The Ling Bao Tai Xuan Pu Ci Quan Shi Jing 太上洞玄灵宝太玄普慈劝世

The author of this scripture is unknown.

It was probably compiled during the Sui and Tang dynasties, exists as one scroll, and is included in the "Original Text Category" of the Cavern Mysterious Section in the Taoist Canon.

The scripture is framed as a dialogue between the Heavenly Venerable Who Responds to Sounds to Save the Suffering and the Perfected Being of Universal Compassion, exhorting all living beings in the world to cultivate the Dao and form karmic affinities. It claims that all sentient beings in the mortal realm are obsessed with worldly pursuits, like maggots in a latrine that take pleasure in filth and impurity.

They fail to realize that the human body is merely an aggregation of karmic conditions—illusory, not real—for “once the vital breath of a day ceases, one departs empty-handed; all the bones decay and turn to dust”. Only by diligently cultivating one’s conduct, observing the Five Precepts and Ten Good Deeds, and reverently serving the Three Jewels can one avoid falling into the evil realms.

The paths of cultivation include observing vegetarian fasts, abstaining from grains, seeking immortality, studying the Dao, attaining the Dao, and escaping suffering.

To free oneself from afflictions, one must renounce evil and practice goodness, repent sins and form positive karmic bonds, plant abundant fields of merit, and engage in extensive acts of charity and giving.