Some Basic Concepts in Daoism

 

Background

For an overview of traditional Chinese religious beliefs and practices, refer to the introductory paragraphs in Some Basic Concepts in Confucianism .

In the midst of popular superstition and folk tradition, religion in China has essentially been a threefold hybrid of Confucianism, Daoism and Buddhism. The Chinese say that on state occasions and in business, one should be a Confucianist, in retirement and withdrawal from worldly activities, one should be a Daoist, and just prior to death, one should be a Buddhist. For the Chinese, "covering all the bases" is not a trivializing of the sacred. We are multi-faceted people; doesn't it make sense to see the diversity of religion as a means of addressing the diversity of our experience? As we have seen, Confucianism is about relation and Buddhism is about release. Daoism is about balance.  We will look at Daoist thought in terms of two discrete trends: Philosophical Daoism and Religious Daoism.

Philosophical Daoism (daojia)

Philosophical Daoism represents an attempt to codify and organize the wisdom and experience of the natural world into a coherent philosophy.

The Dao De Jing ("The Way and Its Power"), the basic textual teaching of the Daoist tradition, is a remarkable text for many reasons, not least of which is that its traditional author Lao Tzu, probably never existed, except as a later celestial being of a vast Chinese pantheon.  Nevertheless, his year of birth is traditionally set at 604 BCE.  the Dao De Jing is extremely terse (in English translation a mere fifty or sixty pages), aphoristic in style (brief, pointed and pithy "sayings"), and yet one of the most translated and widespread texts in the world.  As a singular collection, it likely dates anywhere from 500 to 200 BCE.

The fundamental concept in the Dao De Jing is, of course, the Dao.  The Dao can be thought of in two ways:

The second substantive term in Daoism is De, or "power." This, too, can be perceived on a variety of levels. Within the realms of Philosophical Daoism, we can think of De as "Efficient Power:"

Efficiency is making the most out of the least. Can we choose paths that are not physically and emotionally draining, that do not rely on aggressive force or friction, and yet achieve harmonious and positive ends? If one lives and acts in accordance with the rhythms and energies of the universe (the immanent Dao), one learns that acting in accord with the Dao is the key to a healthy and fulfilling life experience.

This idea of De is closely related to the concept of Wu Wei, or "actionless action." This is not to be interpreted as "passivity" or merely "going with the flow," but, as noted above, using the wisdom of the Dao to act in accordance with it.

The Chuang Tze

Chuang Tze (the author of the text that bears his name) lived during the 4th c. BCE.  The Chuang Tze is the second fundamental text of the the Daoist tradition.  In contrast to the Dao De Jing's aphoristic/proverbial style, the Chuang Tze is more narrative and anecdotal in content and style.  Its central theme is that of "freedom" from all that hinders one from following the Dao.  It teaches one to achieve a state of Yu ("Free and spontaneous wondering") even to the point of acquiring magical powers and achieving immortality.

In summary, perhaps we can make a comparison to Confucian thought here: while Confucianism turns every effort toward building a "deliberate tradition" of actions to be imitated consciously, the Daoist strives for the opposite, or to be more accurate, doesn't strive. In accordance with the Dao, behavior is to flow effortlessly and spontaneously. From here we can make a fundamental observation about Confucianism and Daoism:

Religious Daoism (daojiao)

While “Philosophical Daoism” developed into an integral component of the intellectual inquiry of the upper classes, Religious Daoism refers to the  more “practical” application that was widespread throughout all levels of Chinese society.  within the realm of this form of Daoism we can think of De as "Augmented Power:"

To augment means "to add to," in this case, to add to one's power potential by opening up or increasing the flow of energy through the various paths within the self.  Some contemporary examples of this would include acupuncture therapy, holistic medicine and Tai Ch'i Chuan.  Energy paths become blocked; these health practices are intended to open them up, or to take pressure off them by locating and utilizing alternative paths. Power is increased by treating the whole self, not the isolated symptom.

The following are some historical forms of Religious Daoism that we will address in class in greater detail:

The Way of the Celestial Masters (Lao Tzu as celestial being—“Lord Lao on High”)

The Alchemical Tradition: the Quest for Immortality

Maoshan: a meditative and visionary Daoism

We can make a comparison to Confucian thought here: while Confucianism turns every effort toward building a "deliberate tradition" of actions to be imitated consciously, the Daoist strives for the opposite, or to be more accurate, doesn't strive. In accordance with the Dao, behavior is to flow effortlessly and spontaneously. From here we can make a fundamental observation about Confucianism and Daoism:

A fundamentally important concept is the image of the Yin - Yahng. Associated with Daoism, but actually much older, this is the dynamic tension of opposites as a non-ceasing interaction of give and take, the rhythm and interplay of the universe as it ebbs and flows, both transcendently and immanently.  Therefore, it is important to see that the Yin-Yahng is not a dualism in the Western sense of the term, i.e., it is not about opposites in a conflict that must be resolved.

It is inaccurate, I believe, to see this concept merely as an interaction of "good" and "evil," as some tend to conclude. The interactive balance of the Yin and the Yahng is, in and of itself, good, while imbalance and disharmony is regarded as a breach in the cosmos, or evil.

We will discuss this concept more fully in class-- you will be surprised to discover the origins of this concept and its visual depiction (with which we thought we were all familiar).

In the introductory statements above, it was noted that a fundamental hallmark of Chinese religion was this ability to see all of her religious expressions as pieces of the whole; it is not regarded as unusual for one to embrace them all so as to have one's bases covered, as it were. Therefore, it would not be inaccurate to see Confucianism and Daoism as interactive opposites in the dynamic of Yin-Yahng.

Important Concepts and Vocabulary Terms

Philosophical Daoism
Religious Daoism
The Celestial Masters
The Alchemical Tradition
Dao (way- transcendent, immanent)
De (power- augmented, efficient)
Dao De Jing ([Classic of] The Way and its Power)
Chuang Tze
Ho Ch'i (union of breaths)
Maoshan
Lao Tze
Ch'i (breath, life force)
Wu Wei ("actionless action")
Yin (female, passive, darkness, moisture, winter, etc.)
Yahng (male, active, light, dryness, summer, etc.)
Right Being/Right Doing

Discussion Questions

1. Explain the concept of Yin and Yahng. Where did its visual representation come from, and what does it represent? How are its components related to each other? How does this relationship express fundamental Daoist thought?

2. Explain the difference between Philosophical Daoism and Religious Daoism.  What are their respective aims, and how do they go about achieving them?  Give examples.

3. Explain the concept of De and its characteristics as both augmentation and efficiency. Give examples of both and explain how they apply.

 

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