Nei-yeh (Chinese Self-Cultivation Manual)
6. The Tao of cultivating Mind & Body leads to Success
1 As for the Way (Tao):
2 It is what the mouth cannot speak of,
3 The eyes cannot see,
4 And the ears cannot hear.
5 It is that with which we cultivate the mind (hsin) and align the body.
6 When people lose it they die;
7 When people gain it they flourish.
8 When endeavors lose it they fail;
9 When they gain it, they succeed.
10 The Way (Tao) never has roots or trunk;
11 It never has leaves or flowers.
12 The myriad things are generated (shêng) by it.
13 The myriad things are completed by it.
14 We designate it "the Way" (Tao).
Commentary
Verse 6 continues on the topic of the Tao. The song-poem reiterates and extends some themes from the preceding verses.
Lines 1-5:
1 As for the Way (Tao):
2 It is what the mouth cannot speak of,
3 The eyes cannot see,
4 And the ears cannot hear.
5 It is that with which we cultivate the mind (hsin) and align the body.
The initial lines state that the Tao can’t be sensed, another reiteration of its ineffable nature. According to line, the Tao is employed to cultivate hsin, our heart-mind, and align our body. This is the first time that body alignment is mentioned, but not the last. In this context, the Tao seems to represent the ideal self-cultivation practices – the Way.
Line 6-9:
6 When people lose it they die;
7 When people gain it they flourish.
8 When endeavors lose it they fail;
9 When they gain it, they succeed.
Without it (the synergy of self-cultivation practices and the Tao), we die and our endeavors are doomed to failure. With it (the Tao’s cultivation of mind and body), we flourish and succeed.
Lines 10-11:
10 The Way (Tao) never has roots or trunk;
11 It never has leaves or flowers.
The Tao doesn’t have roots or a trunk, nor does it have leaves or flowers. In other words, the Tao has no substance. As a process or energy, the Tao has no form.
Lines 12-14:
12 The myriad things are generated by it.
13 The myriad things are completed by it.
14 We designate it "the Way" (Tao).
The Tao generates and completes the myriad things. Being on the Path, i.e. following the Way of cultivating both mind and body, results in generating and completing myriad projects.
Interactive Feedback Loop between Tao & Self-Cultivation
The astute reader may have noticed that this verse seems to flip back and forth between two meanings of the Tao: the natural rhythms of the cosmos and the ideal self-cultivation practices – the Way. The two meanings seem to be employed almost interchangeably. However as we’ve pointed out, the two definitions are distinctly different.
Recall that lower case tao can refer to any ideal method, not just those practices associated with self-cultivation. To make sense of these passages, upper case Tao seems to be linked only with the taos associated with self-cultivation, not just any old method, It is in this sense that the Tao is that with which we cultivate mind and body. This verse could be deliberately playing with these two meanings of upper case Tao, cosmic and ideal self-cultivation practices – the Way.
However there is another interpretation. To ferret this out, let’s look more closely. The entire verse with one notable exception seems to be referring to the cosmic Tao. As with earlier verses, it is identified as being ineffable (lines 2-4 and 10-11). The Tao’s presence is associated with many positive features of human existence, i.e. flourishing, succeeding, generating, and completing (lines 7, 9, 12, 13), while its absence is associated with negative features, i.e. failing and dieing (lines 6 and 8).
While it is certainly possible to interpret these passages as referring to self-cultivation, it is a bit of a stretch. Self-cultivation practices are not usually gained or lost, nor are they generally responsible for generation and completion. It is much more plausible to attribute all of these features to the cosmic Tao.
However line 5 is different. It states that we cultivate the mind (hsin) and align the body with the Tao. It is hard to read this as the cosmic Tao and easy to read it as self-cultivation practices – the Way. In fact, line 5 is the only line in the entire NY that employs the Tao in an instrumental fashion. In the rest of this self-cultivation manual, the Tao is the result of self-cultivation practices rather than the instrument by which we cultivate mind and align the body.
How are we to understand this seeming discrepancy? Is the cosmic Tao the result or the instrument of self-cultivation?
One way of resolving this seeming conflict is to view the relationship between self-cultivation and the Tao as a type of feedback loop. As mentioned, the Tao can be viewed as a type of cosmic energy, just like jing, ch’i and shên. For physical vitality and mental acuity, we want to tap into each of these cosmic energy sources. The Nei-yeh instructs us about the variety of taos, the ideal methods, that we can employ to attract and stabilize these energies in our core.
These self-cultivation practices attract the Tao. The Tao’s power then energizes the practices. The taos become part of our personal rhythm which increases the probability that we will catch this wave again. In brief, self-cultivation stabilizes the cosmic Tao, which increases the likelihood of self-cultivation. This is a positive feedback loop.
Recall from Verse 4 that the two tests of the Tao’s presence are daily use of te (personal power) and surging vitality. If we don’t exercise self-restraint (te) on a daily level, this indicates the Tao’s absence. Without the Tao’s energy, personal vitality suffers.
This sets up a negative feedback loop. Without the Tao’s te, unrestrained and unguided impulses, such as emotions and desires, drive and shape our behavior. This lack of restraint results in the mental turbulence that repels the Tao as well as the other cosmic energies. The individual then has less energy to guide and restrain thoughts, words and deeds and less motivation for self-cultivation. Low vitality, in turn, results in emotions and desires driving our behavior. And the cycle begins anew.
These are great examples of the interactive feedback loops that are exclusive to living systems. A positive feedback loop exists between the Tao and self-cultivation. A negative feedback loop exists between unrestrained thoughts and behavior and the emotional turbulence that repulses the Tao.
It seems safe to say that the Three Doctrines of Chinese philosophy, i.e. traditional Taoism and Confucianism, as well as the latecomer Buddhism, believe that it is of utmost importance for all humans to avoid the negative feedback loop that is driven by unrestrained emotions and desires and to embrace the positive feedback loop that is driven by self-cultivation practices. In fact, each of the Three Doctrines consider self-cultivation to be the most important human responsibility, as it has major beneficial effect upon self, family and community, as we shall see.
Reflecting this common Chinese belief, the Nei-yeh clearly explicates the necessary components of this positive feedback loop. This short manual clearly lays out the taos (the methods) for attaining the cosmic Tao (aligning with the natural rhythms of nature). The particular verse states why it is so important to engage in the interactive feedback loop between the taos (practices) of self-cultivation and the cosmic Tao (natural rhythms).
Summary
The Nei-yeh’s last 3 verses focused upon the Tao. Each verse stressed its ineffable nature. Formless, it can’t be sensed or understood. Paradoxical, it is beyond chaos. Due to its unknowable nature, the Nei-yeh consistently directs us to avoid trying to understand the essence of the Tao as a waste of mental energy.
Although we can’t understand, we can see its effects. The regular use of te, inner power, and surging vitality are two tests of the Tao (V4). A tranquil mind (hsin) and regular ch’i flow attract and stabilize the Tao, which then sustains and harmonizes us (V5). This verse, Verse 6 states that the Tao, presumably its Power (te), is that with which we cultivate hsin and align (cheng) our body. Without the Tao's Power, we fail and die. Regularly following the self-cultivation practices attracts the Tao's Power, which results in flourishing and succeeding. The Tao's Power is the source of generation (shêng) and completion of myriad projects.
Due to all these positive benefits, it is obvious that we want to align ourselves with the Tao. However we must take an indirect approach. Rather than attempting to understand it, we must instead practice self-cultivation – the Way. We must calm our thoughts to achieve a tranquil mind and align our body to achieve a regular ch’i flow.