for an elite few. All that one needed to do, in the words of Chuangtzu, was to learn to "sit in forgetfulness" and "fast in the heart," that is, abstain from judgment in the mind and selfishness in the heart, to learn healing. Fasting in the judgmental mind and a selfless heart brought health to the body and to the society around the practicing Taoist. Members of the village community were taught this simple healing system. The visualization of healing colors and the prayer of emptying ("heart fasting" and "sitting in forgetfulness") taught in chapters 3 and 4 are used as means to assist the layperson as well as the Taoist to live a long life of peace, happiness, and good health. They are useful in promoting wholeness, mental and physical well-being, and long life for those who come to the Taoist for healing.
THE GOLD PAVILION CLASSIC
The Gold Pavilion classic has as its focus the Gold Pavilion, the "void space" above the kidneys at the body's center of gravity. The text itself has two parts. One, called the "Outer Chapters," (Huang-t'ing Wai-ch'ing) teaches a way of emptying meditation. The other, called the "Inner Chapters," (Huangt'ing Nei-ch'ing) adds a list of spirits' names to be sent forth from the Taoist's body as a prelude to contemplating the Tao. Only the meditations (Outer Chapters) of the Gold Pavilion classic are presented in chapter 4.
This translation is based on a commentary originating from the Taoist Shangqing (Shang-ch'ing) tradition, a text given to the beginner by a Taoist master. The cryptic meaning can be translated only by using a commentary, called a mijue (michüeh) manual.17 The text can be translated on a word-for-word basis in three distinct ways: For the purely physical meaning; as a description of the circulation of qi breath and color in the internal alchemy tradition; and as a meditation of apophasis (emptying) in the "heart fasting" and "sitting in forgetfulness" tradition of Chuang-tzu described in chapter 2. Following the Shangqing Highest Pure tradition attributed to Lady Wei Huacun, the translation presented here in all cases follows the apophatic or emptying tradition. It is from this last way that the Taoist method of peace, healing, and long life is mastered.
| CHAPTER TWO INTERIOR PEACE |
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The writings of the ancient Taoist masters tell us that healing must begin from within the self. When the mind, heart, and body work as one harmonious unit in tune with nature, a new inner peace emerges. The mind is no longer ruffled by the criticism or praise of changeable human associates. This new self is not worried by blame, avoids praise, makes no negative or harmful judgments, in fact avoids making any judgment at all. The rules for this kind of life filled with Taoist harmony are found in the books of Lao-tzu and Chuang-tzu.
The book of Lao-tzu, the Tao-te Ching is a brief eighty-one paragraphs. When a novice approaches a Taoist master to become his or her disciple, the master insists on three things: read and practice the book of Lao-tzu; take the vows or promises of the Taoist way of life; and reject any fame, glory, or wealth accruing from the way of self-cultivation that the master teaches.
These three rules may at first seem excessive. Without understanding the Tao-te Ching, one cannot follow the way of emptying meditation. Without practicing the Taoist way of life, self-healing is impossible. The simplicity and selflessness of the Taoist way of life preclude accepting any recompense for healing. The master warns the disciple that wisdom cannot be purchased, as can a work of art or an education. To demand a price for healing is to turn a profit on illness. To do this would make the healer ill and his or her wisdom no longer priceless. No matter how simple the rules may seem, the Taoist novice must prove that he or she observes them before learning from the master.
The very first phrases of the Tao-te Ching state that the transcendent, eternal Tao cannot be spoken about. "The Tao that is spoken is not the eternal Tao." if one calls it wu, nonbeing or transcendent being, then the role of Tao as gestating heaven and earth is named. If one calls it yu, holding on or pregnant, then Tao is seen as a mother giving birth to nature. Therefore, if one would know the ultimate, transcendent Tao from within, one must let go, wu, be entirely empty. If one looks outward contemplating the yu, infinite variety of things in the universe, one can see "mother" Tao nourishing the greatest and smallest things of nature.
Any judgment, that is, the joining of a noun or concept with a verb, is relative. To say "He is short" is a judgment. A person is only relatively tall or short, a work relatively hard or easy, the Tao wu (transcendent) or yu (immanent). "A speaker needs a listener," "Before has an after," "What goes up must come down," are examples of relative judgments. One should try instead not to make any judgment. Meditation is best that does not put a verb to a noun. When judgment is suspended, then one suddenly becomes finely tuned to the workings of Tao in nature. Beginning with this state of suspended judgment, one begins to learn Taoist healing meditation. This meditation is not done through the mind's knowing or by the heart's willing but in the belly's power of intuition and direct awareness of a transcendent presence.
I use the word transcendent here not in the connotation that many Western sinologists assign the word, but simply as a convenient way to avoid using the cliche "nonact" or "nonbeing," since, in the true Taoist use of the word, the Tao of wuwei "gives birth" to taiji, yang, yin, and the myriad-creatures. This manner of act is called transcendent, rather than nonact, in these pages.
The Taoist way of contemplating is described in the texts of the Lao-tzu and Chuang-tzu summarized below. Its goal is to achieve a peaceful and tranquil mode of existence both when contemplating Tao's presence and when living an ordinary daily life.
LAO-TZU ON HEALING
MEDITATING ON NATURE
Nature does not "hold on" like humans do to possessions or judgments. Nature makes no judgments. It gives birth and lets go, does its work and moves on. When we sit in quiet contemplation and suspend judgment, we see Tao working in nature, the Taoist master teaches. We begin to understand how to contemplate, to look without making judgment. When we cease to make judgments, time passes quickly. An hour seems like less than a minute. The person who stops making negative judgments does not grow old mentally, and sees much more deeply into the world of the inner self and into the outer world of nature.
MEDITATING ON EMPTINESS
The person who becomes adept at not passing judgment soon becomes very peaceful. There is no need to flatter the powerful, pander to the wealthy, or lust after beauty in things or people. Inner peace of heart is more precious than all these external things. People with power, wealth, and beauty come to the Taoist to be healed of their inner cares and turmoil. The Taoist master teaches from chapter 3 of the Tao-te Ching that it is more important to:
Empty the heart-mind, fill the belly,
Weaken selfishness, strengthen the bones,
Let go, Tao will rule!
The Tao that breathes life and beauty into nature is like a bowl filled with good things that are never used up. These good things of nature sprout in spring, ripen in summer, are harvested in fall, and "die" in winter, a cycle repeated annually in nature. Morning's dawn, noonday heat, evening's sunset, night's rest are a smaller version of human birth, growing up, maturity, old age, and death. Life is a process of giving and emptying.
Nature's Tao blunts the sharp edges in our lives, unties the knots, gives from its bowl of plenty. Tao is as equally at home with the bright and fresh as with the soiled and dusty. By suspending our judgments of what is good and bad in others, or how they approve and disapprove of our lives, we become suddenly aware that Tao does not have favorite people. We must be like Tao, treat all things in heaven and earth as sacred objects.
MEDITATING ON TAO AS A NOURISHING MOTHER
The
