《太上灵宝洗浴身心经(敦煌本)》

At that time, the Celestial Worthy of Primordial Beginning (Yuanshi Tianzun) was in the Purple Tenuity Palace of the Seven Treasures, within the Golden Gate of Jade Capital Mountain in the Great Mystery Capital. There he gathered with the sages of the ten directions, the true immortals of the many heavens, the emperors of the heavens, and countless beings of every kind: humans, celestials, dragons, ghosts, and others. All of these beings had ascended to the rank of the Perfected and attained a mind of Wuwei (non-action).

The Celestial Worthy addressed the fourfold assembly of disciples: "Your bodies and minds are originally pure, and your true nature is settled and unmoving. It remains constant from beginning to end, like empty space, and neither coming nor going meets any obstruction. Only through inverted thoughts do you follow the force of karma and take birth in various forms. Wrong thoughts and falsehood pile up into dust, and greed and delusion gather into grime. Desire and evil intent stain your nature, so that body and mind are bound in impurity.

"It is like a bright pearl buried in filth for a long time. Concealed through many kalpas, it cannot show its radiance. Future beings will lose their true nature of the Dao (the Way), commit inverted deeds, and plant the roots of falsehood. They will bury the pearl of wisdom and add to the grime of affliction. They will fall into the sea of birth and death, sink in the current of craving, and chase after the five desires, wealth and sex among them. They will dwell amid demonic obstructions and hostile enemies, bound by afflictions, their bodies and minds defiled, drifting by karma through the three evil paths and the five destinies. Their true nature is veiled, their mysterious original mind lies buried, and their inherent light is covered over. Such is their condition.

"You, my fourfold assembly of disciples, should rely on the power that is already within you. Draw the water of the Dao-nature, gather the incense of Wuwei, and prepare the broth of wisdom. In a pure chamber, wash away for all beings the grime of delusion and cleanse the impurities of body and mind. Let them attain true purity, be wholly free of defilement, find liberation in equality, and enter the place of the Way."

Having heard this, the great assembly followed the teaching and reflected in stillness. At once their minds were awakened, and they leapt for joy. Gazing up at the Celestial Worthy's venerable countenance, they chanted together:

"Primordial Beginning, supreme and greatly compassionate Worthy, you are skilled at explaining the inverted deeds of living beings.

Beings do not understand that the mysterious source is by nature constant and pure; once they stir with false movement, they sink and are lost through ten thousand kalpas."

Once delusive thoughts take root, greed and ignorance arise from them; as these roots grow, afflictions spread ceaselessly like branches and leaves.

As roots and leaves grow ever more luxuriant, they extend across the entire world, and the karmic retributions of good and evil, along with the cycle of rebirth, pile upon one another in tangled layers.

Deluded beings compete to devour the false and perverse fruits; seed and fruit follow one upon the other, continuing without end.

The defilements of affliction cover, layer upon layer, the pearl-like original nature, rendering body and mind impure and contrary to purity.

May I draw upon the waters of the original nature that guide people back to the Dao (the Way), washing away all manner of false thoughts and returning all things to the right path.

With the wisdom of equality and purity as a broth, may I cleanse the filth of ignorance and open up the true nature.

Those with affinity should enter as quickly as possible into the emptiness of right nature (using right view to recognize that all phenomena have no self-nature); the fragrant water of Wuwei (non-action) is clear as a mirror.

It can illuminate the deluded and inverted karma of past, present, and future, wash away greed and hatred, and bring people back to precepts and meditative absorption.

The filth in the mind and the sickness of affliction are suddenly dispelled, and each being recovers its true root nature, increasing wisdom and life.

The teachings spoken by the Compassionate Honored One (the compassionate venerable, here referring to the deity who expounds the teaching) are profound and unfathomable, and so I reverently bow my head in worship.

At this moment, the Tianzhen Huangren in the assembly (a venerated deity in Daoism) rose from his seat and respectfully addressed the Heavenly Worthy: “May clouds of compassion spread broadly over the four quarters, and let the supreme and wondrous rain of the Dharma fall throughout the human world and the heavenly realms. Sentient beings are ignorant; they arise and pass away according to karma. Their bodies and minds are deeply stained, and they are constantly entangled by deviant thoughts. I ask: how should one prepare the ritual bath and set up a pure chamber, so as to wash away the defilement of sin and dispel deviant impurities for sentient beings? How, specifically, should the rite be performed?”

The Heavenly Worthy said: “All who cultivate the Dao (the Way), when they enter the quiet chamber and burn incense—whether to offer prayers for themselves or for others, to repent of their offenses, or to seek blessings and protection—ought to bathe and cleanse body and mind. Apart from this, bathing once each month is the regular rule.

“The Celestial Emperor and earthly rulers command male and female devotees to purify body and mind according to the ritual norms: prepare five kinds of fragrant water, establish pure chambers widely, scatter flowers and burn incense, cultivate the Dao and perform worship, observe the fast and keep the precepts, and expound the scriptures (Jing). On the upper eight days at the end of each year (specific days of fasting and precept-keeping at year’s end), the hosts of immortals, perfected ones, and sages assemble, and the men and women of the heavenly realms wash their bodily forms, thereby exhorting sentient beings to turn toward the correct Dao and to leave behind the afflictions and toils of birth and death.

“You should follow this method and, on these eight days, exhort male and female devotees, together with kings, ministers, and all the people of the realm, to prepare fragrant water for ritual use, hang banners, standards, and floral canopies, establish the fast and cultivate the Dao, repent and worship, and recite and expound this scripture. After entering the pure chamber, set the mind aright and sit calmly. First contemplate your own body and mind: every kind of filth has accumulated; deviant thoughts are without number; and the dust of toil and affliction veils clarity. Craving and ignorance within and without, impurities coarse and subtle of every sort, the impermanence of birth and aging, and the many sufferings all bind you. The three activities of body, speech, and mind obstruct cultivation of the Dao, and the six dusts (sight, sound, scent, taste, touch, and mental objects) becloud the inner mind, like clouds and haze filling the sky and blocking the light of the sun and moon. After contemplating in this way, you must see it all with complete clarity.

“Then, with the ritual fragrant water, wash in turn the head and face, the skin, the four limbs and the five members of the body, and the six faculties and nine orifices (the gateways of sensation and cognition, such as the eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, and mind). Once the exterior has been washed clean, use pure contemplation to purify still further the deviant thoughts and afflictions of the inner mind, delusive thoughts and attachments, and the stains of greed, anger, and ignorance. When both inner and outer are pure, abide in the mind of the Dharma-body, constantly remain in the sanctuary of the Dao, and cut off deviant and false defilements. This is called bathing body and mind with ritual water.

“If good men and faithful women, for the sake of the lords of states and the kings of humankind, the nine mysterious forebears and seven ancestors (remote ancestors), their parents, themselves, their children, the people of the realm, and all sentient beings amid the three paths and five sufferings, donate ritual fragrant water, the ritual robes of those who have left the household, lay clothing, incense and medicines, and bathing utensils, and if they keep the fast and practice the Dao, scatter flowers and burn incense, worship and recite, listen to expositions of the scriptures and teachings, receive the precepts and make vows, and make offerings to the supreme sages of the heavens of the ten directions, the Perfected of wondrous practice, divine immortals and jade maidens, and those who have left home to cultivate the Dao, the merit they obtain is measureless and beyond conception.

“This is because such a person can help practitioners wash away dust and defilement. When dust and defilement are removed, one can behold the true Dao; therefore the blessings obtained are the greatest, and without any limit.”

When these words had been spoken, the assembled immortals were all filled with joy. Each carried out the practice according to the ritual forms, paid homage to the Heavenly Worthy, and then withdrew together.

The Most High Numinous Treasure Scripture on Bathing the Body and Mind (Jing), in one scroll.

The expression “倒想” in the text appears in the Dunhuang manuscript BD14523 as “颠倒妄想”; the character “颠” was originally missing and has now been restored on the basis of P.2402. The phrase “为诸众生” was also originally missing and has likewise been supplied from P.2402. The character “明” has been supplied from P.2402. In one place, “分明” is written “分别” in P.2402; in another, “重修” is written “熏修” in BD14523.

After this had been spoken, all the immortals rejoiced. Each put it into practice according to the ritual protocols and rules, paid homage to the Celestial Worthy, and then withdrew together.