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306 THE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF TAOISM A-L

operations of Dao in terms of "feminine" qualities like humility, passivity,
and selfless love. Thus, the Daode jing and the Neiye-both important sources
of later Taoist thought and practice-provided centuries of theorists and
practitioners with a wide array of images, models, and concepts concerning
Dao and its cultivation.
"Dao"; The object of personal transmission. Another authentic Taoist context for
understanding the term dao takes the issue beyond the explication of texts,
and into the actual lives of practicing Taoists. For instance, an eighth-century
biography of *Sima Chengzhen reports that, upon his ascension, "only *Li
Hanguang and Jiao Jingzhen m ~ ~ received his Dao" (Zhenxi A*-; YJQQ
5.15b-I6a) Such language compels us to interpret the term dao in terms of
Daode jing 62, which (in the received text) says that rather than offer luxurious
gifts at a ducal enfeoffment, one should "sit and present this Dao." Here, dao
refers not to some transcendental abstraction, but rather to something very
precious, which can be transmitted. Comparable uses of the term appear in
Japanese culture, where dao was long ago integrated not only into the names
of such "religions" as Shinto t$~ ("the Way of the Gods") and Butsudo f:ili
~ ("the Way of the Buddha"), but also into those of such "martial arts" as
aikido {t '*'1: ill: ("the way of harmonious qi") and kendo 0i I J jg ("the way of the
sword"), as well as those of such unique cultural phenomena as sad 0 * ill
Cthe way of tea"). There, the term dao had come, by Tang times, to mean
something like "a venerable complex of traditional practices." Such connota-
tions resonate with many traditional Taoist usages, where the term dao seems
to denote "what we, as heirs to our wise forebears, do in order to live our lives
most meaningfully." That most basic meaning of the term correlates with its
usage by Confucius.

"Dao"; The focus of group identity. Through much of Chinese history, the term
dao was also used as a label for a group within society that shared a particular
set of principles or practices. For instance, in late antiquity Chinese historians
labelled the followers of *Zhang Daoling as the *Wudoumi dao, i.e., "(the
members of) the Way of the Five Pecks." Increasingly, the term dao became
a convenient cultural label for real, or imagined, "groups." Some such labels,
like Taiqing dao :;f.c{j!J~ (used by *Tao Hongjing for practitioners of alchemi-
cal ideals; see *Taiqing) have no clear relationship to any socially identifiable
group. Hence, the term dao came to be used, rather liberally, as a designator
of any real or imagined group, based upon the recognition or assignment of
group identity on the basis of a real or alleged common adherence to some
real or imagined set of ideals or practices.
"Dao"; The focus of personal spiritual practice. Such sociocultural usages conflict
with many modern interpretations, which overemphasize the speculation
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