Daoist Scripture Study
The extant corpus of Daoist literature is enormous, diverse, and wide-ranging. Within
this literature, certain texts have been and continued to be singled out as revelatory.
Certain texts occupy a central place in specific Daoist sub-traditions, in which
they are viewed as perennially relevant. For example, in contemporary Quanzhen 全真
(Complete Perfection) Daoism, the Daode jing 道德經 (Scripture on the Dao and Inner
Power), Qingjing jing 清靜經 (Scripture on Clarity and Stillness), and Yinfu jing 陰符經
(Scripture on the Hidden Talisman) are probably the three most important scriptures.
These and similar texts are "scriptures" (jing 經); they are understood to be "sacred"
or emanations of the Dao. The character for "scripture" contains two elements: the
si 絲 ("silk") radical on the left, and the jing 巠 ("well") phonetic on the right.
A further etymological reading of this character might suggest that the jing phonetic
is also a meaning-carrier. Under this reading, "scriptures" are threads and watercourses
that form and re-form networks of connection. They connect the Daoist practitioner
to both the unnamable mystery which is the Dao and the Daoist tradition, the community
of adepts that preceded one, as a historical and energetic continuum. If one then
considers how to read Daoist texts as a practitioner, one engages a given text as
directly relevant to one's immediate situation. That is, Daoist texts provide principles
and practice guidelines, as well as specific practices, for cultivating the Dao (xiudao
修道). However, creative and critical engagement also requires the recollection of
the interrelationship among knowledge, insight, practice, and experience. These texts
create the context for dialogue and discussion. From a praxis-based perspective,
these texts are here to clarify one's practice and to transform one's life. For those
committed to Daoist cultivation, Daoist texts are practice manuals. They contain
detailed principles, guidelines, practices, goals, and ideals for a Daoist way of
life.
