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[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]FOUNDATIONS OF TAOIST PRACTICE
by Jampa Mackenzie Stewart
When you try to define Taoism, you immediately run into trouble. The great
Taoist philosopher and author of the Tao Te Ching, Lao Tzu, begins his first chapter
with the warning words,
The Tao that can be described is not the eternal Tao.
The name that can be named is not the eternal name.
Thus Westerners are not the only ones who have a hard time defining Taoism;
the Chinese have had difficulty time agreeing on just what Taoism is for millenia.
Taoism is sometimes defined as a ritualistic religion, as a philosophy, as Chinese folk
religion, as alchemy, as a system of magical lore, or as a series of health practices similar
to yoga. The adherants of each school often look with disdain on the others as being
heterodoxy, heresy, or simply incomplete portions of the great Tao.
The Chinese word Tao (pronounced "dow") means "the way, the path." In the
common sense it refers to the way of doing anything, or the pathway to some
destination. In its higher meaning, Tao refers to the way of the universe, the way things
are. As a spiritual system, Tao means the way to achieving a true understanding of the
nature of mind and reality, to the way of living in harmony with the changes of Nature.
Thus the Tao is the goal, the path and the journey all in one.
A Taoist then, is "a follower of the Way," the same title by which the early
Buddhists and Christians dubbed themselves. The earliest Taoists appeared at least four
thousand years ago in a time when people lived close to Nature and were awed by its
power and its mystery, whose agricultural lives and deaths were intimately intertwined
with the fluctuations of floods and droughts, heat and cold, day and night, and the
changing of the seasons.
Just as the Judeo-Christians believe that God created humanity in the image of
God, so too did the Taoists conclude that each person is a microcosm of the universe,
and that the patterns of human society are a microscopic reflection of the cosmic
patterns. These early Taoists saw that Nature was in a constant state of flux and
change, and that these changes followed certain discernible and orderly patterns. They
reasoned that by watching the changes in Nature and by understanding these patterns,
they could apply Nature's principles to their own lives and thus move into harmony
with the flow of the universe, with the Tao, with themselves. The person who attains
highest union with the Tao is called a
hsien
or immortal, one who has "Returned to the
Source," to the true ground of being.
Over the centuries many branches of Taoist teachings grew, all aimed at
integrating the various activities of one's daily life with the Tao. These include such
diverse disciplines as meditation, dietary guidelines, Chinese medicine,
Qi Gong
,
martial arts, sexual practices, military strategy, astrology, outer and inner alchemy,
divination, magic and talismans, ritual,
Feng Shui
(geomancy), sacred architecture and
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the arts. Yet the Taoist arts were originally designed as a wholistic, mutually
supportive and interdependent framework within which one could cultivate oneself to
achieve the fruit of immortality.
As in Tantra, Taoists have always viewed knowledge as power, and are usually
secretive and discriminating about who receives the full transmission. Even if a capable
disciple meets an accomplished master, it still takes decades (if not a lifetime) to practice
and master the many aspects of Taoist study. As a result, nowadays most people
calling themselves Taoists study and practice only one or two branches of the Taoist
arts. The late 20th century teacher Cheng Man-Ching was highly lauded as a "Master of
the Five Excellences" because he had achieved skill in just five of the Taoist arts: martial
arts, Chinese medicine, painting, poetry and calligraphy.
Thus, the Taoist arts have become divorced and isolated from the trunk and
roots of Taoism. Moreover, most of the arts have become secularized. Clinically,
Chinese medicine in modern practice is usually applied more to remedial care than to
promoting spiritual super-wellness. Meditation has become largely a stress
management tool. Chinese astrology, divination and geomancy are nowadays used
more for gaining success in business, romance and home siting than for achieving
spiritual breakthrough. Contemporary people more often study
Qi Gong
and the
martial arts for health, fitness and personal power than for laying the groundwork of
immortality.
Despite the achievements of health, wealth and love, the only certainty in life is
that it will end in death. Maintaining health and wealth is of limited value if one's life
lacks meaning. I believe that while the aforementioned benefits of the Taoist arts are
both real and good, the ultimate goal of Taoism is immortality. Immortality is
synonymous with enlightenment, conscious union with the universal mind, and with
the attainment of a spiritually transformed body that will last forever like heaven and
earth.
Therefore the purpose of this article is to examine the various Taoist arts from the
perspective of the Taoist yogi on the path to becoming an immortal, to see how all of
these branches relate to the trunk of Taoist beliefs and goals.
THE BASIC VIEW OF TAOISM
Although there are many diverse arts flowing from the wellspring of Taoism, all
of these different arts are grounded in the same set of principles, what Taoists see as the
fundamental laws of Nature applying to all things, high and low. These principles form
the core of Taoist "general systems theory." By developing a working knowledge of
these natural principles, you will have the master key to open the mysterious portals of
the Tao.
Wu Ji
In the beginning, nothing existed. In Chinese this is called
Wu Ji
(meaning
absolute nothingness).
Wu Ji
is synonymous with the Buddhist word
sunyata,
meaning
emptiness, the void, pure openness, no boundary.
Wu Ji
is also sometimes referred to as
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the mystery, the nameless, the great mother, the source. Thus Lao Tzu says, "That
which can be named is not the eternal name." Words cannot describe
Wu Ji;
it is beyond
any thought, idea or concept, yet it can be directly experienced. Conscious realization
of
Wu Ji
is called "Returning to the Source."
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Qi
The first principle to manifest out of
Wu Ji
is primordial energy. The Chinese call
this energy
Qi
.
Qi
(pronounced "chee") means breath, air, wind, or energy, and is
similar in meaning to the Sanskrit word
prana,
the Hebrew word
Ruach
(breath of God),
and to the Tibetan word
rLung.
Qi
is the force of all movement, from the movements of waves and sub-atomic
particles to the movement of stars and planets.
Qi
is the force moving world systems
into creation, existence and destruction; everything manifests out of
Qi,
exists as a form
of
Qi,
and returns to
Qi
. In living creatures it becomes the life force and source of all
metabolism.
Qi
is even the root of the movement of consciousness, of thought, sensory
awareness and emotions.
The activity of
Qi
is what holds things together: atoms, molecules, our bodies,
the earth, the solar system. When the pattern of
Qi
becomes exhausted, death occurs,
the life force leaves, buildings disintegrate, change occurs.
Yin And Yang
The nameless is the mother of heaven and earth.
---Lao Tzu
As soon as
Qi
appeared, it moved as Yin and Yang. The Chinese character for Yin
depicts the shady side of a mountain, while the character for Yang depicts the sunny
side. Thus some characteristics of Yin are earth, receptiveness, darkness, cold, moisture,
heaviness, descenscion, contractiveness, stillness. Yang, by relative contrast, is heaven,
creativity, brightness, warmth, dryness, lightness, ascension, expansion, activity.
Everything in the relative world of existence can be viewed in terms of Yin and
Yang. However, Yin and Yang are not separate; they are like the two poles of the same
magnet. Thus, nothing is entirely Yin nor entirely Yang; each contains the other. The
interdependent existence of Yin and Yang is known as
Tai Ji
(the Most High).
Tai Ji
and
Wu Ji
are seen as inseparable.
Yin and Yang create each other; as soon as you have a front, you must also have
a back. Yin and Yang check and balance each other; if something is too hot, you balance
it by adding cold. Yin and Yang also transform into one another; activity naturally
transforms into rest, night transforms into day.
Life is peaceful when Yin and Yang are in harmony and balance, when the
transitions from Yin to Yang and Yang to Yin are gradual and even. When either Yin or
Yang becomes too extreme or when the transitions from Yin to Yang are unusually
sudden and abrupt, harmony and balance are lost. These imbalances may appear as
health problems, relationship difficulties, trade deficits, or unseasonal weather; all the
changes in the universe can be analysed by understanding Yin and Yang.
Wu Hsing - The Five Phases
Yin and Yang are further subdivided into
Wu Hsing.
Wu
means five, while
hsing
means form. Thus
Wu Hsing
is translated as the Five Forms, Five Phases (of
Qi
4
transformation) or most commonly as the Five Elements: Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal and
Water. The Five Phases describes in more detail the stages of Yin and Yang changes.
The first phase is Wood, the lesser Yang, the phase of generation. Wood is
associated with new plant life and growth, with spring time, with the planting and
sprouting of seeds, with the east and the dawning of the new day.
The second phase is Fire, the Greatest Yang, the phase of expansion and
radiance. Fire is associated with the full bloom of plants, with summertime, with the
south and with mid-day.
The third phase is Earth, the balance of the Yang and Yin forces, and the phase of
stability. Earth is associated with the ripening and maturing of the seeds and fruits of
plants, with late summer, with the center and with late afternoon.
The fourth phase is Metal, the lesser Yin, the phase of gathering. Metal is
associated with reaping the harvest, with autumn, with the west and dusk.
The fifth phase is Water, the greatest Yin, and the phase of storing and
contraction. Water is associated with storing the harvest, with winter, with the north
and with mid-night.
When the Five Phases are in balance, they work in two ways: they generate and
nurture each other and they control and restrain one another. The Generation Cycle
(
Sheng
Cycle) occurs when the phases interact in their natural order: Wood nourishes
Fire, Fire creates Earth (ashes), Earth generates Metal (the distillation of minerals), Metal
creates Water (condensation), and Water nourishes Wood. This is also called the
mother - son cycle.
The Controlling Cycle (
K'o
Cycle) occurs when every other phase relates: Wood
restrains Earth (plants prevent soil erosion), Fire controls Metal (a blacksmith's forge),
Earth restrains Water (a dam), Metal controls Wood (screws and nails, a woodworker's
tools), and Water controls Fire.
The following chart illustrates other correspondences of the Five Phases. Of
particular importance to the Taoist yogi are the relationships to the internal organs of
the body, and the emotions.
The Pa Kua
The
Pa Kua
or Eight Trigrams are a further differentiation of Yin and Yang. The
Pa Kua
are represented in octagonal configurations corresponding to the eight points of
the compass. The
I Ching
(Classic Book of Change) is based upon the 64 possible
combinations of the
Pa Kua,
and represents a more minute analysis of the stages of
change in the universe.
The named is the mother of the ten thousand things.
Ever desireless, one can see the mystery.
Ever desiring, one can see its manifestations.
---Lao Tzu
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