Complete Methods of the Numinous Treasure (Lingbao bifa)秘传正阳真人灵宝毕法

Also known as

Lingbao Bifa (Complete Methods of the Numinous Treasure), Zhengyang Zhenren Lingbao Bifa (Complete Methods of the Numinous Treasure of the Perfected Zhengyang)

Author / transmission

Zhongli Quan

Period

Five Dynasties–Northern Song · Attributed to Zhongli Quan as author, transmitted by Lü Dongbin; composed around the Five Dynasties to early Northern Song (10th century).

Canon division

Taixuan Section

Collected in

Zhengtong Daozang, Taixuan Section

Category

Alchemical Texts

Fascicles

In three scrolls, ten sections.

Synopsis

The Lingbao bifa (Complete Methods of the Numinous Treasure) is attributed to Zhongli Quan, said to have composed it from a Lingbao jing he obtained from a stone wall on Mount Zhongnan; it is the practical manual of Zhong–Lü elixir methods. The whole work is divided into the Lesser Vehicle's four gates of methods for peace and longevity (matching yin and yang, gathering and dispersing water and fire, coupling dragon and tiger, and refining and smelting the elixir medicine), the Middle Vehicle's three gates of methods for long life without death (flying golden essence behind the elbow, the jade-liquid reverted elixir, and the liquefied-gold reverted elixir), and the Greater Vehicle's three gates of methods for transcending the ordinary and entering sagehood (court audience at the origin, inner observation, and transcendence). Each gate first cites the text of the Lingbao jing, then sets out the "true instructions" and "essentials of the Dao," explaining the specific operations and fire phasing. Its clear structure of "three vehicles and ten gates" divides internal-alchemy cultivation into three stages — laying the foundation, refining the form, and transcendence — and became the prototype for the later internal-alchemy sequence (refining essence into qi, refining qi into spirit, refining spirit to return to emptiness), forming a complementary pair with the Zhonglü chuandao ji.

Key Ideas

• The ladder of internal alchemy in three vehicles and ten gates
• Matching yin and yang, coupling dragon and tiger, refining and smelting the elixir medicine
• Flying golden essence behind the elbow; the jade-liquid and liquefied-gold reverted elixirs
• Court audience at the origin, inner observation, transcendence

Structure

Three scrolls: four gates of the Lesser Vehicle, three gates of the Middle Vehicle, three gates of the Greater Vehicle.

Editions

• Zhengtong Daozang edition
• Daozang jiyao edition
• Lüzu quanshu edition

Translations

• French translation by Farzeen Baldrian-Hussein (1984)
• English translation by Eva Wong

Full Text & Online Resources

• Wikipedia: Lingbao bifa
• CTEXT search

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