"Over 100 ms. fragments of this Daoist scripture have been identified from Dunhuang, more than is known for any other Daoist text. WuChiyu_1960 examines a wide assortment and concludes that the scripture reflects the debates held in the audience of Tang Gaozu (r. 618-26) on whether Buddha was to be considered a disciple of the Dao. The title denotes its debt to the cosmogonic concept of purvakoti (translated as benji) introduced in the Madhyamagama and Samyuktagama, which were translated into Chinese in the 4th and 5th centuries. Tang Xuanzong (r. 713-55) is reported to have commanded all Daoist clergy to copy out the scripture as well as lecture from it on festival days. This segment is not included in the version of the text in the MingDaoistCanon:
Ming Daoist Canon, HY1103:
HY 1103 "Tai xuan zhen yi ben ji miao jing". Ofuchi_1978:
148-9 collates it with the corresponding unit in P.2795. Additional Stein mss. include Or.8210/S.1932, Or.8210/S.2618, Or.8210/S.2999, Or.8210/S.3135, Or.8210/S.3139, Or.8210/S.3387, Or.8210/S.3387, Or.8210/S.3563, Or.8210/S.3831, Or.8210/S.4330, Or.8210/S.4433, Or.8210/S.4646, Or.8210/S.5740, Or.8210/S.5930, Or.8210/S.5984, Or.8210/S.6027, Or.8210/S.6127, Or.8210/S.6137, Or.8210/S.6145, Or.8210/S.6279, Or.8210/S.7876, Or.8210/S.7964, Or.8210/S.8266"
(JB)