Outline of the Five Lingbao Scriptures 灵宝五经提纲

The original text does not specify an author.

Judging from its content, it was presumably compiled by Taoist practitioners during the Tang and Song dynasties.

It is included in the Weiyi (Rituals and Etiquette) category of The Dongxuan Section in The Daozang.

Outline of the Five Lingbao Scriptures

This book expounds the fasting ritual of reciting the Five Scriptures to redeem and deliver the souls of the deceased. The Five Scriptures refer to The Scripture of the Chapters on Generating Spirits in the Nine Heavens of the Dongxuan Lingbao, The Wonderful Scripture of Constant Purity and Tranquility Preached by Taishang Laojun, The Wonderful Mind Seal Scripture of the High Sovereign Jade Emperor, The Wonderful Scripture of Saving the Suffering and Redeeming Sins of the Supreme Dongxuan, and The Scripture of Ascending to Heaven and Attaining the Dao Preached by the Supreme One. The fasting method does not list ritual procedures, but focuses on the recitation of the Five Scriptures. Each time the Taoist priest recites a scripture, he points out the outline of the scripture, guides the souls of the deceased to cultivate the Dao in accordance with the scripture for transcendence and liberation, and then recites a seven-character quatrain to elaborate its meaning.

At the end of the book, it states: When the souls of the deceased hear The Scripture of the Chapters on Generating Spirits in the Nine Heavens, they will understand the origin of receiving life and destiny, and practice the subtlety of returning to the origin and restoring the primordial state; when they hear The Scripture of Constant Purity and Tranquility, they will suddenly realize the nature school and empty all forms; when they hear The Mind Seal Scripture, they will practice the life school and refine Internal Alchemy; when they hear The Scripture of Saving the Suffering, they will uphold this glimmer of light and not sink into hell; when they hear The Scripture of Ascending to Heaven and Attaining the Dao, they will cultivate both merit and wisdom and directly ascend to paradise.