Classic of the Taoist Divine Names of LaoTzu
Author unknown.
Author unknown.
It was probably compiled around the period of the Northern and Southern Dynasties or the transition between the Sui and Tang dynasties.
The original text comprised ten volumes; in the existing version included in theBenwen Sectionof theDongshen Divisionof theDaozang(Daoist Canon), volumes 6, 7 and 8 are missing.
In addition, there are three Tang-dynasty manuscript copies unearthed from Dunhuang (catalog numbers S1513, P3344, S6009V), entitledLao Zi Shi Fang Xiang Ming Jing (Scripture of Lord Laozi on the Image Names of the Ten Directions). Purporting to record the Supreme Lord Laozi traveling through the boundless worlds of the Ten Directions together with the True Persons and divine sages of the Ten Directions, the text describes their observation that all living beings commit numerous evils and serious sins, leaving wandering lonely souls to suffer in the hells of the Ten Directions.
Lord Laozi then expounds on the manifested sacred images and names of the Heavenly Worthies of the Ten Directions, instructing people to "pay homage with reverence, praise their virtues, repent sins and eliminate evils, cultivate blessings and nurture goodness". The scripture lists the sacred image names of the Heavenly Worthies of the Ten Directions, totaling 1,160 names (with some missing in the existing version). It exhorts people to "according to their own capability, use gold, silver, pearls, jade, tiles, stones, copper, iron, pigments and embroidered silk to make their images, distribute them across the Ten Directions, fill the entire land, pay homage and offer sacrifices, build Taoist abbeys to deliver all beings, practice Daoist teachings and recite scriptures, scatter flowers and light lamps, repent sincerely and make vows, uphold sincerity and observe fasts".
It states that by doing so, one can eliminate sins and attain boundless blessings.
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