by Guan Zi
The Proto-Daoist Texts of the Guan Zi:
白心
Purifying the Heart-Mind
Bai Xin
心術上
Art of the Heart-Mind: upper volume
Xin Shu Shang
心術下
Art of the Heart-Mind: lower volume
Xin Shu Xia
內 業
Internal Cultivation
Nei Ye
白心
Purifying the Heart-Mind
Bai Xin
1 建當立有 [65] ,
To establish long-standing order:
2 以靖為 宗 ,
Take peace and tranquility as your revered ancestor,
3 以時為 寶 ,
Treat opportune moments as precious jewels,
4 以政 [66] 為 儀 ,
And treat political affairs as a matter of ceremony.
5 和則能 久 ,
With harmony, there can be enduring continuity.
The Bai Xin (BX) begins by addressing matters of decorum and diplomacy; however, as soon becomes apparent, these strategies are not simply techniques to avoid conflict. Rather, they are offered by someone steeped in the Daoist Sage’s tradition of cultivating longevity and spiritual evolution, seeking to impart this path to enlightenment upon those tasked with bringing peace and stability to China’s Warring States Period.
The Bai Xin bears many resemblances to the Dao De Jing (DDJ), including its simultaneous outer and inner meanings when speaking of government. [67] Heshang Gong’s commentary on the Dao De Jing is considered an early confirmation of Lao Zi’s hidden metaphors for internal cultivation in methods of statecraft. However, these proto-Daoist texts in the Guan Zi show that this metaphor was well established by the time the Dao De Jing was more widely circulated, around 200 B.C.
This ability to speak with simultaneous exoteric and esoteric meanings is evident in the first five lines of Purifying the Heart-Mind (Bai Xin) . The treatise begins: “To establish long-standing order: take peace and tranquility as your revered ancestor.” The essence of Daoist cultivation lies in longevity and a peaceful existence, attained by following nature and learning from, for example, the detachment of Heaven and patience of Earth. “Take peace and tranquility as your revered ancestor / yi jin wei zong” teaches that the basis of this master’s diplomacy lies in the ‘art of the heart-mind’ – an art which can ensure, and even be used to describe, the most skillful policy in all matters of government. This sentence can also be read “consider silence as the origin,” or “consider bringing peace to the world as a form of worship.”
How should one take peace and tranquility as their revered ancestor? Line three reads: “Treat opportune moments as precious jewels.” When appreciating a precious jewel, one may not even touch it, yet they will look at it deeply, considering its hues, and the hidden lines within it. If one wishes to shape such a jewel, they must find its soft and hard points so that their shaping of it neither destroys it, nor removes more than is necessary to reveal its full splendour. Above all, they give it their full attention, and do not cast it aside. This is, as line four states, to treat the moment as “a matter of ceremony.” And in this harmony, one finds the path towards longevity, and peace (see line 5).
“Treat opportune moments as precious jewels,” refers to opportunities, both immediate and seasonal, with the word “shi, 時 , season, timing.” This line may intentionally corresponds with the last several lines of the Bai Xin , on timing and cultivation, while also speaking of the external factors of planning and acting according to seasons of planting, growing, harvesting, and storing, whatever these steps may mean to one’s given endeavours.
“Treat political affairs as a matter of ceremony” is also reflected later on (lines 201-207) in regards to keeping an outward appearance of decorum during sitting meditation.
6 非吾 儀 , 雖利不為。
If I am not ceremonious, who will see an advantage and not act on it?
7 非吾 當 , 雖利不行。
If I do not respect proper timing, who will see an advantage and not move forward?
8 非吾 道 , 雖利不取。
If I am not in accord with Dao, who will see an advantage and not take it?
9 上之隨 天 ,
The best follow Heaven;
10 其次隨人。
The next follow man.
11 人不倡不 和 ,
If one person does not initiate (a melody), others do not harmonize.
12 天不始不 隨。
If Heaven did not begin, nothing would have followed.
13 故其言也不 廢 ,
Thus, words are not wasted,
14 其事也不隨。
And affairs are not misguided
While these lines offer external, actionable, guidance, they reveal the actions of someone who holds to his or her practice of keeping the heart-mind undisturbed, cautiously making sure that their mind does not become muddied with thoughts, and emotionally entangled.
Evidently speaking as someone of high authority, the author explains here that leaders must conduct themselves, in these precious moments, in a calm and dignified manner so as to avoid setting a precedent for ungracious behaviour. After all, if those tasked with ensuring the greater good are impetuous and selfish, what more can be expected of those under them?
This circumstance provides a helpful model of what it means to be in accord with Dao. Encountering a situation of great potential gain or loss, the leader is not “the first to move forward” but remains earnest and considerate. They suspend their personal goals to engender a climate of respect and rectitude. As Lao Zi says in DDJ77:
Who can have in excess, and care for all under Heaven?
Only those who have Dao
And in DDJ67:
… I have three treasures
Which I hold close and protect
The first is kindness
The second is economy
The third is not daring to be first (and take precedence over) the world…
While not indicating any familiarity with the Dao De Jing , the Bai Xin clearly illustrates Lao Zi’s “third treasure” in lines 6-10. This sentiment of working harmoniously with others appears in the opening and closing remarks of the Bai Xin , showing the importance of social unity in its philosophy.
Similarities to the Dao De Jing also appear between BX11-14 and DDJ2:
… Noise and tone are harmonized by each other [68]
Front and back accompany each other
Therefore, sages handle affairs with non-action
They practice wordless instruction
And the myriad things all take their places…
At first glance, it may appear that these authors discourage initiative altogether; however, as the Bai Xin will soon make clear, their objective is accordance with Heaven, 天 Tian, often equated, perhaps rightfully so, to the Western notions of Nature and its manifestations – nature.
All areas of human life, internal and external, can thrive by according with nature, and so the early sages sought ways to fit into its patterns and ebbs and flows. Such logic follows that if people can learn to live as one with each other , they will also thrive as one with nature; just as by cultivating harmony within oneself, harmony will naturally manifest itself in one’s life. [69]
It should be noted that the nature of human beings, according to Daoists, is qing 靜 : silence, tranquility, stillness. It is this state to which all things return. While humans have powerful emotions, like rainstorms, these emotions do not last, and are followed again by tranquility. As these texts show, by cultivating tranquility, one can see things as they are, and thus act according to the time. So, by non-action, one knows the time; and when that precious timing arrives, it is embraced accordingly.
15 原始計 實 , 本其所生。
The true primordial strategy is the root from which life springs.
16 知其象則索其形，
Knowing its
image, one apprehends its form.
17 緣 [70] 其理則知其情。
Reaching to its principles, one knows its nature.
18 索其端則知其名。
Seeking its end, one knows its name.
19 故苞物眾者莫大於天 地 ,
Thus, for producing many flourishing things, nothing is greater than Heaven and Earth;
20 化物多者莫多於日 月 ,
For transforming many things, nothing can transform so many things as the sun and moon;
21 民之所 急 , 莫急於水火。
For causing urgency in people, nothing is more urgent than water and fire.
Here we see the emergence of a higher wisdom: the “clear vision” ( 明 ming: enlightenment) that accompanies one’s ability to preserve Dao within.
While, again, not indicating any familiarity with it, lines 15-18 of the Bai Xin show a striking correlation to the following lines from DDJ1, perhaps offering further insights into them:
DDJ1:
The Dao that can be told is not the Eternal Dao
The name that can be named is not the Eternal Name
The Nameless is the origin of Heaven and Earth
The Named is the mother of the myriad things…
BX15-20:
The true primordial strategy is the root from which life springs.
Knowing its image, one apprehends its form.
Reaching to its principles, one knows its nature.
Seeking its end, one knows its name
Thus, for producing many flourishing things, nothing is greater than Heaven and Earth.
For transforming many things, nothing can transform so many things as the sun and moon.
What the Bai Xin calls “the 原始 primordial 計 strategy (that is) 實 real,” the Dao De Jing refers to as the Eternal Dao in the verse “The Dao that can be told is not the Eternal Dao.” Both texts begin this discourse by setting apart the true Dao. As will be seen later, the Bai Xin also uses the term 道 Dao much in the same way as Lao Zi.
The parallels continue:
DDJ1:
… Thus, always without desires
Observing its inner subtlety
Always with desires
Observing its outer surface…
BX17-18:
Reaching to its principles, one knows its nature.
Seeking its end, one knows its name
Despite the stark similarities in these verses, the differences in their terminology and shifted sequences of development suggest that both texts were written records of a shared oral tradition, rather than one directly influencing the other. Their verse like qualities further suggest an oral transmission aided by these mnemonic devices.
Lines 15-16 also shed light on DDJ35’s “by holding onto the great image, the world is put into motion.” The Bai Xin clarifies the meaning of “the image,” here, as an indistinct sense of Dao, not yet revealing its principles. Holding to the image, then, is to “know without knowing;” in other words, to know Dao, “the true primordial strategy,” without intellectualizing it. Heshang Gong (c. 200 AD) comments on this line from DDJ35:
“By holding onto the great image, the world is put into motion”
“Holding onto,” here, means holding close. “Image,” here, means Dao. The Sage holds the Great Dao close to him, and everything in the world shifts its heart to the way things once were. He governs his body, and Heaven sends down spiritual lights. (These spiritual lights go) back and forth between his body (and Heaven). [71]
22 然而天不為一物枉其 時 ,
As such, Heaven does not twist its seasons in consideration of an individual thing.
23 明君聖 人 , 亦不為一人枉其法。
An enlightened Sage ruler does not twist the law in consideration of an individual person.
24 天行其所 行 , 而萬物被其利。
Heaven moves according to its own movements, and the myriad things arrange their own benefits.
25 聖人亦行其所 行 , 而百姓被其利。
The Sage also moves according to his own movements, and the hundred clans arrange their own benefits.
26 是故萬物均既誇 眾矣。
For this reason, each of the myriad things all praise them.
Preserving Dao within, Sages do not take counsel from the confused logic and surface understanding of those whose vision is blurred by desire, fear, ambition, and self-interest.
Lines 19-26 present a backdrop of ideas concerning Heaven, Earth, and the Sage that the author of DDJ5 may have presupposed a familiarity with when stating:
Heaven and Earth do not act benevolently
The myriad things are treated no differently than ceremonial grass-dogs
Sages do not act benevolently
The hundred clans are treated no differently than ceremonial grass-dogs
Wang Bi, a 2 nd century commentator on the Dao De Jing , interpreted these lines to mean that all people are treated equally under the law, stating:
The myriad things are all governed together and managed in the same way. Thus, (Heaven and Earth) are not benevolent.
Ren, translated as “benevolence,” carried a meaning, especially in ancient times, of diligent consideration for courtesy, manners, and hierarchies, following the culture of those who served in the court. One of the most significant contrasts between Daoists and Confucians was that Daoists had little value for complex and prescribed manners and courtesies which they felt must flow as a natural expression from people’s sense of oneness with all things.
Heshang Gong comments on the first line of DDJ5:
“Heaven bestows, and Earth transforms. It is not because of benevolence or mercy that they do this, but simply because it is in their nature (ziran).”
Ziran ( 自 然 ) translates literally to “as itself,” and means “spontaneous, natural action.” The Bai Xin describes ziran, here, without using the term, in lines 24-25: “ Heaven moves according to ( 行 : moves, follows) its own movements …” This line precedes another helpful explanation, this time of “not benevolent,” with “ and the myriad things arrange their own benefits .” If Heaven was benevolent, it would arrange things on behalf of the myriad things, yet instead, it simply acts according to its nurturing nature (described in the Dao De Jing as De, “Virtue”), and this is enough for the myriad beings to arrange things for themselves. One might say that to give a fish is benevolent, but Heaven and the Sage are more like the lake itself. By simply acting according to their own nature, they provide all things the opportunity to reap these benefits.
By the same token, we also see that Heaven and Earth are impartial; they are unaffected by partisanship or privilege. The ancient texts taught that righteousness, virtue, and adherence to Dao will determine fortune. Although:
for producing many flourishing things, nothing is greater than Heaven and Earth; for transforming many things, nothing can transform so many things as the sun and moon (BX19-20)
those who contravene the Dao of Heaven may soon learn that
for causing urgency in people, nothing is more urgent than water and fire (BX21).
As the Bai Xin is part of the teachings on the “art of the heart-mind,” the integrity and stability described in lines 22–26 also allude to ‘retaining the throne of the ruler’ – a metaphor in the Xin Shu Shang (XSS) for not allowing the senses to wrest power from the heart-mind.
27 是以聖人之治 也 ,
Therefore, the Sage’s method of government
28 靜身以待 之 ,
Is to still the body and wait.
29 物至而名自治之。
Things then arrive at their names, (showing what they are,) and naturally fall into place.
30 正名自治 之 ,
As these names naturally order themselves,
31 奇身名廢。
Those which do not fit are abolished.
32 名正法 備 , 則聖人無事。
When names are corrected and la
ws perfected, the Sage is without further endeavours.
Impartial and unhurried, one can see what corresponds to reality, remove what is illusory, and further clarify the nature and shape of a given situation.
Given the similarity between lines 22-26 and DDJ5 (see above), lines 27-29 appear to reflect the end of DDJ5, while lines 19-20 also reflect its middle lines.
The second part of DDJ5 reads:
… The gate of Heaven and Earth
Is it not like a bagpipe?
Empty yet not finished
It moves, and again more is pushed forth
BX19-20:
Thus, for producing many flourishing things, nothing is greater than Heaven and Earth. For transforming many things, nothing can transform so many things as the sun and moon .
DDJ5:
To speak countless words is worthless
This is not as good as guarding balance within
BX27-32:
Therefore, the Sage’s method of government is to still the body and wait.
Things then arrive at their names, (showing what they are,) and naturally fall into place.