The Exalted One’s External Illumination of the Yellow Court Scripture

[Bindi]

Hi all, just wondering if anyone has a copy of this text, or any information about it - The Exalted One’s External Illumination of the Yellow Court Scripture (太 上 黃 庭 外 景 經, Tai Shang Huang Ting Wai Jing Jing)

[SirPalomides]

Michael Saso’s book The Gold Pavilion contains his translation and commentary. There are more scholarly translations too.

[Zhongyongdaoist]

As I noted here:

 

On 9/10/2011 at 6:30 PM, Zhongyongdaoist said:

On 9/10/2011 at 2:10 PM, Immortal said:

Taoist Master Chuang by Michael Saso is actually a pretty decent introduction to Taoist ritual but you still need a teacher to practice safely and get results.

 

Saso is a valuable resource, I would also recommend Taoism and the Rite of Cosmic Renewal, which I first read back in 1976 and was a major turning point in my life, as well as his The Gold Pavilion, a translation and meditation manual based on the two Yellow Court Canons, the usual way that these texts are referred to, which are two of the most important texts in Religious Daosim. I also learned a great deal about the higher levels of Daoist ritual from Taooist Ritual in Chinese Society and History by John Lagerway and Early Daoist Scriptures by Stephen Bokenkamp.

 

There are two Yellow Court Scriptures, internal and external you have specifically mention the external one.  The Wikipedia article is surprisingly informative and worth a read.  I have two different translations as well as the original Chinese Texts which are available on the internet.  Some years ago I had been involved in a thread dealing with the different translations, but I can't seem to find it, so I will have to dig these out of my library so I can let you know about them.

 

ZYD

[Bindi]

24 minutes ago, Zhongyongdaoist said:

As I noted here:

 

 

There are two Yellow Court Scriptures, internal and external you have specifically mention the external one.  The Wikipedia article is surprisingly informative and worth a read.  I have two different translations as well as the original Chinese Texts which are available on the internet.  Some years ago I had been involved in a thread dealing with the different translations, but I can't seem to find it, so I will have to dig these out of my library so I can let you know about them.

 

ZYD

Thanks ZYD, I found quite a few copies of the internal text online, but I’m really keen on finding a copy of the external text, I’ve read the wiki article and tried to research more online but there’s very little available, at least where I’ve been searching. There is a book available by Stuart Olsen but it is quite expensive and I don’t know if it’s worth buying, really until I’ve read the actual text. 
 

Edit: even a copy of the Chinese text would be valuable, I’d be happy to painstakingly translate it 🙂

Edited June 25, 2020 by Bindi

[SirPalomides]

The external text (waijing) is what is in Saso’s book.

[Bindi]

Thanks SirPalomides, I did some googling Including Saso in my search, and I fortuitously stumbled upon this site  https://books.google.com.au/books?id=dmtgAQxWh5cC&pg=PA55&lpg=PA55&dq=yellow+court+external&source=bl&ots=WP7r0PvDkn&sig=ACfU3U36YwH48D6R0sLdsP5QtZy3oORkbg&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwj3sNbJiJzqAhVC7HMBHeB3Cw4Q6AEwEnoECAoQAQ#v=onepage&q=yellow court external&f=false  which seems like an excellent online resource (though not by Saso). 

[Zhongyongdaoist]

1 hour ago, Bindi said:

Thanks SirPalomides, I did some googling Including Saso in my search, and I fortuitously stumbled upon this site  https://books.google.com.au/books?id=dmtgAQxWh5cC&pg=PA55&lpg=PA55&dq=yellow+court+external&source=bl&ots=WP7r0PvDkn&sig=ACfU3U36YwH48D6R0sLdsP5QtZy3oORkbg&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwj3sNbJiJzqAhVC7HMBHeB3Cw4Q6AEwEnoECAoQAQ#v=onepage&q=yellow court external&f=false  which seems like an excellent online resource (though not by Saso). 

 

The book that you mention, Jade Writings is one of the books that I have.  It is a very "modern" interpretation, but is worth considering.  On a more traditional level I have The Primordial Breath: An Ancient Chinese Way of Prolonging Life through Breath Control by Jane Huang, which has a more traditional translation in Volume 2 of the the Inner and outer texts of the Yellow Court Canon, if I recall correctly the actual translations are by her father and she just edited and prepared the translation for publication.  Below is the Chinese text of the "Outer View" of the Yellow Court:

 

Quote

Outer Yellow Court Canon

太上黃庭外景玉經上

太上閑居作七言，解說身形及諸神，上有黃庭下關元，後有幽闕前命門。呼吸廬間入丹田，玉池清水灌靈根，審能修之 可長存。黃庭中人衣朱衣，關門壯籥合兩扉，幽闕俠之高巍巍，丹田之中精黑微。玉池清水上生肥，靈根堅固老不衰。中池有士衣赤衣，田下三寸神所居。中外相距 重閉之，神廬之中當修理。玄膺黑管受精符，急固子精以自持。宅中有士常衣絳，子能見之可不病，橫立長尺約其上，子能守之可無恙。呼嗡廬問以自償，保守完堅 身受慶。方寸之中謹蓋藏，精神還歸老復壯。俠以幽闕流下竟，養子玉樹令可壯。至道不煩無旁午，靈臺通天臨中野，方寸之中至關下，玉房之中神門戶，皆是公子 教我者。明堂四達法海源，真人子丹當吾前，三關之中精氣深，子欲不死修崑崙。絳官重樓十二級，官室之中五黑集，赤城之子中池立，下有長城玄谷色。長生要妙 房中急，棄捐淫欲專守精，寸田尺宅可理生，繫系子長留心安寧。觀志遊神三奇靈，閑暇無事心太平。常存玉房神明達，時念太倉不飢渴，役使六丁神女謁，閉子精 路可長活。正室之中神所居，洗身自理無敢污。歷觀五臟視節度，六腑修治潔如素，虛無自然道之故。物有自然事不煩，垂拱無為身體安，虛無之居在幃問，寂寞曠 然口不言，恬淡無欲游德園，清爭香潔玉女存，修德明達道之門。

太上黃庭外景玉經上

太上黃庭外景玉經中

作道優游深獨居，扶養性命守虛無，恬淡無為向#1思慮，羽翼已成正扶疏，長生久視乃飛去。五行參差同根節，三五合氣要本一，誰與共之斗日月，抱玉懷珠和子室。子能知之萬事畢，子自有之持勿失，即得不死入金室。出日入月是吾道，天七地三#2迴 相守，昇降進退合乃久，玉石珞珞是吾寶，子自有之何不守。心曉根基養華釆，服天順地合藏精，九原之山何亭亭，中住真人可使令。內陽三神可長生，七日之五迴 相合。崑崙之山不迷誤，蔽以紫宮丹城樓，俠以日月如連珠，萬歲昭昭非有期。外本三陽神自來，內養三陰可長生，魂欲上天魄入泉，還魂返魄道自然。

太上黃庭外景玉經中

#1向：疑當作『何』。

#2三：原作『二』，據文義改。

太上黃庭外景玉經下

遊璣懸珠環無端，迅牝金籥常完堅，載地懸天周乾坤，象以四時赤如丹，前仰後卑各異門，送以還丹與玄泉，象龜引黑 至靈根。中有真人巾金巾，負甲持符開七門，此非枝葉實是根，晝夜思之可長存。倦人道士非有神，積精所致為專年，人皆食穀與五味，獨食太和陰陽黑，故能不死 天相既。試說五臟各有方，心為國主五臟主，意中動靜黑得行，道自持我神明光。晝日昭昭夜自守，渴自飲漿飢得飽，經歷六腑藏卯酉，轉陽之陰藏於九，常能行之 不知老。肝之為黑修而長，羅列五臟生三光，上合三焦道飲漿，精候天地長生道，我神魂魄在中央。精液流泉去鼻香，立於玄膺含明堂，通我華精調陰陽。伏於玄門 候天道，近在我身還自守，清今無為神留止，精氣上下關分理。七孔已通不知老，還坐天門候陰陽，下於喉嚨通神明，過華蓋下清且凍。入清虛淵見吾形，期成還丹 可長生，還過華池動腎精，望於明堂臨丹田，將使諸神開命門，通利天道藏靈根。陰陽列布如流星，肝氣似環終無端，肺之為黑三焦起，伏於天門候故道。清液醴泉 通六府，隨鼻上下開二耳，窺視天地存童子，調和精華理髮齒。顏色光澤老不白，下於喉嚨何落落，諸神皆會相求索，下入絳宮紫華色。隱藏華蓋通神廬，專守心神 傳相呼。觀我諸神辟除邪，脾神還歸依大家，藏養靈根不復枯，至於胃管通虛無，閉塞命門似玉都，壽傳萬歲將有餘。脾中之神遊中宮，朝會五神和三光，上合天黑 及明堂，通利六府調五行。金木水火土為王，通利血脈汗為漿，二神相得下玉英，上稟元氣年益長。循護七竅去不祥，日月列布張陰陽，伏於太陰成其形，五臟之主 腎為精。出入二黑入黃庭，呼吸虛無見吾形，強我筋骨血脈成。恍惚不見過清靈，坐於廬下觀小童，日一夕存在神明光，出於無門入無戶。恬淡無欲養華根，服食玄 黑可遂生。還返七門飲太淵，通我喉嚨過清靈，問於仙道與奇功，服食靈芝與玉英。頭戴白素足丹田，沐浴華池灌靈根，三府相得開命門，五味皆至善黑還。大道蕩 蕩心勿煩，被髮行之可長存，吾言畢矣勿妄傳。

太上黃庭外景玉經下

 

I have forgotten exactly where I got that since this was some time ago and their were many sites that I mined for information over the years.  Also I found my own notes on the discussion that I had on Dao Bums, it was back in 2012.  From it I have copied this useful information from a paper by Louis Komjathy, titled "Daoist Texts in Translation":

 

Quote

Taishang huangting neijing yujing 太上黃庭內景玉經: Most High Jade Scripture on the Internal

View of the Yellow Court: DZ 331. Abbreviated as Huangting neijing jing 黃庭內景經.

Selections translated by Rolf Homann. Die wichtigsten Körpergottheiten im Huang-t’ing-ching.

Göppingen: Alfred Kümmerle, 1971.

Translated by Jane Huang. The Primordial Breath: An Ancient Chinese Way of Prolonging Life

through Breath Control. Volume 2. Torrance, Calf.: Original Books, 1990. (231-54)

Selections translated by Eva Wong. The Teachings of the Tao. Boston: Shambhala, 1997.

(68-72)

Selections translated by Paul W. Kroll. “Body Gods and Inner Vision: The Scripture of the

Yellow Court.” In Religions of China in Practice, edited by Donald S. Lopez, Jr., 149-55. Princeton:

Princeton University Press, 1996.

Translated by Patrick Carré. Le Livre de la Cour Jaune. N.p.: Éditions du Seuil, 1999.

Composed in heptasyllabic lines divided into a variety of sections, this is a third-century text of

Shangqing 上清 (Highest Clarity) provenance. It describes the subtle physiology of the human body, including its internal divinities. The Huangting jing was considered to be a visualization manual by Shangqing adepts.

 

 

Taishang huangting waijing yujing太上黃庭外景玉經: Most High Jade Scripture on the External

View of the Yellow Court: DZ 332. Abbreviated as Huangting waijing jing 黃庭外景經.

Translated by Jane Huang. The Primordial Breath: An Ancient Chinese Way of Prolonging Life

through Breath Control. Volume 2. Torrance, Calf.: Original Books, 1990. (221-29)

Translated by Michael Saso. The Gold Pavilion: Taoist Ways of Peace, Healing, and Long Life.

Boston: Charles E. Tuttle Co., Inc., 1995.

Translated by Patrick Carré. Le Livre de la Cour Jaune. N.p.: Éditions du Seuil, 1999.

Composed in heptasyllabic lines divided into three sections, this is a shorter text related to the

Huangting neijing jing黃庭內景經 (Scripture on the Internal View of the Yellow Court). It may be considered a condensed or abridged version of that text. It too describes the subtle physiology of the human body, including its internal divinities.

 

The complete text has a lot of valuable information about Western Language translations, as well as the complete Chinese titles which make it easier to search for them.

 

It is easy enough for me to post the Chinese Text of the Inner Yellow Court Canon, should anyone want that also.

 

I hope this information is helpful.

 

ZYD

 

 

Edit: The post required some adjustments to paragraph spacing.

Edited June 25, 2020 by Zhongyongdaoist

[Bindi]

Yes, everything’s helpful thanks ZYD. I read the relevant section from Louis Komjathy, and now I’m Going over the jade writings offering slowly, comparing the direct translation with the author’s translation. I might try and get hold of Jane Huang’s version as well. It’s quite an interesting text. Do you think the external yellow court text came first? 
 

 

 

 

Edited June 25, 2020 by Bindi

[Zhongyongdaoist]

I don't have much time now to post more, but I did find the thread in which contained my earliest Dao Bums posts on this subject, and as I suspected it is one that I stumbled on and found many of my posts missing, which is why it doesn't show up when I search for yellow court under my  own name.  Here is one of the few surviving posts which has a lot of useful information about the middle dan and the yellow court:

 

 

I hope this is helpful and I will try to get back to this topic soon, but this is all I can do for now.

 

ZYD

[Bindi]

The first two words in the text are 太上 (Tai Shang), which two translators, Huang and Olsen have translated as Lao Tzu. I have a question about this, is this text believed to have been actually written by Lao Tzu by those who have researched it, or is it believed to have been written by someone else just using the title 太上?  If it was written by Lao Tzu it was kept secret because it wasn’t mentioned until the 3rd century CE.