Scripture of Inner Observation太上老君内观经
- Also known as
- Neiguan jing (Scripture of Inner Observation), Laojun Neiguan jing (Lord Lao's Scripture of Inner Observation)
- Author / transmission
- Anonymous (attributed to Taishang Laojun)
- Period
- Tang · Composed roughly in the Tang dynasty, reflecting the Chongxuan school's thought on 'contemplating the mind.'
- Canon division
- Dongshen Section, Original Texts (Benwen) category
- Collected in
- Zhengtong Daozang, Dongshen Section, Scriptural Texts category; also included in juan 17 of the Yunji Qiqian
- Category
- Daoist Philosophy
- Fascicles
- One Fascicle (Juan)
Synopsis
The Neiguan jing (Scripture of Inner Observation) is attributed to the Most High Lord Lao and is a representative short scripture of Tang-dynasty Daoist cultivation of mind and nature. The text states that at birth a person is endowed with the pneuma of Heaven and Earth, and the various spirits come to dwell within the body; 'the mind is the ruler of the body, forbidding [disorder]'; because of desire people's minds and spirits become scattered and disordered, and one should therefore 'observe one's own body inwardly,' clarifying the mind and dispelling desire, contemplating the source of the mind so that 'the mind returns to the Dao.' Its statements that 'the Dao cannot be seen, but is made manifest through life; life cannot be constant, but is preserved through the Dao' and that 'the myriad dharmas are all generated by the mind' combine Laozi's teaching of clarity and stillness with the Buddhist method of mind-contemplation; belonging to the same lineage as the Qingjing jing and the Dingguan jing, it represents an important link in the transition of Tang-dynasty Chongxuan learning toward the 'nature cultivation' of internal alchemy. Both the Yunji Qiqian and the Quanzhen order give this scripture great importance.
Key Ideas
- The mind is the ruler of the body; observe one's own body inwardly
- Clarify the mind and dispel desire, so the mind returns to the Dao
- Life is made manifest through the Dao, and the Dao is preserved through life
- The myriad dharmas are generated by the mind
Structure
One juan, in prose, of short length.
Editions
- Zhengtong Daozang edition
- Yunji Qiqian edition
Translations
- English translation by Livia Kohn (The Taoist Experience, 1993)
Full Text & Online Resources
Related scriptures
Scripture of Constant Clarity and Stillness (Qingjing jing), Scripture of Concentration and Observation (Dingguan jing), Treatise on Sitting in OblivionRelated figures
Laozi- Livia Kohn, The Taoist Experience, 1993
- 任继愈主编《道藏提要》