Great Clarity Methods for Abstaining from Grain太清经断谷法
- Also known as
- Methods for Abstaining from Grain, Formulas for Abstention from Grains
- Author / transmission
- Author unknown
- Period
- Six Dynasties–Tang · Author unknown, composed sometime between the Six Dynasties and the Tang; one scroll, one of the dedicated texts on grain-avoidance methods preserved in the Daoist Canon.
- Canon division
- Dongshen Section, Methods (Fangfa) category
- Collected in
- Zhengtong Daozang, Dongshen Section, Methods Category
- Category
- Medicine and Nourishing Life
- Fascicles
- One Fascicle (Juan)
Synopsis
The Great Clarity Methods for Abstaining from Grain (Taiqing jing duangu fa), in one scroll, is devoted entirely to methods of grain avoidance (bigu — abstaining from grain, cutting off cereal food). Grain avoidance is an important practice of Daoist health preservation, resting theoretically on the idea that "those who eat grain are clever but die young, while those who feed on qi are spiritually bright and live long," and on the notion that the Three Corpses depend on grain-qi to survive — cutting off the five grains can cause the Three Corpses to perish and leave the body and mind light and clear. The methods recorded in the scripture fall mainly into two kinds: grain avoidance through ingesting qi, replacing food with breath circulation and the swallowing of saliva; and grain avoidance through taking medicines, using poria, pine and cypress leaves, Solomon's seal, asparagus root, sesame, and jujubes made into pills and powders to stave off hunger, with the preparation and dosage of each formula appended, along with how to handle the reactions of first abstaining from grain (such as hunger, fatigue, and diarrhea). Literature of this kind is continuous with the Mawangdui silk manuscript Casting Off Grain and Feeding on Qi (Quegu shiqi), showing that the art of grain avoidance already existed from the Warring States and Qin–Han periods, and became a standard practice of Daoist cultivation from the Six Dynasties onward. In the history of practice, grain avoidance was both a religious discipline and a record of ancient caloric-restriction therapy, and it has in recent years drawn renewed attention in the study of Chinese medicine and health preservation.
Key Ideas
- A dedicated text on grain avoidance
- Theory that feeding on qi brings spiritual brightness and long life
- Notion that the Three Corpses depend on grain-qi
- Two methods: grain avoidance through ingesting qi and through taking medicines
- Continuous with the Mawangdui tradition of Casting Off Grain and Feeding on Qi
Structure
One scroll, arranged in grain-avoidance formulas and their methods of use.
Editions
- Zhengtong Daozang edition
- Zhonghua Daozang edition
Full Text & Online Resources
Related scriptures
Records of Nourishing Nature and Extending Life, Treatise on the Essential Meaning of Ingesting Qi, Great Clarity Scripture of Daoyin and Nourishing Life- 任继愈主编《道藏提要》
- Schipper & Verellen, The Taoist Canon, 2004
- 马王堆帛书《却谷食气》整理本
- 维基百科「辟谷」条