《靈寶文檢》Vol. 2

Preface to the Reprinted Lingbao Wenjian in the Essentials of the Daoist Canon (Volume One)

In Daoism there is a book called the Lingbao Wenjian. It is said to have been written by the two perfected beings Jin and Ning. Its original purpose was to provide those who teach and practice Daoist methods with a “bridge” and a basis for aiding the world and saving people.

Later, the master Jin Tixian revised and organized the work, arranging memorials, petitions, official documents, and other texts by category and setting them out in a clear order. This gave practitioners ready-made formats to follow when performing rituals for worldly matters or repaying the grace of the gods.

But the book is old, and its printed editions contain many errors. Few people in later generations have been able to find a complete copy. Then Lü Pu’an’s Collection of Prescribed Forms appeared, and people gradually came to regard the Wenjian as useless. This is truly regrettable.

The Collection of Prescribed Forms, too, became mixed with authentic and spurious material as it was copied by hand; many of its passages in fact come from the Wenjian (as Xuan notes).

I had long wanted to compare and collate complete copies of both books and combine them into one, but I could never find a way to begin. Later, I was fortunate enough to obtain an authentic copy of the Wenjian. I hastened to collate it against the Collection of Prescribed Forms and distinguish the genuine material from the spurious. Both books thereby became substantially improved editions. To study and practice in accordance with them is, at least, to do some justice to fellow Daoists near and far.

I also hoped to have the books carved on pear and jujube woodblocks and make them available to the public, but I lacked the means. For nearly twenty years, the matter weighed on me. One day, some guests arrived, and in conversation with Daoists and laypeople I happened to mention it. They all praised the idea and offered to contribute funds to bring it to completion. I was secretly delighted, thinking that a treasured sword from Fengcheng, though long buried in dust, would in time reveal its own brilliance.

So I sent the text to the carvers and brought this edition to completion. How could I presume to boast of my skill at collation? I hope that readers, too, will find something here to discern and appreciate.

In the midsummer of the Yiyou year of the Daoguang reign, Chen Fuxuan, a Daoist of Mianzhu known as “Embracing Simplicity,” wrote this at the Mustard Seed Studio on Mount Jieshan, at the Zhenwu Temple.