Golden Book of Salvation according to the Lingbao Tradition灵宝领教济度金书
- Also known as
- Golden Book of Salvation
- Author / transmission
- Ning Quanzhen,
- Period
- Southern Song–Yuan · Attributed to the transmission of Ning Quanzhen and compiled by Lin Lingzhen (1239–1302); compiled in the early Yuan, it is the largest ritual compendium in the Daoist Canon.
- Canon division
- Dongxuan Section, Dignified Observances Category
- Collected in
- Daoist Canon of the Zhengtong Era, Dongxuan Section, Ritual Observance (Weiyi) category
- Category
- Ritual Protocol (Keyi)
- Fascicles
- 321 scrolls (originally 320 scrolls)
Synopsis
The Golden Book of Salvation according to the Lingbao Tradition is the largest compendium of ritual in the Daoist Canon, attributed to the transmission of Ning Quanzhen of the Donghua School and compiled by Lin Lingzhen of Wenzhou, in 321 juan. The work gathers together the entire body of Lingbao retreat and offering ritual since the Southern Song: the altar diagrams, ritual sequences, memorials and petitions, talismans and seals, secret methods of visualization, ranks of the deities, and duties of the ritual officiants for retreats such as the Yellow Register Retreat, the Golden Register Retreat, the Jade Register Retreat, and the Retreat of the Nine Darknesses, as well as detailed texts for the rites of Refinement and Salvation, Feeding the Hungry Ghosts, Opening the Roads, Breaking Open the Prisons of Hell, Bathing, Audience with the Perfected, and Giving Thanks — vast in scope and finely classified. Lin Lingzhen was the patriarch of the Donghua School at the end of the Southern Song, and this work is the final summation of Donghua-School Lingbao retreat ritual as well as the direct source of the Zhengyi Yellow Register Retreat ritual after the Yuan and Ming; it is a primary source for the study of Song–Yuan Daoist ritual, documentary practice, and the pantheon.
Key Ideas
- A comprehensive compendium of Lingbao retreat and offering ritual
- Altar diagrams, memorials and petitions, seals and talismans
- The rites of Refinement and Salvation and Feeding the Hungry Ghosts
- A bridge between the Donghua School and Zhengyi ritual after the Yuan and Ming
Structure
321 juan, divided by category and rite of retreat and offering ritual.
Editions
- Daoist Canon of the Zhengtong Era edition
- Zhonghua Daozang, vols. 38–40
Full Text & Online Resources
Related scriptures
Great Rites of Shangqing Lingbao (Jin Yunzhong), Great Rites of Shangqing Lingbao (Wang Qizhen), Liturgies of the Yellow Register Retreat, Complete Collection of Daoist Ritual ProtocolsRelated figures
Ning Quanzhen, Lin Lingzhen- 任继愈主编《道藏提要》
- Judith Boltz, A Survey of Taoist Literature, 1987
- Chen Guofu, Studies on the Origins and Development of the Daoist Canon