Send us a Text Message.
Li Dao-Chun (李道純) was a 13th century Daoist Master in the line of the famous 4th generation Master of the southern Nei Dan lineage, Bai Yuchan. Li is author of the Zhōng Hé Jí (中和集) translated as The Book of Balance and Harmony by Thomas Cleary.
This selection, which to my knowledge has not been previously translated, is the valuable preface and introduction to Li Dao-Chun’s Dào Dé Huì Yuán, his commentary on Lao Zi’s Dào Dé Jīng, and the rationale for his edits.
SHOW NOTES:
Xiaoyao Xingzhe, the self-styled carefree pilgrim, has lived and worked all over the world, having crossed the Gobi in a decrepit jeep, lived with a solitary monk in the mountains of Korea, dined with the family of the last emperor of China, and helped police with their enquiries in Amarillo, Texas.
FAN MAIL is. a new feature now available to leave feedback on episodes, love or hate them. Look for the button in the top ribbon when you click on “Episodes.”
Visit the Fat Monk Website: https://thefatmonk.net/
for pdfs of all recorded chapters and a few more, as well as other bits of interest on Daoism, Buddhism and Neidan, with an emphasis (but not a limitation) on pre-twentieth century authors such as Huang Yuanji and Li Daochun.
If you would like to support the production costs of this podcast, you may do so at Ko-fi.
Check out the wonderful Flora Carbo and her music:
https://floracarbo.com/
The preface to the Dào Dé Huì Yuán
(道德會元 Accord with the Origin of the Dao and its Power)
By Li Dao-Chun
Li Dao-Chun (李道純) was a 13th century Daoist Master in the line of the famous 4th generation Master of the southern Nei Dan lineage, Bai Yuchan. Li is author of the Zhōng Hé Jí (中和集) translated as The Book of Balance and Harmony by Thomas Cleary.
What follows, which to my knowledge has not been previously translated, is the valuable preface and introduction to Li Dao-Chun’s Dào Dé Huì Yuán, his commentary on Lao Zi’s Dào Dé Jīng.
Preface
With humility, I venture to say that Fuxi’s hexagrams of the Yi reveal the primal heaven, while Laozi’s writings all depict Dào and Dé; these are the ancestors of all the classics.
Students today are unable to make out the principles in these two books – why? Mainly because it has not been passed down to them. When I had not yet mastered the hexagrams, I travelled widely to try and meet people who had achieved, those who could ignite the opening of my heart and mind to the subtle changes,¹ and which would allow me to make out the marvels of the Yi Jing.
Thereafter I exhausted everything obtained from these adepts in composing my Sān Tiān Yì Súi (三天易髓 Mutable Marrow of the Three Heavens) for the instruction of my students. Yet Lao Zi’s Dào Dé Jīng remained incompletely investigated.
One day I was instructing my student Ji An, and he brought along a copy of Bai Yu-Chan’s Dao De Bao Zhang (Precious Stanzas of the Way and its Power) to show me. I saw that the annotations closely matched the meaning of the text, except for just a few rare places. I was about to make some comments at random, then on reflection did not dare! Later two or three other students brought out annotations made by a number of experts and asked me about them.
The first thing I did was compare the different versions of the classic itself, and found there were many discrepancies: an extra word here, a missed character there –sometimes even whole sentences would be mistaken, or two characters transposed; the versions were all at variance. Sighing, I said “If the classic itself is like this, how can one annotate it?” The students asked me the reason for the differences, and I said “In the beginning it might have been a copyist mistake, or on printing they did not properly check the blocks. There, too, may have been places our predecessors were unable to understand and so they randomly added or changed the text, mistake leading to mistake and ramifying like this.”
They said “Who is right?”
I said: “He Shang-Gong’s Lao Zi Zhang Ju (老子章句 Lao Zi Chapter and Verse) and Bai Yu-Chan’s Dao De Bao Zhang (道德寶章 Treasured Chapters on Dao and De).”
They asked: “Why is that?”
I said: “Because the thread of meaning running through their writing is accurate.”
They said “What about the various annotators?”
I said: “Their perceptions are different. Each only grasps a part.”
They said: “Can you be more specific?”
I said: “Generally they make their assessments from an idea of self, rather than letting it flow out from their own chests, and thus they cannot extend or broaden the meaning. If they approach it from a ‘how to govern’ angle they are stuck with it as a text about governing; if they approach it from an alchemical viewpoint they are stuck with alchemy; if they think it is about military arts they are stuck with a book about the art of war; if they think it explains Zen subtleties, they are stuck with Zen subtleties. Some discuss principles but ignore practicalities, others talk about practice but leave out principles. As for power, tactics and strategies, sidetracks and fruitless paths leading into deviance, all of these have lost the basic meaning intended by the sage. They should know that when a sage creates a classic, the original intention is established prior to heaven and earth, comes to manifestation in yin and yang, and only then arrives in this world. It contains both practice and principles without missing either; how can one grasp one side while discussing it? That’s why I dare to speak indiscreetly and, one by one, bring out for everyone those places where the explanations contradict the meaning of the classics as set out by the sages.”
All those present said “Excellent!”
From then on the people seeking assistance increased, and they would not allow me to keep silent; therefore I made annotations, sentence by sentence, to the rectified classic, explaining its meaning, demonstrating the importance of cultivating the spirit and nourishing qi. I also summed up the line of thought at the end of each chapter in order to clarify the fundamental and original sequence. Lastly I composed a verse for each chapter which showed the way to clarify the heart-mind and perceive essence. As for religious, political, moral and daily use by the average person, including instructions on how to practice the Way, generally and specifically, obvious and subtle: nothing has been omitted from it.
At the front of the book I placed a section clarifying terminology and a section investigating the rationale in order to eliminate doubts about similarities and differences in the classic.
I called it Accord with the Origin of the Dao and Its Power to help later students discover a rich understanding, entering in through the explanations and hopefully not falling into bias, enabling them to reach the Dao and return to the Origin. The problem with it is that the style is vulgar and is nothing but a straight explanation of the meaning of the classic, and even that I do not dare say is correct. Nonetheless this can draw the attention of my friends to a few areas of comparison between the various texts.
Preface composed at dawn in early summer of the year 1290
by the student from Duliang (Hunan), Qing An (Clear Hermitage),
Yingchanzi (Master of the Shining Toad): Li Dao-Chun, also known as Yuan Su.
Endnote
1. Li Dao-Chun defines xīn yì “Changes of mind consists of methods of transformation”: “心易者，易之道也… 观心易贵在行道” See Cleary Book of Balance and Harmony, p.16.
