A Daoist way of being: clarity and stillness as embodied practice*. Issue 1 (2nd January 2019)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Komjathy, Louis
• Is Part Of: Asian philosophy. Volume 29:Issue 1(2019)
• Page Start: 50
• Page End: 64
• Publication Date: 2019-01-02
• Subjects: Apophatic meditation -- clarity and stillness -- Clarity-and-Stillness Literature -- contemplative psychology -- Daoism (Taoism -- embodiment -- mystical experience -- _qingjing_ -- _Qingjing jing_ -- _Shengxuan huming jing_; Philosophy, Asian -- Periodicals; 181
• DOI: 10.1080/09552367.2019.1590925
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0955-2367

Abstract

ABSTRACT: Daoism, especially classical Daoism, is often constructed as a 'philosophy, ' 'set of ideas, ' or 'system of thought.' This is particularly the case in studies of Chinese philosophy and comparative philosophy. The present article draws attention to the central importance of clarity and stillness ( qingjing 清靜) as a Daoist form of meditative practice, contemplative experience, and way of being. Examining historical precedents in classical Daoism, the article gives particular attention to the Tang dynasty (618–907) 'Clarity-and-Stillness Literature, ' specifically the eighth-century Qingjing jing 清靜經 (Scripture on Clarity and Stillness; DZ 620). In the process, one finds that qingjing is one of the major connective strands throughout the Daoist tradition, a connective strand that reveals the central importance of embodied, experiential, and applied dimensions of human being from a Daoist perspective.