Sages internally cultivate the root [of the Way within them]
and do not externally adorn themselves with its branches.
They protect their Quintessential Spirit
and dispense with wisdom and precedent.
In stillness they take no deliberate action, yet there is nothing left undone.
In tranquility they do not try to govern, but nothing is left ungoverned.
What we call “no deliberate action” is to not anticipate the activity of things.
What we call “nothing left undone” means to adapt to what things have [already] done.
What we call “to not govern” means to not change how things are naturally so.
What we call “nothing left ungoverned” means to adapt to how things are mutually so.60
This is a perfect expression for a government of nonaction and hence the application of classical Daoist meditation to politics. During the long later history of Daoism, this interesting combination led to several major political upheavals in which charismatic Daoist adept-politicians led rebellions against the central government. The most famous of these was the Yellow Turban Revolt, which was crushed by the Hàn dynasty central government in 184 CE, but which required such a large expenditure of capital and blood that it hastened the demise of this mighty dynasty, the longest-lasting one in all of Chinese history.61
Notes
1. For a synthetic overview of this research, see Roth, Original Tao, 173–203. “Techniques of the Mind” is the title of two short texts in the seventy-six-text Guǎnzǐ compendium. Together with “Inward Training” and “The Purified Mind,” they constitute a group that in modern scholarship is referred to as the four “Techniques of Mind” works. The relevant chapters of the Lǚshì chūnqiū are 3, 5, 17, and 25.
2. Lewis, Writing and Authority, 5.
3. See, for example, Csíkszentmihályi, “Mysticism and Apophatic Discourse,” 33–58.
4. These categories are initially presented in Roth, “Who Compiled the Chuang Tzu?,” 78–128.
5. For an analysis of early archaeological and textual evidence to this tradition of contemplative movement for health and macrobiotic hygiene, see Lǐ, Zhōngguó fāngshù kǎo, 346–354.
6. Zhuāngzǐ, 15/41/19–24; translation adapted from Graham, Chuang Tzu, 265. Unless otherwise noted, all textual references are to the editions in the Chinese University of Hong Kong Institute of Chinese Studies Ancient Chinese Texts Concordance Series, D. C. Lau and and Chen Fong Ching, series editors. Their edition of the Zhuāngzǐ was published in 2000. They are in the format: chapter (+ section where relevant) of original text/page (in this edition) / line (in this edition).
7. The term “apophatic” is an adjective that is often used in Christian mystical contexts, where it refers to approaching the Divine through a via negativa of self-negation and using negative metaphors. I use it here to refer to the variety of practices in which the contents of the self are systematically emptied out until only an awareness of the Way remains. This is a common trope throughout classical Daoist texts.
8. Zhuāngzǐ, 6/19/20–21. From Graham, Chuang Tzu, 92 (modified).
9. Roth, Original Tao, 66–67, 60–61, 72–73, 82–83, 92–93.
10. Verse 11. Roth, Original Tao, 66; SBCK, 16/2b6–8. References to the original Chinese text for all Guǎnzǐ passages are to the edition in the massive collection the Sìbùcóngkān (SBCK), published in 1920 by the Commercial Press in Shanghai. The editors attempted to collect the oldest and rarest extant editions of all works published therein and then reproduced them by photolithography. This is the best of the many collectanea in which the “Great Books” of Chinese culture were published together in one comprehensive edition.
11. Verse 19. Roth, Original Tao, 82–83; SBCK, 16/4a2–7.
12. Roth Original Tao, 82–83; SBCK, 16/4a2–7.
13. Zhuāngzǐ, 4/10/1–3.
14. Ibid., 6/16/2.
15. For details, see Kohn, “Shouyi,” 902–903.
16. Verse 17. Roth, Original Tao, 78; SBCK, 16/3b6–8.
17. Harper, Early Chinese Medical Literature, 394–396.
18. Harper, “Spellbinding,” 247. I wish to thank Professor Harper for this and the previous reference.
19. See, for example, Zhuāngzǐ, 9/23/29, 12/29/16, 20/53/24+25, 23/65/6, and 25/76/17.
20. Roth, Original Tao, 94; SBCK, 16/5a4–5.
21. For example, Zhuāngzǐ, 5/15/22–24.
22. Roth, Original Tao, 60 (verse 8); SBCK, 16/2b/1.
23. Zhuāngzǐ, 6/19/21, 10/25/13, 11/27/13, 11/27/26, 15/41/27.
24. Ibid., 6/18/28 and 6/19/21.
25. Such phrases are widespread in early “Inner Cultivation” texts. See, for example Lǚshì chūnqiū, 3.4/15/1, 25.3/162/19–23; Zhuāngzǐ, 15/41/27, 23; and my analysis in Roth, “Evidence.”
26. Guǎnzǐ, 13.1/95/29l; Lǎozǐ, chapter 10; Zhuāngzǐ, 5/13/18, 27.
27. See, for example, Cahn and Polich, “Meditation States and Traits.”
28. Roth, Original Tao, 94; SBCK, 16/5a1–3.
29. See, for example, Zhuāngzǐ, 11/27/24; 13/34/16, 18, 19, 22; 15/42; and 23/67/11.
30. “Inward Training,” 24.
31. Ibid., 3.
32. See, in order, Zhuāngzǐ, 5/15/6, 6/17/16, and 13/34/16+15/41/24.
33. Ibid., 4/10/2.
34. Ibid., 15/41/24.
35. Ibid., 6/19/21.
36. Ibid., 2/5/1.
37. Lǚshì chūnqiū, 3.4/15/1, 25.3/162/19–23; Zhuāngzǐ, 23/67/8–11.
38. Guǎnzǐ, 13/96/24.
39. Roth, Original Tao, 54–55; SBCK, 16/1b10–11.
40. See “Inward Training,” verses 9 and 24; Lǎozǐ chapters 5, 10, 14, 22, 32, and 52. For details, see Roth, Original Tao, 147–150.
41. For the former, see Lǎozǐ chapters 1, 20, and 52; for the latter, see Lǎozǐ chapters 4 and 70; and Zhuāngzǐ, 5/13/13, 7/21/15, 13/35/17, 21/57/26, 22/61/20, and 33/97/15.
42. Roth, Original Tao, 56; SBCK, 16/2a2–4.
43. See Roth, “Psychology and Self-Cultivation.”
44. Roth, “Evidence,” 295–314.
45. Slingerlands, Effortless Action, 124–125. In this insightful work, Slingerlands applies the “metaphor theory” of George Lakoff and Mark Johnson to this key idea in early Chinese thought.
46. Guǎnzǐ, 13.1/96/12–14.
47. Ibid., 13.1/97/23–24.
48. Roth, Original Tao, 66–67; SBCK, 2b6–8.
49. Roth, Original Tao, 76–77; SBCK, 16/3b1–5.
50. Lǎozǐ chapters 3, 36, 55, and 76.
52. Ibid., 19/52/7–8.
53. Graham, Chuang Tzu, 33 ff.
54. Paraphrased from Zhuāngzǐ, 9/23/27.
55. In an earlier work, I have presented evidence for a remarkable consistency across texts as early as the Huáng Lǎo bóshū (ca. 300 BCE) and as late as the Huáinánzǐ (139 BCE) in terms used for stages of meditation. See Roth, “Evidence.”
56. Scheid, Currents of Tradition, 9.
57. Ibid.
58. Guǎnzǐ, 13.1/96/14; Zhuāngzǐ, 13/34/22 and 33/98/1.
59. Huáinánzǐ 9/67/3–6. Major et al., Huainanzi, 295–296.
60. Huáinánzǐ 1/4/22–23; Major et al., Huainanzi, 59.
61. For a short summary, see Benjamin Penny, “Yellow Turbans.”
Glossary
ān 安
bǎo 保
bào 抱
chú 除
chū cōng míng 出聰明
dàn 淡
Dào 道
Dào jí xū 道集虛
Dào tōng wéi yī 道通為一
dǎoyǐn tú 導引圖
dé 德
dé xū Dào 得虛道
dí chú xuánjiàn 滌去玄覽
Dīng 丁
dìngxīn 定心
duò zhī tǐ 墮支體
duōzhī wéibài 多知為敗
fǎn zōng 反宗
gǎn ér h�
�u yìng 感而后應
gǎnyìng 感應
gōng 公
gù 故
gù 固
Guǎng Chéngzǐ 廣成子
Guǎnzǐ 管子
guǎyù 寡欲
Hàn 漢
Huáinánzǐ 淮南子
Huáng Lǎo bóshū 黃老帛書
Huìshī 惠施
Húnán 湖南
Húzǐ 壺子
jì 寂
jiàn yú dà qīng 鑑於大清
jiàn zhī bú huò 見知不惑
jiě xīn miù 解心繆 (or 謬)
jiéyù 節欲
jì mò 寂漠
jīng 精
jìng 靜
jìng chú jīng shè 敬除精舍
jìng ér shèng, dòng ér wáng 靜而聖， 動而王
Jīngfǎ 經法
jìng yīn zhī Dào 靜因之道
jìng yù 靜慾
juéshèng qìzhì 絕聖棄知
jūnzǐ 君子
kuān qì ér guǎng 寬氣而廣
Lái 來
Lǎozǐ 老子
lǐ 理
líxíng 離形
líxíng qūzhī 離形屈知
Lǚshì chūnqiū 呂氏春秋
Mǎwángduī 馬王堆
mò 漠
móu 謀
Mòzǐ 墨子
mǔ 母
nèi shèng wài wáng 內聖外王
Nèiyè 內業
“Néng zhuān hū? Néng yī hū?” 能專乎？ 能一乎？
níng 寧
Péng 彭
píng 平
pú 樸
qì 氣
qì 棄
qí 齊
qiǎo 巧
qì dǎo 氣導
qì lǐ 氣理
qìzhī 棄知
qù 去
qūzhī 屈知
qùzhī 去知
qù zhī yǔ gù 去知與故
rén zhī qíng 人之情
rìsǔn 日損
róu 柔
ruò 弱
rú shén 如神
sāiqíduì bìqímén 塞其兌閉其門
sǎo chú shénshè 掃除神舍
shén 神
shèngrén 聖人
shì 釋
Shíwèn 十問
shǒu 守
shǒuyī 守一
shǒuyī ér qì wànkē 守一而棄萬苛
shǒuzhōng 守中
shǒu zōng 守宗
Shū 疏
Shuìhǔdì 睡虎地
Sìbùcóngkān 四部叢刊
Sīmǎ Tán 司馬談
sù 素
Tàiyī 太一
tián 恬
tián dàn 恬淡
tóng yú dàtōng 同於大通
Wáng Tái 王駘
wàng wú yǒu sìzhī xíngtǐ 忘吾有四枝形體
wúbùwéi 無不為
wúsī 無私
wúwéi 無為
wúwéi ér wúbùwéi 無為而無不為
wúxíng 無形
wǔxíng 五行
wúyù 無欲
xíng’ān ér bùyí 形安而不移
Xīnshù 心術
Xīnshù shàng, xià 心術; 上， 下
xīnzhāi 心齋
Xīshī 西施
xū 虛
xuántóng 玄同
xúnlǐ 循理
yǎngshén 養神
yǎngshēng 養生
yǎngxíng 養形
yǎngxìng 養性
Yánhuí 顏回
yīn 因
yīnshì 因是
yí qí ěrmù 遺其耳目
yí shì rén jiē wú qì yǐ xí 一室人皆毋氣以息
zhèng sìtǐ 正四體
zhèng-xíng 正形
zhēnrén 真人
zhī 知
zhí 執
zhì 智
zhǐ Dào 止道
zhì jīng 至精
zhìxīn 治心
zhì xū jí, shǒu jìng dū 致虛極， 守靜督
zhíyī 執一
Zhuāngzǐ 莊子
zhuān qì 專氣
Zhǔshù 主術
Zǐgòng 子貢
zìrán 自然
zōng 宗
zuòwàng 坐忘
Bibliography
Cahn, B. Rael, and John Polich. “Meditation States and Traits: EEG, ERP, and Neuroimaging Studies.” Psychological Bulletin 132, no. 2 (2006): 180–211.
Csíkszentmihályi, Mark. “Mysticism and Apophatic Discourse in the Laozi.” In Essays on Religious and Philosophical Aspects of the Laozi, edited by P. J. Ivanhoe and Mark Csíkszentmihályi, 33–58. New York: SUNY Press, 1999.
Graham, A. C. Chuang Tzu: The Inner Chapters. London: Allen and Unwin, 1981.
Harper, Donald J. “Spellbinding.” In The Religions of China in Practice, edited by Donald Lopez and Stephen Teiser, 241–250. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1996.
Harper, Donald J., Early Chinese Medical Literature: The Mawangdui Medical Manuscript. London: Kegan Paul, 1998.
Kohn, Livia. “Shouyi: Guarding the One; Maintaining Oneness.” In The Encyclopedia of Taoism, edited by Fabrizio Pregadio, 902–903. Oxford: Routledge, 2008.
Lewis, Mark Edward. Writing and Authority in Early China. Albany, NY: SUNY Press, 1999.
Lǐ, Líng 李零. Zhōngguó fāngshù kǎo 中國方術考. Beijing: Rénmín Zhōngguó chūbǎnshè, 1993.
Major, John S., Sarah Queen, Andrew S. Meyer, and Harold D. Roth. The Huainanzi: A Guide to the Theory and Practice of Government in Early Han China. New York: Columbia University Press, 2010.
Penny, Benjamin. “Yellow Turbans.” In The Encyclopedia of Taoism, edited by Fabrizio Pregadio, 1156–1157. Oxford: Routledge, 2008.
Roth, Harold D. “Evidence for Stages of Meditation in Early Taoism.” Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies 60, no. 2 (1997): 295–314.
———. Original Tao: Inward Training and the Foundations of Taoist Mysticism. New York: Columbia University Press, 1999.
———. “Psychology and Self-Cultivation in Early Taoistic Thought.” Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies 51, no. 2 (1991): 599–650.
———. “Who Compiled the Chuang Tzu?” In Chinese Texts and Philosophical Contexts: Essays Dedicated to Angus C. Graham, edited by Henry Rosemont, Jr., 79–128. LaSalle, IL: Open Court Press, 1991.
Scheid, Volker. Currents of Tradition in Chinese Medicine, 1626–2006. Seattle: Eastland Press, 2007.
Slingerland, Edward. Effortless Action: Wu-Wei as Conceptual Metaphor and Spiritual Ideal in Early China. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2003.
11 MASAYA MABUCHI
“Quiet Sitting” in Neo-Confucianism
In the Neo-Confucianism of the eleventh-through seventeenth-century China, Confucian scholars used the term jìngzuò, or “quiet sitting,” for “meditation.”1 Many of them practiced quiet sitting. They believed that, according to the philosophical framework of contemporary Confucianism, the unique psychological changes obtained through quiet sitting were a meaningful and effective means of grasping the perfect “original nature” (běnxìng) that was inherent in each individual from birth. Needless to say, Confucians of this period did not depend solely on quiet sitting to grasp the “original nature” that was believed to inhere in one’s mind. However, the experience of the psychological transformations induced by quiet sitting was continuously adopted as an effective way of bringing individuals closer to their “nature.”
At the same time, there was an inherent danger in the psychological transformation produced by quiet sitting: it could undermine the absoluteness of the teachings of the Confucian classics, or the Confucian social norms centering on kinship relationships, which constituted the Golden Rule of Confucian philosophy. That is, the search for an “original nature” that could not be explained by Confucian discourses could lead to a relativization of the abstract p
rinciples and concrete moral norms of the Confucian classics. At times, it was even said that Buddhist or Daoist scriptures described man’s “original nature” more explicitly than Confucian classics. Additionally, absorption in quiet sitting could reduce the social motivation of Confucian scholars, who were expected to fulfill certain roles in society.
For this reason, while Confucian scholars were aware of the effectiveness of quiet sitting, they were also cautious. Among these figures were Zhū Xī (1130–1200), a great master of the school of principle, and Wáng Shǒurén (1472–1528), founder of the famous Yángmíng school of mind, both of whom warned against the dangers of quiet sitting. Caution toward these dangers became even stronger during the Qīng dynasty (1644–1911), when the fundamental framework of Neo-Confucianism was relativized with respect to other schools of thought. However, while in the early period the methods for quiet sitting were never clearly explained, during the late Míng dynasty (late sixteenty century– early seventeenth century), Confucian scholars began to provide simplified manuals on quiet sitting. This is a phenomenon worth paying attention to, as it marks an important watershed in the history of Confucian quiet sitting. This chapter largely confirms, by way of a general discussion, the ambivalent relation between quiet sitting and Neo-Confucianism.2
Psychological Transformations Brought about by Quiet Sitting
Chinese Confucian scholars of this period did practice quiet sitting, and this did bring about certain unique psychological changes in their state of mind. Concerning such changes, professor Chén Lái has collected a number of examples from the perspective of “mystical experience,” including experiences obtained both by quiet sitting and by other methods.3 Here, I will quote some of the best-known examples of quiet sitting in order to explore the psychological transformations that it brought about.
From the southern Sòng dynasty (1127–1279), we must first discuss Zhān Fùmín, a disciple of Lù Jiǔyuān (1139–1192), a prominent master of the school of mind in the Southern Sòng. In the Analects of Lù Jiǔyuān, we find a paragraph written by Zhān. In this paragraph, Zhān speaks about his practice of “quietly sitting with eyes closed while consciously arousing one’s awareness.” He continued this practice for half a month. Then suddenly one day, when he was climbing down the stairs of a pavilion, he felt the true nature of his mind rising up with total clarity. Hearing this, Lù Jiǔyuān said, “The universal principle [lǐ] has manifested itself.”4 Later, in the fourteenth century, a similar episode is recorded by Zhào Xié (?–1365), who is said to have attained some level of enlightenment after reading a text written by Yáng Jiǎn (1141–1225), a famous disciple of Lù Jiǔyuān. In this episode, Zhào talked about his disciple, Lǐ Kědào. During the daytime, Lǐ was able to see the state of his mind being clear and free of any thoughts by quietly sitting and observing his inner self. However, at night, or when he closed his eyes, Lǐ could not help separating his subjective from his objective existence. Then one evening he suddenly experienced frogs’ voices echoing into eternity in his eyes. After this unique experience, he was able to experience a state of continuous clear emptiness in his mind.5