Tàishàng shénzhòu yánshòu miàojīng 太上神咒延壽妙經
Marvelous Scripture of the Divine Incantations for Prolonging Life, of the Most High
About the work
A short two-folio Táng apotropaic-invocatory text on prolonging the life-count (yánshòu 延壽) through the invocation of the stellar generals. Transmitted in the Dàozàng in a composite juàn with DZ 357, DZ 359, and DZ 360 (KR5b0041, KR5b0043, KR5b0044).
Prefaces
No prefaces in the source. The text opens directly with the Yuánshǐ tiānzūn’s salvific formula and carries no author preface or transmission colophon.
Abstract
Schmidt (Schipper & Verellen, Taoist Canon 2: 561, DZ 358) dates the scripture to the Táng and demonstrates that it is an abridged and popularised recension of DZ 650 Tàishàng lǎojūn shuō chángshēng yìsuàn miàojīng 太上老君說長生益算妙經 or DZ 672 Tàishàng lǎojūn shuō yìsuàn shénfú miàojīng 太上老君說益算神符妙經. Unlike the parent scriptures, the present text does not enumerate the generals of the six cyclical jiǎ 甲 combinations individually, and the fú 符 that are elaborately described and drawn in DZ 650 / DZ 672 are here only briefly mentioned. Emphasis falls instead on the efficacy of simple recitation of the short present text — a characteristic late-Táng popularisation strategy that trades procedural complexity for reproducible scriptural merit.
Translations and research
- Schipper, Kristofer, and Franciscus Verellen, eds. The Taoist Canon: A Historical Companion to the Daozang. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2004, 2:561 (DZ 358); parent scriptures at 2:560 (DZ 650 and DZ 672).