Scripture of Universal Salvation 太上洞玄济众经

The author is unknown.

It was probably compiled in the late Northern and Southern Dynasties of Ancient China or during the Sui and Tang dynasties.

Consisting of one volume, it is included in the Xu Daozang (Supplementary Taoist Canon), a continuation of the Daozang.

Its text is also recorded in Volume 31 of Yunji Qiqian (Seven Slips of the Cloud Satchel). Falsely attributed to a discussion between the Supreme Dao Lord and the Perfected One of Universal Light, this scripture explores the generation, reincarnation, and interrelationship of human form, consciousness, and spirit. It holds that the physical body is formed by the aggregation of five kinds of ethereal qi, and due to karmic retribution from past lives, consciousness is infused, and the spirit reincarnates, leading to the emergence of life. The karmic reincarnation of all sentient beings arises from the contamination of consciousness, which drifts into negative karmic affinities—demons and hells restrain the body, and one loses their inherent clarity, thus wandering in the sea of delusion and suffering. It further states that consciousness and spirit exist in a substance-function relationship: consciousness is the substance, and spirit is the function, so "consciousness and spirit are neither identical nor distinct." The root of good and evil, blessings and misfortunes "lies precisely in the mind, and the mind is governed by the spirit." The scripture also discusses the relationship between form and spirit, arguing that the physical body is not truly one’s own but originates from emptiness and nature, "entering a womb through karmic affinity and being born through transformation." Therefore, those who attain the Dao no longer possess a physical form: "When the body and spirit are unified, they become the true body, returning to the original parents (the primal origin) to achieve enlightenment." This theoretical framework was influenced by Buddhist thought and embodies the integration of foreign concepts into Taoism doctrines, with its core ideas rooted in the philosophical exploration of the Dao.