II. Lao Zi's Doctrine of the
Dao
As has been noted, Lao Zi is
depicted in his biography quote(
above as a man who "practiced
Dao and De." His doctrine
was then generalized into something
that "aimed at self-effacement
and namelessness" on the
one hand, and, on the other,
into something that advised
people to "take no action
and thus become self-transformed,
and love tranquility and thus
become righteous." Although
it definitely gets to the point,
a generalization o this kind
over-simplifies what Lao Zi
intended to express in over
5,000 words. Widely recognized
as the founder of Daoism, Lao
Zi constructs a philosophy of
fertility and individuality
that unfold by virtue of his
preoccupation with and formulation
of the Dao
Lao Zi was the first to form
the special concept of the Dao,
which in turn works as the keystone
of Daoism as a philosophy.[12]
The Chinese term Dao literally
means "way" or "road."
Based of this primary meaning,
it assumed in ancient times
a metaphorical sense, such as
"the way of man,"
signifying human morality, code
of conduct or essence of life,
etc. But in Lao Zi's terminology
the meaning of the Dao transcends
social and ethical domains.
It i then found ascribed to
certain metaphysically extended
implications relating to the
origin of the universe, the
root of all things the law of
natural change and social development,
the principle of political and
military affairs, and above
all, the truth of human existence.
The Dao as such can be conceived
of as the constellation of Lao
Zi's philosophizing. The most
complicated but most fascinating
of all its aspects lies, however,
in the fact that it' connotations
vary with the different contexts
in which it is used So long
as one sticks to both textual
scrutiny and contextual analysis,
one will be able to approach
what the term Dao really suggests
in a more justifiable fashion.
"Dao"
is even retained in Tai Chuan
basic training: "Taolu"
(or Daolu), where "lu"
adds a double effect in terms
of sequencing various movement
in a perfect arrangement to
prepare for a complete accomplishment
(frame).
Offered here
is a. brief discussion of the
term from eight dimensions:
1. The
Dao of the Universe
The Dao is looked upon as the
highest category of Lao Zi's
philosophy. Right at the beginning
of the Dao De Jing it is defined
as "the origin of Heaven
and Earth" and "the
mother of the myriad things"
(Cf. Dao De Jing, Ch. 1. The
subsequent citations are from
the same source and marked with
chapter numbers only). "Heaven
and Earth" in Chinese culture
means either nature or the universe,
and by "the myriad things"
is meant all beings in the world.
Hence the Dao is often likened
by modern scholars to the phenomenon
of the universe and the essence
of alt things in occidental
terms.
The Dao itself has two essential
aspects discriminated as Wit
(Being-without-form) and You
(Being-within-form). The former
is invisible and abstract, employed
by Lao Zi to indicate the state
of the Dao before it comes down
to its actuality, whilst the
latter is visible and concrete,
employed to indicate the outcome
of the Dao as manifested in
the things which surround us.
Both of these aspects are derived
from the Dao and are thus regarded
as the two sides of one coin.
The interrelationship as such
seems analogically identical
to that between name and object,
or thinking and being.
The Dao as the origin of the
universe and the root of all
things precedes God in time
(Ch. 4) and exists everywhere
in space. It therefore features
subtlety, profundity, eternity
and indescribability as well
as inexhaustibility. The coming
into being of all things is
characterized by a process;
that is, "The Dao produces
the One. The One turns into
the Two. The Two give rise to
the Three. The Three bring forth
the myriad things. The myriad
things contain Yin and Yang
as vital forces which achieve
harmony through their interactions."
(Ch. 42)
The Dao of the universe ultimately
follows "the way of spontaneity"
or naturalness. It begets all
things without any practical
purpose. Accordingly it treats
all things alike without making
any distinction. And furthermore
it lets all things be what they
can become (Ch. 25).
Here is a basic
but essential principle: according
to Dr. Yu Yongnian , worldwide
eminence and reference in Zhan
Zhuang (Pile standing) exercises,
the simplest but also the highest
accomplishment in martial arts
can be seen while "standing
like a tree", "one
as origin of myriad things",
is understood as "one movement
to cultivate thousands of movements",
which constitutes the main principle
of the Chinese Martial Art Yiquan,
created by Wang Xiangzhai, who
studied in addition to Tai Chi
Chuan, others internal styles
such as Xingyi and Bagua (Yu
Yongnian is among his last living
direct disciples)...
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