That Mind-Body Question Again

The installment that will appear in a few days deals again with Buddhist theories of mind. In this blog, let’s hearken back to some Taoist ideas, for after all, this section of Suite 101 has “Taoism” in the title.

I said some time ago that Buddhist generally paid more attention to mind and that Taoists generally paid more attention to body. Let’s rephrase just a bit: Buddhists generally take a more detailed look at mind, and Taoists take a more detailed look at the body. Again, I’ve presented generalizations; don’t take them as hard and fast conclusions. And keep in mind that both Buddhists and Taoists concern themselves, in various ways through various practices that adepts have tested for centuries, with the relationship between mind and phenomena.

I have not found in Taoist texts such detailed attention to mind as Buddhist give, and I have not found in Buddhist texts such extensive attention to the body as Taoists give. Not that Buddhists never talk about body, but they often talk about it in connection to their main concerns: ego, the suffering that results from ego, and what to do about that suffering as it arises in self and other. Taoists, on the other hand, have, over many centuries, taken a detailed look at body in itself: How does chi (vital energy) flow through the body? What obstructs it? When enhances it? What exercises can one do to enhance the harmonious movement of chi? How, precisely, should one do those exercises?

In the Taoist-influenced I Ching, we also find an emphasis on the relationship between the mind and phenomena. In a future column, we will look at this rather extraordinary book, but for now, let me just offer a generalization (again, one that may provoke some disagreement, as all generalizations will; and, as I’ve noted before, one generalizes at risk when one generalizes about such a heterogeneous subject as Taoism!): In looking at the relationship between mind and phenomena, this text does not primarily draw one back to meditation, but encourages one to act with care and awareness. Of course, as I say that, I already have my own objections, for much of the I Ching encourages non-action, encourages taking a closer look at the inner world than at the outer world. However, even this encouragement arises from questions about what to do, how to act in harmony with the Tao, so often an emphasis in Taoist teachings. But, as I said, more on the I Ching later.