Scripture of Immortal Transformation and Deliverance 太上化道度世仙经

The author is unknown.

Judging from its content and wording, it was presumably compiled between the Tang and Song dynasties.

Consisting of one volume, it is included in the Ben Wen (Original Text) category of The Dongshen Section in The Daozang.

Scripture of Immortal Transformation and Deliverance

The scripture is divided into three sections. The first, Section on Transforming the Dao, exhorts people to cultivate the mind and refine nature, to purify the heart and reduce desires. It states that those who cultivate the Dao should "observe fasting and uphold precepts, take simplicity as the gateway, keep the body and mind pure and tranquil, and have no love or hatred". The second, Section on the Five Colors, proclaims that "heaven, earth and humans originate from the same root"; "human life and death bring afflictions to the physical body". It urges people to conform to heaven and earth, and to be naturally free from desires. The third, Section on Profound Principles, expounds the method of "ingesting saliva and absorbing Qi". It declares: "Therefore, those who refine the golden elixir take bodily fluids as the foundation; those who absorb Qi draw on the upright Qi of the Five Elements." The essential purport of the entire text is to expound the way of cultivating the mind and absorbing Qi.