Tuesday, November 20, 2012

Dao Is What Happens

Scott Bradley


This heart opens
In thankfulness
And in thankfulness still more.
Or is it joy?

All is well
All things perfectly themselves
Perfectly Dao
Dao that unfolds as me.

What happens is Dao.

What A. C. Graham calls the "most obstinate of dichotomies", the distinction between the human and Heaven (Nature, Reality), is conceptually resolved in philosophical Daoism's understanding of Reality as emergent; all that happens is Dao. And it is resolved in conscious human experience, at least in theory, in the Authentic Person (zhenren) who, in realizing her unconditional identity with Dao, opens her heart so as to "encompass all things".

"Heaven, Earth and I emerge together and the myriad things and I are one." (Zhuangzi, 2/52-53; Coyle) Thus wrote Zhuangzi, if not as a zhenren, than at least as one who in aspiring to be, participated in some of the freedom and joy that accrues therefrom.

You can check out Scott's writings on Zhuangzi here.

No comments:

Post a Comment

Comments are unmoderated, so you can write whatever you want.