Page 536 - The Encyclopedia of Taoism v1_A-L

THE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF TAOISM A-L

analogical and correlative thinking, and on the idea of resonance (ganying ~
ff~O and interaction among all levels of reality.
Despite its heterogeneous background, the text embodies a fundamentally
Taoist attitude. It offers a synthesis of the Daode jing and the *Zhuangzi, com-
bining the former's political leanings with the latter's more contemplative
tendency. Chapters I and 2 draw heavily on the Daode jing and the Zhuangzi.
Among the many sources cited in this work, the Zhuangzi is the most frequently
quoted. Throughout the book, the Dao is emphasized as a primal, central,
and ultimate Unity and as a universal, generative, and orderly power. The
ethical and sociopolitical level of the Confucian teaching, and the pragmatic
and Legalist point of view that emphasizes the need for a powerful ruler and
bureaucracy, laws and institutions, are both subordinated to the ontological
level of Dao and its Virtue (*de). The belief in the resonance between the two
levels of reality-the Dao and the phenomenal world-is part of the text's
large-scale integration of cosmology into political and historical theory, which
is a basic feature of Han thought.
The Dao and the Saint. The Huainan zi offers the longest development on the
Dao since the Daode jing and the Zhuangzi. The Dao is indescribable and un-
fathomable. It is the source of everything in the world, contains everything,
can do everything and its contrary, and can take all forms. It cannot be paired
with anything and is unique. Every thing and every being takes its meaning in
reference to the eternal Dao, which one must cultivate to fulfill one's destiny
and true nature.
Return (*fan) to the Dao and to the original and fundamental nature of
beings is the basis of all qualities and efficacious actions. This fundamental
nature of beings is their overall oneness; it is found in quiescence, inner unity,
and emptiness, and is accomplished by spontaneous action or non-action
(*wuwei). Thus, one must not try to change the nature of beings, and must
follow and preserve one's authenticity. The book stresses the fundamental
value of the vital and spiritual forces of life; one should respect them and let
them spontaneously and freely circulate and nourish all things, as they are
the basis of health on both the individual and political levels. The individual
and the ruler must consequently know the rules that govern human life and
cosmic order, and follow them without interfering.
Like the Zhuangzi, the Huainan zi describes values that change according
to different times and points of view; therefore it emphasizes the difficulty
of seeing clearly and employing the correct means to order one's life and the
world. The only one who can unravel these difficulties is the Saint (*shengren),
the ideal ruler, due to the penetrating insight he acquires by embodying the
Dao. In the Huainan zi, the Saint has a cosmic dimension and rules the whole