Let\u2019s look at the term Dao-De.\u00a0 This is of course the title of Laozi\u2019s Dao De Jing, the pithy seed-text that inspired one of the most complex & elaborate \u2013 and insightful \u2013 religious traditions in world history.<\/p>\n
Dao-De translates directly as \u201cway-virtue\u201d.\u00a0 It is commonly translated as \u201cthe Way and its Virtue\u201d \u2013 but that translation is a bit lofty and remote.\u00a0 What does it mean?\u00a0 Let\u2019s look at each character and come up with a fresh translation.<\/p>\n
The character Dao (\u9053) consists of 3 parts: grass + itself + walking.\u00a0 Grass growing by itself.\u00a0 I see this image as a metaphor for the spontaneous emergence of worlds & creatures from the primordial origin \u2013 the eternal procession of birth, growth, maturation, decline, & death.\u00a0 The Great Thoroughfare.\u00a0 The character can also be read as an eye & foot, suggesting constant awareness through changing conditions.\u00a0 Dao is not some remote cosmic power but the very process of our own experience unfolding moment-by-moment, of itself.<\/p>\n
The character De (\u5fb7) also consists of 3 parts: upright + heart + stepping.\u00a0 Stepping with an upright heart.\u00a0 Upright suggests verticality, which in Chinese means alignment with Heaven.\u00a0 Stepping on Earth in alignment with Heaven means conducting ourselves moment-to-moment in accordance with the unfolding Dao, with acceptance, humility, and benevolence.<\/p>\n
Dao-De then is staying with the natural movement of Dao, letting ourselves dissolve into the Great Thoroughfare.\u00a0 Keeping our heart aligned with Heaven amidst the changes of Earth.\u00a0 This means not straying into the past or future, not wanting things to be other than as they are, simply staying with reality.\u00a0 Not resisting reality is what Laozi calls \u201cwuwei<\/a>\u201d.<\/p>\n In the context of meditation & qi-cultivation, this view of Dao-De means our practice methods are not geared toward reaching any particular destination but rather are ways to walk on the very ground beneath our feet.<\/p>\n How do we stay with reality?\u00a0 The Daoist tradition gives us 10,000 methods, but central to them all: watch your step. \u00a0\u201cSitting quietly, doing nothing \u2013 spring comes, and the grass grows by itself.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Let\u2019s look at the term Dao-De.\u00a0 This is of course the title of Laozi\u2019s Dao De Jing, the pithy seed-text that inspired one of the most complex & elaborate \u2013 and insightful \u2013 religious traditions in world history. Dao-De translates directly as \u201cway-virtue\u201d.\u00a0 It is commonly translated as \u201cthe Way and its Virtue\u201d \u2013 but … Continue reading “Staying with Reality \u2013 A Look at Dao-De (\u9053\u5fb7)”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[17,8],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/oldoakdao.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/191"}],"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=191"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/oldoakdao.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/191\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":584,"href":"https:\/\/oldoakdao.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/191\/revisions\/584"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/oldoakdao.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=191"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/oldoakdao.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=191"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/oldoakdao.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=191"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}