The Lingbao Duren Jing 灵宝度人经

Lingbao Duren Jing (Scripture of Salvation by Lingbao), whose full name is Yuanshi Wuliang Duren Shangpin Miaojing (Supreme Wonderful Scripture of the Infinite Salvation of the Primordial Beginning), is a treasure in the Taoist canon of China. It is the first Taoist scripture that depicts the celestial realm of immortals, the mortal world, and the netherworld of ghosts, originating in the Eastern Jin Dynasty.

Lingbao Duren Jing presents a vision of the three-dimensional cosmic space, which consists of heaven above, the human world in the middle, and hell below. The heaven, or celestial realm, is divided into six heavens of the Desire Realm, eighteen heavens of the Form Realm, four heavens of the Formless Realm, four heavens of the Seed People, and the Three Pure Realms (also known as the Great Luo Heaven). The Desire Realm, Form Realm, and Formless Realm are collectively called the "Three Realms." Together, the "Three Realms and One Heaven" (referring to the Seed People's Heavens) consist of 32 heavens in total. Each of these 32 heavens is governed by a celestial emperor, making 32 celestial emperors in total. These 32 emperors are distributed in the four directions: east, south, west, and north, with eight heavens and eight emperors in each direction.

Due to their different levels of elevation, these 32 heavens are not on the same horizontal plane. They form a three-dimensional spiral step-like structure, starting from the first heaven of the Desire Realm in the east, moving south, then west, and finally reaching the highest layer of the Seed People's Heaven in the north.

Lingbao Duren Jing holds that mortals in the secular world can become immortals through cultivation, entering the celestial realm to become heavenly beings; while those who commit evil deeds and follow the path of ghosts will inevitably fall into hell. The scripture outlines a map of cultivation and ascension, pointing out the realms that one can reach by cultivating to become an immortal, which is the "Three Realms and One Heaven." These realms ascend in sequence, namely the Desire Realm, Form Realm, Formless Realm, and Seed People's Heaven as mentioned above. If the secular world, the ghost realm (hell), and the Three Pure Realms are included, it is called the "Five Realms, One Heaven, and One Realm."

The secular world is where mortals live; the ghost realm is the abode of ghosts; and the Three Pure Realms are the residences of the three highest deities in Taoism: Yuqing (Jade Pure), Shangqing (Supreme Pure), and Taiqing (Great Pure).

Tianbao Jun, Lingbao Jun, and Shenbao Jun are collectively called the "Three Treasures Lords." It is these Three Treasures Lords who impart the secret Taoist scriptures from heaven to the mortal world.