5. The Dao of Personal Cultivation
Daoism as a philosophy is commonly
taken to be the fundamental
aspect of the formation of the
psychology of the Chinese people.
This is due to the fact that
Daoism is largely concerned
with personal cultivation from
within, which is then chiefly
oriented to the realization
of Dao-De.
As promulgated in the preceding
section, the Dao of personal
cultivation is a kind of principle
represented in the attitude,
experience, praxis and attainment
in connection with the Dao.
There are generally three different
types of attitudes toward the
Dao as categorized by Lao Zi
as follows: "When the highest
type of shi (i.e. men of learning
or literati) hear of the Dao,
they diligently practice it.
When the average type of shi
hear of the Dao, they half-believe
it. When the lowest type of
shi hear of the Dao, they laugh
heartily at it. If they did
not laugh at it, it would not
be the Dao" (Ch. 41). Being
positive and appropriate, the
stance held by the first type
of literati is most commendable
and effective in view of achieving
the Dao as the highest sphere
of human life and fostering
De as the manifestation of the
Dao in an ethical sense.
As a natural outcome of adopting
the right attitude toward the
Dao, one would be most likely
to experience sublime enlightenment,
and be possessed of a mentality
which is not only distinct from,
but far transcends that of the
ordinary person. This experience
and mentality as such feature
above all simplicity, tranquility,
genuineness, modesty, adaptability
and open-mindedness. (Cf. chs.
15 and 20.)
As articulated in chapters 7,
23 and 27, the praxis of the
Dao and De involves relevant
strategies. In addition, there
are incredible advantages of
acting upon the Dao as the supreme
principle and nourishing De
as the highest virtue. A wise
ruler, for instance, will have
all the people come to him if
he holds fast to the in general,
they will stay free from danger
throughout their lives if they
sincerely exercise the Dao and
cultivate De.
It is discernable that Lao Zi
speaks of the Dao from various
perspectives throughout his
book. All in all, the most important
of the objectives lies in how
to attain the Dao as the highest
realm of human spirit. The attainment
of the Dao is dependent on an
approach as proposed by Lao
Zi in his discussion.
This proposal comprises six
dimensional components as follows:
(1) self-purification and deep
contemplation; (2) plainness
and simplicity; (3) vacuity
and tranquility; (4) tenderness
and non-competitiveness; (5)
have-less-selfishness and have-few-desires;
(6) naturalness and take-no-action.
(Cf. chs. 10, 13, 16, 17, 22,
25, 28 and 49.)
For a Taichi
practitioner, these six dimensions
can perceived as:
- realignment of his physical
body during Tai Chi form apprenticeship,
self refocusing,
- avoiding unnecessary movement
during taolu practice but consciousness,
but also moral simplicity (see
Dao of Human Life)
- mental activity evading from
daily incitation but just vacuity
and tranquility,
- reversion (see Dao of Dialectics)
- deep contemplation (see Dao
of Heaven and Man)
In fine, as
a direct incidence of the close
relationship between Dao and
Tai Chi Chuan, for anyone who
practices or has practiced Tai
Chi, during any Tai Chi demonstration
it is very easy to experience
among any audience similar three
kind of attitudes mentioned
before...
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