Abstract
The most prominent characteristic of religious Taoism may be its belief in the transcendents (shenxian) which has been one of the most popular topics in Taoist studies for several decades. Unfortunately the idea of the transcendents in the Taiping jing 太平經, one of the most important scriptures in the Taoist canon, has not been studied comprehensively. The date of the Taiping jing (ca. the second century AD) is nearly synchronous with the beginning of religious Taoism. In this scripture, we can see that the author(s) synthesized many ideas into one system concerning a theory of transcendents. This scripture indicates that the transcendent is the highest form a human being can achieve. Even though the text usually declares that only those who have the destiny to become a transcendent and are born with superior talent and wisdom have a chance to become transcendents, sometimes, it admits that those who have great merit and have accomplished virtuous deeds, although possessing no destiny to become a transcendent, still have the chance to become transcendents. This means that almost everyone has the potential to reach the goal of becoming a transcendent. Furthermore, this scripture instructs people in a number of methods to become a transcendent, including taking recipes of immortality, swallowing talismans, engaging in dietetic practices and meditation, living virtuously, creating a peaceful society, etc. All of these techniques continued to play prominent roles in Taoist practice in later periods, testifying to the influence of the Taiping jing, on subsequent Taoist ideas of the transcendent.
Keywords
Taiping jing, transcendents, Taoism, religion
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