Língbǎo yùjiàn mùlù 靈寶玉鑑目錄
Table of Contents of the Língbǎo Jade Mirror
About the work
The detailed table of contents of the Língbǎo yùjiàn KR5b0250 (DZ 547), a forty-three-fascicle compendium of Língbǎo zhāi-rite methods that stands among the largest Daoist liturgical encyclopedias of the Southern-Sòng to Yuán period. The mùlù is given in the Dàozàng as a separate work (DZ 546) but is properly the front-matter of DZ 547. The source rubric labels it 靈寳玉鑑目録頓一 (“Língbǎo yùjiàn mùlù, Dùn 1”), with the Dùn numbering identifying its position as the opening item of the fāngfǎ (methods) sub-section of the Dòngxuán division.
Abstract
The table of contents is structured by mén 門 (gates / chapters), each subdivided into zīcì 資次 (orderly stages). The principal divisions include:
- juǎn 1: Dàofǎ shìyí mén 道法釋疑門 (gate of resolving doubts in the Daoist method) — covering the Língbǎo zhāifǎ sìyì 四譯 (Four Translations), the bāmíng qījīng 八明七經 (Eight Lights and Seven Scriptures), the bāwěi 八緯 (Eight Webs), discussions of the zòushēn guāndié wénzì 奏申關牒文字 (memorial and announcement-letter scripts), the jiàn xūhuáng tán 建虛皇壇 (construction of the Empty-Sovereign Altar), the zhènxìn yùbó wùyí 鎮信玉帛物儀 (treasure-deposit and silk-offering ritual standards), the jìnbài zhāngbiǎo 進拜章表 (presentation of memorials), the yòngyìn 用印 (use of seals), the cúnshén zhàojiàng 存神召將 (visualisation and general-summoning), the gàoxíng fújiǎn 告行符簡 (announcement-talismans), the Shénhǔ zhuīshè 神虎追攝 (Spirit-Tiger pursuit-summoning), the jiàotán qǐngguāng fēndēng 醮壇請光分燈 (altar-rite light-petition and lamp-distribution), the qǐngguāng pòyōu 請光破幽 (light-petition to break the dark hells), the jiǔyōu dìyù shuō 九幽地獄說, the zhuāndù xuèhú lùn 專度血湖論, the yángfān zhāohún tiānyì lùn 揚旛招魂天瞖論 (raising banners and summoning souls), the wánghún mùyù gēngyī jiāchí fǎshí lùn 亡魂沐浴更衣加持法食論 (washing, changing the clothes, and feeding the dharma-food to deceased souls), the dù sāntú wǔkǔ hòuxiān biàn 度三塗五苦後先辯, the shuǐhuǒ liàndù shuō 水火鍊度說 (water-fire refining-and-deliverance), the shèjiào biàn 設醮辯;
- juǎn 2: Zhāixiū jiécì mén 齋修節次門 (gate of orderly stages of the fast) — covering preparatory documents and altar-construction protocols;
- juǎn 3: Xiūzhāi jiécì mén 修齋節次門 — covering the day-by-day, audience-by-audience programme for the standard three-day fast (first day morning, noon, evening; second day morning, noon, evening; third day morning, noon, evening), plus the sàntán cháo 散壇朝 (altar-dismissal audience), the chuánfú shuōjiè 傳符說戒, the zhǎnshī dùhù liàndù 斬尸度户錬度 (corpse-cutting deliverance), the xièēn jiào 謝恩醮 (thanksgiving-Rite), the fàngshēng 放生 (release of living beings);
- juǎn 4 onward: Língfān bǎogài mén 靈旛寳蓋門 (numinous-banner and precious-canopy gate), and further specialised topics.
The Língbǎo yùjiàn is therefore the most systematic single-work treatment of the Língbǎo zhāifǎ in the Dàozàng. Per Schipper & Verellen (Taoist Canon 3: 1097–1099, John Lagerwey, DZ 546–547), the work belongs to the late Southern-Sòng or Yuán period.
Translations and research
- Schipper, Kristofer, and Franciscus Verellen, eds. The Taoist Canon: A Historical Companion to the Daozang. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2004. 3: 1097–1099 (DZ 546–547, entry by John Lagerwey).