What is the Way of Heaven?

On its face, this video will appear to be on a philosophical principle from the Daodejing, but every point has been mindfully curated to impart the core principles of mysticism. The Way of Heaven, Tianzhi Dao, is referenced several times in rather meaningful contexts in the Daodejing, so let's talk about it. What is the Way of Heaven? Withdrawing upon completion is the Way of Heaven. That's from verse 9, and it is the first time in both the Orthodox and Ma Wangdui ordering of the text that the reference to the Way of Heaven comes up. This line has become a popular maxim, roughly translated to retire after success. When your work is done, when you have achieved what you set out to achieve, make your exit with grace. In Daoist cosmology, the Dao is the source of all existence, an interchange of yin and yang forces, zeros and ones, be that EMI or EMR, that produce the electromagnetic field, the transient currents and voltages propagated through space and time. And then all that was produced is left to their own devices, to live per their own autonomous, individualized, free and unfettered will. Likewise, create your great work, put it out there, and then let it go, let it be. Verse 9 is also where we get the famous axiom, A house of gold and jade cannot be safely guarded. Wealth, grandeur, and vanity provoke one's own misfortune. I want to bring this up here because the message ties into the other verses we will be citing on the Way of Heaven. The theme of verse 9 is constraint and knowing when to stop. Don't go overboard. Once you have attained just what you need, attain no more. The next instructive verse on the Way of Heaven, Tianzhi Dao, is verse 73. The Way of Heaven is To prevail without struggle, To reach a chord without discord, To summon without summoning, To radiate calm with noble ends. Note the embedding of the Daoist principle zi ran in the line text zi lai, expressing that one self-governs and self-regulates without needing to be told to be virtuous and tan ran, one who radiates with an aura of serenity and calm. Which is to say that zi ran is to summon without summoning and to radiate calm with noble ends. These lines from verse 73 are not only defining the Way of Heaven, but are describing what it means to be zi ran. I want to make a standalone video on zi ran like what I did for Wu Wei, so I won't deep dive into the principle here. For my philosopher friends, during the Eastern Han, the naturalist and atheistic philosopher Wang Chong, 27-97 AD, espoused a Daoist principle he syncretized from the Tao Te Ching called Tian Dao Zi Ran, the Dao of Heaven that is Zi Ran, roughly translated. He asserted that the Way of Heaven is Zi Ran, and Zi Ran is a rational-based empirical series of physical effects in this universe, not to be explained by way of a divine will or divine intervention. He was heavily critical of what he observed as superstition and magical thinking. During a time when Daoism was framed primarily through theology, deification, divination, and mystical or cult practices, Wang Chong diverged from that to say that the Way of Heaven, in short, just means science, and the scientific method. But back to textual analysis. Is the Way of Heaven like drawing a bow? This is from verse 77. Drawing a bow to shoot an arrow at a target is both an art and a skill. Mastering this art and skill requires patience, practice, and dedication. With respect to your own spiritual journey, are you patient with yourself? Do you have a daily practice? What is your daily practice? As for dedication, that's personal commitment, that's ceremonial rights, and it's consistency, focus, resilience, and passion. The beginner's starting point is one often overlooked, and that is making sure the equipment you begin practice with as a beginner meets you where you are and is the right fit. It is well tailored to you, and specifically you. Likewise, with Daoist philosophy and mysticism, start with a practice that meets you where you are. Make sure the tools in your toolkit makes sense for you. What fits like a glove for me might not be right for someone else, so for me to be like everyone, you must use this glove or you're doing it wrong, that doesn't make sense. The Way of Heaven acknowledges that ultimately you're on your own to sort out and to define the scope of what the Daoist path means to you. Just like in archery, once your practice or spiritual cultivation begins, focus on your stance and posture more than you focus on the target. Drawing a bow implies that there is a target you want to hit with your arrow, but instead of focusing on the target way over in the distance, focus on knocking the arrow, meaning how you rest the arrow on the bow, that touch point, and making sure there's alignment in all the areas you can control, and not diluting your focus with what you cannot control yet. Like drawing a bow, both mind and body need to maintain a constant and consistent anchor, to study the pull of the string, to leverage the tension for accuracy, and to reiterate the most important of all, to stay focused. Focused means both seeing the direct path to the target and also what you're seeing through your peripheral vision. And even though the bow itself is taught with tension, you need to be in a mental and spiritual state of calm. Your movements need to be smooth and fluid. This balance of tension and calm is super important. Like drawing a bow, the Way of Heaven is about balance and harmony, extraordinary discipline, and patience, and then when it's time, letting go to trust the process. Let's continue with verse 77. 不足者补之,天之道,损有余而补不足。 Cut where there is access, fill where there is loss. The Way of Heaven cuts access to fill loss. Some super interesting subtext here as well. The specific word used repeatedly in these passages is 损. That's hexagram 41 of the I Ching Book of Changes, debilitation, reduction of finite resources. Failure is the mother of success. Not to mention the implied references to receiving the Mandate of Heaven in hexagram 41. Oh, and the references to Yi embedded here to contrast and also explain the themes of hexagram 41. Yi is hexagram 42, versioning, which is the opposite and contrasting polarity to hexagram 41. References to hexagram 42 of the I Ching appear throughout the Tao Te Ching and coincidentally enough, hexagram 42's first appearance is in the Tao Te Ching's verse 42. Verse 42 contrasts hexagram 42 with its polarity. Hexagram 41, 损, which we just talked about, which in itself references hexagram 42 to define 41, 损. More fun pattern spotting between I Ching and the Tao Te Ching. This line highlighted on screen basically means practice don't preach. The Taoist principle of wu wei corresponds with Yi and that's how you inspire the world, which reminds me of the line text in hexagram 42. When sages see the good of others, they are inspired to be better. And when they see the fault of others, they correct that fault in themselves. The resonance of equivalent touch points in two different classical Chinese texts several centuries apart Back to verse 77, where we also get a direct contrasting comparison between the way of heaven and the way of humanity. 人之道,則不然,损不足以奉有余。 The way of humanity divides where there is no division, cuts where there is loss, to fill where there is access. So, while division, infighting with undertones of discrimination and prejudice is technically still the Tao, it's the Tao of humanity, not the Tao of heaven. It's not the way of heaven, at least according to the Tao Te Ching. Just so we're all clear on what the Tao Te Ching is telling us, the way of heaven cuts where there is access, fills where there is loss, and cuts from access to fill the loss. That's also the Huang Lao doctrine we talked about in the previous video, on being in service for the good of the people. But the way of humanity, humans cut where there is already loss to fill where there is already access. To transcend, you need to be full and complete. That's how you have what it takes to make the journey to transcend. However, if you bring surplus, which will be dead weight, you won't be light enough to transcend, which is why the way of heaven is very clear, cut the access. The final reference to the way of heaven in the Tao Te Ching is also in the last and concluding verse of the book altogether, verse 81. Which is interesting, the opening first reference to the way of heaven was verse 9, and the concluding last reference to it is in verse 81, 8 plus 1 is 9. Resonance with the numerology of 9. This is a one-liner from the Tao Te Ching I'm sure you've heard quoted over and over again, sincere words are not sweet, sweet words are not sincere. That's John C.H. Wu's translation. Per Wing Tset Chan, it's true words are not beautiful, beautiful words are not true. Thomas Cleary goes with the same exact wording for his translation and interpretation as well. I've gone with truth is not flattering, flattery is not truth. The use of the word may in the context of verse 81 taken holistically is more in line with the meaning of an appearance of benevolence and virtue presenting as benevolent and virtuous in direct comparison with the word shan used in the subsequent line, which is sincere benevolence and virtue. Shan is the contrasting word we just talked about with respect to the previous line, sincere benevolence and virtue, in contrast to the appearance of benevolence and virtue. This translates to that which is benevolent is not belligerent, that which is belligerent is not benevolent. That word I've crudely translated to belligerent here holds another depth of meaning that's lost in translation. This is division among people of different statuses, people who have segregated themselves into different classes or factions, and then arguing with each other over right and wrong. This next passage is one I hold very dear and serves as a spiritual compass for me. In the various English translations presently available, you're going to find a lot of variation with respect to how buji is interpreted. Ji means to hoard, to accumulate in surplus, and then block others from accessing. There is that undertone of discrimination and prejudice as well, which connects to that earlier line on the way of humanity, dividing where there is no division. So this is my translation of that passage. When you deep dive into each and every one of those 18 characters from that line text in verse 81, in the line order of 4-7-7, the imagery and symbolism each word is evocative of, such as Ji, of a total solar or lunar eclipse, and Ji, of one who hoards, so that others cannot have, who blocks entry and access to a resource that have-nots would benefit from, one who controls and thus discriminates who has access. This is a reference to the public interest, public welfare, and this is a reference to the will of the people. Public interest and the will of the people are juxtaposed as the moral compass for the sages, the wise ones, which I've translated here to the awakened ones. And now the very last line of the very last verse. The way of heaven is to attain without harm. The way of the awakened ones is to be without contention. Compare that last line of verse 81 with verse 73 discussed earlier, describing to us the way of heaven, tian zhi dao. It is to be without contention, to not fight for what you believe you are entitled to, and to not force your perspective onto others. And yes, how cool is it that the two line references to bu zheng, without contention, rhymes. Basically, both verses are saying, do no harm. But I also read it as a gentle reminder that we cannot argue our way to convincing others to find the way of heaven. In short, the way of the sages, the way of the awakened ones, is to practice the way of heaven as you best understand and intuit it, without bickering with others about whether they're doing it right or wrong, and without causing harm. Let's now take a look at what other pre-Qin and Han dynasty classical texts have to say about the way of heaven, because there's a lot. Mencius' Mengzi, circa the Warring States period, 340 to 250 BC, basically rephrases the Daodejing and then says that sincerity is the way of heaven. Cheng means sincerity, authenticity, to be truthful and honest. It's a facet of wu wei, to not be false. The final line in verse 22, chengquan er gui zhi of the Daodejing makes reference to this doctrine of cheng, you summon without summoning when you exude cheng, sincerity. The line text makes reference to hexagram 54, gui of gui mei, the marrying maiden, with implications perhaps to an alchemical wedding. Keep that in mind, please. Zongyong, translated to English as the Doctrine of the Ming, is one of the four books on classical Chinese thought, dated before 300 BC. It notes that cheng, sincerity, integrity, authenticity, is the way of heaven. In the Book of Rites, the way of heaven is cited several times in reference to astrology or looking to planetary placements, the positioning of the sun and moon as guidance from heaven on what the way ought to be. And then it echoes what Mencius said about the way of heaven being, in one word, sincerity, cheng. In the Zuo Chuan, also known as the Commentaries of Zuo, circa 4th century BC, in the Spring and Autumn Commentaries of Zuo, scroll titled Wengong for those who like citations, there are these beautiful passages on how one knows what is the way of heaven, and it's through divination. But then, how do you know that you're interpreting the divinatory prophecy correctly? Well, it is in alignment with the philosophy and ethics, the wisdom passed down to us from the Zhou classical texts, which is the I Ching and the Daodejing, among others. Which is to say, the I Ching is your compass for finding and charting the way of heaven. But if you are at all unsure of whether you're interpreting it correctly, align it with the Daodejing. Xunzi, in his Discourse on Confucianism, explains that under-Confucianist thought, now to be distinguished from Daoist thought, as you might interpret it, straight from the Daodejing, asserts that the Dao is not the way of heaven and not the way of earth. It is the way of the Zhunzi, this principle of an ideal human, the paragon of morality in a human. So the Confucianist perspective of the Dao, comparing it to the Daodejing perspective of the Dao, is that the Dao is the way of the Zhunzi. That Confucianist point of view is continued in the classic of filial piety, a Confucianist treatise on, well, filial piety. Here's where we have to be very careful, where context matters a lot. In Confucianist texts, references to the Dao is not to Daoism as it might be defined in the Daodejing. And in fact, the two often contradict each other. In Confucianist texts, the Dao refers to Confucianism, or more precisely, the ru perspective of what say the Daodejing or the I Ching or other classical texts mean when they say the Dao. It's an interpretation of the Dao that sometimes gets conflated with Daoism, the school of thought, and other times is clearly distinguished and set apart from Daoism, the school of thought. An easy pitfall when reading classical Chinese texts in translation is to not start off with the right context. Zhunzi, a term used in the I Ching without a Confucianist framework, means something quite different from what the term Zhunzi means within Confucianist texts defined by ru philosophy. Likewise, here, the way of heaven used outside a Confucianist framework holds a diametrically different, even contradicting meaning from how it is used within a Confucianist framework. Not at all confusing. I'm such a dork. A Daoist text from the Eastern Han, Wenzi, known as the Book of Master Wen, includes this super interesting chapter, which I've loosely translated to the Nine Shields, outlining nine preventative mystical or spiritual practices that all together represent the Way of Heaven. On screen, I'll be extracting the relevant sections referencing the Way of Heaven. The Book of Master Wen offers explanatory commentary on the Daodejing, but also the short summary of what the Wenzi says about the Way of Heaven. Regurgitating basically all the lines from the Daodejing we just covered, the Way of Heaven is the natural way, slow and steady, whatever that means to you. The inevitable result of attaining great power is corruption. So stop yourself just short of attaining great power. That's also the Way of Heaven. And yeah, that's the nutshell summary. If you follow the breadcrumbs in the Daodejing left by the references to Tianzhi Dao, the Way of Heaven, the text will reveal to you, not to get hyperbolic, but well, it'll reveal to you the path of enlightenment. To close, let's circle back to the I Ching Book of Changes, because that might be where we first, in terms of classical records, see the reference to the Way of Heaven most poignantly in the Ten Wings Discourse on Hexagram 19. Ling Spring is coming. The Way of Heaven is to abide by this threefold law. Observe before speaking. Speak what you truly observe. Take resolute measures based on the response you want. If we look to the Daodejing to help explain that second principle, it's that verse 77 analogy to archery. Know your target before you take aim. As for that first principle, which is itself a two-parter, think before you speak, or well, the way it's phrased is observe before you speak. Really think through situations before you form an opinion. And then the second part of the first principle relates back to sincerity and authenticity. That third principle is interesting. It essentially means to thrive by aligning yourself in a way that is zheng. It means to always do the right thing, to only act when it is justified. It means that the ends does not justify the means. And in fact, the means is the only thing that matters. It's the journey that counts. The Dao, the path, what way you choose matters more than the destination. Zheng means balanced and in harmony, which often gets translated to the middle path. To be zheng is to walk the middle path. In accordance with the laws of nature and cosmic destiny, the way of Heaven is the way of yin and yang. You remember this line from my last video, an introduction to Daoism and how we define the Dao, right? The Dao is the exchange or interaction between a force called yin and a force called yang. What we just covered, also from the Ten Wings of the I Ching, is kinda sorta basically saying the same thing. Reviewing our last lecture, the Dao is the electromagnetic field produced by an exchange or interaction between yin and yang. The way of Heaven is called alliance, affinity, the bond, concord, the congruity of yin and yang, a temperance and balancing, an alchemical marriage of the two. That cited passage from the I Ching describes yin as soft and yang as strength, yin as goodwill, mercy, compassion, and yang as justice, righteousness. These lines are repeated again in the Dao De Jing. Jing Fang's commentaries on the Yi or I Ching circa 77-37 BC, which in my previous video I noted is kind of a super important explanatory text for interpreting the I Ching Book of Changes, says Yi, says Jing Fang, as in the I Ching, is an ideogram of the sun and moon. The 64 hexagrams of the I Ching, with a lower trigram attributed to yin and an upper trigram attributed to yang, represents the cycles of change represented by the sun and the moon. That, says Jing Fang, is the way of heaven. The way of heaven is also mentioned in the Huang Di Nei Jing, a seminal text on traditional Chinese medicine, and specifically acupuncture and acupressure. To know or to experience the way of heaven is like gazing at the clouds. You can see that it is an abyss, and perhaps you can fathom that it is an abyss. But can you truly and fully comprehend the infinite, omnipotent, occulted depths of that abyss? To know or to experience the Dao is like gazing at the clouds. You can see that it is an abyss, and perhaps you can fathom that it is an abyss. But can you truly and fully comprehend the depths of that abyss? And for me, that's what I mean when I say God. When I say that I know there is a God, I mean that I can fathom that there is an abyss. When I say that I have experienced God, I mean that I can intuit the depths behind the clouds I see in the sky. And when I talk about faith, I mean that even though I can never truly and fully comprehend the depths of that abyss, everything I do presumes its presence. But back to that text on Chinese medicine and acupuncture that talks about the way of heaven. The word yuan is referenced in hexagram 1, heaven over heaven, creative power of the I Ching, line 4, about the dragon leaping into the abyss, delving upon the profound. I mean, synchronicities are cool to point out, right? Oh, and that word ji from Taiji Qu, as in the diagram of yin and yang, the image of the Tao? Ji is the numinous void. Taiji, the numinous omnipotence, and wuji, that is the numinous void. Ji Xing, or the North Pole Star, is the mythical center of the universe, the middle pillar that Taoist mystics use to ascend to heaven, to immortality. This, I hope, was a meditation on the way of heaven worthy of your time and consideration. Please leave in the comments section what the most memorable takeaway point from this lecture was for you, or what you synthesize and conclude from hearing the points covered in the lecture. Mine? Power without wisdom corrupts. Power with wisdom is absent greed and ambition. True power is summoning without summoning. And the way to achieve that is to cultivate sincerity, benevolence, to truly be absent of ulterior motives. That path is the middle path. The middle path is the middle pillar. The middle pillar is our North Star.