IOverview
Lingbao means Numinous Treasure. It is the name of a Daoist scriptural corpus that appeared around 400 CE in southern China and of the school that formed around it. It arose alongside Shangqing but took another direction: Shangqing favoured individual meditation, Lingbao favoured communal ritual and salvation.
Lingbao was the first Daoist tradition to take in many Buddhist ideas, such as rebirth and the salvation of all beings. It no longer exists as a separate organisation, but the ritual framework it built remains the base of Daoist liturgy today.
IIHistory
The Lingbao scriptures were compiled by Ge Chaofu between 397 and 402. He said they had come down from Ge Xuan, who lived from 164 to 244 and was the great-uncle of the alchemist Ge Hong. Scholars see the attribution to Ge Xuan as a way of giving the texts age and authority. Once Ge Chaofu passed them to his disciples, they spread fast.
The school's real architect was Lu Xiujing, who lived from 406 to 477. In 471 he catalogued the whole Lingbao corpus, 34 texts of which three were later lost, and reorganised and standardised its ritual. He was also the first to divide Daoist scripture into three caverns, the arrangement that later framed the Daoist canon.
- 397 to 402Ge Chaofu compiles the Lingbao scripturesIncluding the Five Talismans, the framework of the whole corpus.
- 471Lu Xiujing's catalogueLists 34 scriptures and standardises ritual.
- 5th to 7th centuriesFlourishingAbout two centuries of growth, until Shangqing gained the upper hand under the Tang.
- From the Tang onwardMerging into the main currentsLingbao is gradually absorbed into Shangqing and Zhengyi.
IIITeachings and Distinctive Features
Scholars describe the early Lingbao scriptures as Buddho-Daoist hybrids. They use Buddhist terms, render the names of gods and heavens in pseudo-Sanskrit transcription and adopt a Buddhist cosmology.
- Five paths of rebirth. Gods, humans, animals, hungry ghosts and hell beings.
- Ten directions and thirty-two heavens arranged in three worlds.
- Universal salvation. Salvation is not reserved for adepts but open to all, including the dead.
- The Five Talismans. One for each direction, the framework of the entire corpus.
Despite accepting rebirth, Lingbao practitioners still pursued the older Daoist path to immortality, absorbing the essences of sun and moon and ingesting talismans. The two layers of belief ran side by side without cancelling each other.
IVZhai Rituals
Early Lingbao ritual was an individual practice in private space. Once a professional clergy developed, the emphasis moved to rites for the whole community. Lu Xiujing set out several kinds of zhai.
- Golden Register Retreat. For the peace of the state and protection from natural disasters.
- Yellow Register Retreat. For the peaceful repose of the dead.
- Jade Register Retreat. For universal salvation, its liturgy now lost.
These rites were strongly theatrical, with music, dance-like steps and chanting, and in the school's view they unfolded on several sacred levels at once.
People watching a Daoist rite for the dead often assume it is Buddhist because of its focus on saving souls. In fact most of the framework of Daoist zhai today comes from Lingbao, even though Lingbao itself borrowed heavily from Buddhism.
VOrganisation and Legacy
Lingbao has no organisation of its own. According to Wikipedia, its legacy shows in three places. First, modern Daoist ritual rests on the Lingbao ritual apparatus. Second, the division of the Daoist canon into three caverns, Dongzhen, Dongxuan and Dongshen, reflects Lingbao's ordering of scripture. Third, the yinyang masters who perform funerals in northern China are Zhengyi priests following Lingbao scriptural traditions. Lingbao's blend of Buddhism and Daoism also helped Buddhism take root in Chinese society.
VIIn Vietnam
No organisation or community under the Lingbao name is recorded in Vietnam. The Ghost Festival rites for the dead held at Chinese Daoist temples may carry Lingbao liturgical traces, as Daoist ritual generally does, but the library has found no study documenting this specifically.
VIISymbol of the Branch
Five Talismans of Lingbao
靈寶五符
VIIIOther Branches of Taoism
Zhengyi Dao正一道Descends from Zhang Daoling's Way of the Celestial Masters of 142 CE.
Quanzhen Daoism全真道Founded by Wang Chongyang in 1167 in Shandong.Uses the common symbol of the path
Longmen Daoism龍門派The largest Quanzhen line, honouring Qiu Chuji as patriarch, centred on the White Cloud Monastery.Shangqing Daoism上清派 茅山Formed around scriptures recorded by Yang Xi in 364 to 370, with Lady Wei Huacun as first matriarch.Uses the common symbol of the pathLingbao Daoism靈寶派Began around 400 CE with scriptures compiled by Ge Chaofu in 397 to 402.
Wudang Daoism武當派Tied to Mount Wudang in Hubei and the cult of Zhenwu, the Dark Warrior.Jingming Daoism淨明道, full name 淨明忠孝道Honours Xu Xun of the Jin as first patriarch and took shape in the Southern Song.Uses the common symbol of the pathTaoism in VietnamTemples, ritual masters and cults shaped by TaoismNot a school but the form Taoism takes in Vietnam.Uses the common symbol of the pathIXSources
The library cross-checks the sources below. Where they disagree, the page gives both.
?Quick Questions
What is Lingbao Daoism
A Daoist tradition formed around the Lingbao scriptures compiled by Ge Chaofu around 400 CE. It stands out for communal ritual and the idea of universal salvation, and it absorbed many Buddhist ideas.
What did Lu Xiujing do for Lingbao
In 471 he catalogued the Lingbao corpus of 34 scriptures and standardised its ritual. He also divided Daoist scripture into three caverns, the later framework of the Daoist canon.
Does the Lingbao school still exist
Not as an independent school. From the Tang onward it merged into Shangqing and Zhengyi. But Daoist zhai ritual today still follows the Lingbao framework.