Supreme Numinous Treasure Boundless Way Scripture 上方灵宝无极至道开化真经

The original work bears no compiler’s name.

According to textual research, it should be one of the four classics of the Shangfang Zhenyuan Sect during the Jin Dynasty.

It comprises three volumes and is included in the Taiping Section of The Daozang.

Supreme Numinous Treasure Boundless Way Scripture

This work contains both scripture and commentary, with the scriptural text divided into twenty-four chapters. The sixteen chapters in the first two volumes mainly promote the Confucian ethical teachings of loyalty and filial piety, as well as the doctrines of self-cultivation, family regulation, state governance, and universal peace. The eight chapters in the third volume advocate the unity of Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism, expounding the Buddhist ideals of clarity, quiescence, and return to emptiness, together with the principles of cultivating perfection and refining nature in The Lingbao Sect.

In addition to explaining the scripture sentence by sentence, the commentary also includes two styles of text: “Dong Yue” (Cavern Expositions) and “Song Yue” (Odes), which interpret the scripture through the perspective of Qi cultivation and internal alchemy. Its essentials of internal alchemy and nourishing life are: embracing yang and guarding [the one], refining qi and nourishing the spirit, ultimately returning to the constant Dao, attaining immortality, and realizing the truth.