ISSN 1562-059X
|
World Hongming Philosophical Quarterly |
Vol. 1999, No. September |
The Dao and
the Chinese Philosophy
Dr.
Hengyucius[1]
President
of World Hongming Philosophical Quarterly
Email: buddhahy@bigfoot.com
The purpose of this paper[2]
is to make the essential points of Dao and the relative aspects in Chinese philosophy
more easily approached. It is divided into four parts concerning the four
aspects of the concept of Dao respectively. Part One covers the manifestations
of Dao in Daoism. Part Two describes the doctrines on Dao in Confucianism. Part
Three introduces the thought of Dao in Chinese Buddhism. And Part Four
interprets the effects of Dao on various concepts of the Chinese people and
Chinese cultures. In this paper, we emphasize that the essential points of Dao
are quite different perceived in different cultural backgrounds. We must take
more notice of this problem and identify these differences in our studies if we
want to grasp the essentials of the most important concept of ancient Chinese
philosophy more accurately. In this paper, some chief differences on the Dao
are presented directly and discussed systematically and all-sidedly.
Keywords: Dao, Daojia, Daoism, Confucianism, Buddhism, Chinese philosophy
Dao[3],
a word in the glossary of people's daily life of China, is very common in
Chinese philosophy. But the content of it is quite indefinite. It is quite
different in the concepts of different philosophical schools in China. Indeed
it is quite difficult for all the schools to grasp the concrete definition of
Dao. A consensus of opinion has not been achieved yet.
Now
we're going to talk about some main ideas on the Dao in different Chinese
philosophical schools.
The Dao of nature
In
China, there is an idiom "Each of the Eight Immortals displays his or her
special prowess when crossing the sea". It means that, in the choice of
methods, they are free.
Why
could they be free in the choice of methods?
That's
because they are Immortals.
Why
could the Immortals be free in the choice of methods?
That's
because they have the Dao.
And
what is the Dao?
I
think we may understand it by studying Chinese cultures.
For
most Chinese people, "Dao" is a very familiar word with them. One of
the causes should perhaps be given to the people's great desire.
You
know, being a Chinese, he has usually been taught some fables since he was a
child. There are all kinds of Immortal figures in the fables who have different
abilities. Almost each of them has such a feature that he could live long,
almost forever. And at the same time, there are enough treasures and happiness
in the fairyland for them to enjoy. No pains, no delusions, but only leisure
and happiness. It is so attractive for most of the Chinese young people that a
lot of Chinese people would rather build their ideals of being an Immortal than
of being an official or others. They often hope that they could get some
infinite powers by this way so that they could do anything whatever they want
to do, go anywhere wherever they want to go and change into any other things
whatever they want to change into.
Although
they want to be such Immortal beings, they are often puzzled by some problems.
Such as: How could I turn into an Immortal? How could I get infinite powers?
What should I do if I would like to live long?
In
order to get the answer of these questions, many Chinese young people prefer to
give up their families and treasures to seek for the tutor who could lead them
to the paradise. They will to do anything that they are required to do. If
necessary, they might even cut off their limbs or do some other sacrifices.
We
don't know whether they have got the approaches or not. But through their
efforts, it becomes more and more visible that many Chinese people love the
Immortal figures very much and the relative messages. In the course of their
efforts, the Dao becomes more and more clear for people. This makes us easier
to understand the features of the Dao.
According
to the descriptions of aged people, any Immortal has its own oddities. The
first one is long life and infinite powers. The second one is a pair of wings
and feather. The third one is cure-all medicines. Since has long live and
infinite powers, he can achieve anything that others cannot be able to
accomplish. Since has a pair of wings and feather, he can fly anywhere and get
anywhere in time of breath. Since has cure-all medicines, he can cure any kind
of diseases for others. That is to say, one who makes himself become an
Immortal can get the happiness at any point. This is the mind of the Chinese
people.
Well,
perhaps you could ask me this kind of question: "how could I become an
Immortal?"
Yes,
it's a good question. And also it is a quite easy question.
For
anyone who wants to be an Immortal, only one thing is necessary to perform.
That is you must try your best to get the Dao and correspond to the Dao
completely. If you come to this level, you must be an Immortal. All energies in
the world belong to the Dao at any time. It can make things this and that, here
and there. Maybe the Dao is really like that what is described from Laozi.
About
the unfathomable Dao, Laozi[4]
says that:
It
is the nature of the Tao, that even though used continuously, it is replenished
naturally, never being emptied, and never being over-filled, as is a goblet
which spills its contents upon the ground. The Tao therefore cannot be said to
waste its charge, but constantly remains a source of nourishment for those who
are not so full of self as to be unable to partake of it. When tempered beyond
its natural state, the finest blade will lose its edge. Even the hardest tempered sword,
against water, is of no avail, and will shatter if struck against a rock. When
untangled by a cutting edge, the cord in little pieces lies, and is of little
use. Just as the finest swordsmith tempers the finest blade with his
experience, so the sage, with wisdom, tempers intellect. With patience, tangled
cord may be undone, and problems which seem insoluble, resolved. With wise
administrators, all can exist in unity, each with the other, because no man
need feel that he exists, only as the shadow of his brilliant brother. Through
conduct not contrived for gain, awareness of the Tao may be maintained. This is how its mysteries may be found.
These
descriptions come from the ancient Chinese scripture written by Laozi, the greatest
philosopher of China about 2,500 years ago. He tells us the nature of the Dao.
Through his words we know that the Dao is very natural. It belongs to the
nature. All kinds of things could not exist at all without its function. It is
the Dao of the nature.
If
you do things by nature, you could eventually become an Immortal. This means
that:
1) You
must do things without intent.
2) You
must do things without desire.
3) You
must do things without contriving.
4) You
must do things without possessing.
5) You
must do things without form or image.
6) You
must do things without existence.
7) You
must do things without unnecessary speech.
8) You
must do things without the need of borders.
9) You
must do things without respect.
10) You
must do things without rejoicing.
11) You
must do things without exclusion.
12) You
must do things without the use of forced energy.
13) You
must do things without the wish for self-advancement.
14) You
must do things without interfering.
15) You
must do things without cunning.
16) You
must do things without restraint.
17) You
must do things without attacking.
18) You
must do things without request.
19) You
must do things without recognition.
20) You
must do things without dwelling upon it in any way.
21) You
must do things without display.
22) You
must do things without virtue of your own.
23) You
must do things without the need of bolts and bars, and so on.
This
situation is just like the words from "The Exercise of Leadership"[5]
of Laozi: "To act without contrived intent is to act without
contriving, and is the way of nature, and so is the way of the Tao."
Obviously,
the Dao of nature belongs to Daoism in China. It comes from the thoughts of
Daojia, one of the most important schools in Pre-Qin.
The Dao of humanness
However,
different from the Dao of nature, in Confucianism, the Dao has its quite
different manifestations.
In
the past thousands of years, many, many Chinese people struggled for their
lives. They hoped that they could obtain some political power by studying hard
while behaving themselves well. They usually dreamed that they could return
home bearing official titles and honors, or be crowned with success of one kind
or another one day. Once he realized his dream, he could make people around him
do their lives more easily and happily under his administration. Thus his fame
could last through time. In fact it is the most important thing to do for a
person who wants to be a good person in China. If you don't get your official
titles and honors or are not crowned with success of one kind or another, you
must be regarded as rubbish in the world. Anyone can look down on you. To this
situation, self-abandonment must come up to you and you yourself must be placed
in an embarrassing situation.
In
order to avoid this kind of awkward predicament, and also to get a success,
countless Chinese people had to do their best to study under teachers or
mentors. There were only two different ways for them to choose. One was to
practice China Wushu. And the other was to read the works of far ancient sages.
Any way, a society could be kept in peace and development by the practice of
the words of sages, and the government could defend itself out of foray by
forces of China Wushu. Without referring to which way, if you do it well, the
possibility of success will come to your fortune.
Although
there were different ways for most of Chinese people to do, all of them had to
learn the basic disciplines from Confucianism. He must do everything right that
he had to do. He must create himself into a superior man and a man of virtue.
But
how could he achieve that?
The
Master Confucius said, "The superior man in everything considers
righteousness to be essential. He performs it according to the rules of
propriety. He brings it forth in humility. He completes it with sincerity. This
is indeed a superior man."[6]
That is to say, if you want to be a superior man, you must do everything
according to the righteousness and the rules of propriety, you must be in
humility and use your sincerity.
The
Master Confucius has described the mind of himself that, "With coarse rice
to eat, with water to drink, and my bended arm for a pillow; -- I have still
joy in the midst of these things. Riches and honors acquired by
unrighteousness, are to me as a floating cloud."[7]
The
Master's words tell us: riches and honors maybe necessary for anyone. But if
the riches and honors are acquired by unrighteousness, as a superior man, he
prefers to give all of them up. Further more, at this moment, as a superior
man, contemplating good, and pursuing it, as if he could not reach it;
contemplating evil, and shrinking from it, as he would from thrusting the hand
into boiling water. This is important, important for a man, important for a
family, important for a town and also important for a country.
Judging
from the sayings of Confucius, to be a useful man for others, you must learn to
be a superior man. But if you want to be a superior man, you must find your way
to do everything according to the righteousness and the rules of propriety, you
must find your way to be in humility and use your sincerity. And this requires
that you must manage to attain sincerity in yourself. The Doctrine of the
Mean says that, "Sincerity is the way of Heaven. The attainment of
sincerity is the way of men. He who possesses sincerity is he who, without an
effort, hits what is right, and apprehends, without the exercise of thought; --
he is the sage who naturally and easily embodies the right way. He who attains
to sincerity is he who chooses what is good, and firmly holds it fast."[8]
Then,
how could a man get the sincerity?
To
the attainment of this, there is requisite of extensive study of what is good,
accurate inquiry about it, careful reflection on it, the clear discrimination
of it, and the earnest practice of it. -- This is the edification of
Confucianism.
Unquestionable,
all the efforts are relating to humanity, relating to how to be a good man for
others. This is just the trait of Confucianism, and also the Dao of
Confucianism. That means the Dao of Confucianism is the Dao of humanity.
The Dao of liberation
For
most people, to be a good man is necessary and important. To be a superior man
is difficult. To be an Immortal is dreamy. Man's force is very limited to solve
people's basic problem -- people's delusion.
Perhaps
you could say that the existence of people's delusion is people as people's
feature. Yes. It's quite true for anyone. You could get your official titles
and honors easily. But you could not get rid of you delusion easily. Even that
you could not find any ways to do with it; it makes you painful, sad and angry
in your life. At the time of painful and sad, you could perhaps try your best
to keep them away from you by the Dao of Confucianism or of Daoism. And also
you are perhaps shiftless as though your hands are bound. We don't deny that it
is sometimes useful for you. But most of time, it's invalid extremely.
Since
then, how could a man be free from his delusion? Is it possible for a man to
get free from his delusion?
We
believe that it is possible for a man to get his liberation from his delusion
to the tips of his fingers. But it is impossible to reach the goal by the Dao
of Daoism or of Confucianism. If you want to attain this kind of aim, you shall
have to find other ways to use. For instance, you could treat your delusion by
practice the principles of the Buddha. That is to say, you can get your
liberation in Buddhism.
In
Buddhism, the thirty-seven aids to enlightenment is very normal and important
for people's liberation. It is thirty-seven kinds of practice for the
attainment of enlightenment. These include the four bases of mindfulness, the
four right efforts, the four occult powers, the five roots of goodness, the
five powers, the seven factors of enlightenment and the eightfold holy path. A
man, who wants to get his liberation, he must practice the thirty-seven aids to
enlightenment whole-heartedly. He must practice the eightfold holy path in his
daily life. He must practice the seven factors of enlightenment from morning to
night. He must practice the five roots of goodness to get his happiness. He
must get the four occult powers and the five powers to treat his delusions. He
must practice the four bases of mindfulness at any time. He must practice the
four right efforts without deduction.
Why
does he need to do like this?
That's
because the practices for the attainment of enlightenment are completely
essential for his liberation.
Among
these practices, the four bases of mindfulness and the eightfold holy path are
the most important for our human beings. The eightfold holy path can make you
stand on the ways of the Buddha, and prevent you from all kinds of misfortunes.
The four bases of mindfulness can make you clear your mind and realize the real
status of yourself through insight. The four bases of mindfulness are:
1) Contemplating
one's body as defiled;
2) Contemplating
one's feelings as painful: even though there are agreeable sensations, they are
deceptive, and there is not any true pleasure in the world;
3) Contemplating
one's mind as constantly changing; and
4) Contemplating
things in general as devoid of inherent existence.
Through
contemplating one's body as defiled, you could get rid of your "holding to
bodies and being unable to let go". Through contemplating one's feelings
as painful, you could get rid of your "holding to your feelings and being
unable to let go". Through contemplating one's mind as constantly
changing, you could get rid of your "holding to subject and being unable
to let go". Through contemplating things in general as devoid of inherent
existence, you could get rid of your "holding to object and being unable
to let go".
In
the Mah”¼parinirv”¼na S”¼tra[9],
the Buddha tells his followers, "You must do things like what I do that
when I stay with you. After my entry into nirvana, you must dwell on the four
bases of mindfulness." This is to say the four bases of mindfulness are
the essential of the doctrines of the Buddha. If you don't practice the four
bases of mindfulness, you will be kept out of liberation forever.
In
line with the experiences of Buddhists, a man, who wants to get his liberation,
must obtain enough the necessary conditions. When he gets his wisdom deep
enough, gets his ability great enough, gets the right ways to treat his
delusions indeed, and also gets his right recognition of his mistakes and
delusions, liberation will be possible for him. Anyway, any ignorance of the
factors of the attainment of enlightenment will be pretty pitiful.
Since
liberation in Buddhism means spirit becoming free from afflictions, especially
from suffering, birth, old age and death, etc., how to get your liberation is
the Dao of Buddhism.
The role of the Dao in
Chinese philosophy
It's
beyond all doubt that Chinese philosophy is the philosophy of the people of
China. It comes from the practices of the people of. And it also develops from
the practices of the people of.
In
the history of China, there is a very important and also a pretty basic concept
in the philosophy of the people of. It is called "Dao". No
philosophies can exist in China without the Dao. Chinese people usually talks
about it here and there, now and then, although only few people know the
concrete content of the Dao clearly in fact. Some of the Chinese people want to
get themselves out of death through the gain of the Dao. So they are fond of
studying Daoism in their life. And even go into big mountains to practice as a
Daoist. Some of them want to make themselves become free from afflictions,
awaken to reality and break attachment, to get the peaceful condition result
from escaping the suffering and vexation of the world, or to get into nirvana
through the practice of the Dao. So they are fond of studying Buddhism in their
life. And even go into big mountains to practice as a Buddhist. Meanwhile, most
of the Chinese people want to get themselves become wise men through the
treating of the Dao of the Sages. They need people's respects. They need the
government's paying respect to them. They need official titles and honors to
content their lust. So they are fond of studying Confucianism in their life and
to be real Confucians are the biggest hope for them.
All
Chinese people have their own ideas. However, all of them could be categorized
into the three above-mentioned kinds of philosophies. Without which, systematic
Chinese philosophy will be out of existence. As one of the Pre-Qin schools of
thoughts, Fajia sparkplugs the superiority of law. But no one in China likes
it. Mojia believes that brotherliness ought to be the normal interpersonal
relations. But others criticize it by exclaiming its unitarity to animals. That
is to say if one does like that, he must be regarded as an animal. That's
because he must be thought of losing his ethic that a person must have. And in
fact it is also impossible to realize in the society with people's selfishness. Mingjia thinks that one must
distinguish the name and the fact clearly. Name is name, fact is fact, and name
is different from fact. Although it belongs to the extent of logic, most of
Chinese people regard it as sophistry. Only few men believe its thoughts to be
right or necessary for people's life. Yinyangjia believes that everything in
the world consists of yin and yang. It is the force of yin and yang that
control the changes and developments of things, which is an idea too mysterious
for a man to accept. Bingjia thinks that only applying forces is a general rule
for a country. Peaceful life is the most important thing for Chinese people so
no one like it generally. And from Han Dynasty to today's China, the thoughts
of Fajia, Mojia, Mingjia, Yinyangjia and Bingjia exist almost only
unofficially. In politics, Confucianism is the orthodox thought. People in
China must learn Confucianism from their childhood.
And
now, you could find many, many memorials throughout China. Except tens of
thousands of monasteries of Buddhism and Daoism, all of others belong to the
productions of Confucianism. In the history of thousands years of China, the
influences of Confucianism, Daoism and Buddhism to Chinese people and Chinese
culture are very obvious. It is Confucianism, Daoism and Buddhism that the main
body of the Chinese philosophy consists of. No matter in politics or in life,
they are all comparatively more familiar with Chinese people, especially
Confucianism.
And
at the same time, it's the Dao that the kernel of the three kinds of Chinese
philosophy -- Confucianism, Daoism and Buddhism -- consists of. People could do
nothing without the Dao. There is the Dao of humanities to be a man. There is
the Dao of being officials to be an official. There is the Dao of calligraphy
to write characters well. There is the Dao of music to play a piece of music
well. There is the Dao of running a business well. There is the Dao of nature
to be an Immortal. There is the Dao of long life to live long. There is the Dao
of liberation to enter into nirvana”K all of these are included in Confucianism,
Daoism and Buddhism.
To
our exact attention, it is quite different of the Dao from Confucianism, Daoism
and Buddhism. The Dao of Daoism is the final aim for a man to practice. It is
something that can be grasped through an understanding heart but cannot be
expressed in words. The Dao of Confucianism is the course and touchstone for a
man to do things as a man. It is something that can be grasped through reading
the texts of ancient sages. But the Dao of Buddhism is the only way to attain
liberation. It will be disastrous for a man to apply the ways without allowance
for varying circumstances.
Where
there is a will, there is a way. The Dao of Daoism is the Dao of nature. The
Dao of Confucianism is the Dao of humanness. The Dao of Buddhism is the Dao of
liberation. Then, what's the role of the Dao in Chinese philosophy?
Dao
is the most essential concept of Chinese philosophy. By nothing but sinking in
the action of the Dao, nothing but learning about the Dao itself correctly, one
can hopefully grasp the main ideas of Chinese philosophy well. And also by
doing like this, misunderstandings and misleading ideas could be avoided in our
life, studies and works at a considerable degree.
[1]
An earlier version of this paper was arranged for poster presentation at the
annual conference of the Australasian Association for Philosophy, New Zealand
Division, in Hamilton, N.Z., from 29 November to 3 December 1998.
[2]
The author gratefully acknowledges Prof. Benjamin Gibbs from the Department of
Philosophy of University of Waikato, New Zealand for his invitation. Special
thanks go to Prof. Cong Cong from the School of Foreign Studies of Nanjing
University for her useful suggestions of this paper.
[3]
"Dao" equals to "Tao". They are different spellings in
English. The "Tao" is the previous translation. And the
"Dao" is the present one according to the pronunciation of mandarin.
[4]
Laozi is a very important work of ancient China. Quotations here were
cited from Lao Tzu Tao Te Ching translated by Stanley Rosenthal in the
British School of Zen Taoism, Cardiff, in September 1984. Electronic
documentation, URL: http://www.ii.uib.no/~arnemo/tao/tao_teh_ching_index.html.
Here was cited from chapter 4 "The Unfathomable Tao".
[5]
Chapter 37 of Lao Tzu Tao Te Ching
[6]
Chapter 15 "The Duke Ling of Wei", Analects (Chinese text with
English translation). The sources for the text are:
(1) "The
sayings of Confucius," (Chinese text with English translation) James R.
Ware, trans., Taipei: Wenzhi Publishing House, 1980; and
(2) "The
Chinese Classics with a Translation, Critical and Exegetical Notes,
Prolegomena, and Copius Indexes"(Chinese text with English translation)
James Legge, trans., Taipei: Southern Materials Center Publishing, Inc., 1991.
[7]
Analects: Chapter 1, the same edition as above.
[8]
Cited from an electronic documentation. URL: gopher://gopher.vt.edu:10010/02/66/3
or http://www2.gol.com/users/acmuller/contao/docofmean.htm
[9]
Mah”¼parinirv”¼na S”¼tra is a very important Buddhist scripture
in Chinese Buddhism. The main idea of it is the four attributes of nirvana.
These are permanence, bliss, self and purity. It belongs to Mah”¼y”¼na in the three
different vehicles of Buddhism.
Founders |
Dr. Hengyucius Dr. Chen Jian |
Publisher |
Dr. Hengyucius |
Editing and Reviewing |
World Hongming Philosophical Quarterly Editorial
Committee |
Published by |
World Hongming Philosophical Quarterly Editorial
Committee |
Issued in |
September 1999 |
Internet |
http://www.whpq.com |
Contribution (Please indicate the
subject) |
Copyright
© World Hongming
Philosophical Quarterly Editorial Committee
All
rights reserved.