Tàishàng dòngxuán língbǎo tiānzūn shuō jìkǔ jīng 太上洞玄靈寶天尊說濟苦經
Scripture Spoken by the Most High Heavenly Worthy on Overcoming Difficulties, of the Cavern-Mystery Numinous Treasure
About the work
A three-folio Táng apotropaic-invocatory scripture in which the Tiānzūn instructs the faithful in his “seven-way methods” (qīdào zhī fǎ 七道之法) of saving adherents from difficulty. Transmitted in the Dàozàng in a composite juàn with DZ 374 and DZ 376 (KR5b0058, KR5b0060).
Prefaces
No prefaces in the source. The text opens directly with the Tiānzūn’s self-declaration and carries no author preface or transmission colophon.
Abstract
Dated to the Táng by Lagerwey (Schipper & Verellen, Taoist Canon 2: 561, DZ 375). Whether it is for a difficult childbirth, for sickness, or for a case of sorcery-bewitchment (gǔdào 蠱道), the Tiānzūn promises: “Invoke my name, and I shall be attentive to the voice (xúnshēng 尋聲) and come from Heaven with all my host directly to this house to save the sick, drive away the wandering soul, and oblige it to return to its original body (běnshēn 本身).” The Tiānzūn is to be invoked (zhòuqǐng 咒請) by the seven names given at the beginning of the text.
The People of the Dào (1b, 2a) are also called on to provide for “my servants, the Daoists,” to make scriptures and statues, to establish temples and abbeys, and to recite this text three times a day. The reference to the three Ways — wújí dàdào 無極大道, wúshàng zhèngzhēn dào 無上正真道, and wúwéi tàipíng qīngyuè dàdào 無為太平清約大道 — alludes to DZ 1205 Sāntiān nèijiě jīng 三天內解經 1.3a, and anchors the text firmly within the Táng doctrinal-liturgical mainstream.
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 375).