Concealed Instructions for Ascending to Perfection登真隐诀

Author / transmission

Tao Hongjing

Period

Liang of the Southern Dynasties · Compiled by Tao Hongjing, around the same time as the Zhengao (late 5th to early 6th century); originally twenty-four or twenty-five scrolls, of which three survive today.

Canon division

Dongzhen Section, Jade Instructions Category

Collected in

Zhengtong Daozang, Dongzhen Section, Jade Instructions Category

Category

Early Daoist Scriptures

Fascicles

Originally twenty-four scrolls; three scrolls survive today

Synopsis

The Concealed Instructions for Ascending to Perfection (Dengzhen yinjue) is Tao Hongjing's compilation of Shangqing scriptural instructions, in which he classified, arranged, and annotated the methods of cultivation transmitted by Yang Xi and the Xu family — a practical manual to accompany the Zhengao. Three scrolls survive today: the first scroll describes essential Shangqing instructions such as visualizing the Three Ones, stabilizing and nourishing the five viscera, and the recitation method for the Dadong Zhenjing; the middle scroll discusses methods of court audience with the gods, scripture recitation, entering stillness, writing talismans, and the "Six Jia" and "Three Primes"; the final scroll transcribes from the Celestial Masters' Zhengyi Fawen the methods of memorial-petitions and talismans, summoning officials, healing illness, and taboos (such as "the audience rite for entering stillness" and "the method for reciting the Huangting Jing"). Tao's annotations trace the transmission and distinguish variants, preserving a great deal of detail on the rituals of the early Celestial Masters and the Shangqing School, and are valuable material for understanding the institutions of the "parish" (zhi) and "chamber of stillness" (jingshi) and ritual practice in Six Dynasties Daoism. This work, together with the Zhengao and the Records of Nourishing Nature and Extending Life, represents Tao Hongjing's compilation of the Daoist heritage.

Key Ideas

• Classified compilation of essential Shangqing visualization instructions
• Zhengyi memorial rites and stillness-chamber audience methods of the Celestial Masters
• Methods of the Six Jia, Three Primes, and the spirits of the five viscera
• Distinguishing the transmission of scriptural instructions through commentary

Structure

Three scrolls survive today, each divided into entries with Tao's annotations appended.

Editions

• Zhengtong Daozang edition
• Zhonghua Daozang, volume 2

Translations

• Partial study by Ursula-Angelika Cedzich

Full Text & Online Resources

• Wikipedia: Tao Hongjing
• CTEXT Search

Related scriptures

Related figures