Thesis Material - Taoism and Metaphysics

Construction of "Origin - Ontology"-The Inheritance and Construction of Taoist Thought by Sui and Tang Re-Xuanxuanism

Abstract: This paper discusses the construction of the theory of Taoism by Sui and Tang Re-Xuanxuanism in the perspective of the Buddhist-Taoist negotiation. This article mainly discusses the construction of Taoism in the perspective of Buddhist-Taoist interactions, and points out that, as the third phase of Taoist thought, after the transmutation from the primitive Taoism's original source theory to the ontology of Wei and Jin metaphysics, and the introduction of the Buddhist concept of the center, which is the opposite of Taoism's Taoism, Sui and Tang re-metaphysics, with the theory of "original source and essence", which distinguishes itself from the previous Taoism, has firmly maintained the Taoism's principle of "reverence for the origin". The Sui-Tang re-metaphysics, with its differentiation from the earlier Taoism's "Origin-Entity" theory, has held on to the basic position of Taoism's "reverence for the essence", which is exactly contrary to the Buddhist Zhongguo's anti-essentialism of karmic emptiness.

Keywords: Taoist thought, Buddhism, Zhongguang (Buddhist middle view), Zongben theory, anti-essentialism, "origin-body" theory

As the third phase of Taoist thought after the pre-Qin Taoism and the Wei and Jin metaphysics, the heavy metaphysics that flourished in Sui and Tang dynasties undoubtedly represented the mainstream of Taoist philosophy in this period. The mainstay of Taoist philosophy during this period is undoubtedly represented by rexuanism. In the current academic *** knowledge, Sui and Tang Dynasty heavy metaphysics with its reference to the Buddhist Zhongguancunxue "non-existence and non-non-existence" of the double discharge of double non-existence and very different from the pre-Qin Taoism and Wei and Jin metaphysics, then we need to ask: after the doctrine of Taoism from the primitive Taoism of the pre-Qin Taoism to the Wei and Jin metaphysics of the ontological transformation, and at the same time, the introduction of the "Zongben theory" with the doctrine of Taoism, the Taoism doctrine is not the same as that of the original Taoism. After the transformation of Taoist doctrine from pre-Qin primordial Taoism to Wei and Jin metaphysics ontology, and the introduction of the anti-essentialist Buddhist Zhongguang (middle view), which is diametrically opposed to the Taoist doctrine of Zongben, the final theoretical form of Sui and Tang Re-Xuanxuanxue is a complete subversion of the theoretical construction or a kind of following that has not been able to deviate from the original purpose after all? If Sui and Tang Re-Xuanxuanism did not deviate from the basic position of Taoist thought, then what kind of face will it take to continue the Taoist doctrine?

One

As is known, since the pre-Qin primitive Taoism to the Wei and Jin metaphysics, there is a basic theoretical vein running through the whole, which is the theory of reverence. Although the "origin" of pre-Qin Taoism and the "essence" of Wei and Jin metaphysics are not identical in connotation, it is undeniable that Taoism has never given up the search for and pursuit of the "essence" of all things since Tao Te Ching. However, it is undeniable that since the Tao Te Ching, Taoist doctrine has never given up the search for and pursuit of the "essence" of all things, and this is precisely the specialty of Taoist thought. So, after borrowing the opposite anti-essentialist Buddhist concept of the center, did Sui and Tang re-metaphysics give up the basic position of "reverence for the essence" of Taoist thought? Before answering this question, perhaps we should go back to the primitive Taoism as the beginning of our inquiry.

Daoism is the foundation of Taoism, and all the theories of Taoism are based on it. One of the distinctive features of the Taoism of the primitive Taoists is that they repeatedly emphasize that the Tao is not subject to regulation. Accordingly, the Tao Te Ching explains Taoism in terms of "nothing":

Everything under heaven is born from existence, and existence is born from nothing. [1]

The name of seeing the unseen is called Yi, the name of hearing the unheard is called Xi, and the name of fighting the unavailable is called Wei. These three can not be cross-examined, so mixed and one. It is not paid on, it is not obscured, the rope can not be named, back to nothing. It is said that the shape of no shape, no object of the image, it is called a trance. The first is not to be seen, and the second is not to be seen. [2]

However, as Hegel points out in his Lectures on the History of Philosophy, this "nothing" is not an empty "nothing" that is diametrically opposed to the mundane "something", but a "nothing" that transcends the concrete. The supreme being is "nothing", and, so to speak, they deny the existence of the world. But this is only to say that unity is here completely non-prescriptive, self-existent, and therefore manifests itself in the form of "nothing". This "nothingness" is not what is commonly called nothingness or nothingness, but is recognized as being far removed from all concepts, from all phenomena, - that is, as a pure, self-same, non-prescriptive, abstract unity. Thus this "nothing" is at the same time certain, and this is what we call essence. [3]

While the Tao ("nothing") of primitive Taoism is not an abstract "essence," as Hegel says, but rather, it is only the "source," and this "essence" is not an abstract "essence," it is not an abstract "essence. The further essentialization of the Tao was accomplished by the metaphysics of the Wei and Jin dynasties. However, in the repeated emphasis of the Tao Te Ching on "Tao's nothingness", we can at least see that "Tao" has a "formless form" that cannot be perceived or heard, The "formless form" and "image of no image" of Tao is its most distinctive feature. However, since Zhuangzi, this "nothing" in Tao Te Ching has been repeatedly misinterpreted as a figurative nothingness, as opposed to the commonplace "something". Accordingly, in "Zhuangzi", "nothing" was questioned, "Zhuangzi - Zhi Beiyou" said:

Kuangyao asked about "nothing" and said, "Is there anything? Is there nothing in it?" Guangyao shall not be asked, and who see its appearance, remote and empty, all day long to see and not see, hear and not hear, wrestle and not also. Guangyao said: "to carry on, which can to this? I can have no carry on, and can not have no no also. And for no have carry on, how from to this!"

In the view of Zhuangzi, the so-called "nothing" is just "nothing" relative to the "have" of the commonplace, and did not reach the highest level of inaction, and therefore more to the The so-called "nothing" is only the commonplace "nothing" as opposed to "something", and has not reached the highest state of non-action, thus further negating "nothing" with "nothingness".

When Pei Zheng was a minister of the Ministry of Justice, he was not yet a young man and went to the city to study.

Based on this, Wang Bi called his highest essence "to nothing", which seems to be higher than "nothing", "to nothing", in fact, but is still to express This "Supreme Nothing" seems to be even higher than "Nothing", but in fact it is still to express the unregulated nature of "Tao". Thus, from the "Wu Wu" in Zhuangzi to Wang Bi's "to Wu", Taoist thought has been trying to push forward the indeterminacy of the Tao along the theoretical path of removing obstacles and stagnation, and on this seemingly endless path of removing obstacles and stagnation, the Sui and Tang philosophies of metaphysics, due to the introduction of the dualism of Buddhism, have become more and more important. In this seemingly endless path of demystification, Sui-Tang Shuangxuanism seems to have traveled more thoroughly by introducing the Buddhist concept of dual emancipation and dual nonconformity. In his Tao Te Ching, Cheng Xuan Ying, a great scholar of the early Tang Dynasty, said:

The person with desire is only stagnant in having; the person with no desire is stagnant in not having; therefore, he said that there is one Xuan in order to dispel the double-attachment, and he was afraid that the scholars would be stagnant in this Xuan, and he said that there is another Xuan in order to get rid of the latter disease. In the meantime, it is not only not stagnant, but also not stagnant in the non-stagnant, this is the dismissal of the dismissal, so it is said that the metaphysics of the metaphysics. [4]

From the early Tang's Cheng Xuanying Li Rong to the late Tang's Du Guangting of the Fifth Generation, all of them used this double negation of double dispatching and double non-discharge in an exemplary and purely perfect manner, and in these writings on heavy metaphysics, such as "non ...... non... ...", "not ...... not ......" and other semantic patterns can be seen everywhere. Sui and Tang heavy metaphysics is precisely in the use of this seemingly rounded double pastime double non-, do not fall into two sides and make its "Road" more unimpeded, because in the Sui and Tang heavy metaphysics of double pastime double non-, "Road" not only transcends the existence of nothing, but also transcends such as yin and yang, rigid and flexible, cause and effect, [5]

Dao of things, non-yin and non-yang, non-soft and non-rigid, generalized and unrelated, should be the elephant, can be left and right, no bias name, so Zhuangzi said, "the Road has not yet begun to have sealed." [6]

It is to know that virtue is the right body, non-fruit and non-cause, non-ben and non-trace. [7]

According to the interpretation of the Sui and Tang philosophies, the Wei and Jin metaphysics of the Chongyou said that of course it was lagging in the have, and Wang Bi and other noble no said that although it is the negation of "have", but it is the same fall into the "have no" in the obstacles, then the "have no" is also the same. The same is true of "nothing", which should be firmly rejected. It should be pointed out here that, similar to the Zhuangzi's "nothingness", which is a misunderstanding of the Tao Te Ching's "Dao Wu", the Sui and Tang Dynasty's emphasis on metaphysics, "non-existence and non-existence", has a negative impact on Wang Bi's "to nothingness", which is a misunderstanding of the Tao Te Ching's "Dao Wu". The Sui-Tang metaphysics of "non-existence and non-existence" misinterpreted Wang Bi's "to nothing" theory in the same way. It is on the basis of this misinterpretation that the Sui-Tang philosophers were able to further reject Wang Bi's "supreme nothingness" with "non-existence and non-nothingness". However, it seems that the Sui and Tang schools have not yet finished walking on this theoretical path of negation, because they think that this Middle Way is still a kind of obsession, and therefore even the Middle Way of "non-existence and non-existence" has to be eliminated, and then it is the heavy metaphysics of "metaphysics and metaphysics".

It goes without saying that, in the unfolding of the non-prescriptive nature of the Tao, Sui and Tang Re-Xuanxuan applied the method of "non-existence and non-existence", which originated from Buddhist Zhongguancang (Middle Way). As is well known, Buddhist Zhongguang is based on the doctrine of karmic emptiness, i.e., "non-existence and non-existence" in the sense of Zhongguang points to the emptiness and non-selfhood of all things. As Venerable Yin Shun said, "The Zhongguancunist's view of the Two Noble Truths: Karma is emptiness, because all dharmas are empty and without self-nature, so they are karmic laws, which have to be brought into existence by karmic causes. ...... The Zhongguancunist says that selflessness and karma are mutually compatible, and have a deep relationship with each other.... ...However, what should be solemnly pointed out here is that sexual emptiness, i.e., karmic essence, should not be viewed as a metaphysical entity, nor as a principle that is the dependence of all dharmas; this is the proposed idea of those who are different in form or governing, and not the actuality of karmic emptiness." [8] From this, we need to ask: after the introduction of the Buddhist anti-essentialism of Zhongguancun, Sui and Tang's "Taoism" has been reduced to this "non-existence and non-existence" of double-expulsion and double-nonconformity? The answer is no. Because in Sui and Tang's heavy metaphysics, no matter whether the Tao is "non-existent or non-existent" or "non-ancient or non-temporary", or even "non-existent or non-existent", "non-ancient or non-temporary", etc., this kind of "Tao" is based on the principle of "non-existent or non-existent", "non-ancient or non-temporary". "On the contrary, what it seeks to establish is the true existence of the Tao as the supreme essence of all things, and the so-called "double renunciation" is not the empty and selfless nature of the Tao. "The expression "double dispensation", as we have pointed out in the previous article, is only to manifest the non-prescriptive nature of the Tao, and the "double dispensation" itself is in no way self-referential to itself. As Cheng Xuanying said in the Tao Te Ching:

The Tao is subtle, the body is not colorful, can not be eye-consciousness to seek ...... Therefore, the equality of razor-sharp, colorless, soundless and formless ...... Ming to the Tao, although the word is colorless, do not try to be absolutely nothing, and if absolutely nothing, and then the same as the emptiness, that is, to become disconnected. The first thing I want to do is to get a good understanding of what is happening in the world. Today, not color and color, not sound and sound, not form and form, so the cloud Xiyi micro also, the so-called three of a kind. [9]

While the Tao is colorless, soundless, and formless, it is not "absolutely nothing" like emptiness, but because of the subtle and mysterious nature of the Tao, it cannot be sensed by the human ear and eye, so the Tao must not be regarded as nothing, or else it will fall into the categorical view. Not only that, the Sui and Tang dynasties also repeatedly affirmed the existence of the Tao as the supreme essence of transcendence:

The Tao of Chongxuan, the original from the nameless, from the original down to the trace, the name of the rise. [10]

There are images in trance, and things in trance. Non-existent and non-existent truth, the very mysterious and extremely mysterious way, dissecting a yuan and open three elephants, and two qi and the birth of all things. [11]

Dao of things, non-yin and non-yang, non-soft and non-rigid, generalized and untethered, can respond to all the images, can be left and right, no bias name, so Zhuangzi said, "The Road has not yet begun to seal." [12]

In the Sui and Tang philosophies, the Buddhist Way of the Middle Way has apparently lost its original meaning of Prajna, which is used as a modifier of the Way of the highest reality, and this double-edged double-nonconformity aimed at pointing to the non-prescriptive nature of the Way is, on the contrary, a greater proof of the existence of the Way. The result is clearly contrary to the anti-essentialism of Buddhist Zhongguang. From this, we seem to conclude that, after borrowing the Buddhist Zhongguang's method of double renunciation, Sui-Tang re-metaphysics did not deviate from the basic position of "reverence for the essence" of Taoist thought since the pre-Qin Taoists and the metaphysics of the Wei and Jin dynasties. Of course, what is different from the previous generation of Taoist thought is that the theoretical framework of the Sui-Tang Re-Xuanxuanism has become more exquisite and rounded due to the borrowing of the Buddhist Zhongguang's Double Dispensationalism.

Two

As mentioned earlier, the introduction of Buddhist Zhongguang by Sui and Tang Shongxuanism was not a paradigm revolution of a highly subversive nature, but on the contrary, it proved the existence of the Taoist essence more conclusively due to the further development of its non-prescriptive nature. "On the contrary, as the further development of Sui and Tang Re-xuanism on the non-prescriptive nature of Taoism proved more conclusively the existence of Taoism, this change in the development of Taoist thought continued to follow the basic rationale of its "reverence for the origin". The next question that interests us is: in what sense was the so-called "Tao essence" of Sui and Tang metaphysics established? Or rather, after the transmutation from the "origin" of pre-Qin to the "essence" of Wei and Jin metaphysics, what kind of face will Sui and Tang metaphysics carry on and build up the "Taoism" of Taoism?

First of all, after Wei and Jin metaphysics abstracted the "Tao" in Tao Te Ching from the theory of origin to the theory of ontology, Sui and Tang re-metaphysics further developed this abstract ontology of Wei and Jin metaphysics. In the process of this advancement, Sui and Tang re-metaphysics not only drew on the Buddhist Zhongguan method of double dispensation to further advance the irreducible nature of "Dao" (which we have already discussed in detail in the previous article), but also directly equated "Dao" with "Reason". The "Dao" was further advanced by Cheng Xuanying (which we have already discussed in detail), who directly equated the "Dao" with "reason. Cheng Xuanying is arguably the most frequent of the Sui and Tang heavy metaphysicians to speak of "reason". In his writings, the Tao is Reason, the "Wonderful Reason of Nothingness," the "Righteous Reason of Nature," the "Metaphysical Reason," the "Truth," and so on. " and other expressions can be found everywhere:

The Tao is the Wonderful Reason of Void Passage, and the Right Nature of All Beings. [13]

The supreme reason is not blocked, want to travel to and from, peer everything, so it is said that the Road also. [14]

The truth is not only in the words and images, but also beyond the sound of the teachings, the reason is always the road can not be Road, the teachings can also be named very name. [15]

Following Li Rong also equated the abstract nature of the Tao with "reason": (the Tao is) "the body of reason in the virtual pole, not to be divided into its image, not to be extremely true up and down." [16] And later Tang Xuanzong, Du Guangting is invariably along the lines of this "reason" to continue to move forward:

The most subtle reason, the Xuanzong hidden mystery, although the false words to interpret the reasoning, the final reasoning and forget the words, so the enlightened person to get the reasoning and forget the words of the debate. [17]

The poor and subtle reasoning, the study of the nature of the endowment of living beings, physical both poor, living nature and exhaustion, to a one. [18]

From the above quotation, we can see that a major point of this "reason" equivalent to "Tao" in Sui and Tang Dynasty metaphysics lies in the non-prescriptive nature of the "reason" that is free from obstacles and beyond words, just as Meng Arrangement's "Taoism Yishu - Moral Righteousness" said: "The Tao is also reason. ...... who says reason, reason is real and void." [19] And it is precisely because of this non-prescriptive nature of "reason" that it can be found in all things. As Cheng Xuanying said: "reason does not escape in the matter, the teaching is also universal without bias carry on." [20] In the Sui and Tang Dynasty's "Reason", the Tao and things can never be just like the pre-Qin primitive Taoism, such as mother and child like flesh and blood, because "Reason" will no longer be the highest biochemical source of all things but an abstract universal existence. Not only that, because of the introduction of the Buddhist doctrine of the original trace, the relationship between Taoism and things is obviously more exquisite and more rounded than that of the Wei and Jin metaphysics. Because in the so-called "essence and trace" theory, the essence is both higher than and not separate from the trace, the essence is in the trace, the essence is in the trace, the trace is in the essence, and the essence is not separate from the trace. It is obviously the most appropriate way to utilize this theory to explain the relationship between the Tao as "reason" and all things. Cheng Xuan-ying can be said to be the one who invokes this theory the most among the Chongxuanists:

Name is also a trace. The way of Chongxuan, which has no name, has descended from the original to the trace, and the title has arisen. [21]

There is nothing, and there is a marvelous origin. The first time I saw this, I was able to see and hear it, and I was able to see and hear it, and I was able to see and hear it. [22]

In the Preface to Zhuangzi, he goes so far as to divide the internal and external chapters of the Zhuangzi into a distinction between the original and the traces: "The Internal talks about the principle of reasoning, and the External speaks of its deeds." [23] And since Cheng Xuanying's repeated use of the doctrine of the original traces, it seems to have become a fixed usage in Sui and Tang heavy metaphysics for describing the relationship between Tao and things. For example, Li Rong also said in his Commentary on the Tao Te Ching (道德真經注), "If one follows the reason, one is in tune with the Myriad Essence; if one follows the custom, one is in tune with the dust and descends to the traces." [24] And Tang Xuanzong said: "Take the traces of the return to the original, known as the deep and wonderful, if you live in the wonderful, the traces of the re-existence of the same, and their synonyms and so on, no difference, and so send and metaphysical to dispel the metaphysical, in order to make the metaphysical not stagnant, the traces of the two forgettable, the name of the uninhabited, uninhabited, then the out of the carries on." [25] In the Sui-Tang theory of metaphysics, "trace" is obvious, and the significance of holding "trace" and "essence" against each other lies in the fact that by the recognizable and visible nature of all things, "trace" can be seen as the "essence" of all things, and the "essence" of all things.

The "traces" of all things are obvious, and the meaning of the pairing of "traces" and "essence" is that, from the recognizable and visible traces of all things, we can see the subtle and difficult to recognize the essence of reason, which of course is much more refined and comprehensive in Sui-Tang and Tang metaphysics than in Wei-Jin metaphysics.

Sui-Tang Shige-metaphysics' equating of Tao with Reason is not a meaningless linguistic game. Its significance lies firstly in the fact that Reason, as the irreducible and universal universality of Tao, is separated from Tao, as the origin of biochemistry, and becomes the supreme essence of everything, which not only indicates that Sui-Tang Shige-metaphysics' "theory of the origin of Tao" is different from that of the primitive Taoists, but also indicates that the "theory of the origin of Tao" is different from that of the primitive Taoists. It not only indicates that the "Tao essence theory" of Sui and Tang metaphysics is different from that of primitive Taoism, but also implies that a certain degree of theoretical transformation did take place when it followed the ontology of Wei and Jin metaphysics. Because this reason, as the highest ontology of all things, will no longer be trapped in the constraints of "having" or "not having" like the Wei and Jin metaphysics criticized by the heavy metaphysicians, just as Cheng Xuanying said, "The reason returns to no stagnation, neither stagnation of having, nor stagnation of having. Neither is there any stagnation of existence, nor is there any stagnation of nothingness." [26] It will replace any prejudice of "yes" or "no" and become the supreme essence of all things. Nevertheless, we still need to emphasize again and again that although the "reason" of Sui and Tang Dynasty metaphysics seems to have transcended the prohibition of the so-called "have" and "have not," it still exists as the highest ontology of all things, and although it is the highest ontology of all things, it is still the highest ontology of all things. Though Sui and Tang re-metaphysics repeatedly claimed to break the stagnation and remove the obstacles, this seemingly revolutionary slogan did not bring about a complete subversion of the supreme essence (Tao or Reason), i.e., the Taoism that has been followed by Taoist thought since the Tao Te Ching of the pre-Qin Dynasty, even after borrowing the Buddhist Zhongguang's double renunciation of the dual-nonconformity, still runs through the theoretical constructs of Sui and Tang re-metaphysics. Another significance of Sui and Tang Shongxuanxue's equating of Tao with Reason is that if Taoism before Sui and Tang Shongxuanxue had always regarded the cultivation of life as the only way to attain immortality, the so-called wisdom and liberation became an important part of Taoism's theory of cultivating immortality after Sui and Tang Shongxuanxue had introduced Reason into their theory of the Tao. Because since the Tao is the reason, then the cultivation of Taoism is not only as simple as the life work, from the realization of the reason and the Tao will become an indispensable way of Taoist cultivation theory.

As mentioned earlier, the "reason" of Sui and Tang metaphysics was advanced along the essentialism of Wei and Jin metaphysics. In contrast to the abstract essentialization of "Tao" in Wei and Jin metaphysics, in the Tao Te Ching of the pre-Qin Taoists, the supreme source of the "mother" of all things, "Tao," is the "mother" of all things. "Tao" is a flowing, living image with great vitality, and this "Tao" as the source of all things has a mother-child-like flesh and blood connection with all things. Since Wei and Jin metaphysics abstracted and ontologized the Tao, the Tao as the origin of all things seems to have become parched and empty in this purely conceptual form. So, is it possible that the Sui and Tang metaphysics, which developed along the essentialism of the Wei and Jin metaphysics, also abstracted its doctrine of the Tao into a lifeless, dry and empty body of reason due to its "metaphysical and esoteric" decontextualization? Fortunately, due to the introduction of the theory of qi, Sui and Tang Dynasty re-metaphysics leaves us with an answer to the contrary.

The expression "specializing in qi to bring about softness" is found in the Tao Te Ching, but Lao Tzu did not take it any further. In contrast, the Zhuangzi is much more interested in qi. In "Zhuangzi", "gas" is not only a general figurative substance, and there is a difference between yin and yang, such as in the "Autumn Water", he said: "since this form in heaven and earth and subject to the gas in the yin and Yang." In "The Movement of Heaven" he says: "Yin and Yang are the greatness of qi." "Receive away the qi and nourish the yin and yang." Not only that, "Zhuangzi" even has the tendency to regard the gas as the origin of all things:

Everything is one, is its beauty for the miraculous, and its evil for the stinking corruption, the stinking corruption is transformed into the miraculous again, and the miraculous is transformed into the stinking corruption again, so that is said to be, through the heavens and down to the ear of the one qi, and so the saints are precious to the one. [27]

Check its beginning and this is lifeless, not just lifeless and this is invisible, not just invisible and this is no gas. The first thing that you need to do is to find a way to get to the center of the world, and then you have to go back to the center of the world. [28]

People's life, the gathering of gas. [29]

From the viewpoint of Zhuangzi, everything, including human beings, is a manifestation of qi, and qi gathers when a person is born and disperses when a person dies. He even believed that "there is one qi that passes through the heavens." In "The Great Master", Zhuang Zi said, "Fudao got it (Tao) to attack the mother of qi", with qi as the mother, the origin of which is self-evident. About the relationship between gas and Tao in the "Zhuangzi" has not been revealed, which can not be said to be a pity, while the gas is equivalent to Tao, but since the Sui and Tang Dynasty heavy metaphysics began.

As mentioned earlier, Cheng Xuanying is the Sui and Tang heavy metaphysicians in the "reason" said the most forceful, but even Cheng Xuanying's doctrine of the Tao has not abandoned the Tao qi said. In his commentary on Laozi (Laozi), he says, "Can one specialize in qi to achieve softness, as in the case of a baby? He said, "Specialization is the same as concentration. Qi is also the Way. Zhi, also means to obtain. Softness is also harmony. It is only for the purpose of specializing in the Tao that one can obtain the principle of softness, like a baby with no desire." [30] Here, Cheng Xuanying clearly pointed out that the Tao is the air; and in the sparse "Laozi" "the Tao is a thing, but indistinct, indistinct, indistinct, in which there is an image," he said:

Trance in the image, indistinct, indistinct, there is a thing, there is a thing that is the God, the God is wonderful for the name of the thing, although again, not non-existent non-existent, but there is nothing, so it is also wonderful. In the image that is the air, although again non-image, non-color and color for the color for the image; therefore, it is the air also, the Word of all kinds of changes see (now), so not a thing and a thing, not an image and an image also. [31]

While Cheng Xuan-ying's "Tao" is non-existent, non-image, non-color, the Tao is by no means an empty "reason" that can be fully encompassed, for even this is called by Cheng Xuan-ying "wonderful reason", "mysterious reason", "mysterious reason", "mysterious reason", "mysterious reason", and so on. The reason is that even the "Tao", which Cheng Xuanying called "Wonderful Reason", "Metaphysical Reason" and "Reasonable Reason", still contains the air which is the source of the biochemical origin of all things. Tang Xuanzong in the "Royal Note Tao Te Ching", but also directly to the Tao gas and called the source of the biochemical origin of all things: "People know the body is the son of the Tao air, from the Chong air and born also, when to keep the Tao purity, do not stain the dust, love the air to raise the God, so that do not leave the scattered." [32] followed by Du Guangting simply said: "Road, the air of nothingness, the air is also, turbid Zong, the ancestor of Qiankun, can have can not, including heaven and earth. Tao is invisible, no one can name. Formless form, is called the true form; no elephant of the elephant, is called the true image. Preceding heaven and earth without being old, formless but self-expression, no image but self-establishment, nothing but self-chemical, so it is called the Great Way." [33]

Sui and Tang's heavy metaphysics is not only based on the significance of qi as the material of all things as the source of all things, but also equate "qi" with a kind of impetus to promote the operation of the "Great Way" or the force of action. The meaning of this "gas" in Sima Chengzhen's theory of qi has been the most fully developed, in the "service qi Essence of the theory," he said:

Fu qi, the Road of a few micro also. A few movements, micro and use, is born one, so the mixed yuan full of too easy. The one who is, the Tao of Chong condensation also. The punch and the chemical, condensed and created, is born two, so heaven and earth is divided into Taiji. It is the form of the body, all things with the same endowment; the spirit of the production, all things with the same acceptance. [34]

Sima Chengzhen believed that qi is the subtle core and power of the Tao, and when the qi, which is the core and power of the Tao, moves, the Tao becomes dynamic, and the Tao is driven by the qi to give birth to the Taiji, and then the heavens and the earth and all things are born. Whether qi is the material of all things or the driving force of all things, it is almost always emphasized in Sui and Tang's metaphysics. It is based on the theoretical knowledge of the same position and the same body of gas, so Sui and Tang re-metaphysics in the Tao "rational" at the same time, but also never abandoned this to the Tao of the birth of the wonderful nature of the use, so that in the Wei and Jin metaphysics of pure concepts of the shape of the promotion of the "Tao" had been once dried up and empty sparse The truth of non-existence and non-existence, the way of extreme mystery and mystery, the dissecting of the one element and the opening of the three elephants, the harmonizing of the two qi and the birth of all things. [35]

The Tao is wrapped in the Yuan Qi, which is divided into two meters, two meters into three talents, three talents into five elements, and five elements give birth to all things. [36] Dao moving, out of the gas of Chonghe, and with the generation. There is the way of generation, had no surplus. [37]

However, the Sui-Tang theory of metaphysics is no longer the same as that of the original Taoists, because in the original Taoists, the meaning of "Tao" as the source of biochemistry is the whole of the Tao. As mentioned earlier, Sui and Tang re-metaphysics reintroduced its Dao qi theory after the ontology of Wei and Jin metaphysics. That is to say, in the Dao qi theory of Sui and Tang re-metaphysics, the origin theory and the ontology theory coexisted simultaneously. In this way, Sui and Tang re-metaphysics will inevitably encounter a theoretical dilemma that neither the pre-Qin Taoists nor the Wei and Jin metaphysics have ever had before, namely: which of the two Taoist theories is more supreme? Or are both equally important? Based on the position of heavy metaphysics, Cheng Xuanying solved this problem by saying:

To the wonderful nature of Taoism, the body of the body to eliminate the name of the form, from the original down to the trace, the origin of the original gas. And from the original qi change yin and yang, so the yang qi clear and floating rise for the sky, yin qi sinking and turbid descending for the ground. The two qi rise and fall, and qi for people, there are three talents, the next generation of all things. [

In Cheng Xuanying's view, although the Tao can be equated with yuan qi in the biochemistry of all things, this is, after all, traceable, and thus this biochemical function can only be a trace in relation to the Tao essence, which is the "rationality" that transcends words and images. In this about this and traces of the subcontracting, reasoning and Tao qi theory of the high and low points have been self-evident, and the set of heavy metaphysics of the completion of the Du Guangting in his "Tao Te Ching Guang Shengyi" in the more understandable exposition of this point:

The first of the domain of biochemical, within the two qi, the yin and yang of the tao of the place; the second of the domain of the wonderful, in the two outside of the qi, the wonderful between the no, and the third of the domain of the wonderful no, outside the wonderful, the dense, the beginning of condensation, will be transformed in the have also. Beginning to condense, will be transformed in the have also; its fourth wonderful outside, called the domain of the Tao, non-existent, non-existent, not infinite. [39]

While Sui and Tang heavy metaphysics did not reject the theory of Dao qi, but in line with its heavy metaphysical position of the pasting of stagnation and de-emphasis, Sui and Tang heavy metaphysics is very difficult to this seems to fall into the "there is" of Dao qi said to be upgraded to the realm of the ultimate, and so the use of the original trace of the said or tetrarchy will be said to incorporate the said into the system of the heavy metaphysical and reasoning to say that the same time coexisted in reverse, is also not the best of both worlds. It is also a convenient way to have the best of both worlds, and this kind of rounding and integration based on the position of heavy metaphysics makes the doctrine of Taoism of Sui and Tang heavy metaphysics, after following the basic rationale of Taoism's reverence for the essence, finally become a new kind of "essence-origin" theory that is both different from and related to pre-Qin Taoism and Wei and Jin metaphysics. Theory of Origin and Ontology". What we need to emphasize here is that from the "Origin" of pre-Qin Taoism to the "Essence" of Wei and Jin metaphysics, and finally to the "Origin-Ontology" of Sui and Tang metaphysics, Taoist thought has become a new kind of "Origin-Ontology" theory which is both different from and related to that of pre-Qin Taoism and Wei and Jin metaphysics. "The basic position of Taoist thought of respecting the essence has never been rejected, and this basic position of Taoist thought is undoubtedly contrary to the basic spirit of anti-essentialism in Buddhism, especially in the Middle Way.

Notes:

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[1] Laozi - Forty Chapters

[2] Laozi. Fourteen Chapters

[3] He Lin and Wang Taiqing, Lectures on the History of Philosophy - Chinese Philosophy, p. 131, Beijing: Commercial Press, 1995.

[4] Daode zhenjing xuande compilation sparring, Volume 1 cited, Daozang, Book XIII, page 361.

[5] P.24 63 《本际經》 Volume 4, 《道性品》.

[6] P.24 63 "The Sutra of Virtue and Truth", Volume 4, Daozang, Book XI, p. viii.75.

[7] Daozang, Book XIV, p. 338.

[8] Yenshun: Zhongguancang jinshun, pp. 199-200, Taipei: Zhengwen Publishing House, Revision 1, 1992.

[9] Daodezhenjing 玄德篡疏, vol. 4, Daozang, vol. 13, p. iv.07.

[10] Daodezhenjing xuande zuoshu, vol. 1, Daozang, vol. 13, p. 360.

[11] Daodezhenjing 玄德纂疏 (Compilation and Speech of the Daoist True Scriptures of Xuan De), Volume 1.2, Daozang (The Dao Collection), Book Thirteen, p. IV.57.

[12] "Dao De Zhen Jing Xuan De Codification Speech," Volume 4, Dao Zang, Book XI, page 775.

[13] Tao Te Ching Yi-Shu, Volume 2, Meng Wentong's "Taoist Book Series and Ten Kinds of Schools", page 502, Chengdu: Bashu Shusha 2001, Chengdu: Bashu Shusha.

[14] "Chuang Tzu - Heaven and Earth," by Guo Qingfan, "Chuang Tzu Jiexue," vol. 2, p. iv.05, Chengdu: Bashu Shusha, 2001.

[15] "Dao De Jing Yi Shu", Volume 1, "Dao Shu Jie Zhi Xue", page 367.

[16] The Compilation and Speech of the Daoist True Scriptures of Xuan De, Volume 3, Dao Shu Jie XIII, page 358.

[17] [17] The Imperial Shuo Daodejing, Volume 8, Daozang, Book XI, page VII.93.

[18] Daodezhenjing Guangshengyi, Volume 1, Daozang, Book XIV, page 311.

[19] Daozang, Book XXIV, page VIII.04.

[20] Zhuangzi - Zhi Beiyou (《庄子-知北游》疏), by Guo Qingfan, The Collected Explanations of Zhuangzi (庄子集释), Book III, page 751.

[21] Dao De Jing yi shu, volume 1, Dao Shu ji xue xi, page 376.

[22] Dao De Jing yi shu, volume 1, Dao Shu ji xue xi, page 403.

[23] Guo Qingfan, Zhuangzi jiexue, vol. 1, p. vi.

[24] The Commentary on the Tao Te Ching (《道德真經》), Daogang zhi xiv, p. 380.

[25] The Imperial Shuo Daodezhenjing (御疏道德真經), Volume 1, Daozang (道藏), Book XI, page VII.50.

[26] Daodejing yishu, Volume 1, Daoshu zhuixue ten kinds, page 377.

[27] Zhuangzi - Zhi Beiyou (知北游).

[28] Zhuangzi - Zhi Le Chuan (至樂篇).

[29] Zhuangzi - Zhi Beiyou (知北游).

[30] Daodejing yishu, Volume 1, page 394 of the Ten Types of Taoist Books.

[31] Dao De Jing yi shu, vol. 1, p. 418 in Dao Shu ji xue xi.

[32] The Imperial Shuo Daodejing, Volume 7, Daozang, Book 11, page 789.

[34] Daozang, Book XVIII, page 447.

[35] Daodezhenjing 玄德纂疏 (Compilation and Remarks on Daodezhenjing Xuande), Volume 1.2, Daozang (The Dao Collection), Book XIII, page 457.

[36] "Taishang Laojun said Chang Qingjing" (太上老君说常清静經注), Daozang (道藏), Book XVII, page 184.

[37] The Imperial Commentary on the Virtue of the True Sutra, Volume 1, Daozang, Book XI, page VII.17.

[38] 《道德真经玄德篡疏》卷一二，《道藏》第十三册，第四五七页。

[39] Dao De Zhen Jing Guang Sheng Yi, Volume 2.1, Dao Zang, Book 14, page 415.