Video: Lessons From Dao
We Visited Temples, Sacred Sites and an Urban Village In Search of Ecological Wisdom
Since the mid-1990’s, Daoism has been increasingly prominent in Chinese environmental policy. The government has created nature reserves according to Daoist ‘sacred geography’, and senior Daoist figures have attended climate summits and meetings with government officials.
While it is well-known that the CCP maintains a tight grip over organized religion in China, we nevertheless decided it was worth investigating Daoism as a source of inspiration for a future Chinese climate movement. In this video, we introduce some concepts, precepts and practices that Daoism has to offer during this pivotal time.
Background
Daoism is one of the 三教 Sān Jiào ‘three teachings’ – Buddhism, Confucianism and Daoism – that have shaped Chinese culture in profound ways. These ancient thought-traditions continue to inform peoples’ views on the natural world. For example, the term 天人合一 tiānrén-héyī, ‘humanity is an integral part of nature’ is an oft-quoted Chinese concept commonly evoked by all three. However, each tradition’s interpretation of this idea differs.
While Chinese Buddhism is known for worshipping the divine spark of life in individual beings, Confucianism takes a secular view of nature, seeing it as a system of resources to be managed by a prudent emperor. Meanwhile, in Daoism the entire natural world is sacred. Mountains, rivers and trees have intrinsic worth and agency, and the Dào is seen as the pulsing, evolutionary force behind nature’s processes:
Mountains are high because of it. Abysses are deep because of it. Beasts can run because of it. Birds can fly because of it. The sun and moon are bright because of it. The stars and timekeepers move because of it (Huainanzi, 139 BCE; Xia et al, 2011).
Aligning oneself with this dynamic force — instead of seeking to resist or control it — is the primary pursuit of Daoists. This seems to fit well with non-interventionist environmental practices such as Rewilding, and partly explains why Daoism has been referred to as a ‘Green Religion’ in recent years.
We hope you enjoy joining us as we visit Daoist sacred temples and sacred sites, and meet with Sichuan University’s very own expert on Daoism.
If you haven’t already, please check out our previous post, in which we discuss the above ideas in more detail!
Quotation Source:
Xia, Chen and Schonfeld, Martin (2011) A Daoist Response to Climate Change, (a) Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Beijing; (b) Philosophy, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL, USA