Nurturing Spirit Scripture 上清黄庭养神经

The author is unknown.

Judging from its content and wording, it was presumably written by a Taoist priest between the Tang and Song Dynasty.

Tongzhi·Yiwennüe (Comprehensive Records·Survey of Arts and Literature) recorded it as Huangting Yangshen Jing in one volume.

The existing version is included in the Zhengyi Section of The Daozang.

The scripture first expounds the profound meaning of the Yellow Court. It holds that humans are tempted by sounds, colors, and tastes, thus losing their right mindfulness and wasting their prime years. If one can understand the principles of movement and stillness, emergence and withdrawal, and assist in nourishing their spirit, their body and mind will be peaceful, and all evils will not approach.

Next, it discusses methods of invoking spirits and wearing talismans to eliminate disasters and cure diseases. It states that when people encounter lawsuits, wars, waterborne ailments, or epidemic miasmas, they should contemplate the Jia cycle guardian spirit of the day or their birth spirit, and write the Jia cycle talismans to carry close to their chests—this will eliminate disasters immediately. To ward off fire disasters, one can write talismans associated with the six Ren and six Gui celestial stems and recite the names of their corresponding spirits; alternatively, one can recite the name of the Jiazi spirit.

It further claims that if one suffers from illnesses or malignant abscesses, they can hold their breath and silently recite the names of the six Jia cycle spirits, or write talismans to swallow—then the illness will be cured instantly. Additionally, there are the Jade Goddess Talismans of the Yellow Court and Six Jia Cycles, which can be used to command all spirits, subdue ghosts, control evil, restrain souls, regulate ethereal souls, and cure all diseases.

Volume 14 of Yunji Qiqian (Seven Slips of the Cloud Satchel) contains Huangting Daojia Zhongshen Jing; the first half of its content is identical to that of this book.