Welcome to my new blog. \u00a0Let me begin by addressing the approach we take to cultivating Dao in the \u201ccontemplative\u201d Daoist tradition.<\/p>\n
Daoism consists of a broad array of numerous and varied traditions each cultivating Dao in its own peculiar way. \u00a0While each is rooted in ancient Chinese thought, different traditions often have totally different and even conflicting interpretations of fundamental concepts, methods, and goals. \u00a0There is no universal Daoist path \u2013 different approaches may suit different people at different stages.\u00a0 They don\u2019t all necessarily lead to the same result.\u00a0 Regardless of our approach, it\u2019s important to clearly understand the distinct view underlying our practice methods if we want them to bear their intended fruit.<\/p>\n
We can say that among the numerous traditions, there are generally two broadly-defined streams flowing through Daoism \u2013 often interweaving with one another, yet nevertheless distinct. \u00a0My teacher classified these two streams as \u201cAlchemical Daoism\u201d and \u201cContemplative Daoism\u201d.<\/p>\n
Alchemical Daoism views our uncultivated condition as either flawed, vulnerable, or incomplete.\u00a0 Therefore its goal is to improve and refine our experience, ultimately transforming ourselves into an exalted state.\u00a0 Some traditions cultivate shamanistic waidan (external alchemy) empowerment methods, such as talismans, divination, or spell-casting.\u00a0 Other traditions cultivate neidan (internal alchemy) methods to refine jing into qi into shen into xu, ultimately into Dao.\u00a0 Alchemical fruition is considered a grand accomplishment, and the success rate is somewhat low because the required commitment is so great and there are so many potential pitfalls.<\/p>\n
Contemplative Daoism is different.\u00a0 We view our uncultivated condition as nothing other than the flawless and pristine, pure qi of Dao.\u00a0 To the extent that we find ourselves \u201cmissing the Dao\u201d, this is a result of our own self-generated delusion, bolstered by cultural conditioning and habitual misuse of qi.\u00a0 Since birth, we have been cultivating this or that, which has shaped our current experience.\u00a0 How do we resume our natural, uncultivated intimacy with Dao?\u00a0 The contemplative path says Dao is not something we can achieve \u2013 and it is not something we can lose.\u00a0 As my teacher said: \u201cwe don\u2019t get there by effort, we\u2019re simply there by nature\u201d.\u00a0 If we hold this view, we engage our practice methods in a totally different manner. \u00a0And fruition doesn\u2019t bring any sense of grand accomplishment, just a feeling of natural ease and subtle illumination.<\/p>\n
Alchemical Daoism has a lot to learn and achieve \u2013 many complex, esoteric concepts and practice methods.\u00a0 It\u2019s inherently a gradual, transformative process, and there needs to be an intimate connection between teacher and student and a close, careful transmission over a long period of time.\u00a0 There\u2019s often a tight tribe with strong lineage-identity helping one another along. \u00a0These traditions tend to be robust in nature, generating numerous cultural treasures \u2013 behold all the splendid temples, altars, and robes.\u00a0 These traditions also tend toward esotericism and distinguishing between marginal \u201coutdoor\u201d students and trusted \u201cindoor\u201d disciples.<\/p>\n
By comparison, there\u2019s really not much to learn in the contemplative path.\u00a0 It\u2019s like a wide-open valley that accepts numerous and varied paths unto itself but commits to none.\u00a0 We may take on various methods, but rather than relying on them for progressive transformation, we simply play with them to find ways to express our experience of the ever-present Dao.\u00a0 Our methods are about staying with our natural experience rather than trying to transform it.\u00a0 This stream doesn\u2019t really generate a strong sense of lineage affiliation.\u00a0 While adepts may find intimacy with fellow cultivators, there\u2019s not as much of a club mentality and less dependence on a teacher.\u00a0 There are, however, important guidelines for how we comport ourselves \u2013 but these are self-arising principles, not something developed but observed and noted by adepts that came before us.\u00a0 Laozi called this path \u201cwuwei\u201d (\u7121\u70ba), meaning \u201cuncontrived\u201d.\u00a0 The uncontrived naturalness of wuwei doesn\u2019t draw attention to itself.\u00a0 In this sense it\u2019s inherently a form of secret or hidden Daoism.\u00a0 And yet wuwei adepts don\u2019t hold a strong of sense of esotericism, because contemplative secrecy is innate \u2013 not something that can be exposed, so it need not be withheld.\u00a0 This path doesn\u2019t culminate in a sense of personal accomplishment but a relaxed realization of how things actually are.<\/p>\n
Interestingly, alchemical paths may naturally lead to an empowered contemplative experience, and contemplative paths may give rise to naturally-arising alchemy.\u00a0 We are a contemplative school, yet we find alchemical paths fascinating and enriching \u2013 a way to express and embellish and indeed support our natural experience.\u00a0 We are an alchemical school, but we only really value that alchemy that supports or expresses a\u00a0natural contemplative experience.<\/p>\n
This is the view\u00a0of our school.\u00a0 I look forward to sharing additional blog-posts.\u00a0 The theme will be Laozi\u2019s contemplative Daoism, but who knows exactly where it will lead.\u00a0 If you want some basic info on Daoism or our school, see our website at www.oldoakdao.org<\/a>.\u00a0 If you are interested in receiving blog posts or if you found this blog of interest or would like to discuss, please contact me \u2013 I look forward to corresponding with you.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Welcome to my new blog. \u00a0Let me begin by addressing the approach we take to cultivating Dao in the \u201ccontemplative\u201d Daoist tradition. Daoism consists of a broad array of numerous and varied traditions each cultivating Dao in its own peculiar way. \u00a0While each is rooted in ancient Chinese thought, different traditions often have totally different … Continue reading “What is Contemplative Daoism?”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[8],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/oldoakdao.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/oldoakdao.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/oldoakdao.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/oldoakdao.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/oldoakdao.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/oldoakdao.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":82,"href":"https:\/\/oldoakdao.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12\/revisions\/82"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/oldoakdao.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/oldoakdao.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/oldoakdao.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}