Record of the Mysterious Pearl玄珠录
- Author / transmission
- Wang Xuanlan
- Period
- Tang · The recorded sayings of Wang Xuanlan (626–697), compiled by his disciple Wang Taixiao after his death (around the early eighth century).
- Canon division
- Taixuan Section
- Collected in
- Zhengtong Daozang, Taixuan Section
- Category
- Daoist Philosophy
- Fascicles
- 2 juan
Synopsis
The Xuanzhu lu (Record of the Mysterious Pearl) is the recorded sayings of Wang Xuanlan, a Daoist priest of Mianzhu in the early Tang, compiled and prefaced by his disciple Wang Taixiao. Wang Xuanlan was 'perceptive and enlightened by nature,' broadly versed in both Daoism and Buddhism; his teaching takes the Dao as an underlying reality that is 'both being and non-being' and 'neither moving nor still,' discussing the 'mutual identity of Dao and things' and 'the dao-nature of all beings,' and taking 'sitting in oblivion' and 'contemplating emptiness' as his practice, advocating the recognition of mind and the perception of nature and the breaking of the twin attachments to being and non-being — 'all beings are endowed with life from the Dao, yet beings are not themselves the Dao; if one takes this as the Dao, why then does one fail to see the Dao' — his language is highly dialectical. Many passages in the book imitate Buddhist logic (hetuvidyā) and Madhyamaka forms of argument, blending the Three Treatise (Sanlun) school, Yogācāra and Laozi–Zhuangzi thought; it represents Tang-dynasty Chongxuan learning in the Shu region, ranking alongside Cheng Xuanying, Li Rong and Meng Anpai. The text is terse and highly speculative, and is important material for the study of the formation of Daoist theories of mind and nature.
Key Ideas
- The Dao is both being and non-being, neither identical with nor separate from things
- All beings possess dao-nature
- Sitting in oblivion and contemplating emptiness, recognizing mind and perceiving nature
- A dialectical method for breaking the twin attachments of being and non-being
Structure
Two juan, in the form of recorded sayings, in short entries.
Editions
- Zhengtong Daozang edition
- Zhu Senpu, Collated and Annotated Xuanzhu lu (Bashu Shushe, 1989)
Full Text & Online Resources
Related scriptures
Pivot of Meaning of the Daoist Teaching, Treatise on the Substance of the Dao, Scripture of the Original Bound (Benji jing)Related figures
Wang Xuanlan- 朱森溥《玄珠录校释》
- 卢国龙《中国重玄学》
- 任继愈主编《道藏提要》