The Taishang Dongxuan Lingbao Sanyuan Weiyi Ziran Zhenjing 洞玄灵宝长夜之府九幽玉匮明真科
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The Mysterious Grotto Lingbao Scripture of the Bright Truth from the Jade Casket of the Nine Netherworlds in the Mansion of Eternal Night (Dongxuan Lingbao Changye Zhi Fu Jiuyou Yukui Mingzhen Ke), commonly abbreviated as The Scripture of Bright Truth (Mingzhen Ke).
One of the ancient Taoist Lingbao Scriptures, it was probably compiled in the late Eastern Jin Dynasty to the early Southern Dynasties (c. 4th–5th centuries CE) and was already recorded in Lu Xiujing’s Catalogue of Lingbao Scriptures (Lingbao Jingmu).
In one scroll, it is included in the Zhengyi Bu (Section of Orthodox Unity) of the Daozang (Taoist Canon). Additionally, there are eight fragmentary Dunhuang manuscripts of this text (for detailed information, see Onishi Noboru’s A Catalog of Taoist Scriptures from Dunhuang).
The first half of the scripture is The Scripture of Bright Truth (Mingzhen Ke), which is claimed to have been hidden in the Jade Casket of the Nine Netherworlds within the Mansion of Eternal Night. The Primordial Heavenly Lord (Yuanshi Tianzun) ordered the Heavenly Immortals from the Ten Directions to retrieve it and proclaim the karmic connections between sins and blessings. It contains twenty-four precepts divided into two ranks:
- Ten precepts of the "Karmic Conditions of the Ten Good Deeds," stating that if people perform good deeds and accumulate merits according to these precepts during their lifetimes, they can ascend to immortality after death and wander freely in the Shangqing Realm (Supreme Pure Realm).
- Fourteen precepts of the "Karmic Conditions of Unbroken Evil Roots," asserting that those who commit evil deeds and violate these precepts during their lifetimes will fall into hell after death and suffer various karmic retributions and punishments.
The second half of the scripture is The Supreme Rank of Karmic Responses, Redemption, and Deliverance for Sins and Blessings from the Jade Casket of the Nine Netherworlds, which elaborates on methods to deliver ghosts and spirits of the deceased from hell, and to avert natural disasters, wars, plagues, and misfortunes in the mortal world. It is claimed that by selecting an auspicious date, holding ritual ceremonies (jiao), worshipping the gods of the Eight Directions, and repenting for one’s sins in accordance with the methods, one can atone for transgressions, ascend to higher realms, and be freed from calamities.
At the end of the text are more than ten sayings of the Heavenly Immortals, briefly explaining the methods for practitioners to hold retreat ceremonies, take oaths, and transmit scriptures and talismans (jinglu).
According to quotations in texts such as The Supreme Secret Essentials (Wushang Mi Yao), the version preserved in the Daozang is incomplete with missing characters.
About the Author
Paul Peng
Paul Peng is a Zhengyi Taoist priest from Longhu Mountain, Jiangxi — the ancestral home of the Celestial Masters' tradition. Ordained at 25 after a dream from the Celestial Master, he has practiced for 25 years under Master Zeng Guangliang. He is one of the curators of this store, which is officially authorized by Tianshi Fu. All items are consecrated at the temple by the resident priest team.
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