Komjathy, Daoist Tradition:
An Introduction 2013
by Louis Komjathy
by Louis Komjathy
Table of Contents
Part 1: Historical Overview
1. Approaching Daoism
2. The Daoist Tradition
Part 2: The Daoist Worldview
3. Ways to Affiliation
4. Community and Social Organization
5. Informing Views and Foundational Concerns
6. Cosmogony, Cosmology, and Theology
7. Virtue, Ethics and Conduct Guidelines
Part 3: Daoist Practice
8. Dietetics
9. Health and Longevity Practice
10. Meditation
11. Scriptures and Scripture Study
12. Ritual
Part 4: Place, Sacred Space and Material Culture
13. Temples and Sacred Sites
14. Material Culture
Part 5: Daoism in the Modern World
15. Daoism in the Modern World
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7 Virtue, ethics, and conduct guidelines
Generally speaking, virtue relates to moral excellence. By extension, it refers to particular virtues, that is, qualities and characteristics valued as promoting individual and collective wellbeing. As discussed below, “virtue” as been used as one translation of the Daoist technical term de, or the ways in which the Dao manifests through specific beings. Associated with one’s character and integrity, morality generally refers to a sense of conduct that differentiates intentions, decisions, and actions between those that are beneficial (“good” or “right”) and those that are detrimental (“bad” or “wrong”). Ethics technically refers to a branch of philosophy or a type of philosophical reflection that addresses questions about morality. In the present chapter, ethics designates both one’s moral condition and views concerning virtue, especially virtuous conduct. Ethics may, in turn, be understood as one expression of religious doctrine and practice. In the case of religious traditions, ethics direct our attention to behavioral models as well as religious commitments and obligations.
Throughout the Daoist tradition, there has been and remains a strong concern for virtue and ethics. Like dietetics, ethics is often considered a necessary prerequisite for more advanced training. This is so much the case that many Daoists have claimed that meditation or ritual without an ethical foundation will be fruitless. In the context of organized Daoism, such values and commitments are most often expressed in the form of precepts and conduct guidelines. These range from proscriptions against certain kinds of behaviors, whether expressed in thought, speech, or action, to prescriptions for alternative ways of being, for modes that may contribute to personal, interpersonal, and transpersonal flourishing. They include admonitions, injunctions, and resolutions. They challenge one to reflect on the possibility of human goodness, social welfare, and even ecological synergy. Some Daoist precepts have community-and place-specific dimensions. Others cover the entire spectrum of Daoist religious life, including physical and material dimensions such as clothing, eating, and hygiene.
In this chapter, I first discuss classical and foundational Daoist views on de, “virtue” or “inner power.” I then present community-based views. The latter characterization should not give the impression that the inner cultivation lineages, members of classical Daoism, do not qualify as a religious community (see Chapters 1–4); it rather suggests that formal Daoist conduct guidelines were first composed in the context of early organized Daoism, the moment when Daoism became characterized by more complex social organization and larger numbers of adherents (see Chapter 4). The community-based views section is followed by the presentation of types of ethical commitments and specific conduct guidelines. Considered historically and contextually, careful inquiry into and understanding of Daoist ethics reveals a close connection with the “ways to affiliation” covered in Chapter 3. There are different types of Daoist religious adherence, and these frequently have increasing degrees of commitment and responsibility. One thus finds precepts that are specifically intended for lay adherents, householders, ordained priests, monastics, and immortals. Virtue is one way in which Daoist ethical commitments and responsibility become embodied in the world. This chapter in turn represents the beginning of the “practice chapters,” although ethics could also be considered a dimension of Daoist worldviews, especially those related to foundational values, concerns, and commitments (see Chapter 5). In combination with Chapters 9 through 13, and pilgrimage related to Daoist sacred sites (Chapter 14), this chapter reveals some of the contours of committed Daoist practice.
1] Classical and foundational Daoist views
On the most basic level, Daoist ethics views human beings as innately “good.” When aligned and attuned with the Dao, when free of social conditioning, familial obligation, and personal habituation, human beings are naturally ethical. Throughout the pages of classical Daoist texts, one encounters the Daoist technical term de, which may be translated as “virtue” (in the sense of one’s entire character or personhood including the capacity for moral excellence) or more appropriately as “inner power” (in the sense of one’s innate capacity to become an embodiment of the Dao).1 It is an innate potential, but a key question involves how de becomes manifest. Is it recognized, discovered, realized, actualized, cultivated, or perfected? If we are already de, then is there anything that really must be done? These types of questions intersect with other classical Daoist concerns such as non-action (wuwei ), suchness (ziran), and innate nature (xing) (see Chapter 5).
Under one etymological reading, the character de 德 consists of chi 彳 (“step”) and zhi 直 (“direct,” “straight,” “upright,” “correct”) over xin 心 (“heart-mind”): To be virtuous is to have an aligned heart-mind that is expressed as embodied activity, activity that reveals one’s degree of selfcultivation and exerts a transformational influence on others. De (“virtue” or “inner power”) is the Dao manifested in human beings as numinous presence and as embodied activity in the world, especially as a beneficial and transformational influence that might be categorized as “good.” From this perspective, “morality” and “ethics” are natural outcomes of Daoist practice, natural expressions of Daoist ontological conditions or ways of being.
Reflection on de was a pan-Chinese preoccupation during the Warring States period to Early Han dynasty, not limited to Daoists (see Schwartz 1985; Graham 1989). However, the inner cultivation lineages of classical Daoism did develop specifically Daoist views on de, which paralleled their unique conception of dao and often included a critique of Confucianism and Legalism.
VIRTUE BEYOND MORALISM AND
LEGALISM
The highest virtue is not virtuous; In this way, it remains virtuous. The lowest virtue never loses virtue; In this way, it lacks virtue.
The highest virtue manifests through non-action, And through this is free from effortful activity.
The lowest virtue acts upon things,
And through this is filled with effortful activity.
(Daode jing, Chapter 38; see also Zhuangzi, Chapter 32)
***
After the great Dao was abandoned,
Humaneness and righteousness appeared. After knowledge and cleverness arose, Great hypocrisy appeared. After the six relationships lost harmony, Filial piety and familial kindness appeared. After the state fell into chaos and disorder, Loyal ministers appeared. (ibid., Chapter 18)
From a classical Daoist perspective, virtue that demands to be recognized as “virtue” indicates the absence of true virtue. Authentic virtue requires neither recognition nor reward. It is the natural expression of one’s being beyond egoistic limitations. Moreover, “morality,” in the sense of concern for and discussion of “virtues” and “moral obligations,” indicates that humans have lost their original alignment: a situation that requires discussion of morality and ethics indicates the absence of such qualities. The teachings of the “venerable masters” collected in the Daode jing, in turn, encourage people to discard sagehood and learning (Chapters 19 and 20) and to renounce violence and legalistic coercion (Chapters 46, 74 and 75).
From a Daoist perspective, therefore, de does not refer to conventional morality, understood as a received set of social norms demanding conformity. De may be distorted through education, social systems, and power structures. Rather, de is the way in which the Dao manifests as embodied activity in the world. Although there are recognizable patterns of de, individuals frequently manifest de in their own unique way, and there is much diversity with respect to individual expressions of de. To fit oneself into the mold of another’s de is to distance oneself from the Dao. In this way, one may think of “virtue” or “inner power” along the lines of a cognate Chinese character de 得 (“to attain”), in the sense of “realizing the Dao” (dedao).
INNER POWER AS ALIGNMENT WITH
THE DAO
Thus we may consider this qi— It cannot be controlled by force,
But it can be stabilized through inner power (de).
It cannot be expressed in sound,
But it can be welcomed through awareness. Reverently guard it and do not lose it:
We call this “completing inner power.”
When inner power is complete and insight emerges, The ten thousand beings will be realized. (“Neiye,” Chapter 2)
***
A complete heart-mind at the center Cannot be concealed or hidden.
It will be known through your appearance; It will be seen in the color of your skin.
If you encounter others with this exceptional qi, They will be kinder to you than your brothers. If you encounter others with harmful qi, They will injure you with their weapons.
The reverberation of the wordless
Is more rapid than the drumming of thunder. The shape of the qi and the heart-mind Is more luminous than the sun and moon. (ibid., Chapter 18)
Classical Daoist methods for “realizing the Dao” and manifesting inner power (de) are rooted in apophatic meditation (see Chapter 11). By stilling the heart-mind and emptying it of emotional and intellectual activity, one returns to one’s innate nature, which is the Dao. The above passages from the fourth-century BCE “Neiye” (Inward Training) chapter of the Guanzi show how inner power relates to both qi and the heart-mind. One’s inner power, one’s attunement with the Dao, becomes complete when qi and the heart-mind are pure. Inner power in turn manifests as a recognizable energetic quality that pervades the Daoist adept’s psychosomatic being and emanates through his or her skin, pores, and hair.
Classical texts often avoid discussion of specific virtues, possibly out of concern that people will mistake the outcome for the practice, but there are some hints.
QUALITIES AND EXPRESSIONS OF
INNER POWER
Know the male, but guard the female— Become the streambed of the world.
Becoming the streambed of the world, Constant inner power does not separate.
Return to a condition of childhood. Know the white, but guard the black— Become the pattern of the world.
Becoming the pattern of the world,
Constant inner power does not deviate.
Return to a condition of non-differentiation. Know honor, but guard disgrace— Become the valley of the world.
Becoming the valley of the world,
Constant inner power is then sufficient.
Return to a condition of simplicity. (Daode jing, Chapter 28)
Here Daoists are instructed to apply lessons learned from observing “water” (shui ), “streambeds” (xi ), “valleys” (gu), “uncarved blocks” (pu), and “vessels” (qi ) (see, e.g. Daode jing, Chapters 8 and 78; Zhuangzi, Chapter 17; also Allan 1997; Girardot et al. 2001). Inner power emulates the qualities of water such as acceptance, emptiness, flexibility, inclusiveness, lowliness, non-differentiation, receptivity, simplicity, and unhindered movement.
Members of the classical inner cultivation lineages often speak of those who have achieved excellence in embodying Dao and manifesting inner power as sages (shengren). Sages are free of unnecessary discrimination and obstructing influences; they embrace what is and activate the spiritual insight contained in the heart-mind (Daode jing, Chapers 4 and 56). They develop groundedness in place, depth in perspective, kindness in assistance, sincerity in speech, regulation in rectification, aptitude in action, and appropriateness in responsiveness (Chapter 8). They embody attentiveness, carefulness, impeccability, expansiveness, sincerity, vastness, and connectedness (Chapter 15); and they cultivate the “three treasures” of compassion, frugality, and deference or humility (Chapter 67).
The Zhuangzi describes such people as obtaining “utmost inner power” (zhide).
UTMOST INNER POWER
“Those who understand the Dao fully comprehend the principles. By fully comprehending the principles, one illuminates circumstances. By illuminating circumstances, one does not allow things to harm oneself. When one has utmost inner power, fire cannot burn, water cannot drown, cold and heat cannot afflict, birds and animals cannot injure. I’m not saying that one makes light of such things. I mean that such a person distinguishes safety and danger, remains calm amidst fortune and misfortune, and is careful in arriving and departing. Therefore nothing can harm one.” (Zhuangzi, Chapter 17; see also Chapter 5, 9, 12, 15, and 22)
This passage suggests that the fulfillment of Daoist practice results in specific abilities and benefits (see also Daode jing, Chapters 50 and 55; Roth 1999a: 99–123). Sages avoid injury and become free from despair derived from the oscillations of life.
Famous exemplars of inner power in the Zhuangzi include, among others, Master Zhuang himself, who knows the way to the Village of Nothing-Whatsoever (Chapter 1) and the joy of fish (Chapter 17); Changwuzi (Master Enduring Hibiscus), who knows how to tuck the universe under his arm and instructs on the Great Awakening (Chapter 2); Cook Ding, who cuts apart an ox with complete effortlessness (Chapter 3); Nüyu (Woman Yu), who teaches a stage-based training regimen that results in freedom from the bounds of life and death (Chapter 6); Huzi (Gourd Master), who, in emptiness, allows the not-yet-emerged-from-the-ancestral to manifest through him (Chapter 7); Liezi (Master Lie) and Guangchengzi (Master Expansive Completion), both of whom live in seclusion to cultivate the Dao (Chapters 7, 11, 28, and 32); Gengsang Chu, who commits himself to follow the teachings of Lao Dan and the Way of Heaven (Chapter 23); and Thief Zhi, who transcends the limitations of conventional, obligationbased morality and turns Kongzi’s (Confucius’) mind inside out (Chapter 29).
While most classical Daoist discussions of de focus on human beings, there are a few passages that indicate that every being has the potential to manifest the Dao. Examples in the Zhuangzi include the Great Peng-bird, which wanders carefree above the cares of the world (Chapter 1); an ancient, gnarled tree, which teaches the value of uselessness (Chapters 1, 4, and 20); fish, which flow with the currents, abide in the shadows, and rest at ease with their place in water (Chapters 6 and 17); magpies and wasps, which embody the Dao’s transformative process (Chapter 14); tortoises, which enjoy dragging their tails in the mud (Chapter 17); and sea turtles, which have the experience of swimming in the ocean’s vastness (ibid.). That is, animals, simply by living and by being (“naturalness”), are embodiments of the Dao (Komjathy 2011f). Some early Daoists also engaged in practices that involved imitating the movements of specific animals (see Chapter 10 herein).
2] Community-based Daoist views
As the Daoist tradition transitioned from loosely connected religious communities to a more formal organized religion in the Later Han dynasty, Daoists developed diverse views on virtue and morality as well as more formal ethical systems. While members of the inner cultivation lineages primarily emphasized a “meditative model” (see Chapters 1 and 11 herein), members of early organized Daoism developed an “ethical model,” wherein ethical reflection and application became a means to return to the Dao.
Since the notion of returning to the Dao was also linked with avoiding harm and possessing long life, Daoist ethics became connected with understandings of illness and disease. In particular, the early Tianshi community linked illness with moral transgression, and identified immorality as a potential source of disease. This conception of disease also included ancestral and demonological components, as early Tianshi sources indicate that moral transgressions undermine one’s innate protective capacities and expose the individual to malevolent entities and noxious influences. The sick were, in turn, sent to “pure chambers” (jingshi ), where they meditated on their mistakes and purified themselves. They acknowledged their moral failures, vowed not to commit the offense again, and performed acts of atonement. At the same time, community leaders, called libationers (see Chapters 2 and 4), performed purification and exorcistic rituals, which involved sending petitions to the Three Bureaus (sanguan) of the heavens, earth, and water. An early commentary on the Sanguo zhi (Record of the Three Kingdoms) documents this view.
SICKNESS AND MORAL TRANSGRESSIONS
[Libationers] were responsible for praying for the sick. The ritual of prayer involved writing down the sick person’s name, including a confession of his or her moral transgressions. Three sets were made. One was sent up to the heavens and was placed on a mountain. One was buried in the earth. The last was submerged in water. These were called the “handwritten documents of the Three Bureaus.” (8: 265; adapted from Nickerson 1997: 232)
By burning, burying, and submerging the petitions to the heavens, earth, and water, respectively, the sick person’s transgressions would be neutralized, and he or she would return to health. At the same time, one could avoid illness by maintaining virtue. One way that this was accomplished was through precept study and application. According to the Laozi xiang’er zhu (Commentary Thinking Through the Laozi; DH 56; S. 6825), an early Tianshi commentary on the Daode jing possibly composed by Zhang Lu (d. 215), the third Celestial Master, precept study and application had the potential to immunize one from moral transgression and sickness.
THE IMPORTANCE OF PRECEPT STUDY AND APPLICATION
Whenever human beings wish to undertake some action, they should first gauge it against the precepts of the Dao, considering it calmly to determine that the principles of their action do not contravene the Dao. Only then should they gradually pursue it, so that the way of life does not depart from them. (Bokenkamp 1997: 100)
Ethical reflection on and application of such conduct guidelines would ensure not only communal harmony, but also personal wellbeing. While one might be inclined to interpret this as a major departure from classical Daoist views, there is in fact some continuity. As examined above, Daoist cultivation, especially prior to Buddhist influences, has a psychosomatic dimension. Stated positively, strong Daoist adherence and deep practice would result in alignment with the Dao and manifest as personal wellbeing. Stated negatively, deficient practice, linked with immorality in the case of the early Tianshi community, would result in illness. Such psychosomatic perspectives also find a clear expression in later Yangsheng (“nourishing life”) practices (see Chapter 10).
Another major Daoist view related to the connection among virtue, health, and self-transformation emerged in internal alchemy (neidan), a type of physiological and energetic practice first systematized during the later Tang and early Song dynasties (see Chapters 7 and 11). Certain internal alchemy texts emphasize good health and good morals as “establishing the foundations” (zhuji ) for more advanced practices.
ETHICS AS FOUNDATIONAL DAOIST PRACTICE
“Perverse activities can diminish our lifespan and negatively impact our disposition and longevity in future incarnations … If we are fortunate, we will meet immortals who can help us lessen karmic retribution and guide our spirit into a different shell … If we cultivate ourselves while in a human form, we can become immortals … A being who is entirely yin with no yang is a ghost. A being who is entirely yang with no yin is an immortal. Humans are half yin and half yang. Thus they can become either ghosts or immortals.” (Chuandao ji, DZ 263,
14.1b–2a)
This passage suggests that human beings must refine themselves of negative characteristics and tendencies. From this perspective, alchemical transformation involves refining yin (negative) dimensions of self into their yang (positive) counterparts. With respect to ethics and “establishing the foundations,” it involves becoming completely virtuous.
Without a foundation of virtue and health, alchemical praxis is pointless. For example, aspiring adepts of Quanzhen Daoism were encouraged to develop a root in ethical reflection and application. Adherents committed themselves, first and foremost, to psychosomatic purification (see Komjathy 2007a). This included abandoning the Four Hindrances of alcohol, sex, greed, and anger; it involved sobriety, desirelessness, non-attachment, and inner serenity. In addition, drawing insights from Buddhist views of consciousness, early Quanzhen adepts attempted to cleanse themselves of the Three Poisons, Six Vexations, and Ten Deviances. The Three Poisons refer to anger, greed, and ignorance. The Six Vexations are covetousness, anger, ignorance, arrogance, doubt, and false views. The Ten Deviances are killing, stealing, sexual misconduct, lying, slander, coarse language, equivocating, coveting, anger, and false views. From a Quanzhen perspective, these are yin-qualities that distort one’s innate nature and hinder one’s alignment with the Dao. They are defilements of consciousness that must be transformed into their yangcounterparts. The alchemical endeavor, the process of becoming immortal and perfected, involves the movement from habituation to realization, from distortion to integration. For this, the cultivation and embodiment of virtue is one foundational dimension.
A similar perspective is expressed by Hsien Yuen (Xuan Yuan; b. ca. 1935), a Taiwanese immigrant Zhengyi priest and the head priest of the
American Taoist and Buddhist Association (ATBA; New York) (see Chapter 16 herein). In his The Taoism of the Sage Religion: Tan Ting Sitting Meditation, a text on Daoist internal alchemy, Hsien Yuen writes about “establishing a foundation” as the first step of a nine-stage process of alchemical transformation.
MERIT AND GOOD DEEDS
When studying, cultivating and practicing Tao through sitting meditation, the first step entails establishing a strong basis on which to build. Therefore, of primary importance is the need to fortify the Human Tao which includes loyalty, filial piety, [and] emulating the Heaven Tao by carrying out outer merits such as charity and contributions, doing good deeds, being patient, obeying discipline and regulations, sitting in pure and quiet meditation, non-emission of seminal essence, regulating diet, and controlling sleep and sexual desires. It is also necessary to limit labor activities as well as abandon illusions and desires in order to prepare for cultivating the Great Tao … If one does not cut off the five roots [desire for material possessions, sex, fame, good food and drink, and sleep] when cultivating Tao, it will be impossible to attain the Great Tao. (Hsien 1988, 31)
3] Types of ethical commitments
Daoist religious identity and affiliation involve various types of adherence, which include increasing degrees of commitment and responsibility. In all cases, however, virtue is key. Careful observation of human beings reveals high degrees of habituation, self-deception, and mass delusion that prevent them from realizing their innate virtue. Simply consider the ignorance of living conditions of animals in “feed-lots,” of workers in “sweat-shops,” and of individuals enslaved in the “sex-trade.” As the lessons of history and daily observation reveal, people can convince themselves of anything, even that the unethical is ethical.
Here a word is in order about the foundational Daoist values and concerns of “non-action” (wuwei ) and “suchness” (ziran) (see Chapter 5). There is much confusion about these terms, especially when interpreted as justification for some kind of laissez faire (“anything goes”) attitude, characterized by uninhibited personal fulfillment. Under this reading, wuwei and ziran contain implicit critiques of morality. However, from a Daoist perspective, the terms are intricately related: the practice of wuwei leads to a state of ziran. Wuwei is effortless activity, the practice of not doing anything extra or unnecessary; we may think of it in terms of conservation and non-attachment. In certain social and environmental contexts, it may be understood as “non-intervention” and “noninterference,” as letting be, as allowing space for existential freedom. Ziran (tzu-jan) is frequently translated as “self-so,” “naturalness,” or “spontaneity.” The latter two renderings are problematic if not interpreted contextually. Returning to or attaining the state of ziran, which is the Dao as such, presupposes four dimensions mentioned in Chapter 19 of the Daode jing: appearing plain, embracing simplicity, lessening personal interest, and decreasing desires. Ziran is not “going with the flow” in the sense of following one’s own selfish desires. Rather, it refers to an ontological condition beyond the limitations of egoistic identity. Ziran is best understood as “suchness,” or “being-so-of-itself,” to use a phrase from the
German philosopher Martin Heidegger (1889–1976). It is simultaneously one’s “natural” condition and the manifestation of the Dao through one’s being. However, too often wuwei is misunderstood as apathy or atrophy, while ziran is misunderstood as the reproduction of habituation. Within the Daoist tradition, there is actually much discussion of and different perspectives on the relationship between “fate” (ontological givenness) and freedom, or the capacity for independent action and the possibility and desirability of “perfection.” Wuwei involves allowing each being to unfold according to its own nature and connection with the Dao. It involves allowing space for ziran to appear. Applied to ethics, wuwei inspires one to stop doing everything that prevents one from being who one is and that inhibits other beings from expressing their innate condition with the Dao. Such a condition is characterized by virtue. For Daoists, it is possible to be “naturally ethical,” but that entails a corresponding transcendence of social conditioning, familial obligations, and personal habituation. It involves understanding the sources of desire. A lack of attentiveness to the condition of one’s core goodness also frequently results in acceptance of what should be rejected and rejection of what should be accepted.
Formal and fully systematized expressions of Daoist ethics center, first and foremost, on precepts (jie). On the most basic level, precepts relate to basic moral imperatives such as abstention from killing, and relate to internal judgment and awareness of what is right. These types of precepts are considered foundational and frequently occur across religious traditions and human cultures. Daoist precept texts also contain “prohibitions” (jin) and “taboos” (ji ). The former proscribe certain socially disruptive behaviors and focus on specific social actions and attitudes. Taboos have a cosmological dimension and center on space and time; they proscribe entering certain places or engaging in certain kinds of activities at defined times. The latter include abstaining from specific substances on taboo days or times. Refraining from eating eggs at the beginning of spring, the time of birth according to correlative cosmology (see Chapter 6 herein), is an example of a Daoist taboo. In addition to precepts, Daoist ethical guidelines and commitments include “admonitions” (quan), “injunctions” (ke; gui ), and “resolutions” (yuan). Admonitions are formulated as “should” and indicate a preferred course of action. Injunctions, also appearing as “dignified observances” (weiyi ) and “statutes” (lü), prescribe in detail how and when to perform a certain action. These types of ethical guidelines are framed as imperatives. In contrast, resolutions, also translatable as “vows” and appearing as “remembrances” (nian), are declarations of positive intent and personal guidelines for developing a cosmic attitude and mindset. Resolutions often include specific prayers, good wishes, as well as declarations of determination (Kohn 2004c: 2–6). Here it should also be mentioned that Daoist precept texts, especially those related to monastic life, developed under the influence of the Buddhist Vinaya (Monastic Codes), and many Daoist conduct manuals model themselves on earlier Buddhist texts.
4] Conduct guidelines
In terms of Daoism as an organized religious tradition, the earliest extant precepts originated in the early Tianshi community and derive from passages in the Daode jing and from the Xiang’er commentary on the text. Both sets of precepts are preserved in the Taishang laojun jinglü (Scriptural Statutes of the Great High Lord Lao; DZ 786), a sixth-century CE Tianshi anthology. The Nine Practices are translated in Chapter 5 herein, and they may be understood as effortlessness, flexibility, receptivity, anonymity, serenity, aptitude, non-attachment, contentment, and deference. For anyone familiar with the Daode jing, the genius of the distillation is clear, and these prescriptive precepts reveal strong connections between classical Daoism and early organized Daoism. The “Twenty-seven Xiang’er Precepts” are proscriptive in nature. They include such commitments as not wasting qi (2), not seeking merit or fame (5), not forgetting the methods of the Dao
(7), not killing or speaking of killing (9), not being petty or easily provoked (15), and so forth (see Bokenkamp 1997; Kohn 2004c; Komjathy 2008a, v.
5). These precepts appear to have been communal commitments in the early Tianshi movement, that is, the entire community, regardless of rank, attempted to live according to them.
After Buddhism became more widely accepted in the larger Chinese society, specifically from about the fourth century onward, Daoists increasingly adopted the five precepts as the core of Daoist ethics. The five precepts include not killing, not stealing, not lying, not taking intoxicants, and not committing sexual misconduct, which means psychological and physical celibacy for monastics.
THE FIVE “DAOIST” PRECEPTS
1. The precept to abstain from killing belongs to the east [andthe Wood phase]. It embodies the qi of receiving life and presides over growth and nourishment. People who kill will receive corresponding injury to the liver.
2. The precept to abstain from stealing belongs to the north[and the Water phase]. It embodies the essence of greater yin and presides over resting and storing. People who steal will receive corresponding injury to the kidneys.
3. The precept to abstain from sexual misconduct belongs tothe west [and the Metal phase]. It embodies the substance of lesser yin and presides over men and women being pure and resolute. People who engage in sexual misconduct will receive corresponding injury to the lungs.
4. The precept to abstain from intoxicants belongs to the southand the Fire phase. It embodies the qi of greater yang and presides over completion. People who consume intoxicants will receive corresponding injury to the heart.
5. The precept to abstain from lying belongs to the center andthe Earth phase. Its virtue is honesty. People who lie receive corresponding injury to the spleen. (Laojun jiejing, DZ 784,
14a–15a; adapted from Kohn 2004c: 147–8)
These precepts come from the Taishang laojun jiejing (Precept Scripture of the Great High Lord Lao; DZ 784), a sixth-century CE Northern Celestial Masters text associated with Louguan (Lookout Tower Monastery; Zhouzhi, Shaanxi). Here we find Daoists interpreting the basic ethical system of Buddhism through correlative cosmology, the Five Phase correspondences of Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, Water (see Chapter 6 herein), and through specifically Daoist concerns. In terms of traditional Chinese cosmology, which was part of a pre-modern, pan-Chinese worldview, the Five Phases have the following correspondences: humaneness (Wood), respect (Fire), honesty (Earth), righteousness (Metal), and wisdom (Water). According to the above precepts, and paralleling the previous discussion of Daoist psychosomatic views, failure to follow each precept will result in a discernable malady of the corresponding organ: killing will injure the liver, stealing the kidneys, sexual misconduct the lungs, intoxicant consumption the heart, and lying the spleen.
As we know that the early Tianshi community included married priests and a hierarchically organized community, and as we know that sixthcentury Louguan Daoism was a key source-point for the emergence of Daoist monasticism (see Chapters 2 and 4), it is noteworthy that the Nine Practices, Xiang’er Precepts, and Five Precepts from Louguan are intended for every member of the Tianshi community without distinction. There were thus core Daoist ethical commitments for priests, monastics, and laity alike. At the same time, we find various examples of ethical guidelines that only pertain to community members with deeper commitments and responsibilities, especially those who endeavor to be exemplars of core values and ideals. For example, the “One Hundred and Eighty Precepts of Lord Lao,” often simply discussed as the “180 Precepts,” is most likely a fourth-century CE Tianshi set of conduct guidelines that was intended for libationers, high-ranking members and leaders of the Tianshi community. It first appears in the above-mentioned Taishang laojun jinglü. The text divides into one hundred and forty prohibitions, which are followed by forty admonitions (see Hendrischke and Penny 1996; Kohn 2004c). The One Hundred and Eighty Precepts of Lord Lao is seminal in Daoist religious history, as many other community codes incorporate its guidelines. In addition to emphasizing basic ethical commitments like the Five Precepts, the One Hundred and Eighty Precepts express distinctive and important Daoist ethical commitments.
SELECTIONS FROM THE ONE HUNDRED AND EIGHTY PRECEPTS
8. Do not raise pigs or sheep.
10. Do not eat garlic or the five strong smelling vegetables.
15. Do not use gold and silver for eating utensils.
16. Do not pursue learning about military and state affairs ordivine their good and bad fortune.
17. Do not wantonly get intimate with soldiers or brigands.
20. Do not have frequent audiences with the emperor or highofficials nor wantonly get intimate with them.
21. Do not slight and despise your disciples or cause disorderby wrongly favoring one over another.
25. Do not accumulate material goods and despise the orphaned and poor.
26. Do not eat alone.
28. Do not seek knowledge about other people’s marriages.
31. Do not speak about other people’s faults or conjecture onand presume a hundred different issues.
32. Do not speak about other people’s hidden and private affairs.
34. Do not praise other people to their face yet in a different place discuss their faults.
37. Do not be alone with your clan leader to cultivate personal closeness.
43. Do not distribute writings that slander others.
44. Do not claim to be skilled.
45. Do not claim to be noble.
46. Do not take pride in yourself.
48. Do not slander, yell at or curse anyone.
54. Do not discuss or criticize your teachers.
56. Do not slight and despise the teaching of the scriptures.
60. Do not rely on awe and power for advancement.
68. Do not cast spells so that other people die or suffer defeat.
69. Do not delight in other people’s death or defeat.
71. Do not stare at people.
75. Do not act as a tax inspector for ordinary people.
78. Do not practice astrology, star divination, or analyze the cycles of heaven.
81. Do not view any of your disciples in a partial or one-sided way. Note: View them as your own children.
85. Do not denigrate others’ accomplishments and merits andspeak only of your own virtue.
86. Do not select the best accommodation or room and mostcomfortable bed to sleep.
92. Do not use your connections with district officials to harm other people.
111. Do not talk too much and exert your mouth and tongue.
115. Do not make friends with soldiers.
118. Do not sacrifice to the ghosts and spirits in search of goodfortune.
119. Do not set up numerous prohibitions and avoidances forothers.
120. Do not set up numerous prohibitions and avoidances foryourself.
(Laojun jinglü, DZ 786, 1b–2a)
The One Hundred and Eighty Precepts express traditional Daoist values such as being deferential, avoiding fame and unnecessary political connections, practicing purity of speech and activity, and maintaining reverence for Daoist scriptures, teachers, and elders. There are also specific activities and professions that should be avoided. One is advised to avoid becoming an astrologer (78), butcher (4, 39, 40, 172, 173), doctor (125, 135), fortune-teller (16, 78), lawyer (127), lender (123), psychic (78), realtor (123), soldier (4, 16, 17, 40, 42, 115), “stock” breeder (animal husbandry; 8), or tax-collector (75). In general, the One Hundred and Eighty Precepts emphasize maintaining some degree of neutrality and a sense of communal welfare.
Precepts 119 and 120 are especially fascinating, as they suggest a deep understanding of the contributions and limitations of precept study and application. Rather than helping to cultivate virtue, precepts may become a further source of disorientation, especially if they are simply understood as mandated rules demanding conformity. Read on a deeper level, one might hear echoes of earlier Daoist views that undermine statements which may be interpreted in absolutist ways. As in the case of precepts 119 and 120, these are often expressed through the use of contradiction and paradox. For example, in Chapter 13 of the Zhuangzi, Wheelwright Pian comments on the “words of the sages”: “What you are reading is nothing but the chaff and dregs of people of antiquity.” In addition to locating such statements in their proper context, specifically as insights into the connection between theory and practice, a deeper reading reveals that the Zhuangzi itself would be “chaff and dregs.” However, one must read the Zhuangzi in order to learn this lesson. There is some profound relationship among contemplative reading, scripture study, philosophical reflection, and practical application (see Chapter 12). In a parallel manner, one must study the One Hundred and Eighty Precepts, at least through precepts 119 and 120, in order to encounter a precept about the danger of excessive precept study. One must engage in actual precept-based ethical reflection and practice in order to understand the paradox: precept study and application both supports and undermines ethics. It may help to establish an ethical orientation, or it may become a substitute for ethical embodiment.
The Ming-dynasty Daoist Canon as well as extra-canonical collections also contain precept texts only intended for ordained priests and monastics. For such community members, there are higher levels of involvement and degrees of adherence, with corresponding ethical commitments and responsibilities. More often than not, these assume proficiency or mastery of more foundational ethical adherence, adherence that should characterize the lives of lay Daoists. For example, the Ten Precepts of Initial Perfection, which are the first-level precepts for Longmen initiates, both monastic and lay, begin by emphasizing that adepts should be familiar and proficient with the five foundational precepts and the Taishang ganying pian (Treatise on Response and Retribution of the Great High [Lord Lao]; DZ 1167) before focusing on the Ten Precepts of Initial Perfection. In addition, many of the extant texts discuss ethical commitments according to specific ordination ranks and their corresponding precepts. A representative example is the late imperial Longmen ordination system (see Chapters 3 and 4). According to this system, there are three ranks with corresponding precept texts: (1) Initial Perfection and the Chuzhen jie (Precepts of Initial Perfection; JY 292; ZW 404), (2) Medium Ultimate and the Zhongji jie (Precepts of Medium Ultimate; JY 293; ZW 405), and (3) Celestial Immortality and Tianxian jie (Precepts of Celestial Immortality; JY 291; ZW 403). One practices each in sequence, and bestowal of the subsequent monastic rank requires proficiency in the former. The first rank centers on the Ten Precepts of Initial Perfection.
TEN PRECEPTS OF INITIAL PERFECTION
1. Do not be disloyal, unfilial, inhumane or dishonest. Alwaysexhaust your allegiance to your lord and family, and be sincere when relating to the myriad beings.
2. Do not secretly steal things, harbor hidden plots, or harmother beings in order to profit yourself. Always practice hidden virtue and widely aid the host of living beings.
3. Do not kill or harm anything that lives in order to satisfyyour own appetites. Always act with compassion and kindness to all, even insects and worms.
4. Do not be debased or deviant, squander your perfection, ordefile your numinous qi. Always guard perfection and integrity, and remain without deficiencies or transgressions.
5. Do not ruin others to create gain for yourself or leave yourown flesh and bones. Always use the Dao to help other beings and make sure that the nine clan members all live in harmony.
6. Do not slander or defame the worthy and good or exhibityour talents and elevate yourself. Always praise the beauty and goodness of others and never be contentious about your own accomplishments and abilities.
7. Do not drink alcohol or eat meat in violation of the prohibitions. Always harmonize qi and innate nature, remaining attentive to clarity and emptiness.
8. Do not be greedy and acquisitive without ever being satisfiedor accumulate wealth without giving some away. Always practice moderation in all things and show kindness and sympathy to the poor and destitute.
9. Do not have any relations or exchange with the unworthy orlive among the confused and defiled. Always strive to control yourself, becoming perched and composed in clarity and emptiness.
10. Do not speak or laugh lightly or carelessly, increasing agitation and denigrating perfection. Always maintain seriousness and speak humble words, so that the Dao and inner power remain your primary concern. (Chuzhen jie, ZW 404, 9b–10a)
The second Longmen ordination rank focuses on the Three Hundred
Precepts of Medium Ultimate. Rather than containing precepts per se, the Tianxian jie, corresponding to the third and highest Longmen ordination rank, provides general encouragement for developing certain ethical qualities. These might be best understood as resolutions to cultivate the Ten Virtues of Celestial Immortality, namely, wisdom, compassion, forbearance, meritorious activity, mind-cultivation, positive karma, strong determination, self-concealment, removal of passions, and universal mind. By applying and embodying these virtues, the adept also engages in the Twenty-seven Virtuous Activities of Celestial Immortality, such as avoidance of verbal transgressions, sensory engagement, psychological impurity, deviant thinking, and so forth (see Kohn 2004c; Komjathy forthcoming).
Interestingly, Daoist conduct guidelines also address the totality of Daoist religious life. Traditionally, this would include living in community, place, and often temples and monasteries (see Chapters 4 and 14). It would include various physical and material dimensions. For instance, the seventhcentury Fashi jinjie jing (Prohibitions and Precepts Regarding Ceremonial Food; DH 80) contains thirty-eight rules related to ritual observances at meals. The eighth-century Fafu kejie wen (Rules and Precepts Regarding Ritual Vestments) contains forty-six rules on the proper treatment of vestments (see Kohn 2003a, 2004b, 2004c), which were also incorporated into the seventeenth-century Chuzhen jie (see Chapter 15 herein). Perhaps most importantly, some precepts emphasize the importance of community and attentiveness to place. Returning to the above-mentioned One Hundred and Eighty Precepts from the early medieval Tianshi community, individuals are encouraged to consider the consequences of their activities and adopt corresponding ethical commitments and practices.
DAOIST ATTENTIVENESS TO PLACE AND CONSERVATIONIST ETHICS
4. Do not harm or kill any being.
7. Do not throw food into fires.
14. Do not burn fields, wild lands, mountains, or forests.
18. Do not wantonly cut down trees.
19. Do not wantonly pick herbs or flowers.
36. Do not throw poisonous substances into wells, ponds, rivers, or the ocean.
47. Do not wantonly dig holes in the earth and thereby destroy mountains and rivers.
49. Do not step on or kick the six domestic animals.
53. Do not drain waterways or marshes.
77. Do not landscape mountains, erect graves, or build houses for others.
79. Do not fish or hunt and thereby harm and kill the host of living beings.
82. Do not take away other people’s night fires.
95. Do not, during winter, dig up insects hibernating in the earth.
97. Do not wantonly climb trees to plunder nests and destroybirds’ eggs.
98. Do not catch birds or animals in cages or nets.
100. Do not throw anything filthy or defiled into public wells.
101. Do not block up ponds or wells.
109. Do not light fires on the plains.
121. Do not wantonly or lightly enter rivers or the ocean to take a bath.
132. Do not startle birds and beasts.
134. Do not wantonly open up dammed in lakes. (Laojun jinglü, DZ 786, 1b–2a)
Kristofer Schipper (2001) has brought attention to the “ecological dimensions” of these precepts, and one might justifiably think of them in terms of “environmental ethics.” They originate in a community rooted in place (see Chapters 4 and 14), individuals committed to preserving its beauty and ensuring its wellbeing. Here the foundational Daoist value of conservation (see Chapter 5), usually understood as pertaining to inner cultivation and non-dissipation of one’s core vitality, is expressed as a sense of place. Daoist adepts who embrace the prescribed conservationist ethic endeavor to support the flourishing of birds, animals, forests, and waterways. They are an applied, grass-roots ethics, a form of ecological engagement that is informed by and remembers a place-specific community. They express the Daoist tendency towards biocentrism, organicism, and bioregionalism over anthropocentrism: humans are participants and members of an ecological community, a community characterized by diversity embodying the Dao’s transformative process.
FURTHER READING
Hendrischke, Barbara, and Benjamin Penny. 1996. “The 180 Precepts Spoken by Lord Lao: A Translation and Textual Study.” Taoist Resources 6.2: 17–29.
Kleeman, Terry. 1991. “Taoist Ethics.” In A Bibliographic Guide to
Comparative Ethics, edited by John Carman and Mark Juergensmeyer, 162–94. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Kohn, Livia. 2004. Cosmos and Community: The Ethical Dimension of Daoism. Cambridge, MA: Three Pines Press.
Komjathy, Louis. 2008. Handbooks for Daoist Practice. 10 vols. Hong Kong: Yuen Yuen Institute.
Komjathy, Louis, and Kate Townsend. 2010. Daoist Precept Manual. San Diego, CA: Wandering Cloud Press.
Liu Ming (Charles Belyea). 1998. The Blue Book: A Text Concerning Orthodox Daoist Conduct. 3rd edn. Santa Cruz, CA: Orthodox Daoism in America.
Nietzsche, Friedrich. 1967 (1887). On the Genealogy of Morals. Translated by Walter Kaufmann and R. J. Hollingdale. New York: Vintage Books.
Penny, Benjamin. 1996. “Buddhism and Daoism in ‘The 180 Precepts Spoken by Lord Lao’.” Taoist Resources 6.2: 1–16.
Schipper, Kristofer. 2001. “Daoist Ecology: The Inner Transformation. A Study of the Precepts of the Early Daoist Ecclesia.” In Daoism and Ecology, edited by Norman Girardot et al., 79–94. Cambridge, MA:
Center for the Study of World Religions, Harvard University.
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