Table Of ContentDaoism, Meditation,
and the
Wonders of Serenity
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SUNY series in Chinese Philosophy and Culture
Roger T. Ames, editor
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Daoism, Meditation,
and the
Wonders of Serenity
From the Latter Han Dynasty (25–220)
to the Tang Dynasty (618–907)
STEPHEN ESKILDSEN
STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK PRESS
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Cover illustration: Laozi Riding an Ox, hanging scroll, light color on paper, 101.5 x 55.3 cm.
National Palace Museum, Taiwan. Laozi is carrying a copy of the Dao De Jing.
Source: Wikimedia Commons.
Published by State University of New York Press, Albany
© 2015 State University of New York
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For information, contact State University of New York Press, Albany, NY
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Production, Dana Foote
Marketing, Michael Campochiaro
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Eskildsen, Stephen
Daoism, meditation, and the wonders of serenity : from the latter Han dynasty
(25–220) to the Tang dynasty (618–907) / Stephen Eskildsen.
pages cm.—(SUNY series in Chinese philosophy and culture)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-1-4384-5823-6 (hardcover : alk. paper)—ISBN 978-1-4384-5824-3
(e-book) 1. Meditation—Taoism. 2. Taoism—China—History—To 1500.
I. Title.
BL1923.E845 2015
299.5'1443509—dc23
2014045580
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
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Contents
Acknowledgments vii
1. Introduction 1
Opening Comments 1
The Ancient Precedents 4
Overview 19
2. The Earliest-Known Daoist Religious Movements 29
The Taiping Group Texts 太平經
(The Great Peace, GP Synopsis, GP Instructions) 31
The Laozi Xiang’er zhu 老子想爾注 (Laozi-Xiang’er) 62
3. Dramatic Physical and Sensory Effects 75
Surges of Primal Qi: The Xiandao jing 顯道經
(The Manifest Dao) 77
The Rushi si chizi fa 入室思赤子法 (Contemplating
the Baby) 104
The Taishang hunyuan zhenlu 太上混元真錄
(The True Record) 118
v
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vi Contents
4. Integrating Buddhism: Earlier Phase 143
The Xisheng jing 西昇經 (The Western Ascension) 143
The Xuwu ziran benqijing 虛無自然本起經
(The Original Arising) 161
5. Integrating Buddhism: Emptiness and the
Twofold Mystery 181
The Benji jing 本際經 (The Original Juncture) 181
The Wuchu jing 五廚經 (The Five Kitchens) 194
The Qingjing jing 清靜經 (The Clarity and Calmness) 201
6. Serenity and the Reaffirmation of
Physical Transformation 211
The Zuowang lun 坐忘論 (Sitting and Forgetting) 211
The Dingguan jing 定觀經 (Stability and Observation) 230
7. Serenity, Primal Qi, and Embryonic Breathing 241
The Cunshen lianqi ming 存神鍊氣銘 (The Inscription) 241
The Taixi jing zhu 胎息經註 (Embryonic Breathing) 254
8. Conclusion 277
Notes 305
Bibliography 353
Index 373
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Acknowledgments
I have never taken up the practice of meditation because I seriously lack
patience and bodily flexibility. Attempting certain meditation postures
such as the full lotus position would probably kill me. The restricted
dietary regimens that frequently accompany meditation practice are also
problematic, as I tend to require more nutrition than the average person.
However, the experiences of people who meditate—especially if they are
Daoists—somehow fascinate me.
This book developed over the course of the past ten years as my
constant curiosity toward Daoism, meditation, and mystical experience
drew my attention toward specific texts that vividly attest to the variety
and magnitude of sensory and physical phenomena that may be brought
about just by making the mind clear and calm. Actually, such texts range
in date from the Latter Han right down to the modern period, and I had
originally envisioned a volume of much broader chronological scope than
this one. However, I eventually came to realize that the Han-through-
Tang material easily yielded enough interesting data to fill a monograph,
and that a proper, careful analysis of the Neidan (internal alchemy)
materials of the Song period onward was an endeavor that needed to be
deferred to the future.
Most of the material in this book has not been previously published.
Exceptions to this are found in parts of chapter 3 and chapter 4. Some
of the discussion on The Manifest Dao has appeared in my article “Some
vii
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viii Acknowledgments
Troubles and Perils of Taoist Meditation” (Monumenta Serica, no. 56
[2008]): 259–291). Some of the discussion on Contemplating the Baby
and The True Record has appeared in my recent article “Red Snakes and
Angry Queen Mothers: Hallucinations and Epiphanies in Medieval Dao-
ist Meditation” (in Hindu, Buddhist and Daoist Meditation: Cultural His-
tories, ed. Halvor Eifring [Oslo: Hermes Publishing, 2014], 149–184).
Some of the discussion on The Original Arising appeared in my article
“Mystical Ascent and Out-of-Body Experience in Medieval Daoism”
(Journal of Chinese Religions 35 [2007]: 36–62).
The people I need to thank on this occasion are many. My gratitude
goes out to all of my teachers of past years, especially Daniel Overmyer
and Joseph McDermott. I am grateful to the University of Tennessee at
Chattanooga for providing me with a happy work environment for many
years, and for providing me with a Faculty Research Grant to do fieldwork
in China during the summer of 2010. I thank all of my friends and col-
leagues in Chattanooga for their kindness over the years. I thank Nancy
Ellegate and her fine staff at the State University of New York Press, along
with the two anonymous readers who took the time to read the manu-
script carefully and provide helpful, insightful feedback.
Perhaps the main reason for why I was finally able to complete this
book this year was that I had the outrageous good fortune of receiving a
one-year Visiting Research Fellowship from the Käte Hamburger Kolleg,
“Dynamics in the History of Religions between Asia and Europe” situ-
ated at the Ruhr-University Bochum (Germany). My stay in Bochum
has been extremely intellectually stimulating, and has allowed me the
time and resources to complete my project. I would like to particularly
thank Volkhard Krech, Licia DiGiacinto, and Lucia an der Brügge for
their generosity.
But my most constant companion and supporter over the past decade
has been my wife, Eiko Namiki. I thank her for her love and encourage-
ment, and look forward to her future scholarly monographs. I also thank
Hana-chan and Kobuton (the ascended) for all of the furry, cuddly com-
fort that they have provided. Finally, I send my love and gratitude to my
parents Edward and Marion Eskildsen, my brothers Tom and Walter,
and my Aunt Lucile—all of whom have been a blessing to me for my
entire life.
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ONE
Introduction
OPENING COMMENTS
Daoism has always emphasized mental serenity and maintained that
good effects will come about from it. To be serene means that the
mind is clear (qing 清), or free of any thoughts that confuse it; it also
means that the mind is calm (jing 靜), without any emotions that agitate
it. Daoism maintains that you should foster serenity at all times and in
all activities. Activity itself is best limited to only what is most natural
(ziran 自然) and necessary—“nonaction” (wuwei 無爲) is thus frequently
enjoined.
For Daoists, meditation has been a primary means of fostering seren-
ity and bringing it to greater depths. The greatest depths of serenity are
entranced states of consciousness wherein mystical insights or experi-
ences are said to come about,1 or where vital forces of both mind and
body—typically conceived as spirit (shen 神), qi 氣/炁 and essence (jing
精)2—are said to be activated and mobilized in most salubrious and won-
drous ways. However, for such wondrous occurrences to come about in
full abundance, it is frequently maintained—as we shall see—that your
method of meditation ought to be simple and passive, apparently so as
not to hinder the wonders that can only arise naturally. Less is more in
all things, including meditation.
1
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