Commentary on the Primordial Antiquity Scripture 元始天尊说太古经注

Annotated by Changquanzi, a Quanzhen Taoist priest at the end of the Jin Dynasty and the beginning of the Yuan Dynasty.

Consisting of one volume, it is included in the Yujue (Jade Secrets) category of The Dongzhen Section in The Daozang.

Commentary on the Primordial Antiquity Scripture

This work is an annotated version of The Primordial Antiquity Scripture. The original scripture was presumably compiled between the Tang and Song dynasties, divided into three chapters, expounding the way of cultivating truth and nourishing nature. It holds that non-movement and non-action are the foundation of all things, and non-seeing and non-hearing are called the Supreme Mystery. Those who cultivate the Dao can attain longevity by nurturing their true fire and consolidating their true water. The scripture states: "The way to attain longevity is to neither see nor hear, neither pursue glory nor splendor, accumulate essence and perfect spirit, and remain quiet and non-actional—thus one attains the Dao." This is the essential purport of the scripture. Changquanzi’s annotations mainly elaborate on the Internal Alchemy cultivation of nature and mind in Quanzhen Daoism, advocating that practitioners should embrace the primordial and uphold unity, maintain purity and non-action, accumulate essence and perfect spirit. His doctrines are consistent with the main purport of the scripture. The Daozang also contains another work by Changquanzi, Commentary on the Supreme Red Text Cave Antiquity Scripture, one volume, which is roughly the same in content but slightly different in wording; presumably they are different versions of the same book.

See the corresponding entry.