The Tripartite Canon Transmission Primer FULL NAME IS
A Brief Account of the Transmission of Scriptures, Precepts and Talismans of the Three Caverns
Authored by Zhang Wanfu, a Taoist priest of Taiqing Guan in Chang’an during the the Tang Dynasty.
In two volumes, it is included in the Zhengyi Section of The Daozang.
The content of this book is divided into two parts.
First, it briefly expounds the hierarchical stages of transmitting Taoist scriptures, precepts and talismans, and interprets their essential purport. It states that when a Taoist priest first The Tripartite Canon Transmission Primerenters the Daoist school, he shall first receive and uphold the various Wisdom Precepts to guard against calamities and abstain from transgressions; next, receive and wear the Zhengyi talismans and registers to subdue demons and protect the spirit; then receive the Five Thousand Character Classic to comprehend the origin of moral transformation and generation; thereafter receive the Three Sovereigns Scriptures of the Cavern Gods to gradually ascend to the lower vehicle of the Dao; subsequently receive the Perfect Writings of the Cavern Mystery and Numinous Treasure to advance to the middle vehicle, transform the spirit and attain wisdom; and finally receive the scriptures and talismans of the Cavern Perfection and Shangqing to refine the spirit vision and return to the origin. After enumerating the sequential essential purport of the transmission of the aforesaid scriptures, precepts and talismans, the author also details the ritual tokens and oath deeds required for the transmission of scriptures and talismans, including seven treasures, gold and silver, gold rings, gold buttons, dragon-shaped bi discs, cutting hair and smearing blood, silk and brocade, five kinds of incense, blessed rice, fish and wild geese, paper and ink, deed scrolls and more.
The book concludes with a record describing the grand occasion of two ceremonies in which the two imperial princesses, Jinxian and Yuzhen, received Taoist talismans twice at Guizhen Guan in the imperial palace of Chang’an in the second year of Jingyun reign of Emperor Ruizong of Tang (711) and the first year of Xiantian reign of Emperor Xuanzong of Tang (712).
This record is quite precious, for it can corroborate the historical accounts in official histories, and its canonical context is consistent with the disciplinary texts preserved in The Dongshen Section.
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