«Dated precisely to 1 February 255 C.E., the text seems to be put into the mouth of Zhang Lu but is most likely the work of someone else (perhaps one of Zhang’s sons), who received it as a spirit communication.» — data los Commands and Admonitions el 1 de febrero de 255 y separa la voz del texto de su autoría: se pone en boca de Zhang Lu, pero Bokenkamp lo tiene por obra de otro —acaso un hijo de Zhang— que lo recibió como comunicación de espíritu.
Daoísmo
What does this tradition say about experience, knowledge and transformation? We approach these questions with consciousness as our centre, listening to the language of each source.
Gonzalo Olivares Velázquez · Spiritus Mundi
1 · Listen to the sources
How these passages were chosen: from the works assigned to this tradition, in alphabetical order, the first passage of each whose quoted words name consciousness, awareness, soul, spirit or knowledge (in English or Spanish); one per work, up to four. The choice is by vocabulary only: a passage may agree with our reading, disagree with it, or leave the question open.
«[CHAPTER 53] Were I to have the least bit of knowledge, in walking on a Great Road, it’s only going astray that I would fear. The Great Way is very level; But people greatly delight in tortuous paths. The courts are swept very clean; While the fields are full of weeds; And the granaries are all empty. Their clothing—richly embroidered and colored; While at their waists they carry sharp swords. They gorge themselves on food, and of possessions and goods they have plenty. This is called thievery! And thievery certainly isn’t the Way!» — capítulo 53 entero: la Vía es muy llana y la gente prefiere los caminos torcidos; el texto llama robo a las cortes barridas junto a los campos con maleza y los graneros vacíos.
«The order in which the three subjects are mentioned is significant —so significant that, to my knowledge, all authors and commentators who mention the three subjects refer to them in the same order, even when they refer to them with different Chinese terms.» — Pregadio observa que el orden de las tres materias es constante en todos los autores y comentaristas que las mencionan, aunque las nombren con términos chinos distintos
«Altogether, Ch'i liieh pieh lu and Chapter 30 of Han shu list 13,299 scrolls of books, and since the advent of the Wei dynasty [a.d. 220—] writing has mounted in floods twice as great as before. I am conscious, therefore, of how much I have never seen.» — Ko Hung mide lo que no ha leído: los catálogos suman 13 299 rollos y desde la dinastía Wei la escritura ha crecido al doble.
2 · Ask what each source declares
Who knows, and what is transformed? Is the relationship between inner experience and the world declared, disputed, or left open? Let the passage determine the answer before bringing it into dialogue with our reading.
Explore documented argument maps →3 · Return to the centre
For us, these paths meet in consciousness. Which passage converses with that reading, and which qualifies or contradicts it? Save it with your own note.
Read the position of the house →Open your notebook →