4. The Dao of Heaven and Man
Lao Zi distinguished between
the Dao of Heaven and that of
man. As regards the former,
it is bestowed with naturalness
and selflessness, and is symbolic
of equality as it treats all
things alike. It is figuratively
described as the drawing of
a bow that aims at its target.
Thus in Lao Zi's terms the Dao
of Heaven "reduces whatever
is excessive and supplements
whatever is insufficient,"
and "benefits all things
and causes no harm." On
the other hand, the Dao of man
is characterized with acquisitiveness,
selfishness and inequality.
It therefore "reduces the
already insufficient and offers
more to what is already excessive"
(Ch. 77).
Lao Zi's advocacy of the Dao
of Heaven as an ideal stands
striking contrast to his critique
of the Dao of man as a negative
product of human civilization.
By reading between the lines
on can discover that the Dao
of Heaven was set as a standard
wit] which to measure and upgrade
the Dao of man. Observably the
former is commended as an ideal
model for the latter to follow
and thereby remold itself. That
is why Lao Zi further stresses
that "The Dao of Heaven
has no preference. It is constantly
with the good man" (Ch.
79). As a result, there arises
"the Dao of the sage"
that "acts for others but
does not compete with them."
personally think that the Dao
of the sage is the fruit of
the tree rooted in the Dao of
Heaven but planted by man. It
is in fact the highest form
of spiritual life, resulting
from the state of oneness between
Heaven and man (tian ren he
yi).
Oneness between Heaven and man
can be also rendered as "Heaven-man
oneness" or "nature-man
oneness" according to the
word order of the Chinese conception
tian ren he yi. This key conception
is a recurring thread throughout
the development of Chinese thought.
Its origin is usually traced
back to Mencius (c.372-289 B.C.)[13]
or Dong Zhongshu (179-104 B.C.).[14]
I personally think that it can
be dated back to Lao Zi and
even further back to The Book
of Changes (Yi Jing or I Ching).[15]
As noted in the Dao De Jing,
Lao Zi listed "four great
things in the universeĦħ--the
Dao, Heaven, Earth and Man.
"Man follows the way of
Earth. Earth follows the way
of Heaven. Heaven follows the
way of Dao. And Dao follows
the way of spontaneity' or the
way of naturalness that signifies
the Dao itself. In context,
the Dao, of the way of spontaneity,
is the highest law or hidden
principle beyond sense perception;
Heaven and Earth as a whole
refer to( nature or the universe.
Man gets integrated with nature
(i.e., Heaven and Earth) by
acting upon directions pointed
out by the Dao. More directly,
Lao Zi expounded elsewhere that
"he who seeks the Dao is
identified with the Dao....
He who seeks Heaver is identified
with Heaven .... He who is identified
with the Dao, the Dao is also
happy to have him.... He who
is identified with Heaven, Heaven
is also happy to have him"
(Ch. 23). In this case "he
who seeks..." apparently
refers to man, and Heaven stands
for nature or the universe.
The identification of man with
Heaven and with the Dao as well
is surely a happy situation
due to mutual reacceptance.
The fact of the matter is that
the doctrine of Heaven-man oneness
is all the more important to
the Chinese people since their
culture is essentially a non-religious
one. Thus their pursuit of super-moral
values is mostly stimulated
and guided by their pursuit
of the state of Heaven-man oneness
as an ideal form of spiritual
life. The doctrine itself has
been carried on and further
developed as exemplified in
Neo-Daoism, Neo-Confucianism
and modem schools of thought
in the course of Chinese history.
As far as I understand, the
doctrine of Heaven-man or nature-man
oneness can be rediscovered
and more rewardingly approached
nowadays from at least four
dimensions-the spiritual, aesthetic,
social, and environmental. First
of all, from the spiritual dimension,
the notion of nature-man oneness
functions as a metaphysical
bay where the anchor of the
ship of life can be dropped.
In other words, it is chiefly
concerned with the cultivation
and sublimation of human life
in an ethical sense, and with
the pursuit and location of
man's destination in a spiritual
sense. To my mind that this
idea in Daoism emphasizes contentedness
with the law of nature, identification
with nature, unconditioned pursuit
of spontaneity and absolute
freedom from social ambitions.
Secondly, nature-man oneness
from an aesthetic viewpoint
primarily refers to the inspiring
interaction between the limited
stream of personal life and
the unlimited flow of universal
change, which usually takes
place in one's emotional world
or at the time when one contemplates
external objects. Interaction
of this kind can facilitate
bilateral projection, reinforcement
and sublimation in a vital sense.
Thirdly, in a social sense,
the notion of nature-man oneness
basically means the adaptation
of people as individuals to
the community. It can be envisaged
as underlining the development
of harmonious human relations.
This is equivalent to the realization
of unity or harmony in the sphere
of human relations. Finally,
with regard to the treatise
of nature-man oneness from an
environmental perspective, it
directs man to reconsider his
place in nature. It thereby
consolidates his consciousness
of environmental protection,
and in turn ameliorates the
quality of life in general.[16].
"Man oneness"
as meta-moral value integrated
in Tai Chi Chuan during combat
but also daily life, can be
applied as a perfect sense of
"global picture" instead
of a particular view related
to our individual emotions or
weakness...as a spiritual attitude
to prevent to be excessively
affected by daily life "karmic'
changes or dynamic changes during
sparring...
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