Essentials of Supreme Tao 至言总 - 道教典籍
Paul PengEssentials of Supreme Tao
Originally attributed to "Taoist Fan Xiaoran of Yuxue in Kuaiji", this text is dated to the mid-to-late The Tang Dynasty based on research by Japanese scholar Yoshida Yoshitoyo.
Comprising five volumes, it is included in the Tai Xuan Section of The Daozang. Excerpts of the book are also found in Volume 35 of Yunji Qiqian (Seven Bamboo Slips of the Cloudy Satchel).
Essentials of Supreme Tao
The work is divided into five chapters, compiling various Taoist cultivation techniques:
- Fasting and Abstinence (Volume 1): Outlines the essentials of six types of fasting practices—Shangqing, Lingbao, Dongshen, Taiyi, Zhijiao, and Tucan—and related prohibitions.
- Health Preservation (Volume 2): Details health-maintaining methods such as calming the mind to cultivate nature, nourishing the zang-fu organs, taking medicinal herbs, and using spiritual pillows.
- Taboos (Volume 3): Records taboos related to fear of ghosts and gods, as well as daily diet and living habits.
- Qi Circulation (Volume 4): Collects various schools of Qi cultivation and daoyin (guided movement) techniques.
- Tonification and Guidance (Volume 5): Contains massage methods from different schools and a merit-demerit record for rewarding good and punishing evil.
Extensively citing various sources, much of its content is similar to Tang Dynasty Taoist texts such as Records of Fasting and Abstinence, Sima Chengzhen’s Treatise on the Essential Meaning of Qi Cultivation, and Sun Simiao’s Secret Records in the Pillow.
