No More Learning

I have used the Daode jing for the past twenty-six years, for the most part at small undergraduate colleges, in such courses as ''Asian Religions,'' ''Religions of China and Japan,'' and ''Comparative Mysticism. '' My use of the text has changed over that time as both my understanding of it and my own scholarly interests have changed. In spite of the fact that I've been using this text solely with undergraduates and, for the most part, at the introductory level (pre- supposing little or no background in Chinese religions or culture), I am still committed to taking a scholarly approach, making them aware of both the complexity of this text and the necessity and value of examining it within its historical and cultural context. I have resisted the temptation and, at times, desire of students to oversimplify the text, take it out of context, and Westernize
mysticism in the daode jing 63
and romanticize it into what Norm Girardot refers to as ''Pooh Bear Daoism. '' However, the challenge we continue to face, as both scholars and teachers of undergraduates, is how to walk that very fine line between maintaining the integrity of the text while effectively communicating its meaning to an audience of general readers.
I would agree wholeheartedly with numerous China scholars that the Daode jing reflects a particular school (used loosely) of thought, somewhat prevalent in fourth-century b. c. e. China, and that in order to make an attempt to understand the intended meaning of this text it is essential to understand not only Chinese culture and the Chinese religious worldview but also the cultural, religious, and political milieu of the late Zhou period. In addition, it would also be beneficial to have a sense of who was compiling this text and for whom it was being written. I think that this is true in reading any text from any culture. In a sense, the Daode jing reflects its period and culture and can provide us with a window into understanding classical China and perhaps something of the Chinese religious worldview as it has evolved over the past 2,500 years. It is important to note that although this is obviously a classical text, it continues to be widely read in China today.
There is undoubtedly inherent value in studying other cultures and worldviews in and of themselves. I would also argue that there is intrinsic value in discovering particular truths or insights in other cultures which may have a timeless and universal value and may help us to make sense out of life and understand something about the nature of our being and our place in the cosmos. Indeed, there is the danger of Westernizing a text like the Daode jing in order to make the foreign and exotic familiar and comfortable. I would also say, however, that, as scholars and teachers, we must be equally vigilant against being ruled by cultural relativism. Indeed, we want our students to have a true understanding of the Chinese worldview, but that does not mean that a classical text like the Daode jing does not contain basic principles that may inspire them in some ways, enlighten them in others, or may even be applied to their lives. They can be good scholars but also moved by what they discover without going native or surrendering their objectivity. They may be from a different culture and be shaped by different circumstances and forces, but ultimately they are of the same species and have the capacity to respond to certain universal truths. Why are the Japanese so enthralled with Shakespeare and the Chinese with Beethoven?
I am suggesting two distinct orientations or goals in interpreting and understanding the Daode jing: what it meant originally in its historical context and what it means to us now. However, these goals, as Michael LaFargue suggests, ''are not by any means exclusive, and it is possible to combine them. ''1
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The overwhelming majority of us using this text are not preparing students to become China scholars nor to fulfill some spiritual void in their lives. I would reaffirm, however, that we do have a scholarly obligation to use the text as honestly and truthfully as possible to capture its original meaning or intent, which, admittedly, will also be an interpretation based on what sources we choose. Our responsibility is to choose the sources wisely and judiciously and to provide a legitimate context for exploration.
Once again, what I would like to focus on is my use of the Daode jing as a mystical text and why I have used it this way. The particular course that I will be focusing on is called ''Comparative Mysticism,'' which I have taught in nu- merous incarnations over the past twenty years. Initially, this course focused on the comparative study of the mystical dimensions, schools, beliefs, and prac- tices in an assortment of different religious traditions. In its early incarnation the course was called ''Saints and Mystics'' and became affectionately known around campus as S&M. As my own work became more interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary over the years that shift was also reflected in the changing focus of this course. In its present incarnation it examines mysticism from philosophical, anthropological, psychological, religious, and scientific per- spectives. I may vary the types of religious mysticism we look at, but more often than not it has been Sufism (Islamic mysticism) and Chinese mysticism (Daoism). I make it quite clear to students, through discussion and course readings, that there is a rich and complex history to both Islamic and Chinese mysticism and that while neither Ibn' Attar's Conference of the Birds nor the Daode jing are fully representative of either tradition, they do embody some basic principles from each.
For the purposes of this essay I am using the term mysticism to mean religious mysticism, but even then in a fairly general and inclusive way. While the term mysticism is used to cover a broad range of experiences among fairly diverse traditions, there has been general agreement among scholars of mys- ticism and phenomenologists of religion as to the nature of mystical experience and what characterizes mystical states. 2 The term generally covers a wide range of spiritual and religious experience in which one directly experiences that which is perceived to be ultimately real, for example, the transcendent, the sacred, the holy, the divine. This direct experience, which is usually identified as a state of union or oneness, is one that intuitively imparts knowledge of ultimate reality by virtue of the knower becoming the known. It is also con- ceived as a state of consciousness. Mystical experience has often been recog- nized as one of the more powerful and extraordinary aspects of human existence. It is not only a spiritual experience but is conceived by many tradi- tions as the spiritual experience par excellence; it is not only a way of knowledge
mysticism in the daode jing 65
but a direct path to the knowledge of the really real; it is not only a state of consciousness but a consciousness, as Ninian Smart suggests, ''where one acquires a fundamental insight into the nature of reality. ''3 In addition, some have also claimed that it is the highest and most cognitive state of human existence.
If we look at certain qualities that generally characterize mystical states, the picture perhaps becomes clearer. Mystical experiences or states seem to be characterized by the experience of oneness or union, timelessness, transiency, loss of self, ineffability, transformation, passivity-receptiveness, and a noetic quality, that is, the gaining of knowledge. This general definition of mysticism should provide a sufficient frame of reference to consider the Daode jing as a mystical text. It has certainly been argued by Daoist mystics throughout the ages that one can know the Dao only by becoming the Dao. While that may or may not be true, I would suggest that examining this text from a mystical perspective can enable us to acquire a deeper understanding of its inner or essential meaning.
Although I personally consider the case for the Daode jing as a mystical text to be self-evident, I refer the reader to Harold Roth and Livia Kohn (China specialists and scholars of Daoism) for a scholarly deliberation of the mystical nature of the Daode jing. 4 In addition, for a consideration of the case against the Daode jing as a mystical text, see Mark Csikszentmihaly. I am certainly inter- ested in this debate, but the intention of this essay is not to advance a scholarly argument on this issue but to discuss how and why I have used the Daode jing as a mystical text. I would add, parenthetically, that while there have been nu- merous insightful and interesting interpretations and commentaries related to the Daode jing since its inception, both within and outside of China, to the best of my knowledge there has yet to be produced an authoritative exegesis of this rather enigmatic text.
There are numerous texts, in translation, that are an equally important part of the early Chinese mystical tradition, such as Zhuangzi, Liezi, Huainanzi, and Xisheng jing. However, the Daode jing provides a fairly clear basis for a Daoist mystical philosophy of life, naturalistic and quietistic, which has been devel- oped by different schools within China. It is important to note that although the Daode jing may not be the single foundation stone on which Chinese mysticism was built, its value and importance to the tradition is significant. Livia Kohn claims that there may be some question as to whether the Daode jing is obvi- ously a mystical text, yet she does indicate that in the judgment of the later tradition the ''Daode jing is a mystical text of the first import. Together with Zhuangzi it has shaped and influenced Chinese mysticism like no other text. ''5 In addition, the text is accessible to students who lack an extensive background
66 approaching the daode jing
in Chinese religion and provides a mystic vision, characterized by certain basic principles and qualities, that can be found in mystical texts in general. This makes it ideal for both a study of mysticism and a comparison to other forms of mysticism. From a course-specific perspective, the Daode jing allows students, in their pursuit of the meaning of the Dao, to deal with issues of union, one- ness, ineffability, timelessness, intuitive understanding, and egolessness. For a phenomenological study of mysticism it is a natural.
Using the Daode jing as a mystical text allows me additionally to raise larger epistemological and pedagogical issues, which, in one sense, are the raison d'^etre of this course. In other words, in pursuing the elusive Dao one comes face-to-face with basic issues of what it means to know, what is known, and how one comes to know. We, along with our students, are clearly immersed in an age of scientism fostered by thinkers like Descartes, Bacon, Hobbes, and Newton, among others, with an emphasis on scientific method and rational and analytical thinking. Although I am hardly antiempiricist or antirationalist, I do fear that in our headlong rush for certainty and intellectual credibility we have, in many areas of inquiry, allowed ourselves to be seduced by the promises of this limited worldview, where scientific knowledge is often considered the only acceptable kind of knowledge. That there can be other ways of knowing, for instance, intuitive reasoning or understanding or through direct experience of the known, that are perhaps equally valid and reliable is generally not recog- nized. Rationalism, in short, is inadequate for an understanding of some of the deeper and more elusive truths of life. In pursuing the scientific path we have forgotten how to use our intuitive faculties and our bodies as agents of know- ing. Working with the Daode jing as a mystical text can serve as a type of Zen koan (enigmatic question or riddle), which may provoke a type of mental crisis, forcing one to go beyond the rational, analytical, ordering mind to intuition.
Ultimately, the significant issue for me becomes how the Daode jing can be used to force us to confront these larger epistemological issues. There is little argument among scholars that this extraordinary text is multilayered and can be read, legitimately, from a number of perspectives: as a philosophical text, a political statement, social commentary, a literary piece, and a mystical text. In my courses dealing with the Chinese religious worldview, where the emphasis is on looking at religion from a cultural perspective, we look at the Daode jing in both its cultural and historical milieux as well as from the aforementioned perspectives. While being aware of the cultural and historical context and the numerous ways that this text can be interpreted, students in the course on mysticism are obviously encouraged to read it as a mystical text. I would argue not only that the Daode jing can clearly be read as a mystical text but that, in fact, employing this perspective will greatly enhance other ways of reading and
mysticism in the daode jing 67
understanding the Daode jing and, again, serve to highlight certain epistemo- logical issues. Although, as previously noted, I consider the case for the Daode jing as a mystical text to be self-evident, I still expect students to make this case in the context of this course. Obviously they assume that it is a mystical text since it is being used in a course on mysticism. However, that does not preclude me from forcing them to establish that case, as they are required to do with texts from other traditions that are being used in the course. The two primary overarching issues that we deal with in this course are: What is the nature of ultimate reality? and How may one experience that reality? With the basic assumption that mysticism and mystical experience encompass those two is- sues, we work on establishing, through the use of numerous sources, what mysticism is and what generally characterizes mystical experiences or states. Our working definition tends to be fairly inclusive of many different types of mysticism and many different perspectives, including philosophical, anthro- pological, psychological, religious, and scientific. Although any model or defi- nition has its obvious limitations, we work at developing a fairly comprehensive and flexible model that, while admittedly far-reaching, still has sufficient structure to allow for a workable schema.
At the point in the course where students are dealing with the Daode jing, they usually have a very good understanding of what generally constitutes mystical philosophy and what characterizes mystical experience. A particular piece that is extremely well suited for preparing students to deal with the Daode jing as a mystical text is Erich Neumann's essay ''Mystical Man. ''6 Neumann offers us a mystical anthropology in his basic claim that not only is man capable of mystical experience, but he is mystical by his very nature. In fact, Neumann argues that one does not become fully human, that is, realize one's full po- tential, until the outer self (individual self, ego) becomes fully united with the inner self (numen, numinous, transpersonal self, the creative void), which certainly could be conceived of as the Dao. Like Neumann's creative void, the Dao exists within each of us, whether discovered or not. This creative void and our mystical nature, whether realized or not, can be found in the early psy- chological source of original unity and lives in our psyche as the archetype of paradisal wholeness. For Neumann, one's journey through life is to recapture this lost wholeness (returning to the root, the Dao) in full consciousness and to see, in the transparency of the world, the numinous substratum (Dao) and that the human is an aspect of numinous existence.
With the preparatory background in place, students undertake both exe- getical and hermeneutical analysis. I am fully aware of the limitations of this analysis for students at this level, but I am also convinced that this type of exploration will allow them to come to grips with some of the basic issues of the
68 approaching the daode jing
Daode jing in a valuable way. In promoting a hermeneutical methodology I require students not only to think in these terms in preparation for class dis- cussion but also to keep a journal in which they explore and wrestle with these ideas in some detail. The journal is effective preparation for class discussion because it forces students to go into much greater depth in exploring these ideas through interpretation, reflection, and critical analysis.
The beauty of the Daode jing as a mystical text is that it wastes no time hitting the reader right in the face with the critical epistemological issue, which, of course, becomes a significant pedagogical issue as well: How can you de- scribe or talk about the Dao if it is ineffable? The Dao is quickly identified as the Ultimate, the First Principle, the Root of all existence, the Mother of all things, but also as the Nameless (wuming), the Ineffable, the Indescribable:
As for the Way, the Way that can be spoken of is not the con- stant Way:
As for names, the name that can be named is not the constant name. The nameless is the beginning of the ten thousand things;
The named is the mother of the ten thousand things.
Therefore, those constantly without desires, by this means will per-
ceive its subtlety.
Those constantly with desires, by this will see only that which they
yearn for and seek.
These two together emerge;
They have different names yet they're called the same; That which is even more profound than the profound-- The gateway of all subtleties. 7
So we are initially made aware that there is, in fact, an ultimate reality, but it cannot be described. As students continue to search the text for the Dao, the issue of ineffability, common to mystical experience, becomes clear. In their pursuit of this elusive reality they discover within the text that the Dao is un- differentiated, the One, the source of the phenomenal world, change, every- thing that changes, transcendent, immanent, omnipresent, pervasive, and more (see Daode jing chapters 16, 25, 39, and 42). What they begin to perceive is that these are things about the Dao, that is, hints, suggestions, and allusions, but they are not the Dao. Whatever one can say about the Dao is not the Dao. Again, one is faced with one of the primary insights regarding mystical experience: that there is a certain transcendental truth that lies beyond words.
At this point the frustration and anxiety level among students is usually quite high due to their emotional and intellectual attachment to abstract ideas. They want absolutes! This is actually a very advantageous position for them to
mysticism in the daode jing 69
be in if they are patient enough to appreciate several things. First, when dealing with spiritual states and higher states of consciousness, language and abstract ideas are inherently limited. Second, if there is, in fact, a transcendent reality that incorporates all of existence and is a part of everything, including our- selves, there must be some way of apprehending that reality. Generally, their first conclusion is that there is an ultimate reality called Dao but that this reality can never be captured by words or concepts. This is obviously being claimed by the text itself.
After reading the Daode jing students turn to a number of secondary sources to further explore notions of the Dao. However, through their under- standing of mysticism they know that now the challenge becomes one of dis- covering what the path to this reality is: How does one possibly come to know the Dao? While dismayed by the elusiveness of the Dao and the limitation of words in pursuing it, they do begin to sense, in pondering the Dao, that there is something there, just beyond their grasp--a kind of all-inclusive unity which the text suggests but which they can't quite apprehend. This sense of elusive- ness is captured for them in their reading of the fourth-century c. e. poet T'ao Ch'ien:
I gather chrysanthemums at the eastern hedgerow And silently gaze at the southern mountains.
The mountain air is beautiful in the sunset,
And the birds flocking together return home Among all of these things is a real meaning,
Yet when I try to express it, I become lost in ''no words. ''8
This particular poem usually strikes certain chords, stimulating them to draw analogies from experiences, particularly spiritual experiences, in their own lives, for instance, about love, nature, and the sacred. Reflection on these per- sonal experiences allows them to bring the notion of ineffability more clearly into focus. At the same time they begin to appreciate the poetic structure and power of the Daode jing, that is, the value of symbolic language: metaphor, suggestiveness, images, ambiguity. This is a text that can't just be read and taken literally; it must be listened to, heard, and felt. Though we may not be able to fully apprehend the Dao through words or concepts, words can be used symbolically to suggest what cannot be stated and to engage the reader at a more existential or intuitive level. This experience begins to move them in the direction of intuition as a possible way of knowing or coming closer to the Dao.
After reading the Daode jing and the secondary sources we begin to discuss the Daoist notion of not thinking, in a rational sense, as a way of knowing and the Daoist fondness for paradox. To stimulate consideration and discussion of
70 approaching the daode jing
the value of not thinking I have them read a rather humorous piece, called ''The Professor,'' which alludes to the limitations of thinking as we generally con- ceive it. The following excerpt captures its flavor:
A few years ago I used to tell myself that I wanted to marry a cowboy. Why shouldn't an English professor say this to herself--living alone, fascinated by a brown landscape, spotting a cowboy in a pickup truck sometimes in her rearview mirror as she drives on the broad high- ways of the West Coast? In fact, I realize I would still like to marry a cowboy, though by now I'm living in the East and married already to someone who is not a cowboy . . .
More important than the clothes a cowboy wore, and the way he wore them, was the fact that a cowboy probably wouldn't know much more than he had to. He would think about his work, and about his family, if he had one, and about having a good time, and not much else. I was tired of so much thinking, which was what I did most in those days. I did other things, but I went on thinking while I did them. I might feel something but I would think about what I was feeling at the same time. I even had to think about what I was thinking and wonder why I was thinking it. When I had the idea of marrying a cowboy I imagined that maybe a cowboy would help me stop thinking so much. 9
This piece may not be heavily philosophical, but it does get them to consider how they generally attempt to know something, that is, to think about it, conceptualize it, and define it. When we discuss spiritual states or religious experience, however, they begin to realize the limits of rational and conceptual thinking and that there are additional powerful and profound ways of knowing at our disposal. Albert Einstein confessed, late in his life, that his deepest understanding of the universe did not come from his rational thought process but from his intuitive awareness.
As we continue to wrestle with the notion of the Dao being the One, students further appreciate the limitations of rational thought or thinking about the Dao as a process that is inherently dualistic. The mind objectifies the Dao by thinking about it, and thus the Dao loses its essential wholeness or oneness. Of course, if the Dao is everything, then it is also rational mind and subsequently can be apprehended, at least in part, by our rational thought processes. At this point they generally begin to realize, more fully, that indeed there are things that they have come to know in their lives intuitively as a result of direct experience, where there has been a sense of becoming the other, that is, the knower becoming the known. It is not necessary for them to become
mysticism in the daode jing 71
aware of the fact that they are the Dao, that is, have had a mystical experience, for them to come to the aforementioned realization. In a sense, their wrestling with this notion is like Zen koan practice, where the rational mind begins to sense its limitations. This raises some of the larger epistemological issues of how we come to know and the value of intuition.
One of the primary issues uncovered at this point, that they are quite familiar with in their study of mysticism and which is an essential part of the Daode jing, is the need to overcome the phenomenal self to acquire com- plete knowledge of the Dao. One needs to attain a state of selflessness and become the Dao. As Chang Chung-yuan suggests, ''The awareness of the identification and inter-penetration of self and non-self is the key that unlocks the mystery of the Dao. ''10 This need to overcome the limitations and restric- tions of the ego is a persistent theme in mysticism universally. It is a theme that forces students to deal directly with notions of self and the relationship of self to some larger, and in this case ultimate, reality. In reading the Daode jing from any perspective, this is an issue that cannot be avoided. Once again, the larger epistemological issue comes to the fore: How does one come to know the Dao? As Livia Kohn points out, the main obstacles to truly knowing the Dao ''are the senses and the intellect, which continuously boost a separate notion of ego through emotions and desires, classifications and conscious knowledge. ''11
At this point in our study students begin to understand that while the Daode jing presents them with a mystical vision of the Cosmos, and their place in it, it remains quite subtle and elusive regarding the path to this vision. In the realization of this mystical vision, one is directed to become the Dao, to be reunited, to return to the root from which one has come: ''The thousands of things all around are active--I give my attention to Turning Back. Things growing wild as weeds, all turn back to the Root. ''12 This idea of returning becomes an additional theme in the Daode jing that generally proves to be a rich and fruitful area of exploration and access for students. We explore this notion of returning to the source by focusing on the persistent universal human psy- chological urge to return to that from which we've come: God, the void, the universe, nature. As they contemplate what it means to return to the Dao this generally gets played out, by analogy, in a nostalgic longing to return to childhood, their hometown, or some spot in nature that they have been at- tracted to. They realize that these attempts to fulfill this urge of returning are ultimately unsatisfying because what they seek to return to is no longer the same--things change. They are not a return to the unchanging, the familiar, the source, the Dao.
Admittedly, the Daode jing, while offering some general guidelines to finding or becoming the Dao, is for the most part devoid of practical instructions.
72 approaching the daode jing
Certainly the mystic path, as it is generally defined, can be found within the threads woven through this elusive text, from the necessity to overcome self and ego and the senses to ultimately attaining a state of union with the One. A further exploration of the later Daoist mystical sects points us toward more specific techniques that were, and continue to be, employed as methods to acquire what the Daode jing is calling for: becoming the Dao.
As part of the course we do have several sessions with a Qi Gong master and Daoist meditation instructor. The intent here is not to experience oneness with the Dao but to give students a sense of how one actually goes beyond intellect and abstract thinking to know the Dao. It is essential that they come to realize that in this pursuit of the Dao one must use one's whole being, that the body is also capable of knowing and experiencing this oneness, and that in the union of mind, body, and spirit is where the Dao lies.
Once again, I want to be clear that the mystic perspective is not the way to understand the Daode jing, but it is one way and, potentially, a very fruitful way. I am also fully aware of the reductionist argument from scholars like Steven Katz. However, being sensitive to the dangers of typologies--mystical vision, path, experience, states, and so on--I would still argue that if used prudently and flexibly they do have value. Does the Daode jing provide a mystical vision of the Cosmos and our place in it? I think so. I tend to agree with the Laozi bianhua jing (Scripture of the Transformations of Laozi) as interpreted by Livia Kohn, which describes
a cosmological scheme . . . where the philosopher is no longer simply a human being; the Dao is no longer only a philosophical concept referring to the organic, inherent order of the world. In the merg- ing of both, philosopher and Dao, the cosmicization of humanity coincides with the humanization of the Universe. This coincidence, then, forms the mythological paradigm for the individual Daoist's aspirations to mystical oneness as well as for the communal practice of the Dao. 13
By working through the text with an understanding of mysticism and what characterizes mystical states, students are able to reach these insights and conclusions by themselves. These qualities of oneness, intuition, selflessness, ineffability, and timelessness, so characteristic of mystical experience and philosophy, provide access into the meaning and power of the Daode jing and an appreciation of some of its claims and insights. These are not always easy concepts to deal with, but, along with an understanding of context, cultural and historical milieux, linguistic analysis, and so on, they can help us with meaning and understanding. I would argue, however, that if the mystical perspective is
mysticism in the daode jing 73
not employed, we are left with a rather lifeless and static philosophical tome representing something about a culture long gone.
It is important that we don't make the Daode jing what we want it to be. From my own experience in China, the Daode jing is still a widely read text that is vibrant, dynamic, and meaningful and continues to impact people's lives in a variety of ways. In part, the vital dynamic quality of the Daode jing can be understood by investigating and discovering the mystical dimension of this text, which provides access to what I've heard Michael LaFargue describe as ''historical meanings for them and contemporary meanings for us. ''
notes
1. Michael LaFargue, ''Recovering the Tao-te-ching's Original Meaning: Some Remarks on Historical Hermeneutics,'' in Lao-tzu and the Tao-te-ching, ed. Livia Kohn and Michael LaFargue (Albany: State University of New York Press, 1998), 255.
2. Foramoredetailedexplicationofmysticism,mysticalexperience,characteristics of mystical states, and the mystic path, consult Robert Elwood, Mysticism and Religion (Englewood Cliffs, N. J. : Prentice-Hall, 1980); F. C. Happold, Mysticism: A Study and an Anthology (Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1980); William James, The Varieties of Religious Experience (Cambridge, Mass. : Harvard University Press, 1985); Richard Woods, Un- derstanding Mysticism (Garden City, N. Y. : Image Books, 1980); Steven Katz, ed.
, Mysticism and Philosophical Analysis (New York: Oxford University Press, 1978); Frits Staal, Ex- ploring Mysticism: A Methodological Essay (Berkeley: University of California Press).
3. Ninian Smart, ''Understanding Religious Experience,'' in Katz. Mysticism and Philosophical Analysis, 13.
4. Harold Roth, ''The Laozi in the Context of Early Daoist Mystical Praxis,'' in Religious and Philosophical Aspects of the Laozi, ed. Mark Csikszentmihalyi and Philip J. Ivanhoe (Albany: State University of New York Press, 1999), 59-96; Livia Kohn, Early Chinese Mysticism: Philosophy and Soteriology in the Taoist Tradition. (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1992).
5. Kohn, Early Chinese Mysticism, 44- 45.
6. Erich Neumann, ''Mystical Man,'' in The Mystic Vision: Papers from the Eranos Yearbooks, vol. 6, Bolingen Series, (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1968), 375- 415.
7. Robert G. Henricks, Lao-Tzu Te-Tao-Ching: A New Translation Based on the Recently Discovered Ma-wang-tui Texts (New York: Ballantine Books, 1989), 53.
8. Chang Chung-yuan, Creativity and Taoism: A Study of Chinese Philosophy, Art and Poetry (New York: Harper & Row, 1970), 53.
9. Lydia Davis, ''The Professor,'' Harpers', February 1992, 56-59.
10. Chang Chung-yuan, Creativity and Taoism, 20.
11. Kohn, Early Chinese Mysticism, 8.
12. Michael LaFargue, The Tao of the Tao Te Ching (Albany: State University
of New York Press, 1992), 62.
13. Kohn, Early Chinese Mysticism, 44- 45.
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? The Daode Jing in Practice Eva Wong
The goal of this chapter is to present the teachings of the Daode jing from the perspective of practice. To the practitioner of the Daoist arts, the texts of Daoism are not just objects of intellectual inquiry but guidelines for practice. Almost all the texts of the Daoist canon (Daozang) were written by practitioners for practitioners. In the Daoist tradition, study and practice are inseparable: to study is to practice and to practice is to study. Understanding a text can help us practice its teachings; practicing its teachings can help us understand its meanings.
The Daode jing contains a wealth of knowledge and wisdom on subject matters as diverse as statecraft and politics, the nature of reality (the Dao), sagehood, and the arts of cultivating health and longevity. While much has been written about the Daode jing's views on the first three topics, far less attention has been devoted to its approach on cultivating life. In this essay I highlight this aspect of the Daode jing's teachings, discuss how understanding a text can help us practice its teachings, and show how practice can help us decipher meanings in a text.
The Art of Understanding a Text
Daoist texts, like most works from spiritual traditions, can be read and interpreted at multiple levels. The art of interpreting and
76 approaching the daode jing
deciphering hidden meanings in a text is called hermeneutics. It recognizes that a text has many levels of meaning and that the meaning carried in the semantics of the text is only its surface meaning. A deeper level of meaning is expressed in how the text was written, not just what was written. Even deeper levels of meaning are carried in the ''intention'' of a text, whose meaning can be grasped only if we listen to the language of the text and not just read its ''words. '' To listen to a text, one needs to suspend judgment, quiet the critical mind, and become receptive to it. If we are willing to listen to and learn from a text, the text will open to us a world of meaning that is inaccessible to our analytical mind.
Many Daoist texts were written with the intention to encode several levels of meaning. The exoteric levels of meaning are carried in the superficial layers of the text, and the esoteric meanings are encoded in the deeper layers. Exoteric meaning can be grasped by the common or even casual reader, but esoteric meaning is meant for those initiated into the practice.
In the Daoist tradition, ''safety'' more than anything else was the moti- vation behind encoding multiple levels of meaning into a text. Some tech- niques are dangerous if they are practiced unsupervised or if the practitioner does not have the sufficient spiritual foundation. Most of the texts of Daoist internal alchemy written between the third and thirteenth centuries fall into this category.
Some Daoist texts, however, were not written with the ''intention'' of hiding secret meanings. But as Daoism became more a discipline of study than a practice, the number of practitioners dwindled, and meanings that were once known among a large community of practitioners became ''hidden'' or lost. I think this is why certain sections of the Daode jing (especially the parts concerned with the arts of health and longevity) have become esoteric. I do not believe that these sections of the text contain dangerous knowledge; it is more likely that they contain lost knowledge.
It is known that the Daode jing was written by more than one person. Its contents clearly fall into four separate categories: statecraft and politics, the nature of reality (the Dao), sagehood, and the arts of health and longevity. The parts of the text concerned with statecraft and politics are relatively easy to understand. The sections on the nature of the Dao contain more cryptic references. This is probably because anything that we can say about the Dao can only be indirect: ''The way that can be spoken of is not the unchanging Way'' (chapter 1). The parts of the text concerned with sagehood are easily decipherable if we listen to them with a receptive mind; most of them offer practical advice on daily living. The portions of the text that deal with the arts of health and longevity are considered to be the most esoteric and the most
difficult to understand. Later in the chapter, I show that these esoteric pas- sages of the Daode jing can easily be deciphered by ''practice''.
Deciphering the Meaning of a Text with Practice
From the hermeneutical point of view, the subsurface semantics (and prag- matics) of a text can be uncovered by deconstruction, but hidden meanings can be revealed only by listening to the language of a text. To these two methods of deciphering a text I would like to add the use of ''practice''. ''Practice'' can be a powerful tool for recovering meanings that cannot be accessed by semantics or pragmatics or by listening to the language. Listening to the Daode jing can help us understand its teachings, but practice can help us to recover its lost meanings.
Understanding the Daode Jing from the Perspective of Practice
The goal of Daoist practice is to maintain a healthy body and a clear mind, to be free from stress and anxiety, and to live a contented and long life. To this end, Daoists advocate cultivating the mind by emptying it of desire, cultivating the body by filling it with life energy, and adopting a lifestyle of simplicity and quietude. We shall consider the Daode jing's teachings on each of these topics in turn.
The Daode jing on Cultivating the Mind
First we shall examine the Daode jing's teachings on cultivating the mind by listening to the language of the text.
According to the Daode jing, desire is the cause of poor health, anxiety, mental anguish, and the inability to live a happy and contented life. Desire is attachment. The desire for material things comes from attachment to objects or things in the world; the desire to be important, to be recognized, to achieve, and to be in control comes from attachment to the self.
Anxiety arises as a result of attachment to material things. We are anxious to get what we don't have and anxious about losing what we have. Desire can blind us to the distinction between needs and wants. Consequently, many people end up spending more time and effort accumulating possessions than enjoying them. And the more possessions they have, the more afraid they are of losing them. The Daode jing (chapter 44) says, ''If you have a lot of
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desire, you will probably be extravagant. The more you hoard, the more you will lose. ''
Attachment to material things can also affect the functioning of the senses. Instead of simply being things in the world, objects become attractive or unattractive (to the eyes), pleasant or unpleasant (to the ears), and pleasing or unpleasing (to the palate). When the senses become overstimulated, they become dull. When they become dull, they cease to function properly, and when they stop functioning, we become confused and disoriented. Moreover, if the senses are too preoccupied with objects of desire, they can no longer warn us of impending dangers. The Daode jing (chapter 12) says:
The five colors can confuse your sight.
The five sounds can dull your hearing.
The five flavors can injure your sense of taste.
Racing and hunting can drive you mad.
Material goods that are hard to get will hinder your movement.
Excessive excitement can be detrimental to health. Activities that pump up the adrenaline (such as racing and hunting) may give us a temporary ''high'', but since excitement cannot last forever, a ''high'' is always followed by a ''low''. This cyclical swing between excitement and the return to normal levels of stimulation is harmful to both physical and mental health because it does not give the mind and the body sufficient time to adjust to two extreme states of functioning.
Desire is not just directed toward material things. We can also desire immaterial things, such as knowledge, fame, achievement, and power. Ac- cording to the Daode jing, desire for knowledge can make thinking rigid and one-sided. This is because the pursuit of knowledge requires the mind to be oriented toward objects in the world, whether things, people, or ideas. If we place too much emphasis on knowing about the object-world, we will not be able to look inward and learn about ourselves. Chapter 33 of the Daode jing says:
To understand others is to be clever.
To understand yourself is to be enlightened. You can use force to conquer others.
But you will need strength to conquer yourself.
Let us listen to the language in this passage more closely. First, the text con- trasts ''clever'' (zhi) with ''enlightened'' (ming) to distinguish object-knowledge, which is associated with cleverness, from self-knowledge, which is associated with enlightenment. In Chinese, the word for cleverness, ''zhi,'' has connota- tions of ''know-how'' and ''knowledge gained by trickery. '' In fact, zhi is used
often with ''qu,'' as in zhiqu to mean using trickery and underhandedness to win. On the other hand, enlightenment is ''ming,'' which has the connotation of brightness. Thus, while cleverness can give us small gains and temporary knowledge, it is enlightenment (or self-knowledge) that can illuminate and guide us in our daily lives.
Second, the text contrasts ''force'' (li) with ''strength'' (qiang). ''Li'' has the connotation of brute force. Li has no intelligence and is incapable of admitting failure; it is like a bulldozer crashing against a wall. If the wall is weak, brute force will break it, but if the wall is strong, brute force will be ineffective. On the other hand, qiang has the connotation of inner strength. Qiang is intelli- gent; it recognizes its limits and is capable of accepting its own weakness. Thus, while force can give us temporary control of a situation, it is strength that allows us to evaluate the external situation, understand ourselves, and act accordingly.
A more subtle form of desire is the desire for self-importance. The desire for self-importance is associated with the desire to achieve and to be recog- nized. According to the Daode jing, the notion of ''achievement'' is created by us so that we can give importance to our actions. When insects procreate, flowers bloom, and water nourishes the soil, they do not consider their ac- tions as ''achievements''. In contrast, humanity has transformed ''action'' into ''achievement'', and in doing so, we have given ourselves a false sense of self- respect as well as distanced ourselves from the natural way of things. Of self- importance, the Daode jing (chapter 24) says:
Those who boast are not rooted.
Those who inflate themselves will get nowhere.
Those who display themselves do not shine.
Those who publicize their actions accomplish nothing. Those who praise themselves do not last long.
The words ''boast,'' ''inflate,'' ''display,'' ''publicize,'' and ''praise'' describe dif- ferent ways of distorting reality. To boast is to distort by adding personal opin- ions: the choice to emphasize particular actions is also the choice to omit others. To inflate is to distort by making something appear more important than it really is. To display is to distort by making one thing more prominent than others. To publicize is to distort by making one thing more obvious than others: the choice to make one thing known is also the choice to render certain things unknown. Finally, to praise is to distort by giving a favorable opinion: to praise oneself is to boast behind a veil of modesty.
The desire to achieve often leads people to do heroic and stupid things that can hurt or kill them. The Daode jing (chapter 73) says, ''If you are brave
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and daring, you'll be killed. However, if you are brave and not daring, you'll survive. ''
Here the words ''brave'' (yong) and ''daring'' (gan) are used jointly to define the meaning of courage. The contrast is not between ''brave'' and ''daring,'' but between ''brave and daring'' and ''brave and not daring. '' ''Yong'' is a state of mind, and ''gan'' is a display of courage. Thus, to be ''brave and daring'' is to act like a hero with reckless disregard for consequences. We can think of gan as dumb courage. To be ''brave and not daring'' is to take the appropriate and necessary action after assessing the situation.
People who are brave and daring will usually find it hard to yield, because for them, to yield is to be cowardly. Thus, they would rather forfeit their lives than retreat. However, people who are brave and not daring will know when to yield, and in yielding, they will survive.
The desire to be in control makes people want to interfere, believing that they can make things happen or not happen. However, since we cannot control everything, to believe that we are in control only gives us a false sense of security, a security that is shattered when things do not turn out the way we expect them to. Thus, if we believe that we are in control, we will likely be sad, frustrated, irritated, and disappointed if things go wrong. However, if we accept that there are certain things that we cannot control, we will be better prepared when situations turn aversive.
Sometimes we can actually make things worse by trying to interfere and make them happen. Chapter 64 of the Daode jing says:
Those who act on it will ruin it. Those who hold on to it will lose it. The sage does not act upon things, Therefore he does not ruin them. He does not hold on to things, Therefore he does not lose them.
In this passage we find the famous contrast between ''action'' (wei) and ''non- action'' (wuwei). ''Wei'' is the act of interfering. By acting upon something, we modify and transform it. On the other hand, wuwei is the act of not-interfering. By not-acting on something, we let it run its natural course and do not interfere with its natural tendencies. Wuwei does not mean ''doing nothing''; rather, it means acting appropriately according to the natural way of things. If wuwei had meant doing nothing, then the text would have said ''those who act,'' not ''those who act on it. '' The Daode jing does not teach us to do nothing. Rather, it tells us to abstain from actions whose ends are to manipulate and to control.
To hold on to something is to be attached to it. In Chinese, the word for ''hold'' (zhi) also means to grasp, and to grasp means not to let go. If we cannot let go of things, ideas, and even relationships, we will always be anxious about gains and losses. There is a Chinese phrase that describes the meaning of ''letting go'' most aptly: ''to be able to pick it up and to be able to put it down. ''
The Daode jing not only describes the causes of ill health, anxiety, and the inability to live a happy and contented life. It also teaches us how to overcome desire by cultivating a mind that is free of attachments. One way to cultivate the mind is to change our attitude toward ourselves and toward things in the world. In Daoist practice, decreasing self-importance, knowing our limits, learning to yield, practicing noninterference, and living a simple life are all part of the discipline called ''taming the mind. '' Another way to cultivate the mind is to change it from being centered on itself to being centered on nothing. The practice of emptying the mind of thoughts through silence is part of the dis- cipline called ''stilling the mind. '' While the practice of ''taming the mind'' is typically integrated into everyday living and does not require formal supervi- sion, the practice of ''stilling the mind'' requires rigorous training and formal instruction. Today, the techniques of ''stilling the mind'' are collectively known as ''meditation. ''
In taming the mind, we must first dissolve the desire for material things. However, Daoism does not promote deprivation or even asceticism. Rather, it teaches us to live in moderation and understand the difference between wants and needs. The Daode jing (chapter 29) says, ''The sage rejects the extreme, the extravagant, and the excessive. '' To be moderate is not to live in extremes; to live simply is not to be extravagant; and to live contently is not to indulge in excessiveness. If the Daode jing had favored asceticism, it would have en- dorsed hardship and told us to abandon all comforts in life.
Second, we need to minimize self-importance. This means doing things out of necessity and not for praise and recognition. In fact, we need to un- derstand that ''achievement'' and ''accomplishment'' are the creations of a self- centered mind, and that in this world there are only appropriate and inap- propriate actions. Pulling someone out of a burning house is not a heroic act or an achievement; it is the natural and appropriate thing to do given the situation. Of decreasing self-importance and self-centeredness, chapter 30 of the Daode jing says:
The sage produces results and does not brag about it. He produces results and does not praise himself for it. He produces results and does not boast about it.
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He produces results because that's what he would do. And he gets things done without using any force.
It is interesting to note that in the text, the word ''guo,'' which I have translated as ''produces results,'' is used to describe the actions of the sage. Guo's original and literal meaning is ''fruit. '' Therefore, guo means actions that yield fruits, results, or effects. The sage ''produces results'' with his actions and understands that it is the fruit of the action, not the actor, that is important.
Third, in taming the mind, we need to know our limits and not indulge in excesses. The Daode jing (chapter 44) says, ''Know when to stop, and you will be around for a long time. '' All things have their limits. The key to health and longevity is in knowing when something is excessive, be it eating, drinking, walking, sitting, sleeping, or thinking. Excessive eating and drinking damage the bowels; excessive walking damages the tendons; excessive sitting and sleeping damage the bones; and excessive thinking tires the mind. If the ac- tivities in our daily life are balanced, then mind and body will be balanced and healthy.
Fourth, we need to let go of the desire to interfere and to be in control. Chapter 2 of the Daode jing says:
The sage attends to the affairs of non-action and practices wordless teachings.