The 49 Barriers of Cultivating the Dao 修道四十九関 T

修道四十九関
The 49 Barriers of Cultivating the Dao

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著空關
Barrier 46, The Barrier of Emptiness
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The following is a sample chapter of Purple Cloud Press’ forthcoming third book, ’49 Barriers of Cultivating the Dao’, planned for a release at the end of January 2020.
It consists of an original translation of the 50 Barriers by Liu Yi Ming, edited into 49 Barriers by Xing De (Li Shi Fu), and an extensive commentary by the latter, further explicating the deeper concepts and meaning of the 49 Barriers.
The whole book will be rounded off by 63 appendix entries giving insight into key Daoist, Buddhist and Chinese cultural terms which appear in this book.

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Original Text by Liu Yi Ming
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大道非頑空寂滅，道至無而含至有，至虛而含至實，無為而無不為，天地無為而萬物生，日月無為而四時運，是無為之中而有為，非空空無為之說。修道先求明其道，而後力行，若抱道不行是謂守空，謂之修行則不可，人有生以来，受後天陰陽五行之偏氣，又帶輪迴根塵之宿障，若無點化群陰扭轉造化之大功，只以空空無為畢其事，怎能返陰為陽、拔去歷劫孽苦種子。
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The Great Dao is neither the obstinate void nor calm extinction. The Dao is the utmost non-existence yet also contains the utmost existence. [It is] the utmost emptiness yet also contains the utmost fullness. [It is] non-action [and] yet is also without non-action. Heaven and Earth’s non-action leads to the generation of the Ten Thousand Things. The sun and moon’s non-action [leads to] the cycle of the four times. [These] are the actions within non-action, and not the doctrine of hollow and void non-action. Cultivating the Dao, [one must] at first seek to be illuminated by this Dao, [and] thereafter practice [it] energetically with effort. If [one] embraces the Dao [but] does not practise, [this] is called Abiding in the Void. To call this cultivation is not acceptable.

Since humans possess life, [they have] received the deviant Qi] of the Post-Heaven Yin-Yang and Five Phases, [and they] also carry the past [karmic] obstructions of sensory objects from [countless rebirths] in the Wheel of Return. If [one] is without the great Gong [that will enable one] to enlighten and transform the crowds of Yin, [and] to seize and reverse [the course of] creation, [and] only employs hollow and void non-action in order to complete this matter, how could one reverse Yin into Yang, [and how could one] extract and remove the seeds of aeons of evil and bitterness?

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Excerpt of the Commentary by Xing De
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This barrier is a warning against falling into what Daoism calls the Empty Death and the Void. This is empty, because it cannot be seen, touched or grasped. If you close your eyes and try to think about it, it disappears. In this way, you enter the state of Observing Emptiness. It is a process in which Emptiness arises initially, and is then followed by Non-Emptiness. Cultivators wish to be Without Non-action, but first you need Non-action. The《Morning and Evening Scripture》elucidates what is required:

观空不空。
Observe emptiness
as if [it were] non-emptiness.

Within emptiness there is a non-emptiness that harbours existence, but people do not perceive it in the third dimension, as their eyes have a light spectrum that is limited. Likewise, in hearing, taste and the other senses, there are numerous spaces and frequencies that we cannot register. Emptiness is an attachment. Your Jing, Qi and Spirit are not empty.The opening and closing of the Mysterious Pass arises from Emptiness and Nothingness, as the utmost emptiness contains the utmost existence.

This relationship is expressed by two of the main concepts in Daoism – Non-Action and Naturalness. Non-action is also Without Non-action. One begins with Non-Action, at the Point Zero, and then moves into action and the opening up of greater wisdom. Non-Action is described in the《Dao De Jing》. Nothing is to be done or put into action; there should be only the cultivation of stillness and sitting meditation. But be careful in your sitting meditation, as it is often the case that having not yet reached Point Zero, one falls into complete emptiness. This is set in stone. Everything is the same – it is all empty – whether one cultivates or not. But do not try to draw on your own mental notions of Emptiness and Non-Being. It is futile to attempt to reach Point Zero by just sitting in a state of inertia, without knowing the principles, and without receiving the Divine Radiance, which for cultivators is like a mother hen laying an egg and protecting it well.

If you do not grasp hold of your life and dedicate it to cultivation, you will die like an ordinary person and maintain the cycle of transmigration from life to life. Once that happens, there is no way to return to this life and you will have lost the opportunity to become enlightened. Even if you try to ascend through drugs, you will still have a common death at the end. This is not the way to take hold of your life and become immortal. Only cultivation of the Elixir Path might enable you to succeed, except on very rare and special occasions. Is sitting meditation doing nothing at all? No, far from it! If you are clear, pure and tranquil, and practise correctly, you should not fall into the Empty Death. There is still a seed. How could such a state be empty?

一靈独存，是为不空。
One divinity solely exists,
it is called non-empty.