The Scripture of the Numinous True Precept for Eradicating Birth and Death and Relieving Suffering
The author of this scripture is unknown.
It was probably composed around the end of the Northern and Southern Dynasties or the transition period between the Sui and Tang dynasties.
Currently, there are four incomplete Dunhuang manuscripts of the text, namely P4599, S793, P2385, and S5921. After collating and supplementing each other, 60 lines of the scripture have been preserved, which basically restore the original appearance of the text.
Attributed to the Primordial Heavenly Venerable delivering the teachings, this scripture exhorts people to practice the Dao, uphold precepts, recite scriptures and worship deities, so as to avoid death, eliminate suffering, obtain blessings and ascend to immortality. Its content and wording are roughly the same as those of The Scripture of Relieving Suffering, Expounded by the Supreme Cave Mysterious Numinous Treasure Heavenly Venerable included in the Text Category of the Cave Mysterious Section of the Daoist Canon, but the Dunhuang version contains an additional passage about Laozi’s Transformation into the Barbarian.
See the entry for reference.
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