Scripture of Constant Clarity and Stillness (Qingjing jing)太上老君说常清静经

Also known as

Qingjing jing (Scripture of Clarity and Stillness), Changqingjing jing (Scripture of Constant Clarity and Stillness), Taishang Laojun Shuo Chang Qingjing Miaojing (Wondrous Scripture of Constant Clarity and Stillness Spoken by the Most High Lord Lao)

Author / transmission

Anonymous (attributed to Taishang Laojun)

Period

Tang · Probably composed during the Tang (some hold it dates from the end of the Six Dynasties to the early Tang, others to the mid-to-late Tang), and is attributed to a transmission from Ge Xuan.

Canon division

Dongshen Section, Original Texts (Benwen) category

Collected in

Zhengtong Daozang, Original Texts category of the Dongshen (Cavern of Spirit) section; commentaries are in the Jade Instructions category of the same section.

Category

Early Daoist Scriptures

Fascicles

One scroll, some four hundred characters

Synopsis

The Qingjing jing (Scripture of Constant Clarity and Stillness) runs to only a little over 390 characters in total, and is one of the most frequently recited short scriptures in Daoism; Quanzhen Daoism places it first among the texts of the daily liturgy. The text is presented as spoken by the Supreme Venerable Sovereign (Laojun), taking as its guiding principle the Daodejing's teaching that ‘clarity and stillness set the world aright.’ It holds that the great Dao is formless, without feeling and without name, yet it generates and sustains the operation of heaven, earth and the myriad things; if a person can ‘constantly dispel desire so that the mind is naturally still, and purify the mind so that the spirit is naturally clear,’ and can contemplate emptiness until even emptiness itself is emptied, abiding in profound and constant stillness, then one gradually enters the true Dao — whereas otherwise one drifts through birth and death, sinking into the sea of suffering and losing the true Dao. Its doctrine fuses the quietist non-action of Laozi and Zhuangzi with the Buddhist Prajñā approach of the ‘three contemplations’ (contemplating mind, form and things as all empty); its language is concise and easy to memorize, and it is regarded as the introductory compendium of Daoist mind-nature cultivation. It has been the subject of very many commentaries, including those by Du Guangting of the Tang, Wang Daoyuan of the Song, Hou Shanyuan of the Jin, Li Daochun of the Yuan, and Liu Yiming of the Qing. The scripture closes with three appended colophons attributed to Ge Xuan, the Perfected Zuoxuan, and the Perfected of Orthodox Unity, recounting its transmission.

Key Ideas

• The great Dao is formless, yet gives birth to heaven and earth
• Clarity is the source of turbidity; stillness is the foundation of motion
• Dispelling desire and purifying the mind brings a clear spirit and a still heart
• Contemplating emptiness until emptiness itself is emptied, abiding in profound and constant stillness
• One who attains the Dao attains nothing; it is called attainment only because it transforms all beings

Structure

One scroll; the main text runs to about 390 characters, with three appended colophons of praise by Perfected beings.

Editions

• Zhengtong Daozang edition
• Daozang Jiyao (Essentials of the Daoist Canon) edition
• Quanzhen Daily Liturgy edition

Commentaries

• Du Guangting, Commentary on the Scripture of Constant Clarity and Stillness Spoken by the Supreme Venerable Sovereign
• Commentary by Wang Daoyuan
• Commentary by Hou Shanyuan
• Commentary by Li Daochun
• Liu Yiming, Explanation of the Qingjing jing
• Commentary by Shuijingzi

Translations

• English translation by Livia Kohn (The Taoist Experience, 1993)
• English translation by Eva Wong (1992)
• James Legge (1891)

Full Text & Online Resources

• CTEXT: Commentary on the Changqingjing jing
• Wikisource: Qingjing jing
• Wikipedia: Qingjing jing

Related scriptures

Related figures