Daoism Series 40:
龍門心法
The Dragon Gate’s Core Methods [Commentary on chapter 3 excerpt]
The following excerpt is from the Commentary by Li Shifu on the third chapter ‘Breaking through Obstructions and Hindrances’ of The Dragon Gate’s Core Methods (Purple Cloud Press forthcoming) by Wang Changyue (?-1680), a very influential Daoist during the Qing Dynasty and a pivotal figure in the institutionalization and dissemination of the Complete Realization School of Daoism and the Dragon Gate sect in particular.
The third chapter of the book is about what blocks your progress on the Daoist path. The obstacles we encounter in spiritual practice are like the pits, wells, rivers, and checkpoints that advancing soldiers have to negotiate. These stumbling blocks are divided by the author into two aspects: obstructions on account of the principles of the path and obstructions on account of one’s activities. Obstacles on account of the principles include one’s attachments to knowledge, what one has learned through ordinary study, what society recognizes as valid and true, and the prejudices of the masses. These will prevent you from following the path. You must understand why the first stage of Daoist practice is the study that is called ‘Grasping the Principles’. When you have learned the principles, the meaning of whatever you practise will be clear. But if you do not grasp the principles, you will have no sense of direction and will not know what to do. The obstructions will be too great for you to proceed. Your understanding is wrong, and your knowledge is too limited. So let go of your past attachments to the self and to your understanding. These stem from your father and mother and your education in the school or university system. Following that, you learn from society and what the government teaches you, as well from the scientists nowadays. For example, you might reject the dao and say, ‘I believe in science’. Who does not believe in it? Science never stops moving forwards, and what it holds to be true is constantly changing. As with archaeological discoveries, they keep finding something new and then what they believed beforehand is shown to be all wrong. So those who dismiss the path in the name of science need to watch their words. Do not be bigoted like them, for you cannot walk the path if you are unable to let go of your former points of view. As I often say, science will develop. The great scientist Albert Einstein observed:
Science without religion is lame, religion without science is blind.
So, the first stage of Daoist cultivation and internal alchemy is to understand the principles of the great dao – then you will know what to do. Do not violate those principles and develop compassion, a loving heart, and forbearance.
Use such a field of love and compassion to wash away negativities. This practice is a form of elevation of the self. If you have grasped the principles, but cannot let go of all attachments, then do so slowly. It is not like taking a pill of immortality and then you ascend. As with retaking examinations at school, with each attempt you will gain a higher mark until you pass. Daoist practice is like taking an uninterrupted succession of exams, for you have to rectify and let go of your self continuously. The Chinese character for ‘cultivation’ also means ‘to repair’ or ‘to mend’, so to cultivate the dao means ‘to rectify one’s dao’, ‘to repair one’s road’ or ‘to mend one’s ways’. If this is too hard for you, you should just stop.
The highest path is not for ordinary people, otherwise there would not have been just one Jesus, one Buddha, one Lao Zi and one Muhammad, but at least half the world would be like them. But there are too many obstacles, the self has too many attachments, so not even one in seven billion can reach their level. Any desire or emotion is an obstacle, such as what Buddhism and Daoism calls the three poisons – greed, anger, and stupidity or ignorance. You must press forward despite all these obstructions. Have faith in yourself. But if you turn back from the path, this is not a problem. You can lead a normal life instead. You can try out the path of uncommon people and if it is too full of hardships for you, then you can return to the lifestyle of an ordinary person. This applies especially to the refinement of the elixir and the cultivation of the dao, for this goes beyond the level of longevity and healing, the Daoist practices for society and the masses. To refine the elixir and cultivate the dao is to become an angel. Its requirements are many times higher than those of the longevity level.
Post-Scriptum: Picture of Daoist priest on Mount Hua by Hedda Morrison
