*~ (Imperial Lord of Green Florescence), that is, Lin Lingsu,
discretely revealed the divine mandate for theocratic rule, precipitating the
release of scripture. The chapter headings for a Duren jing in sixty-one juan
listed here correspond to the version of the text appearing at the head of the