The Spiritual Scripture of Purple Texts from the Golden Palace Lord of the Heavenly Supreme Clarity
Also known as The Spiritual Scripture of Purple Texts from the Supreme Mystery.
As one of the early classic texts of the Shangqing School (Supreme Clarity School), it was likely composed during the Eastern Jin Dynasty and Southern Dynasties (317–589 CE). In Volume Five of The True Declarations (Zhengao), it is stated: “The Immortal Dao includes the Heavenly Emperor’s Image Talisman to harmonize the Primordial Qi, which is also recorded in the Purple Texts”; The Catalogue of the Supreme Clarity Great Cavern True Scripture (Shangqing Dadong Zhenjing Mu) records “One scroll of the Spiritual Scripture of Purple Texts: Records from the Golden Palace of Supreme Clarity”—both references denote this very scripture.
The present version in the Daozang (Taoist Canon) consists of one scroll and is included in the “Original Texts Category” (Benwen Lei) of the Dongshen Bu (Divine Grotto Section).
The scripture is falsely attributed to be “transmitted by the Posterior Sage Golden Palace Lord (Housheng Jinque Dijun) to the Five Elders Supreme True Immortal Capital Lords (Wulao Shangzhen Xiandu Jun), who then passed it down to the Azure Youth Lord of Fangzhu (Fangzhu Qingtong Jun).”
The text first records the method of swallowing the sun’s Qi (vital energy):
- This method is performed at sunrise: face east, tap the teeth nine times, silently recite the name of the sun’s soul in one’s mind, visualize the flowing rosy clouds and purple Qi from the sun entering one’s body, then swallow the sun’s glowing Qi and cloudy essence forty-five times. After that, swallow saliva, tap the teeth again, and offer prayers. This is the method of cunsi (visualization meditation) and Qi ingestion.
The text also describes a method that combines cunsi with the swallowing of talismans. The talismans to be swallowed include:
- The Supreme Mystery Talisman for Ingesting the Sun’s Qi and Sealing Light (Taiwei Yin Riqi Biming Lingfu),
- The Supreme Mystery Yin-Generating Talisman for Ingesting the Moon’s Essence from the Purple Weft (Ziwei Yin Yuejing Taixuan Yinsheng Fu),
- The Heavenly Emperor’s Image Talisman of the Supreme Mystery Heavenly Lord (Taiwei Tiandijun Tianhuang Xiangfu), etc.
In addition, the scripture records the “Method of Restraining the Three Souls from the Spiritual Scripture of Purple Texts of the Supreme Mystery” (Taiwei Lingshu Ziwen Ju Sanhun Zhi Fa) and the “Method of Controlling the Seven Po (Corporeal Souls) from the Spiritual Scripture of Purple Texts of the Supreme Mystery” (Taiwei Lingshu Ziwen Zhi Qipo Zhi Fa), which use incantation techniques to restrain the souls and control the Po.
The above-mentioned practices are frequently quoted in texts such as The True Declarations (Zhengao), The Essential Secrets of the Supreme (Wushang Miyao), The Imperial Encyclopaedia of the Taiping Era (Taiping Yulan), and The Seven Slips of the Clouds’ Satchel (Yunji Qiqian).
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