Master of Heavenly Seclusion (Tianyinzi)天隐子
- Author / transmission
- Sima Chengzhen
- Period
- Tang · Attributed with a preface and transmission by Sima Chengzhen, and possibly composed by him, in the early 8th century.
- Canon division
- Taixuan Section
- Collected in
- Zhengtong Daozang, Taixuan Section
- Category
- Daoist Philosophy
- Fascicles
- In one scroll, eight chapters.
Synopsis
The Master of Heavenly Seclusion (Tianyinzi) is a short Tang-dynasty Daoist treatise on cultivation, in eight chapters: Immortals, Ease and Simplicity, the Gradual Gate, Fasting and Purification, Peaceful Dwelling, Visualization, Sitting in Oblivion, and Spiritual Understanding. The work opens with the statement "immortals too are human," holding that cultivation of the Dao should begin from "ease and simplicity" and proceed through the five steps of the "Gradual Gate" — fasting and purification (cleansing the body and emptying the mind), peaceful dwelling (a fitting chamber of stillness), visualization (gathering in the mind and returning to one's nature), sitting in oblivion (forgetting the body and the self), and spiritual understanding (all methods communicating with the spirit) — progressing from the shallow to the deep, ultimately achieving "union of spirit with the Dao." Its thought is continuous with the Treatise on Sitting in Oblivion but more concise and practical, placing particular weight on the daily regulation of diet and dwelling, and it represents the theory of "gradual cultivation" in Tang Daoism. In his preface, Sima Chengzhen states that this work came from the Master of Heavenly Seclusion, and most scholars hold that Sima wrote it himself, whether under his own name or a pseudonym. It circulated widely from the Song onward; it was not included in the Yunji Qiqian but transmitted as an independent text, and it was frequently cited by alchemists of the Ming and Qing.
Key Ideas
- Immortals too are human, and cultivation begins with ease and simplicity
- Five steps of the Gradual Gate: fasting and purification, peaceful dwelling, visualization, sitting in oblivion, and spiritual understanding
- Gathering in the mind and returning to one's nature, forgetting the body and the self
- Union of spirit with the Dao
Structure
Eight short chapters, preceded by a preface by Sima Chengzhen.
Editions
- Zhengtong Daozang edition
- Daozang Jiyao edition
- Shuofu edition
Translations
- English translation by Livia Kohn (included in Sitting in Oblivion, 2010)
- English translation by Thomas Cleary
Full Text & Online Resources
Related scriptures
Treatise on Sitting in Oblivion, Treatise on the Essential Meaning of Ingesting QiRelated figures
Sima Chengzhen- Livia Kohn, Sitting in Oblivion, 2010
- 任继愈主编《道藏提要》