太上老君說常清靜經註 (李道純)

Tài shàng Lǎo jūn shuō cháng qīng jìng jīng zhù 太上老君說常清靜經註 (Lǐ Dàochún)

Commentary on the Scripture Spoken by the Most High Lord Lǎo on Constant Clarity and Stillness — Lǐ Dàochún’s commentary

by 李道純 (Lǐ Dàochún, hào Qīng ān 清菴 / Yīng chán zǐ 瑩蟾子; d. 1306)

A Yuán-era Quán zhēn commentary on the foundational Daoist meditation-scripture Cháng qīng jìng jīng 常清靜經 (DZ 620), by Lǐ Dàochún 李道純 (d. 1306). Preserved in the Zhèngtǒng Dàozàng as DZ 755 / CT 755 (Dòngshén bù, Yù jué lèi 洞神部玉訣類), and in the Qīng Dàozàng jíyào as JY055.

About the work

The Cháng qīng jìng jīng

The Cháng qīng jìng jīng 常清靜經 (“Scripture of Constant Clarity and Stillness”) is one of the most widely-recited Daoist meditation-scriptures — a short scripture (c. 600 characters) attributed to Lǎojūn that teaches the cultivation of interior calm through the contemplation of “empty nature” (kōng xìng 空性). The scripture has multiple traditional commentators (see the catalog disambiguator “(一)” distinguishing Lǐ Dàochún’s from other Cháng qīng jìng jīng commentaries).

Lǐ Dàochún’s commentary

Lǐ Dàochún’s commentary is consistent with his broader scholarly programme on the Daoist classics (see KR5c0086 for his Dàodé huì yuán and 李道純 for his biography). Philosophical features:

1. Three-level exposition — characteristic of Lǐ’s pedagogical style.
2. Nèi dān 內丹 framework — reading the scripture through inner-alchemical lenses.
3. Chán-Buddhist terminology — integrating Chán kōng 空 (emptiness) concepts.
4. Three Teachings synthesis — explicit integration of Confucian and Buddhist categories.

Abstract

The commentary is a characteristic Yuán Quán zhēn reading of the foundational Daoist meditation-scripture, preserving Lǐ Dàochún’s distinctive synthesis of nèi dān alchemy and Chán Buddhist meditation.

Dating. Lǐ Dàochún’s active period: 1280s–1306. Per the project’s dating rule, the frontmatter gives 1290–1306 as a composition window. Dynasty: 元.

Translations and research

• Schipper, Kristofer, and Franciscus Verellen, eds. The Taoist Canon: A Historical Companion to the Daozang. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2004, DZ 755 entry.
• Kohn, Livia. Daoist Mystical Philosophy: The Scripture of Western Ascension. Albany: SUNY Press, 1991. (Includes comparative Daoist-meditation material.)
• See 李道純 for author biography and KR5c0086 for his major Dàodé jīng commentary.

Links

• Kanseki Repository KR5c0151
• Parent scripture: DZ 620 Cháng qīng jìng jīng.
• Author: 李道純.
• ctext.org: 太上老君說常清靜經註