Page 46 - The Encyclopedia of Taoism v1_A-L

6 T H E ENCYCLOPEDIA OF TAO ISM VOL. I

From the third century onward, the *Xuanxue (Arcane Learning) thinkers
and the *Liezi can be related to the daojia. In the Six Dynasties and the Tang
periods, Taoist classics like the *Qingjingjing, the *Xishengjing, the *Yinfo jing,
the texts on *neiguan (inner observation) and *zuowang (sitting in oblivion),
and the *Chongxuan (Twofold Mystery) trend of thought are much indebted
to it. The main points that unite these thinkers and texts are outlined below.
The notion of dao. First, the term daojia and its translation as "Taoism" derive
from a new significance given to the word dao J1! in the Daode jing, the Zhuangzi,
and other texts. The basic meanings of dao are "way" and "to say," hence "the
way one should walk and that is taught," "guideline," and "method." In these
texts the term took on a new meaning of Ultimate Truth, in the sense of the
unique way that subsumes all the multiple human ways, and that is primal
because nothing was before it and it is the source of everything. According
to the Daode jing and the Zhuangzi, the Dao cannot actually be named and
is beyond anything that can be grasped or delimited, but is open to personal
experience. Both texts favor an apophatic approach that was entirely absent
in the other teachings of their time. Having no form, because it exists before
anything has taken form, the Dao can take all forms: it is both formless and
multiform, and changes according to circumstances. No one can claim to pos-
sess or know it. As the source of everything, it is inexhaustible and endless;
its Virtue or Efficacy (*de) is strength and light, and encompasses all life. Both
the Daode jing and the Zhuangzi stress the necessity of following the natural
order of the Dao and of Nourishing Life (*yangsheng), maintaining that this
is sufficient for one's own well-being.
Return to the Origin. The Daode jing and the Zhuangzi share the same concern
for the origin of things. Unlike any other trend of thought in the Warring
States period, these texts emphasize the necessity of "returning" (*fan or fo
1;t[) to the Dao, i.e., turning within oneself toward the Origin. This is essen-
tial to know and experience the Dao, and to fully understand the particular
with regard to the two polar aspects of the Dao: indeterminate totality and
receptive unity, on one side, and existence as organic diversity, on the other.
Turning within oneself affords the quiescence required to experience the
Dao. It consists in concentrating and unifying one's spirit (*shen) and will
(zhi ~) on this experience, and in being receptive and compliant in order to
receive this Dao. Hence the practice of concentration on the One (*yi), seen
throughout the history of Taoism. This concentration means freeing oneself
from desires, emotions, and prejudices, renouncing the conceptual self, and not
getting entangled in knowledge and social concerns. The goal is to return to
one's original nature and to pristine simplicity of the authentic state of thing ,
which Taoists sometimes call the "great clod" (dakuai :k~). It is related to