《太上大通经注(李道纯)》

Taishang means what is supreme and unsurpassed, a realm beyond which nothing higher exists. Datong means that there is nowhere it cannot reach. Jing (scripture/classic) refers to the path that leads to realizing the True, and also to the path that all people may follow.

Chapter One speaks of “being without form and without body.” It sets forth the “wondrous principle of true emptiness”—a teaching of the utmost depth, belonging to the realm of the highest vehicle. This is the meaning of Taishang. Chapter Two speaks of “being like emptiness and without marks.” It means that every direction lies open, with nothing to stand in the way. This is the meaning of Datong. The chapters that follow speak of “being without marks and of Wuwei (non-action).” They say that the Great Dao (the Way) is vast without bound and mysterious without end; it shows itself everywhere in ordinary daily life, and for this reason it is called a Jing.

The Great Dao arises before Heaven and Earth, yet it manifests a kindly De (Virtue/Power) of generating and nourishing. It gives birth to and transforms the myriad things, yet it has no fixed form, while its working lies stored within. After Heaven and Earth have taken shape, the Great Dao still abides; what abides of it is a numinous efficacy. Though the Dao abides, it has no substantial body. The saying “Shen (spirit) has no fixed place, and the Changes have no fixed form” means that numinous transformation has no fixed location, and that the transformations of the principle of the Changes likewise have no fixed form. Precisely because the Great Dao is without form and without body, the transformations of Yin-Yang are difficult to measure. It seems never to appear as a substantial thing, yet it never ceases to drive movement and change. Thus it is said to be hard to explain by thought or by speech, its wondrous working inexhaustible.

The foregoing is the chapter on true emptiness, which inquires into the root of the Great Dao. Confucius said, “When has Heaven ever spoken? The four seasons proceed as usual, and the myriad things grow as usual.” This shows precisely that the Great Dao arises before Heaven and Earth, giving birth to and transforming the myriad things, yet without form. The Zhongyong says, “Look for it, and it is not seen; listen for it, and it is not heard. It acts upon the myriad things, yet the myriad things cannot go against it.” This shows precisely that, after Heaven and Earth have formed, the Great Dao still abides, yet has no substantial body. Precisely because the Great Dao has no form, it can keep transforming without cease and generating life without end. If not for those who thoroughly investigate the principles of things and fully discern human nature, who could comprehend these teachings? What follows, therefore, is the “Chapter on the Mysterious Principle.”

Stillness is the state of original nature (a person’s innate nature). Quiet and unmoving, the mind rests within it. When stirred into response by external things, one can penetrate the principles of affairs. Movement is the expression of the mind: on encountering things, one can perceive the mind’s activity, and original nature is revealed through this. Without external things, the mind has no way to appear. When thoughts arise, original nature is obscured, and all manner of distinctions and notions arise along with them; when thoughts subside, original nature appears, and those distinctions and notions disperse with them. Original nature is like empty space, without form or image. The great Dao (the Way) is vast and cannot be described by any concrete form. Clear and complete, it penetrates above and below.

The above is the “Chapter on Mysterious Principle,” which discusses the source of original nature. The Zhongyong says: “When joy, anger, sorrow, and pleasure have not yet been expressed, this is called the Mean; the Mean is the root of all things under Heaven.” This is precisely the meaning of “stillness is original nature.” The Zhongyong further says: “When they are expressed and all accord with due measure, this is called Harmony; Harmony is the correct Dao that all under Heaven follow in common.” This is precisely the meaning of “movement is the expression of the mind.” Original nature is still to begin with; without the activity of the mind, it cannot be discerned. The mind, too, is capable of stillness; if it is not set in motion by external things, it likewise has no way to appear. By perceiving the mind’s thoughts through external things and then gathering in the mind and spirit (Shen), one can apprehend original nature. When original nature is still, one can comprehend the Dao of Heaven; this is called “penetration.” If the mind turns with external things, original nature is easily forgotten, and so it is said, “when the mind arises, nature perishes.” If one gathers the mind and spirit and enters stillness, original nature appears, and so it is said, “when the mind perishes, nature appears.”

Original nature is like empty space: whether moving or unmoving, it is constantly still; whether manifest or unmanifest, it is constantly bright and clear. When external things come to disturb it, this is like a cloud drifting across empty space; empty space is not impaired thereby. Since original nature is not stained by external things, it can be clear and complete. This original nature of mine is precisely so.

The great Dao has no fixed form or image, and so, amid things that have form, one must gather the mind and spirit and nurture the formless, imageless original nature, so that it constantly endures. True nature is Wuwei (non-action), and therefore does not give rise to deluded thoughts outwardly. When one does not deliberately employ the mind, the true mind is instead able to endure constantly. Accord with what is so of itself, and there is vastness without bounds. This is Wuwei.

The Great Dao (the Way) has no fixed form or image, so one must realize it within things that have form and image, and nurture that formless, imageless Dao; only then can the images of the myriad things constantly appear. A person’s true nature is originally Wuwei (non-action), and so one does not recklessly give rise to a discriminating mind directed outward; when one does not deliberately exercise the mind, the mind is instead able to remain clear and ever-present.

Following what is natural, the realm is vast and without bounds. Through Wuwei, there is nothing that cannot be reached. Facing external conditions without being drawn along by them, one does not fall into the “six thieves” (a term used in both Buddhism and Daoism, referring to the eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, and mind that disturb the heart and Shen [spirit]). If I do not chase after external conditions, external conditions cannot disturb me. Dwelling in the world of dust yet able to transcend it, one is not turned about by the changes of various causes and conditions; if I do not cling to the world of dust, the world of dust cannot taint me.

Stillness at its utmost, without movement, is great stability; peace at its utmost, without alteration, is great wisdom. Wisdom shining through the four directions is great brightness. Being empty and still yet able to respond to change, without deliberate action, is “great penetration.”

The above is the “Chapter on the Mysterious and Subtle,” which clarifies the principle of the Great Dao; therefore the next chapter goes on to speak of the “mysterious principle.” The Donggu Jing (scripture) says, “Nurture the formless, imageless Dao, and the myriad images will constantly appear,” which speaks of the Great Dao being without phenomenal marks. Mencius said, “Wuwei, yet there is nothing that cannot be done,” which speaks of true nature as Wuwei. When inwardly one does not cling to forms and appearances, one can follow what is natural; when outwardly one does not act recklessly, one can be broad and lacking in nothing.

The ancestral master said, “If the Dantian (energy center) holds a treasure, why ask about the Dao? Facing external conditions with a mind unmoved, why ask about Chan?” This speaks of the same principle. Facing external conditions without being stirred by them, how could there still be demonic disturbance? Being in the world of dust yet transcending it, how could one still be bound by causes and conditions? When causes and conditions cease, nature and disposition become quiet; when demonic disturbance ceases, the mind becomes peaceful. Stillness at its utmost means no movement; harmony at its utmost means no shifting. Holding both of these principles together, one can be perfectly integrated and luminously clear, universally illuminating the myriad things, and spiritually wondrous transformations have no fixed limit.

The verse says: By means of what has form and method, one awakens into what is without method; the mind arises along with the method, and the method also vanishes along with the mind. One comes to understand that within cultivation there is yet a further level of not clinging to cultivation: original nature needs no adornment to begin with, and deliberate adornment is no longer original nature. The substance of the mind can contain the myriad images; when the mind is empty and nature is still, there is nothing it cannot hold. Not even a single thread of concern is left behind; if one is stained by even a little clinging, a leak will remain.

The verse above speaks of “substance” and “function”: seen in terms of original substance, all things are originally empty, still, and formless; seen in terms of function, the myriad things can all appear. Thus, at the beginning of cultivation one may draw on methods that have form and appearance, and in the end realize that there is originally no need to cling to methods; one may also begin from an experience of “non-cultivation,” and from there come to see clearly the principle of “cultivation.” When one no longer clings to being or non-being, and both mind and dharma can be set aside, a person’s original substance becomes as vast as the Great Void, with nothing it cannot embrace. The principle of the Great Dao (the Way) is, at this point, fully expressed.

Here, “substance” means fundamental nature, and “function” means the activity through which it is manifested; “sudden enlightenment” is swift realization, and the “Great Void” is a metaphor for a vast, empty, and still realm.