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TheQingjing Jing (simplified Chinese:清静经;traditional Chinese:清靜經;pinyin:Qīngjìng Jīng;Wade–Giles:Ch'ing Ching Ching;lit. 'Classic of Clarity/Purity and Stillness/Tranquility') is an anonymousTang dynastyTaoist classic that combines philosophical themes from theTao Te Ching with the logical presentation ofBuddhist texts and a literary form reminiscent of theHeart Sutra. It instructs students of theTao to practice the elimination of desire in order to cultivate spiritual purity and stillness.
TheQingjing jing title combinesqing清 "pure; clean; clear; fresh; cool; distinct; clarified; quiet; peaceful",jing靜 "still; motionless; static; silent; quiet; peaceful; calm; tranquil", andjing經 "(fabric) warp; scripture; canon; classic".
The firstChinese characterqing淸 has the "water"radical氵 and aqing青 "green"phonetic element. The second characterjing靜 has the "green" radical青 and azheng爭 "struggle" phonetic, and was anciently avariant Chinese character forjing淨 "clean; pure; complete; only", which has the "water" radical and thiszheng phonetic.Qingjing could interchangeably be written清靜 or清淨, for instance, the Daoist conceptqingjingwuwei清靜無為 or清凈無為 "quiet and non-action; discard all desires and worries from one's mind".Chinese Buddhism usedqingjing清淨 to translate Sanskritparishuddhi or Palivishuddhi "complete purification; free from defilement" (cf.vishudda). Kunio Miura explains:
Whereas Chinese Buddhism always used the compoundqingjing清淨 (clarity and purity) rather thanqingjing清靜 (clarity and quiescence), Taoism uses both interchangeably. Whenqingjing清淨 (clarity and purity) is used, however, there is ample room for considering a Buddhist influence.
— Miura (2007), p. 800
InStandard Chinese usage,qingjing清靜 means "quiet; tranquil; serene (surroundings, etc.)" andqingjing清淨 means "tranquil; clean and pure; (Buddhism) purified of defiling illusion, not bothered by material concerns".
English translations of theQingjing jing title include:
TheQingjing Jing is a short, mostly-versified text comprising some 390Chinese characters in 90 verses. It is widely read, has numerous commentaries, and is one of the most important texts in the Taoist religion.
Two passages of theQingjing Jing are attributed toLaozi, with thehonorific "Lord Lao" (老君, seeThree Pure Ones). This has led many traditional sources to attribute authorship of the entire text to Laozi, so the text exists under a variety of honorific titles that link it to him. Scholars believe the received text dates from around the middle Tang dynasty (618–907 CE).
The oldest extant commentary is byDu Guangting (杜光庭, 850-933 CE), a prolific editor of Daoist texts during the late Tang andFive Dynasties period. Du says prior to being written down byGe Xuan (164–244 CE), theQingjing Jing was orally transmitted for generations, supposedly going back to the mythicalQueen Mother of the West.
TheDaozang "Taoist Canon" includes eightQingjing jing editions with variant titles. The basic text (CT 620) is theQingjing miaojing (清靜妙經 "Wondrous Scripture of Clarity and Stillness") orTaishang Laojun shuo chang qingjing miaojing (太上老君說常清靜妙經 "Wondrous Scripture of Constant Clarity and Stillness, as Spoken by the Most High Lord Lao"). Commentaries include those entitledQingjing jingzhu (清靜經注, CT 755–760) andQingjing jing songzhu (清靜經頌注, CT 974).
A slightly longer (and "possibly earlier"[1]) version of approximately 600 characters is theQingjing xinjing (清靜心經 "Heart Scripture of Clarity and Stillness") orTaishang Laojun qingjing xinjing (太上老君清靜心經 "Heart Scripture of Clarity and Stillness, as Spoken by the Most High Lord Lao", CT 1169).
During theSong dynasty (960–1260 CE), theQingjing Jing became popular within the Southern Lineage "Complete Perfection" orQuanzhen School and was interpreted in context withneidan Chineseinternal alchemy. For instance, the seventh Quanzhen masterSun Bu'er孙不二 took Qingjing sanren清靜散人 "Vagabond of Clarity and Quiescence" as hersobriquet and established the Qingjing Sect.[2] Modern Quanzhen Taoists consider theQingjing jing a central scripture and regularly chant it insongjing (誦經, "reciting scriptural passages; ritual recitation"). Kohn explains:
The text serves to inspire the active practitioner and believer. It provides an easy handle on the realization of the Tao within the religious life. It is an exhortation to purity and meditation, a warning against bad thoughts and deviant desires. Pious Taoists know this short and rhythmic text by heart.
— Kohn (1993), p. 25
Although brief, theQingjing Jing is philosophically complex. It synthesizes Taoist and Buddhist theories ofpsychology,cosmology,ontology, andteleology.
TheQingjing Jing is described by Komjathy:
An anonymous text probably dating from the 9th century, this is one of a group of Tang-dynasty (618-907) works that could be labeled "Clarity-and-Stillness" literature. Emerging under the influence of Buddhist insight meditation (Vipassanā) and expressing a form of wisdom (zhi智) based on the practice of observation (guan觀), the text combines the worldview of theTao Te Ching道德經 (Scripture on the Tao and Inner Power) with the practice of Taoist observation and the structure (as well as some content) of the BuddhistBo Rue Xin Jing般若心經 (Heart Sutra of Perfect Wisdom; T. 250-57). It emphasizes the dual cultivation of clarity/purity (qing清) and "stillness/tranquility" (jing靜).
— Komjathy (2004), p. 47-48
These Taoist keywords areguan觀 "scrutiny; careful observation; insight meditation; contemplation",qing清 "clarity; purity; cleanliness", andjing靜 "stillness; quiet; calm; tranquility". TheTao Te Ching (45, tr.Mair (1990), p. 13) is thelocus classicus forqingjing: "Bustling about vanquishes cold, Standing still vanquishes heat. Pure and still, one can put things right everywhere under heaven."
Kohn summarizes theQingjing jing:
The text first describes the nature of the Tao as divided into Yin and Yang, clear and turbid (qing清 andzhuo濁), moving and quiescent (dong動 andjing靜), and stresses the importance of the mind in the creation of desires and worldly entanglements. It recommends the practice of observation to counteract this, i.e., the observation of other beings, the self, and the mind, which results in the realization that none of these really exists. The practitioner has reached the observation of emptiness (kongguan空觀). The latter part of the work reverses direction and outlines the decline from pure spirit to falling into hell: spirit (shen神) develops consciousness or mind (xin心), and mind develops greed and attachment toward the myriad beings. Greed then leads to involvement, illusory imagining, and erroneous ways, which trap beings in the chain of rebirth, and they sink deeper into the quagmire of desire, causes them to fall into hell.
— Kohn (2007), p. 801
TheQingjing jing has been translated into English byBalfour (1894), pp. 70–73,Legge (1891), pp. 247–54, andKohn (1993), p. 24-29.Wong (1992) translated the Shuijingzi (水精子) commentary.
The following versions of the opening section (verses 1-8 and 9–13, reformatted for consistency) illustrate the translational range:
Lâo the Master said, The Great Tâo has no bodily form, but It produced and nourishes heaven and earth. The Great Tâo has no passions, but It causes the sun and moon to revolve as they do. The Great Tâo has no name, but It effects the growth and maintenance of all things. I do not know its name, but I make an effort, and call It the Tâo.
Now, the Tâo (shows itself in two forms); the Pure and the Turbid, and has (the two conditions of) Motion and Rest. Heaven is pure and earth is turbid; heaven moves and earth is at rest. The masculine is pure and the feminine is turbid; the masculine moves and the feminine is still. The radical (Purity) descended, and the (turbid) issue flowed abroad; and thus all things were produced. The pure is the source of the turbid, and motion is the foundation of rest. If man could always be pure and still, heaven and earth would both revert (to non-existence).
— tr.Legge (1891), p. 249-250
The Great Tao has no form; It brings forth and raises heaven and earth. The Great Tao has no feelings; It regulates the course of the sun and the moon. The Great Tao has no name; It raises and nourishes the myriad beings. I do not know its name – So I call it Tao.
The Tao can be pure or turbid; moving or tranquil. Heaven is pure, earth is turbid; Heaven is moving, earth is tranquil. The male is moving, the female is tranquil. Descending from the origin, Flowing toward the end, The myriad beings are being born. Purity – the source of turbidity, Movement – the root of tranquility. Always be pure and tranquil; Heaven and earth Return to the primordial.
— tr.Kohn (1993), p. 25
