The Supreme Mysterious Grotto Lingbao Supreme Precepts of Wisdom (Taishang Dongxuan Lingbao Zhihui Shangpin Dajie), one of the ancient Taoist Lingbao Scriptures, 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).
The original text consists of one scroll, with five surviving Tang Dynasty manuscript copies from Dunhuang (for detailed information, see Onishi Noboru’s A Catalog of Taoist Scriptures from Dunhuang).
Additionally, there is a version included in the Daozang (Taoist Canon) erroneously titled The Supreme True Grotto Wisdom Supreme Precepts (Taishang Dongzhen Zhihui Shangpin Dajie), classified under the Dongzhen Bu (Section of the True Grotto) and Jielü Lei (Category of Precepts and Rules).
The purpose of this text is to relieve disasters, pray for blessings, and eradicate the roots of all sufferings for all beings: enabling the living to perceive the Dao and free themselves from the Eight Calamities; and allowing the deceased to attain joy and ascend to heaven. The scripture states that those who observe retreats and seek the Dao should uphold and receive the Supreme Ten Precepts and the Twelve Observance-Worthy Precepts, cultivate virtue and perform meritorious deeds. By doing so, they can attain the Six Penetrations of Wisdom, unite with the void, and transcend the Ten Miseries and Eight Calamities.
The so-called Six Penetrations of Wisdom are defined as: "Penetrating Vision (heavenly), Penetrating Hearing (earthly), Penetrating Emptiness (eastern), Penetrating Void (western), Penetrating Purity (southern), and Penetrating Subtlety (northern)." When one attains complete mastery of these Six Penetrations, they gain great wisdom and can achieve eternal existence.
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