[Step 109] Eastern Philosophy of Subject and Object
Continuing from last time. This is an attempt to read the Laozi and the Zhuangzi through the lens of "subject and object".
1. Reading the Ten Ox-Herding Pictures.
The "Ten Ox-Herding Pictures" were organized into their current form by a Northern Song monk named Kuoan. They use ten pictures to explain the progression of a Zen Buddhist practitioner's state of mind.
① Searching for the Ox Starting the journey to find the ox.
② Finding the Tracks Finding the ox's footprints within the teachings.
③ Seeing the Ox Catching a glimpse of the ox in the distance through a subtle experience.
④ Catching the Ox Having caught the ox, but struggling with its strength.
⑤ Taming the Ox Taming the ox and beginning to nurture it.
⑥ Riding the Ox Home Riding the ox and playing the flute while returning to one's hometown.
⑦ The Ox Forgotten, the Person Remains Forgetting even the existence of the ox one rode.
⑧ Both Person and Ox Forgotten Forgetting both the ox and oneself, everything becomes empty (void).
⑨ Returning to the Source All attachments disappear, and the natural state of things as they are emerges.
⑩ Entering the Marketplace with Helping Hands Returning to the city, drawing close to people in daily life, and extending a helping hand.
Among these, the process of finding the ox (③ Seeing the Ox), catching that ox (④ Catching the Ox), taming that ox (⑤ Taming the Ox),
and then, the process of taming the ox and riding on its back to return home together (⑥ Riding the Ox Home),
and finally, forgetting the existence of the ox that one was supposed to have ridden when returning home (⑦ The Ox Forgotten, the Person Remains),
Furthermore, after forgetting even one's own existence(⑧ Both person and ox forgotten), and after the boundary between subject and object has disappeared, nature as it is emerges (⑨ Returning to the source, appearing as it is).When reading this process with a focus on "subject and object," one notices that it is very similar to the structure of Zhuangzi's "Butterfly Dream."
2. "Ten Oxherding Pictures" and Lao-Zhuang Philosophy.
The "state of forgetting" such as "⑦ Forgetting the ox, keeping the person" and "⑧ Both person and ox forgotten" in the "Ten Oxherding Pictures" can be said to have almost the same meaning as the "forgetting" frequently used in the "Zhuangzi." The closeness between Lao-Zhuang philosophy and Zen Buddhism can be clearly seen even in this visualized text of Zen Buddhism called the "Ten Oxherding Pictures." "state of forgetting"
The "ox" in these "Ten Oxherding Pictures" can be read as "True Self (original self)." This is the "original face (original countenance)" that Zen Master Dogen speaks of.
"You should learn the 'retreating step' of turning the light inward and reflecting on yourself. Then, the attachments of body and mind will naturally fall away, and your original self (original face) will appear before you." (Fukan Zazengi)
This is very similar to the state of "becoming one with the Tao" in Lao-Zhuang philosophy.
"Forget your body, dismiss your cleverness, detach from form, cast away knowledge, and become one with the great Tao, the root of all things. This is called 'sitting in oblivion' (zuowang)." (Zhuangzi, Da Zongshi, Chapter 6)
3. Atman and Tao (TAO).
Ushasta Chakrayana said, "What you have explained is like pointing to something visible outside, saying 'There is an ox, there is a horse.' Instead, please explain to me the 'Brahman' which is intuitive, unhidden, and the 'True Self (Atman)' that is inside all things." (Yajnavalkya said,) "This is your Atman, which is inside all things." "Yajnavalkya, what is it that is inside all things?" "Through the act of seeing (the object seen), you cannot see the seer (the subject who is seeing). Through the act of hearing, you cannot hear the hearer (the subject who is hearing). Through the act of thinking, you cannot think of the thinker (the subject who is thinking).
Through the act of recognizing, you cannot know the recognizer (the subject who is recognizing).
This is your Atman, which is inside all things. Everything other than this is perishable (incomplete)." Thus, Ushasta Chakrayana fell silent (stopped asking).
Through the act of seeing (the object seen), you cannot see the seer (the subject who is seeing). Through the act of hearing, you cannot hear the hearer (the subject who is hearing). Through the act of thinking, you cannot think of the thinker (the subject who is thinking).
Through the act of recognizing, you cannot know the recognizer (the subject who is recognizing).
The above text is a passage from the "Brihadaranyaka Upanishad," one of the early "Upanishads" of Indian philosophy. As it says, " Through the act of recognizing, you cannot know the recognizer (the subject who is recognizing)." this also discusses "subject and object" as a very important point of argument.
Wushi said, "The 'Tao' cannot be heard with the ears. What can be heard is not the 'Tao.' The 'Tao' cannot be seen with the eyes. What can be seen is not the 'Tao.' The 'Tao' cannot be expressed in words. What can be said is not the 'Tao.' Do you know that the 'root' that forms things with form is something without form? The 'Tao' is not something that can be named." He continued, "If there were someone who asked about the 'Tao' and answered it, that person would not know the 'Tao.' Even if there were someone who asked about the 'Tao,' that person would not have heard the 'Tao' yet. The 'Tao' is something that cannot be asked about, and something that cannot be answered. If you force a question about something that cannot be asked, the question will reach a dead end (be empty). If you force an answer to something that cannot be answered, the answer will have no substance. Having an answer with no substance waiting for a question that has reached a dead end—such a person cannot see the vastness of the universe on the outside, nor know the root of all things (the beginning) on the inside. Therefore, they cannot cross the Kunlun Mountains, nor can they play in the realm of nothingness (the great void)."
"The 'Tao' cannot be heard with the ears. What can be heard is not the 'Tao.' The 'Tao' cannot be seen with the eyes. What can be seen is not the 'Tao.' The 'Tao' cannot be expressed in words. What can be said is not the 'Tao.' Do you know that the 'root' that forms things with form is something without form? The 'Tao' is not something that can be named."
And one notices that the "Atman" taught by the Upanishads is surprisingly similar to the "Tao (TAO)" taught by Laozi and Zhuangzi.
4. Brahman-Atman Unity and Lao-Zhuang Philosophy.
In Upanishadic philosophy, the fundamental principle of the external universe is called "Brahman," and the internal universe of the individual, the True Self, is called "Atman." Realizing the root of this Brahman and Atman, the "external universe" and the "internal universe," and knowing that both are the same, is called "Brahman-Atman Unity" (Brahma-Atman-Aikyam), which can be said to be one of the destinations of Indian philosophy.
This composition of Brahman-Atman Unity is actually written almost exactly as is if one reads Lao-Zhuang philosophy thoroughly. The "Tao (TAO)" is one example, but "Qi" is easier to understand. We use the kanji for "Qi" when talking about our internal universe, such as "being concerned about (
Qi ni kakeru)," "noticing (Qi ga tsuku)," or "getting along with (Qi ga au)." However, we also use the kanji for "Qi" to express the external universe, such as "weather (tenki)," "climate (kiko)," and "the twenty-four solar terms (nijushi sekki)." Also, "genki" (health/energy) is used as a barometer for the health of the body and mind in daily conversation, while also being a fundamental existence in the theory of cosmic generation. It is the relationship between the "Spirit Bomb (external Qi-gong)" and the "Kamehameha (internal Qi-gong)" in Dragon Ball. Before realizing that Brahman and Atman are identical, we are already using "Qi" for both the internal and external universes.
In other words, in Indian philosophy, knowing that 'Brahman (the principle of the external universe)' and 'Atman (the principle of the internal universe)' are identical is 'Brahman-Atman unity,' but in Lao-Zhuang thought, the same characters are applied to the inside and outside from the beginning.
❝There was something undifferentiated and yet complete, which existed before heaven and earth. Soundless and formless, it depends on nothing and remains unchanged. It operates everywhere and is free from danger. It may be considered the mother of the universe. I do not know its name, so I call it 'Tao.' If I were forced to name it, I would call it 'Great.' Great means passing on, passing on means going far, and going far means returning. Therefore, the Tao is great, heaven is great, earth is great, and the king is also great. There are four great things in the universe, and the king is one of them.Man follows the earth, the earth follows heaven, heaven follows the Tao, and the Tao follows nature. ❞
→ Something chaotic existed before heaven and earth were born. It is soundless, formless, independent, and does not rely on anything, yet it never changes. It reaches everywhere, circulates, and never stops. It can be called the mother of the universe. I do not know its true name, but here I will call it 'Tao.' If I dare to describe it, it can be called 'Great.'
It flows away without stopping, spreads far and wide, and when it reaches the extreme distance, it returns to the nearby origin. Therefore, the Tao is great. Heaven is great, earth is great, and the king (the master of the human world) is also great. There are four great things in this universe, and the king is counted as one of them.
Man follows the way of the earth, the earth follows the way of heaven, and heaven follows the way of the Tao. And the Tao follows the way of nature.
The fact that Chapter 25 of the "Laozi Tao Te Ching" states that heaven, earth, and man all follow the "Tao" can be said to be in the same direction as the unity of Brahman and Atman.
Regarding this relationship between 'subject and object' and 'internal universe and external universe,' the most direct statement is likely this one found in the 'Qiwulun' (Discussion on Making All Things Equal) chapter of the 'Zhuangzi'.
❝Heaven and earth were born with me, and all things in the world are one with me.❞
➙ Heaven, earth, and nature were born and exist with me, and all things in the world (the ten thousand things) are one with me.
This statement by Zhuangzi in the Qiwulun chapter can be said to be a world view very similar to the unity of Brahman and Atman in Upanishadic philosophy. Reading it this way, we can see that at least Indian philosophy, Hinduism and Buddhism which are strongly influenced by it, and Lao-Zhuang thought share a consensus in their fundamental parts.
5. We are both spectators and actors.
Niels Bohr, the Danish theoretical physicist who is called the father of modern physics and the foster parent of quantum theory, is said to have made the following statement in a 1937 lecture.
❝For a parallel to the lesson of atomic theory regarding the limited applicability of such customary idealizations, we must in fact turn to quite other branches of science, such as psychology, or even to that kind of epistemological problems with which already thinkers like Buddha and Lao Tzu have been confronted, when trying to harmonize our position as spectators and actors in the great drama of existence.❞
➙ 'If we are to seek a parallel (similarity) to the lesson that atomic theory teaches us—that there is a limit to the applicability of conventional idealizations—we must instead turn our eyes to completely different scientific fields like psychology, or even to the epistemological problems that thinkers like Buddha and Laozi, who tried to harmonize our position as 'spectators' and 'actors' in the great drama of existence, were already facing..'
Niels Bohr is speaking in this context precisely because of this 'subject and object' relationship, but since no one explains it, I am doing it myself. I will discuss quantum theory and Eastern philosophy sometime later.
Yes, that's the limit for today. Let's meet again next time for the continuation. Well then, phir milenge (See you again!).