Scripture of Wisdom, Fixing the Will, and Penetrating the Subtle太上洞玄灵宝智慧定志通微经

Also known as

Zhihui Dingzhi Tongwei Jing (Scripture of Wisdom, Fixing the Will, and Penetrating the Subtle), Dingzhi jing (Scripture of Fixing the Will)

Author / transmission

Anonymous

Period

Late Eastern Jin to Liu Song · Belongs to the "new scriptures" (Immortal Lord lineage) among the ancient Lingbao texts, composed roughly in the early fifth century, and recorded in Lu Xiujing's Catalogue of Lingbao Scriptures.

Canon division

Dongxuan Section, Benwen Category

Collected in

Daoist Canon of the Zhengtong Era, Dongxuan Section, Benwen Category

Category

Early Daoist Scriptures

Fascicles

One Fascicle (Juan)

Synopsis

The Scripture of Wisdom, Fixing the Will, and Penetrating the Subtle is one of the ancient Lingbao scriptures, presented in the form of a dialogue between the Most High Lord of the Dao and the Immortal Lord Ge, explaining that practitioners should contemplate through wisdom and fix the will in single-minded concentration, break through craving and affliction, recognize that "the body is like an illusory transformation," and take refuge in the great Dao, while also urging people to observe retreat and fasting, recite scriptures, and do good to help others. The text clearly draws on Buddhist concepts of prajna, dependent origination, and the six paths of rebirth, as well as the gatha verse form, making it one of the most conspicuous examples of the Lingbao scriptures' absorption of Buddhist thought, and reflecting Daoism's doctrinal response to and assimilation of Buddhism in the early fifth century. This scripture circulated widely through the Northern and Southern Dynasties, Sui and Tang, with numerous Dunhuang manuscripts surviving, and is extensively quoted in compendia such as the Supreme Secret Essentials and the Pearl Satchel of the Three Caverns; in the Tang it was also a scripture that Daoist priests were required to receive when being transmitted the "Lingbao scriptures."

Key Ideas

• Contemplating through wisdom, fixing the will in single-minded concentration
• The body as illusory transformation, dependent origination and karmic retribution
• The merit of observing retreat and fasting, doing good, and reciting scriptures
• The Buddhicizing tendency of the Lingbao scriptures

Structure

One chapter, in dialogue form interspersed with gatha verses.

Editions

• Daoist Canon of the Zhengtong Era edition
• Dunhuang manuscripts (such as P.2461)

Full Text & Online Resources

• Wikipedia: Lingbao School
• CTEXT search

Related scriptures

Related figures