La Trasmissione attraverso il Cuore del Trascendente Celeste
abstract
This chapter focuses on the translation of part of the Tianxian xinchuan 天仙心傳, a text with a composite content that deals both with self-cultivation and ritual practice. The Tianxian xinchuan was written between 1832 and 1834 and it is included in Min Yide’s 閔一得 anthology of Daoist texts Gu shuyinlou cangshu 古書隱樓藏書. Its teachings were reportedly transmitted by Shen Yibing 沈一炳 to his disciple Min Yide and are linked to the figure of Li Niwan 李泥丸, a mythical transcendent. This text is related to the content of other works contained in Min Yide’s anthology, such as the Tianxian daocheng baoze 天仙道程寶則, the Tianxian jieji xuzhi 天仙戒忌須知, the Er Lan xinhua 二懶心話 and the Taiyi jinhua zongzhi 太一金華宗旨. The portion translated here is Min Yide’s commentary to the section entitled “Internal Chapter” and it focuses on what was considered the highest level of self-cultivation of his tradition.
Keywords: Min Yide • Qing dynasty • Longmen Daoism • Self-cultivation • Heavenly Transcendent