Song of the Great Dao from the Numinous Source灵源大道歌

Also known as

Cao Wenyi's Song of the Great Dao from the Numinous Source, Immortal Maiden Cao Wenyi's Song of the Great Dao

Period

Northern Song · Written by Cao Wenyi (Cao Xiyun, c. 1040–1115) at the end of the Northern Song, during the reign of Emperor Huizong; some hold it to be a pseudepigraphal attribution.

Canon division

Dongzhen Section, Methods (Fangfa) category (Ten Books on the Cultivation of Perfection edition)

Collected in

Zhengtong Daozang, Dongzhen section, Methods category, in scroll five ('Miscellaneous Writings Pointing to the Mystery') of the Ten Books on the Cultivation of Perfection; also included in the Essentials of the Daoist Canon

Category

Alchemical Texts

Fascicles

1 chapter, 128 lines of seven-character verse

Synopsis

The Song of the Great Dao from the Numinous Source (Lingyuan dadao ge) is a long heptasyllabic poem of 128 lines by the Northern Song Daoist priestess Cao Wenyi, and is one of the earliest surviving Daoist poems on internal alchemy composed by a woman. The poem opens with the lines 'I shall tell you all the truth of the matter: the root of destiny has always lain in the true breath,' and argues that 'spirit is nature, and qi is destiny,' holding that concentrating the qi to attain suppleness, guarding stillness, and settling the spirit are essential, and that 'when the primordial harmony circulates within, perfection is achieved of itself — seeking the breath from without never brings it to completion.' It rejects effortful methods of circulation and advocates a natural, quiet dual cultivation of nature and life, in language that is plain yet rich in meaning. Cao Wenyi was held in high regard by Emperor Huizong of Song, who bestowed on her the title 'Perfected Wenyi.' Generations of alchemists have esteemed this poem as an 'elixir method of the highest vehicle'; Chen Yingning's Vernacular Commentary on the Song of the Great Dao from the Numinous Source has been widely circulated, and the poem is regarded as a model of quiet cultivation applicable to both men and women.

Key Ideas

• The root of destiny lies in the true breath; spirit is nature, qi is destiny
• Primordial harmony circulates within, without recourse to external methods
• Concentrating the qi to attain suppleness, in quiet and naturalness
• An elixir method of the highest, effortless vehicle

Structure

128 lines of heptasyllabic verse.

Editions

• Edition in the 'Miscellaneous Writings Pointing to the Mystery' of the Ten Books on the Cultivation of Perfection
• Essentials of the Daoist Canon edition
• Chen Yingning's Vernacular Commentary on the Song of the Great Dao from the Numinous Source

Commentaries

• Chen Yingning's Vernacular Commentary on the Song of the Great Dao from the Numinous Source

Translations

• Thomas Cleary, Immortal Sisters (1989)

Full Text & Online Resources

• Wikipedia: Cao Wenyi
• CTEXT Search

Related scriptures

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