Lingbao Scripture of Purification 太上灵宝洗浴身心经

The author is unknown. It was presumably compiled around the early Sui-Tang period. As recorded in Xuan Yi’s Treatise on Distinguishing Orthodoxy (a Buddhist text of the early Tang Dynasty): "The Taoist priest Li Rong also composed the Scripture of Washing," which is suspected to refer to this work.

Not included in the Zhengtong Daozang (Orthodox Daoist Canon), it is listed in the Catalogue of Lost Daoist Scriptures. Currently, three fragmentary Dunhuang manuscripts survive (S3380, P2402, and the copy collected by the Zhengsong Hall), with detailed records in Onishi Noboru’s Compilation of Catalogues of Dunhuang Daoist Scriptures.

Lingbao Scripture of Purification

Falsely attributed to Yuanshi Tianzun (Primeval Heavenly Lord) as the speaker, the scripture proclaims that the body and mind of all people are inherently pure and tranquil. However, after taking form according to their karma, they become obscured by the defilements of evil desires. One should draw water of Dao-nature, gather incense of non-action, prepare soup of wisdom, reside in a pure and tranquil chamber, and in accordance with the method, wash away karmic defilements, bathe the body and mind, and eliminate evil impurities—thus being able to rediscover the true Dao.

In the Ben Wen (Original Text) category of The Dongzhen Section in The Daozang, there is The Scripture of Pure Body and Mind: The Wondrous Origin from the Supreme Mysterious Capital, whose ideological content is similar to this work.