by Guan Zi
The Thread of Dao :
Unraveling Early Daoist Oral Traditions
in Guan Zi’s
Purifying the Heart-Mind (Bai Xin) ,
Art of the Heart-Mind (Xin Shu) , and
Internal Cultivation (Nei Ye)
Translations, annotations, and commentary by Dan G. Reid
Center Ring Publishing
Copyright © 2018 Dan G. Reid
Montreal, QC, Canada
[email protected]
Cover art: Patching the Robe, 补衲 图 , by Liang Kai (1140-1210)
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the author.
The Thread of Dao: Unraveling Early Daoist Oral Traditions in Guan Zi’s
Purifying the Heart-Mind (Bai Xin) , Art of the Heart-Mind (Xin Shu) ,
and Internal Cultivation (Nei Ye)
Electronic book
ISBN10: 0994978146
ISBN13: 978-0-9949781-4-1
Disclaimer
The intention of this publication is for guidance and suggestion relevant to the subject matter presented. Readers should use their own discretion and consult their doctors before engaging in any of the physical or mental exercises contained therein. The author and publisher shall have neither liability nor responsibility to any person or entity with respect to any loss or damage caused, or alleged to be caused, directly or indirectly by reading or following the instructions in this book.
Also by Dan G. Reid:
The Ho-Shang Kung Commentary on Lao Tzu’s Tao Te Ching
Thank you to the many teachers, scholars, priests, monks, and practitioners who have shared insights into Daoism and Classical Chinese in online communities. Were it not for your thoughtful input, correspondence, and fellowship, I would not have put this book out into the world.
Thank you also to Daniel P. Reid, Red Pine, Hu Xuezhi, Michael Rinaldini, Dr. Michael Saso, Solala Towler, and Wu Zhongxian for welcoming and encouraging my efforts in the fields of publishing and Daoist studies. You have provided me with a standard of excellence to reach for, and the confidence to continue in this pursuit.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction
The Development of Proto-Daoism in Ancient China
Guan Zi, Jixia Academy, and Chu Kingdom
Compiling the Guan Zi , circa 26 BC
Proto-Daoism in the Guan Zi
Internal Cultivation in the Guan Zi
Bai Xin (Purifying the Heart-Mind)
Xin Shu Shang and Xin Shu Xia
(Art of the Heart-Mind, upper and lower volumes)
Nei Ye (Internal Cultivation)
Guan Zi’s Influence on the Guigu Zi (Ghost Valley Master)
From the Ghost-Valley Master’s (Guigu Zi’s), “Seven Techniques of Yin Talisman”
Broadening the Spirit in Accordance with the Five Dragons (technique #1)
Cultivating Will in Accordance with the Spirit-Tortoise (technique #2)
Consolidating Intention in Accordance with the Soaring Snake (technique #3)
Will, Intention, and Thought
The Zen of Guan Zi
Oneness in Buddhism and the Guan Zi
Translating the Bai Xin , Xin Shu , and Nei Ye
Reading The Thread of Dao
The Proto-Daoist Texts of the Guan Zi:
Purifying the Heart-Mind ( Bai Xin )
Art of the Heart-Mind: upper volume ( Xin Shu Shang )
Ancient Commentary Section of the Xin Shu Shang, appearing in the Guan Zi :
Art of the Heart-Mind: lower volume ( Xin Shu Xia )
Internal Cultivation ( Nei Ye )
A Meditation, inspired by the material in Thread of Dao
Bibliography
Index
About the Author
今境內之民皆言治, 藏商, 管之法者家有之 “Today, the people of the state all discuss good governance, and everyone has a copy of the works on law by Shang Yang and Guan Zi in his house.”
- Hanfei Zi (circa 250 BC)
Introduction
The Development of Proto-Daoism in Ancient China
At the heart of Lao Zi’s Dao De Jing , the most celebrated writing in Chinese history, is an ancient oral tradition that pulsated throughout Chinese culture. This river of knowledge carried advanced mystical understandings of nature and spiritual alchemy that transformed every system of the ancient world, from medicine, to politics, to the inner worlds of human beings. Though infusing every branch of human life, the wisdom of China’s ancient peoples continuously returns to one source-principle – Dao.
The earliest evidence of this ancient wisdom tradition is found in the work of Chinese shamans – wise men and women with a deep connection to the cosmic principles of the universe, the same principles underlying King Wen’s elucidation of the Yi Jing’s ( I Ching’s ) divinatory hexagrams, and the enigmatic poetry of Lao Zi’s Dao De Jing .
Written history, artifacts, and even the etymology of written Chinese characters, show the prominence enjoyed by these shamans in ancient China, arising primarily from their talents in ritual and divination. The practice of divination was considered paramount to the success of endeavours and in determining the favour of “the spirits” (shen ming) when emperors and high government officials had to make their most important decisions. Such practices appear in Confucius’ teachings and stories – said to be preservations of early Zhou culture – and are evidenced in the Confucian Classic of Rites (Li Ji) in mentions of divining by tortoise shell and divining stalks ( 龜 策 ).
Great weight was given to reading “signs” that indicated the favour or disapproval of Heaven and foretold the outcomes of various decisions and events. If one had the favour of Heaven, they would be protected by “the spirits” and allowed to succeed. If not, their paths would be blocked, seemingly good events would turn bad, and if by relentless effort the goal was reached, it would still result in unforeseen negative consequences.
According to the ancient shamans, one element would determine whether a human being could obtain the favour of gods and spirits: virtue .
The Book of History , in providing discourses from early kings on how the powerful might obtain “the will of Heaven,” makes abundantly clear that only virtue will endear the gods and spirits. Nepotism, power, and sacrificial offerings are said to be of no avail if they are not accompanied by deep and sincere virtue.
Naturally, great sages were sought out by imperial hopefuls looking to find, or otherwise contort, a clear answer to the question: “What is virtue?”
Confucius (551-479 BC) described and promoted virtuous conduct, refining its definition with descriptions and anecdotes of benevolence, righteousness, filial piety, etiquette, and loyalty. For Confucius, these virtues depended heavily on acting appropriately. While benevolence was considered of highest importance, one could also distinguish Confucian morality by its common thread of duty throughout. If one could fulfill their duties in acting appropriately towards others, taking one’s role within various power dynamics into account, they could approach the level of the noble “junzi.” It should be understood, however, that acting appropriately was superior to obedience for Confucius. Righteousness, for example, was not simply a matter of prescribed actions, but entailed consideration of larger consequences. Loyalty was not simply obedience, but a matter of putting others needs before one’s own.
In Confucius’ profound writing on the guidelines and importance of music, we can see that he viewed social harmony much as he did musical harmony. When events and behaviours are timed correctly, harmonized in accordance with a cen
tral key, and adhere to the ceremony of interaction, society may function in concert to create flourishing symphonies of life. To quote from Confucius’ Yeu Ji , or Book of Music , [1] “The knowledge of music leads to the subtle springs that underlie the rules of ceremony. He who has apprehended both ceremonies and music may be pronounced to be a possessor of virtue. Virtue means realization (in one's self).” [2]
While Confucius established a zeitgeist of self-cultivation throughout Ancient China, his inner endeavours were not without their own foundations, and Confucius was not without his own heroes of sagely wisdom. The Shang Shu volume of the Book of History ( Shu Jing ) contains accounts of the the ancient kings and battles that ushered in the Zhou Dynasty (c. 1046-256 BC), founded by King Wen and King Wu. Documented conversations from this time illustrate the underlying foundational ideals of Confucius’ philosophy, as Confucian philosophy is known as an attempt to revive the ethics and culture of the early, or “Western,” Zhou Dynasty (c. 1046-771 BC).
The Zhou Dynasty began when King Wu overthrew the earlier Shang Dynasty (1600-1046 BC), completing the campaign begun by his father, King Wen. King Wen is known as the author of the original explanations of the Yi Jing ( I Ching ) hexagrams, later added to by another one of his sons, the Duke of Zhou, who expanded briefly on the hexagrams’ individual lines. The Yi Jing is considered the first book ever written in China, and was revered by Confucians and Daoists, alike, for its cryptic wisdom and efficacy in divination.
Though King Wen and Wu are held up as the ideal examples of rectitude, and responsible for the cultural stability and refinement that lead to the flourishing philosophical schools of the Spring and Autumn (771-476 BC) and Warring States (475-221) periods, The Book of History suggests that King Wen and Wu in fact received a wealth of knowledge from the preceding Shang Dynasty by a wise advisor to King Zhou, the last king of the Shang Dynasty. This advisor’s name was Ji Zi.
Ji Zi was a relative of King Zhou (King 紂 Zhou of the Shang Dynasty, not to be confused with the Duke of 周 Zhou or the 周 Zhou Dynasty), known during his lifetime as Emperor Xin. The earliest written record of Ji Zi appears in the “Ming Yi” chapter of China’s oldest extant book – the Yi Jing . In this chapter, the Duke of Zhou puts Ji Zi forth as as an illustration of light and intelligence being smothered or suppressed. The image of this chapter is that of Earth over Fire. Earth smothers fire, just as tyrants like King Zhou block wisdom and guidance from shining through and bringing a nation out of darkness.
Accounts of Ji Zi appear in many ancient texts, including Confucius’ Analects , the Yue Ji ( Book of Music ), Zhuang Zi ( Chuang Tzu , within the earlier “Inner Chapters”), Hanfei Zi , Huainan Zi , Mo Zi , amongst others. However, it is the Book of History that describes the moment when Ji Zi’s passed his ancient knowledge onto King Wu, allowing it to survive the falling Shang Dynasty and live on in the new Zhou Dynasty.
In the chapter entitled “Patterns of the Flood 洪 範 ” (found in the Zhou Shu volume), Ji Zi explains to King Wu that the father of the ancient King Yu (2200-2100 BC), Gun ( 鯀 “Giant Fish”), committed an affront to Heaven by damming up the flood waters, bringing chaos and turmoil to his people and himself. King Yu reversed this by creating water channels which allowed the water to flow throughout the land, arriving where it was needed, rather than attempting to simply block it up at the source. According to Ji Zi, King Yu was able to determine the correct solution because Heaven bestowed upon him the “ 洪 範 , 九 疇 , 彝倫攸敘 patterns of the flood, with its nine categories, the principles of which are expressed throughout all relations.” [3]
The Zhou Shu volume, in which this chapter appears, is believed by scholars to have been written earlier than the vast majority of the other chapters in the Book of History ; however, it is still dated only to the 4 th or 3 rd century BC. Thus, it is difficult to say whether “the patterns of the flood” [4] were passed down through Ji Zi and King Wu, or appeared in this chapter as a result of their emergence during the “100 Schools of Thought” that developed between the 6 th and 3 rd centuries BC. One indication that “the patters of the flood” may have existed earlier on is that they included the categories and principles of the five elemental phases. The five elemental phases seem to have emerged with the Yin-Yang School which is attributed to Zuo Yan (305-240 BC). Zuo Yan’s use of these concepts, however, appears nearly 100 years after the Zhou Shu is now believed to have been written. This would suggest that teachings on the principles of the five elemental phases were already in circulation before Zuo Yan wrote of them, albeit in a less literary and expounded upon form, leaving the exact time of their emergence open to debate. If the five elemental phases were written about before Zuo Yan, and their intellectual origins cannot be traced, it may be that knowledge of them had been quietly passed down to worthy students for several centuries.
The story of Ji Zi offers a key turning point in the development of Daoism, and lends credence to the theory that Lao Zi’s Dao De Jing was in fact the tip of a cultural iceberg, one which lay in the same type of quiet obscurity that Lao Zi often celebrated in his depiction of sages’ interactions with society. Ji Zi’s delineation of Heaven’s principles for Humanity may have set the foundation for many of the 100 Schools of Thought, and preserved a thread of teachings on behaviour, divination, and moral ideals which became essential to later Daoist practices.
What this account of Ji Zi may most vitally reveal, is that Daoism developed as an extension of Ji Zi’s assertion that King Yu’s father committed an affront to Heaven by damming up the floods. This damming of the floods brought chaos and turmoil to his people, while King Yu succeeded in every way by allowing the water to flow according to the principles and patterns of nature. In the Dao De Jing , Lao Zi explains that by effortlessness (wu wei), and following nature (zi ran), things fall into their proper alignment. Nature (“Heaven”) does no harm, while the forces of life nurture all things if unobstructed. When these operations are obstructed, generally as a result of desire and force, the prevailing alignment becomes aberrant, and disorder begins.
Knowing that Gun’s great crime was attempting to force and block the flow of water, and that “the will of Heaven” and favour of the spirits are bestowed upon those with virtue, it then follows that King Yu’s virtue was evident in his understanding of the importance of effortlessness, of allowing nature to follow nature, and the importance of quelling the mind’s desire to use force against the powerful currents between Earth and Heaven. With this virtue and wisdom, Yu brought the life-giving waters to his people, thereby averting disaster, and cultivating prosperity throughout the provinces.
These principles are also shown in the Dao De Jing (traditionally dated c. 500 BC) to be of pervasive applicability, reaching throughout the universe and within every living thing. While Lao Zi speaks of the imperative cultivation of effortlessness, however, he also speaks of shaping and fashioning vessels to be outwardly harmonious, and inwardly empty. Just as Yu did not sit and allow the floods to overtake the provinces, Lao Zi does not suggest allowing emotions and desires to overtake oneself. Instead, they both speak of bringing harmony to what can be shaped, and fashioning emptiness. Within emptiness, the force of these currents will nourish, rather than disrupt, the growth and prosperity of all it touches.
The principles of effortlessness (wu wei, literally “without doing”) and naturalness (zi ran, literally “as itself”) are also found in the realm of the physical body and the practice of acupuncture, which works by opening and unblocking the flow of energy that circulates throughout the body’s energy-channels. Daoist meditation techniques that “empty the heart-mind,” in turn, open these same energy channels and allow qi (chi) to move vital essences throughout the bodily system. By allowing the channels and vessels of the body to relax and open, circulation increases and the body’s systems can be harmonized and revitalized. This might also be achieved with medications, though rarely do such medications not bring unwanted, often dangerous, side effects. Daoists, on the
other hand, have devised ways to open the pathways without disrupting the natural alignment necessary for long-term health and vitality. Whether using medicinal herbs, needles, massage (tuina), or moxibustion, the layout of the body is essentially being energetically irrigated according to the connections and principles of the five elemental phases, a sort of Feng Shui of the body, which ensures that the internal alignment will not be imbalanced by the treatment in the long run.
The wisdom of Chinese medical theory and Feng Shui could be said to have descended from the wisdom of King Yu, benefitting from the long veneration of his idea to work with the harmonious flow of nature – to allow circulation and avoid the dangers of excessive build-up. Lao Zi’s Dao De Jing reads somewhat as an homage to this idea, and its influence can be seen throughout the text. Note the importance given to accepting direction from the harmonious flow of nature in chapters two through nine [5] :
Chapter Two
When the whole world knows the pleasing to be pleasing
This ends in despising
When all know the good to be good
In the end there is “not good”
Thus, existence and non-existence are born together
Difficulty and ease result in each other
Long and short are compared to each other
Above and below are opposites of each other
Noise and tone are harmonized by each other
Front and back accompany each other
Therefore, sages handle affairs with non-action
They practice wordless instruction
And the myriad things all take their places
Without responding
Given life, but not possessed
