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The Dao of Nature... ...continued from page 11
or places of meditation. Daoists have often lived their lives in proxim - ity to and even among Indigenous communities in China who lived in much closer relationship with the earth, just as Indigenous peoples the world over have done since time immemorial. Allusions to the nat- ural world abound in Daoist teachings. We find references to valleys, mountains, plants, trees, caves, numerous animals, and the like. Perhaps the most well-known allusion to nature in Daoism is wa - ter and the many ways it is used in the tradition. In the Daode Jing, chapter 8 says, “The highest good is like water. It excels in benefiting all beings without contending with them. It dwells in low places that people disdain, hence it is near to the Dao.” Water is used as an exam - ple to be emulated for its flexibility, adaptability, and humility; yet we also see in this quote that its highest good is in its ability to benefit all beings. If we are to take water as an example to follow, then we should also seek to benefit all beings; in other words, seek the highest good for ecosystems and the biosphere as a whole. Non-contention ( buzheng 不 爭 ) is another traditional Daoist value also mentioned in this passage. If we follow this principle, we will refrain from fighting wars over re - sources and scraps of land, instead seeking to find solutions that aim for the best outcome for all parties involved. The modern practice of Shinrinyoku , or forest bathing, while not directly inspired by Daoist practice, shares many similarities. So much so that one of the Daoist priests responsible for developing the “Dao - ist Ecological Temples’’ in China, Ren Xing Zhi, Abott of the ancient Daoist Temple of Louguantai, created the Heavenly Harmony Garden Forest Bathing Area ( 天谐园森林浴场 ) at Tiejieshu Temple on Mt. Taibai near Xian in 2005. Forest bathing in Japan was originally envisioned as a way to tackle the physical and psychological health problems plaguing Japanese office workers in the 1980s. Again, we might com - pare this early motivation to Naess’ “shallow ecology”.
Sometimes it’s thought these precepts only reflect a concern for the environment insomuch as harm to the environment could harm the community itself. We might compare this to the founder of Deep Ecol - ogy, Arne Naess’ idea of “shallow ecology”, which is primarily geared towards the health and affluence of people in the developed world. However, Daoism views humans as embedded in the world, not as separate from it as environmental thought in the West historically has. These precepts go beyond a sense of separation, reflecting a concern for animals and for the earth itself for their own sake, not because of what they provide us. While Daoism does see humans as holding a unique place in nature because of our powerful ability to impact the world for better or worse, perhaps it is more a difference in magnitude rather than a difference in kind. This view would be closer to the eco - logical egalitarianism of Deep Ecology as Naess saw it, in which all life on earth had a right to exist and thrive. In Daoist thinking we refer to this as an attitude of “nurturing life” (yangsheng 养生 ). Ecologist Stephan Harding also pointed out this similarity in an interview with Tom Levitt : “Deep Ecology is a kind of western Daoism. It focuses on the notion of simple means but rich in ends. You live a very materially simple life, but you have really rich experiences living very simply. This requires a deep connection with nature.” The ancient Daoists developed a deep connection with nature and a keen knowledge of the natural world through close observation ( guan, 觀 ) in which they sought to understand the underlying patterns and laws of nature ( li 理 ). This has influenced Daoist practice ever since, as guan still refers to a type of meditation where the powers of obser- vation are also turned within. It also became a name for monasteries
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38—PATHWAYS—Spring 24
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