Daoist scriptures (daojing)33 exerted a formative influence on Wang Chongyang and the first-generation Quanzhen adherents, and they continued to occupy a central place during every period of Quanzhen history. The most influential texts include the fourth-century BCE Daode jing (Scripture on the Dao and Inner Power), fourth- to second-century BCE Nanhua zhenjing (Perfect Scripture of Southern Florescence; a.k.a. Zhuangzi), sixth-century CE Yinfu jing (Scripture on the Hidden Talisman; DZ 31), eighth-century Qingjing jing (Scripture on Clarity and Stillness; DZ 620), tenth-century Chuandao ji (Anthology on the Transmission of the Dao; 263, j. 14–16), as well as other Zhong-Lü texts and the early twelfth-century Jin zhenren yulu (Discourse Record of Perfected Jin;
DZ 1056). Certain Buddhist scriptures, especially the third-century CE Xinjing (Heart Sūtra; T. 250–
57) and Jingang jing (Vajracchedikā Sūtra; Diamond Sūtra; T. 235–37, 273, 2734), which may date to the second century CE, also received a place of veneration. Of these, the Daode jing, Qingjing Understanding Self as Revealed by the Celestial Worthy of Original Beginning; DZ 25;
abbr. Dedao liaoshen jing; Schipper and Verellen 2004, 1173)
2. Yuanshi tianzun shuo taigu jing (Scripture on Great Antiquity as Revealed by the Celestial Worthy of Original Beginning; DZ 102; abbr. Taigu jing; Schipper and Verellen 2004, 710–11)
3. Taishang chiwen donggu jing (Great High Scripture on Profound Antiquity Written in Red; DZ 106; DZ 107; abbr. Donggu jing; Schipper and Verellen 2004, 711), which is an alternatively titled duplicate of the Taigu jing
4. Taishang dongxuan lingbao tianzun datong jing (Scripture on Great Pervasion as Revealed by the Great High Celestial Worthy of Numinous Treasure and Cavern Mystery; DZ 327; cf. DZ 105; abbr. Datong jing; Schipper and Verellen 2004, 744)
The fact that these scriptures almost always appear with Quanzhen commentaries and are included in Quanzhen collections—even to the present day—adds support for a Quanzhen provenance (Schipper and Verellen 2004, 1132). The presentation of these texts as “Lingbao (Numinous Treasure) scriptures” probably represents an attempt to provide legitimacy to their composition; as discussed briefly earlier, Quanzhen adopted the standardized Lingbao Daoist ritual, which included the use of scriptures from the Lingbao canon. In terms of noteworthy commentaries, Li Daochun (Yingchan [Shimmering Toad]; fl. 1288–1306), a lineage-descendant (second-generation) of Bai Yuchan (1134–
1229), wrote commentaries on the Datong jing and Donggu jing (DZ 105; DZ 107). The scriptures are cited in section 14b of the Chuzhen jie as well (trl. in chapter 7). There are also two additional scriptures that bear the imprint of Quanzhen: the Taishang laojun nei riyong miaojing (Wondrous Scripture for Daily Internal Practice of the Great High Lord Lao; DZ 645; also Qunxian yaoyu
zuanji, DZ 1257, 1.1ab; abbr. Nei riyong jing; trl. Kohn 2000; Komjathy 2008a) and the Taishang laojun wai riyong miaojing (Wondrous Scripture for Daily External Practice of the Great High Lord Lao; DZ 646; abbr. Wai riyong jing; trl. Kohn 2000). The Wai riyong jing was engraved in stone in 1352 and erected at Louguan tai (Lookout Tower Monastery; Zhouzhi, Shaanxi) (Schipper and Verellen 2004, 1187–88).35 The Nei riyong jing continues to be studied and applied in contemporary Quanzhen monastic communities (author's field observations). The importance of scripture study in Quanzhen Daoism is confirmed by the large number of Quanzhen commentaries, both extant and lost (see chapter 5).36
Formal scripture study (jingxue) was a central practice of the early Quanzhen community and remained so throughout the various periods when the monastic order flourished. This is also the case in contemporary Quanzhen monastic communities, with the Daode jing, Qingjing jing, and Yinfu jing being primary.37 Among the early Quanzhen adepts, we find a variety of perspectives on the relative importance of scripture study. For example, in an oft-quoted poem Wang Chongyang explains,
[To practice spiritual refinement] you must fully understand the three hundred characters of the Yinfu jing and read up on the five thousand words of the Daode jing. (Quanzhen ji, DZ 1153, 13.7b–8a)
On a more general level, Wang Chongyang gives the following advice on reading and understanding Daoist texts:
The way to study texts is not to strive after literary merit, and thereby confuse your eyes.
Instead, you must extract the meaning as it harmonizes with the heart-mind. Abandon texts after you have extracted their meaning and grasped their principle. Abandon principle after you have realized the fundamental ground. After you realize the fundamental ground, then attend to it until it completely enters the heart-mind. (Chongyang lijiao shiwu lun, DZ 1233, 1b–2a)
For Wang, and this view is clearly representative of the early Quanzhen adepts as a whole, the aspiring adept must reflect on the place of scripture study in his or her own life and practice. The relevance of scripture study is relative to the individual practitioner, and such relevance is based on his or her affinities and commitments. Reading and study (and translation) may support Daoist practice, or they may become a distraction. In a Quanzhen context, the point of reading and study is to deepen practice. One endeavors to apply a given text's insights to one's daily life. Scripture study thus is not only an intellectual exercise; it is also a spiritual one.38 According to Wang, one must focus on the transformational experience and influence of reading Daoist scriptures. Here there is a complex interplay among study, practice, and experience. Study without practice and experience may lead to a lack of discernment concerning relevance; practice and experience without study may lead to various forms of self-delusion. From a Daoist perspective, this is because scriptures (jing) are, etymologically and theologically speaking, threads and watercourses that form and re-form networks of connection. They connect the Daoist adherent to both the unnamable mystery that is the Dao and the Daoist tradition, the community of adepts that preceded one, as a historical and energetic continuum.
It is that community and tradition that may correct mistaken views and egoistic distortions. This is so much the case that Daoists frequently refer to the external Three Treasures (wai sanbao): the Dao, the
scriptures, and the teachers (shi).
Other members of the early Quanzhen community also commented on the relative importance of scripture study. Two statements from Ma Danyang will help to qualify any definitive statements about Quanzhen views on reading Daoist texts.39 On one occasion, Ma confronted his disciple Wang Yizhong (see chapter 3 in this volume) on the potential detrimental effects of excessive reading:
“Now, the Dao wants to form a contract with the heart-mind. If you can attain such a condition through literature, when is it time to awaken? Therefore, in terms of awakening to the Dao, [reading] the Nanhua is delusion becoming even more deluded.” (DZ 1057, 3b)40
This is not an authoritarian statement on either the Zhuangzi in particular or scripture study in general. It is a context-specific admonition for a Quanzhen adept who had become overly engaged in and attached to reading. In the same text but in a different context, Ma comments,
“When studying the Dao, you should not read scriptures and books extensively. This confuses consciousness and obstructs Daoist training. If [you want to read], Heshang gong's commentary on the Daode jing and Master Jinling's commentary on the Yinfu jing [are best]. When you read these two texts, there will be no obstruction.” (DZ 1057, 10a)
So, it is not scripture study per se that is the problem from Ma Danyang's perspective; rather, it is excessive and consumptive reading that becomes a hindrance to spiritual training. The Quanzhen practitioner is not to read for mere enjoyment or entertainment; the point of scripture study is to clarify one's understanding and to deepen one's practice. Ma also emphasizes the importance of discernment when choosing which texts to study and apply.
Quanzhen scripture study involved both informal reading and more formal discipline, namely, the composition of commentaries. Like the work of literary and scholarly translation (“carrying over”), commentarial annotation involves close reading, deep reflection, and careful analysis. It also requires daring, dedication, and inspiration.
Whether or not one is aware of it, reading the texts in the present anthology is a form of scripture study, but there are different types and approaches to reading. In a contemporary American context, one finds oneself in a situation characterized by commodification and material accumulation, by planned obsolescence, instant gratification, and conspicuous consumption. Potential readers are inundated with mass-market publications, including popular “translations” of Daoist texts; walking into large-chain bookstores, one encounters “new fiction” and “new nonfiction,” most of which are not worthy of the trees sacrificed for their printing. The writing, reading, and publication of books require care, and the present book has no place in the modern trend toward “consumptive” and
“voracious reading.” Whether these translations are read as historical artifacts or manifestations of the Dao, they will take time to read. They will need be to be read and probably reread slowly, deliberatively, contemplatively. You will need some degree of interest, commitment, and concentration. As was the case for its forging in various places at different times, reading this book requires consistent and prolonged engagement. This is perhaps even more the case for those, whether Daoist or not, who would read it for spiritual insights and guidance.
For those who choose to embrace the undertaking, Quanzhen literature offers many contributions. In
the texts translated within these pages, we find expressions of a religious community committed to self-cultivation and transformation. This is not the spiritual athleticism, egotism, dilettantism, exhibitionism, and materialism that plague the modern world.41 Members of the early religious community and late medieval monastic order understood religious practice as a lifelong undertaking, filled with challenges as well as exhilarations. There were moments of experiential confirmation, perhaps in the form of mystical encounters or numinous pervasion, but there were also times when one simply ground rocks into smoothened spheres in hidden caves unbeknownst to anyone else. The path toward realization and immortality involved radical self-responsibility and unwavering commitment. It required complete dedication to a Daoist religious path and way of life. Reading Quanzhen texts with an openness to their existential, soteriological, and theological insights may, if one dares, clarify one's own understanding, meaning, and purpose. Considered as a whole, Quanzhen literature provides insights into the underlying patterns of the cosmos and the characteristics of human existence. It provides insights in human psychology, especially from the perspective of spiritual discipline. Quanzhen texts contain detailed instructions on specific forms of Daoist meditation as well as more general admonitions concerning the necessity of daily, moment-to-moment internal practice. They also document the types of activities and forms of community organization conducive to human flourishing.
So, if one engages these texts as religious expressions and biographical dispensations, rather than as material or historical artifacts, one finds a new, perhaps hidden landscape. This involves taking seriously the approach to reading and scripture study advocated by members of the tradition. To read with attentiveness, discernment, and application is to become open to the potential transformative effect of the texts themselves. Such is contemplative reading, a way of approaching texts as more than texts. Rather, they are documentations of individual and communal lifeworlds, expressions of lived religiosity, as well as offerings and petitions to those who follow.