Canon of the Four Mirrors of Filial Piety and Purity 太上灵宝首入净明四规明鉴经

This text is presumably one of the scriptures of the Lingbao school from the Song and Yuan dynasties, and is included in the Taiping Section of the The Daozang.

The scripture is divided into four chapters, briefly expounding the practice of the Dao of loyalty, filial piety and Jingming (Pure Brightness). The Xuanben Chapter (Chapter of the Mysterious Origin) states that superior practitioners learn the The Dao with loyalty and filial piety as the foundation, and those who practice loyalty and filial piety can be ranked among the immortals. The Xiuxian Chapter (Chapter of Self-Cultivation) holds that superior practitioners need not abandon their families to retreat to mountains or renounce glory and splendor for Dao cultivation and practice; they only need to "attain the mind through the mind, perceive the nature through the nature", and then their mind and nature will be in perfect harmony, with longevity coming naturally.

Canon of the Four Mirrors of Filial Piety and Purity

The Jiangong Chapter (Chapter of Establishing Merit) argues that inferior practitioners cure illnesses with Taoist Talismans , water and medicinal remedies, and regard this as merit — yet this is not true merit. Only the Dao of loyalty, filial piety and Jingming can bring peace to the world, stability to the sovereign and prosperity to the people, whose merit is immeasurable. The Chengzhong Chapter (Chapter of Ultimate Achievement) teaches that the study of immortality begins with filial piety and is accomplished upon attaining the supreme Dao. "To practice Jingming, one takes loyalty and filial piety as the core practice; accumulate the Dao of loyalty and filial piety, and perfection is attained. What is 'Jing (Pure)'? Not being contaminated by external things. What is 'Ming (Bright)'? Not being disturbed by external things. Remain uncontaminated and undisturbed, and loyalty and filial piety will be attained naturally."

Most of the expressions and doctrines of the whole book are consistent with the quotations of Liu Yu, the patriarch of the Jingming school in the early Yuan Dynasty, so the text was presumably written by Liu Yu or his disciples.