Regulations for the Practice of Daoism in Accordance with the Scriptures of the Three Caverns洞玄灵宝三洞奉道科戒营始

Also known as

Regulations for the Practice of Daoism according to the Three Caverns, Regulations for the Practice of Daoism in Accordance with the Scriptures of the Three Caverns, Regulations for the Practice of Daoism

Period

Late Northern and Southern Dynasties–early Tang · Attributed to the 'Seven Perfected of Jinming,' compiled around the transition from Northern Zhou to the Sui and Tang (late 6th to early 7th century); several manuscript copies survive from Dunhuang.

Canon division

Zhengyi Section

Collected in

Zhengtong Daozang, Zhengyi Section

Category

Ritual Protocol (Keyi)

Fascicles

6 scrolls (originally perhaps more; the Dunhuang manuscripts can supplement it)

Synopsis

The Regulations for the Practice of Daoism in Accordance with the Scriptures of the Three Caverns is the most important compendium of medieval Daoist institutional regulations, governing the construction of temples, the daily deportment of priests, ritual vestments and headgear, the transmission of scriptures and precepts, retreat and offering procedures, and the sequence of ordination ranks; it is a foundational document for the institutionalization of state Daoism in the Tang. The work in six scrolls is divided into sections including Temples, Images, Copying of Scriptures, Salvation of the People, Ritual Sequence and Observances, Vestments and Regalia, Regular Audiences, Midday Retreat Rites, Recitation of Scriptures, Lecturing on Scriptures, Ritual Implements, Permanent Residents, and Ordination Ranks, detailing the arrangement of temple halls, the specifications for images, the copying and offering of scriptures, the requirements for entering the priesthood, and the grades of vestments; it is also the first systematic listing of the ladder of 'ordination ranks' from register-recipients of Orthodox Unity up to Ritual Masters of the Great Cavern of Shangqing, together with the scriptures and registers each rank was required to receive. The text translates the doctrinal system of the Three Caverns and Four Supplements into institutional practice, and complements the Sequence of the Transmission of Daoist Scriptures and Methods and the Digest of Essential Rites, Regulations and Precepts, making it a core source for the study of Tang-dynasty temple institutions, priestly ranks, and the transmission of scriptures and registers.

Key Ideas

• Specifications for temple construction, images, and scripture copying
• Regulations for ordination, vestments, and ritual deportment
• The sequence of ordination ranks and the catalogue of scriptures and registers to be transmitted
• A foundation for the institutionalization of Tang Daoism

Structure

Six scrolls in more than ten sections: Temples, Images, Copying of Scriptures, Salvation of the People, Ritual Sequence and Observances, Vestments and Regalia, Regular Audiences, Recitation of Scriptures, Ritual Implements, Ordination Ranks, and others.

Editions

• Zhengtong Daozang edition
• Dunhuang manuscripts, including P.2337
• Critical edition and translation by Florian Reiter

Translations

• English translation in Florian Reiter, The Aspirations and Standards of Taoist Priests in the Early T'ang Period (1998)

Full Text & Online Resources

• Wikipedia: Sandong Fengdao Kejie Yingshi
• CTEXT search

Related scriptures

Related figures