This post is the first in a series that will explore the ideal of the sage in various religious and cultural traditions. This weeks post deals with Daoism.

For more information on Daoism check out http://ctext.org/daoism . Additionally, no bookshelf is complete without a copy of the Dao De Jing. Roger Ames provides the best translation which is available here.









Become a Daoist (Taoist) Sage





According to Roger Ames, The Dao De Jing “encourages the cultivation of a disposition offered” by the various wu-forms. These wu-forms are associated with the ideal of the Daoist sage, or sheng ren. Wuzhi, wuwei, wuyu, and additional wu-forms are employed by the sage who’s perception is beyond the engagement of things as abstractions. These forms require that the sage put spontaneously arrives at “what is to be know, to be acted in accordance with, or to be desired.” (David Hall)



The wu-forms promote a vitality for living free of fragmentizing social, emotional, and psychological paradigms. In doing so, the wu-forms create the capacity for living and understanding a complex and dynamic philosophy of way making. The forms themselves are complex and dynamic. There distinctions are semantically porous, and, philosophically, there is much overlap. By embodying these wu-forms the Daoist sage may live life in accordance with the-way-in-the-making free of illusions.



The various wu-forms present a way of stripping oneself of illusions and assumptions that inhabit the-way-in-the-making to achieve the enlightenment of the sage. The Da De jing states sages are not bound by “institutionalized morality” or other limiting institutions. One foundational form, wuzhi, rejects the notion that the universe is observable and knowable as abstracted entities or overarching terms. Even language is acknowledged as a limiting convention. “Way-making (dao) that can be put into words is not really way-making.” (DDJ).



The sage must perceive the world on its own terms and avoid limiting paradigms. The myriad things can only be understood in their relative context and their own becomings. The sage should act in accordance to the-way-in-the-making with spontaneity and “on its own terms without allowing preconceptions to arrest one’s exploration and appreciation” of awareness. By recognizing the interconnectedness of all things and the-way-in-the-making, the sage can then see the innate awe inspiring capacity of the cosmos.



Another wu-form, wuwei, addresses how the sage should act in the world. Wuwei promotes spontaneous and unmediated action in accordance with ziran (what is self so). This can be achieved through ming, or “a mirroring of the things of the world as they are.”. In mirroring the world, the sage can reach jing, a “frictionless equilibrium,“ in their environment. Ultimately, through wuwei and ming, the sage can find unity with the-way-in-the-making.



This type of action is accompanied by another wu-form: wuyu (objectless desire.) A Daoist conception of the world is void of objects; it opposes the dissection and abstraction of the world into isolated particulars. A desire without objects is felt instead towards wewei or wezhi as they stand to be desired.



Together Wuwei, wuzhi, and wuyu enable the sage to live in accordance with the-way-in-the-making without the distinction of abstracted particulars. This type of existence promotes a limited attachment of the heart and mind to abstracted particulars. This detachment leads to the supreme stillness for the sage to understand the-way-in-the-making. Ultimately, through the wu-forms the sage can interpret and act in place of the-way-in-the-making.