和谐社会从心开始：对《道德经》的一种心理学分析
主题词：道德经，心理学，知，欲，慈，和谐
内容提要：心理学是一门研究人们如何思考，如何感知及如何行动的学问。对《道德经》所包含的这三个心理学向度的探索可以揭示其作者对人生，社会和宇宙的一般看法。本文通过对《道德经》中的“知”，“欲”和“慈”这三个概念的分析，发现早期道家同儒家对待如何建造和谐社会的观点上有着截然的分歧。在思考中超越智力的局限，在情欲上净化而不是抑制或随顺，让其回归身体的本然状态，在行动上展示无限包容的慈爱，三者合而为一。这就是早期道家对如何实现和谐人生和谐社会的一种重要启示。
Introduction
和谐社会, Harmonious Society, is a concept raised by the Chinese government (Hu-Wen Administration) during the 10th Annual meeting of the Chinese National People's Congress in March of 2005. Presumably, this is an urgent response to the mounting social problems such as endemic official corruption, a huge and growing gulf between the rich and poor, as well as severe pollution. These problems have deep psychological and philosophical roots. While proper economic, political and legal measures could be taken to address these problems, without changing the heart of the people, especially those in power, harmony in the real sense will never prevail in our society. Therefore, the idea itself has much to commend that “a harmonious world starts from heart”,和谐世界 从心开始.
In this paper, I will examine how the author of the Daodejing probed into the heart of the problems that arose in his time whose intensity might well resemble that of ours. Psychology, broadly defined, is a study of how we think, feel and act. By analyzing these three spheres of human psychology in the Daodejing, I hope to unravel the uniquely Daoist insight and vision for harmony in the society and the world at large.
Section One: How Do we Think?-An Insight from the Daodejing
Thinking is a complex process that involves many faculties of our mind. We receive information, form concepts that organize our world, solve problems, and make efficient decisions and judgments. There are a few concepts that are generally related to how we think in the classical Chinese texts. David Hall and Roger Ames observe that four concepts stood out prominently in the Analects, namely, 学, learning, 思, reflecting, 知, realizing and 信, living up to one’s word. Taking their analyses as a point of departure, and examining them in the text of the Daodejing, we will find some distinctive view points in the latter.
学, learning, occurs 64 times in the Analects. This statistic alone is suggestive of its importance in the Confucian teaching. Not denying the fact that for the early Confucians, the ultimate purpose of学 is not objective knowledge, the contents of the learning created a distance between the creators of the knowledge and the learners. For, the creators of the cultural tradition that early Confucians wished to transmit had been long gone. In the biography or rather hagiography of Laozi, we have an account of Laozi’s audience with Confucius. We do not have to accept the historicity of this account, but the comment from Laozi expresses the Daoist idea of what a true learning should be.
孔子适周，将问礼于老子。老子曰：“子所言者，其人与骨皆已朽矣，独其言在耳。
It does not come as a surprise therefore when we read the following line from the Daodejing.
为学日益。为道日损。损之又损，以至於无为。无为而不为。取天下常以无事，及其有事，不足以取天下。
Learning enables us to accumulate the factual knowledge, but it may disable us from getting closer and closer to the Truth.
Because of this general distrust of the traditional mode of learning, the author of the Daodejing did not regard 思, a reflecting upon learning as necessary. No single instance of this character occurs in the Daodejing. We do find, however, a strong interest in 知, which Hall and Ames translate as “realizing”, in this Daoist text.
知occurs rather frequently in the Daodejing. As a verb, it takes various objects such as 美, beauty (2) ; 善(2), the good; 常(16), constancy; 其雄, its masculine quality (28); 止(32), rest; 人(33), other person; 足(33), contentment; 不知(71), what one does not know. We find a general pattern, in which 知is considered valuable only when its object has a certain sense of the ultimate, such as constancy, rest or contentment. Otherwise, it either has a negative value, as in:
天下皆知美之为美，斯恶矣；皆知善之为善，斯不善已。
Or it is considered valuable only under the condition that one also realizes or is aware of the opposite:
知其雄，守其雌，为天下溪。为天下溪，常德不离，复归於婴儿。知其白，守其黑，为天下式。为天下式，常德不忒，复归於无极。知其荣，守其辱，为天下
谷。
The author of the Daodejing agrees with Confucius that it is considered wise to realize what is in other people. 知人, Yet, this kind of wisdom is considered inferior to spiritual enlightenment. And spiritual enlightenment comes only when one realizes what is in him or herself.
知人者智，自知者明。胜人者有力，自胜者强。
Spiritual enlightenment produces in a person the faith in others that intellectual discernment often fails to accomplish. It is a faith or sincerity that we often have to make a leap to reach. For example:
信者吾信之。不信者吾亦信之、德信。
Section Two: How Do We Feel? -An Insight from the Daodejing.
Human beings are emotional animals as well as thinking animals. We hate. We love. We fear. We lament. We feel joyful. These are natural emotions that are not good or bad in themselves. They arise from the natural desires called yu 欲. Confucius believes that if the desires are set within certain limits, they are actually a beautiful thing. Indeed, one is able to reach a state when one can do whatever the heart takes him or her, without however going against the social or cultural norms. Confucius is recorded to have said something to the following effect:
七十而从心所欲，不逾矩。
The author of the Daodejing and the early Daoists in general did not share this optimism. They observed in their times what Confucians were actually doing, and probably read about what Confucius did. The kind of lifestyle practiced in the Confucian tradition betrays their sincerity. The story mentioned above regarding the encounter between Confucius and Laozi reflects this general Daoist skepticism:
吾闻之，良贾深藏若虚，君子盛德，容貌若愚。去子之骄气与多欲，态色与淫志，是皆无益于子之身。吾所以告子，若是而已”。
The author of the Daodejing does not advocate elimination of all our desires as a traditional Buddhist would think desirable, nor does he think we are capable of hitting the right target when our emotions arise, as the Confucians proposed that we could. Instead, he promotes a return to the tranquil state of the mind before the emotions arise through less and less striving to minimize the pull of the desires:
见素抱朴少私寡欲。
One of the common misconceptions about the early Daoism is that it is 禁欲主义asceticism or 逃避现实escapism. We have the image of a Daoist living in a cave, eating dates, an image that is often associated with later Daoist hermits. We must understand that the targeted audience of the Daodejing was the princes, who enjoyed all the luxuries of life. Certainly, the author of the Daodejing, or for that matter the instructors of the text in general, would not recommend that their students live an ascetic life away from the center of power that they would like to influence. Rather, I would argue that they aim to bring their students to senses by removing all the external stimulations. We have the following admonitions:
五色令人目盲，
五音令人耳聋，
五味令人口爽，
驰骋畋猎令人心发狂，
难得之货令人行妨。
By removing the external stimulations, the early Daoists believed we can actually regale ourselves with supreme delights. As Zhuangzi reminded us, 人籁, man-made music, is inferior to 地籁，music in the natural world. The music in the physical world is inferior to 天籁, music from Heaven. The argument that Daoism is a kind of escapism is equally unsustainable. For, the Daoist cultivation of inner peace is often done in the larger context of family, community, state and the universe apart from the embodied self:
修之於身其德乃真。
修之於家其德乃馀。
修之於乡其德乃长。
修之於邦其德乃丰。
修之於天下其德乃普。
It is the deeply felt emotional connections to the family, community, the state and the whole universe that make the Buddhist household- negation asceticism not an option for the early Daoists.
We do find some references to 不欲or 无欲, which seems to suggest some kind of 禁欲主义in the Daodejing. 禁欲is a practice in which one deliberately restrains desires when they arise. The Buddhist practice of celibacy is an obvious example of禁欲. A Confucian response to the desires would be more like 调欲, to regulate the desires in such a way that they will not tip your balance. An example of this practice could be found in the concubinage existing in a large part of the Chinese history, through which a male’s natural concubiscence is satisfied within the Confucian moral framework. A Daoist response would be more like 净欲, to purify the excessive desires in such a way that the desires become desireless desires, 不欲欲. If I am allowed to interpret this a little asynchronously, an example of this would be 阴阳双修, in which both husband and wife are engaged in a sexual yoga to such an extent neither of them will feel the pull of the sexual urge, and yet both are in a complete bliss.
In the Daodejing, 无欲 is in one case associated with 无知, which could perhaps be rendered into “a mind without craft or calculations”. In this case, the author seems to point to a situation when one is not yet emotionally or intellectually stimulated. The other association is 观其妙, to comprehend the mysterious or the numinous. In this context, the author seems to point to a situation when one is already stimulated, but remains calm and tranquil. The author wants us to be what we really are before or after we are contaminated by negative cultural influences. In other words, we will reach the state of 自然, being natural. By going natural, he does not mean that we follow where our unpurified heart takes us. Rather, he means that the sensitivities in our mind and heart, once activated through purification, will enable us to act spontaneously in accord with the rhythm of the movement within the human and natural worlds.
Again, observe the end product of无欲. This is not an escape from samsara, or the cycle of birth, as the early Buddhists tended to pursue. 观, a comprehensive insight or gnosis gained through emotional tranquility is translated into an action that benefits individuals, family, the state and the whole universe.
故以身观身，
以家观家，
以乡观乡，
以邦观邦，
以天下观天下。
吾何以知天下然哉？以此。
Section Three: How Do We Act? -An Insight from the Daodejing.
We are thinking animals, feeling animal, as well as the animals who act. Why we act the way we do is motivated by what we think is right and what we feel is right. There are occasions when we act on what we think is not right. An act like this will only make us less and less an authentic being. There are also occasions when we act on what we feel is not right. An act like this will also make us less than what we are. Thinking, feeling, and acting, together shape our characters. It is our character that enables us to act consistently. In discussing how we act in the Daodejing, we need to examine what is considered conducive in cultivating such a character. In this text, we have three cardinal Daoist virtues, namely, 慈, motherly love ,俭, frugality; and 不敢为天下先, daring not at the world’ front.
我有三宝持而保之∶一曰慈， 二曰俭，三曰不敢为天下先。慈故能勇，俭故能广，不敢为天下先故能成器长。
When we compare these three cardinal Daoist virtues with cardinal virtues promoted by early Confucians, we will find some marked differences. Parallel to 慈, motherly love, we have 仁, often translated as humanness in English.
In the pre-Confucius texts, the character 仁can be found in 《诗经》, where it is usually associated with masculinity. 知or 智which involves reason and calculation is associated with masculinity as well. And so is 勇, courage, encouraged in a male dominant heroic age.
According to the author of the Daodejing, motherly love is capable of natural extension of compassion without the cumbersome practice of 礼associated with仁, fatherly love. Modern psychology seems to affirm this distinction. According to the noted psychologist Erich Fromm, fatherly love is conditional. It must be deserved. We must work for it. Fatherly conscience is built on his capacity to reason. Motherly love, on the other hand, is unconditional. For Motherly conscience is built on her own capacity to love or to be compassionate.
While we do not have good reasons to make too sharp a distinction between the Confucian love and the Daoist love, we do find that Confucians are taught to respond differently from the Daoists under similar ethical circumstances.
或曰：“以德报怨，何如？”子曰：“何以报德？以直报怨，以德报德”。论语14.34
大小多少，报怨以德。道德经六十三章
It is with unconditional motherly love that all is embraced regardless of age, sex, social status, race or religious belief. It is true that the idea of 恕, forgiveness, can also be found in early Confucian texts. But it is phrased in a negative way by which we are taught not to do to others what we don’t want others to do to us. We are not taught how to forgive others unconditionally when we have been hurt. By forgiving, we are forgiven and we move our life forward. This is an insight from early Daoism that Confucians do well to learn. As for the two other Daoist virtues such as frugality and non-assertiveness, authentic Daoist wisdom is also with us. If we look at this from the perspectives of the world religion, this is quite in resonance with the Christian teaching that blessed are those who are humble in heart.
A Daoist Conclusion: Unity in Thought, Emotion and Action
For the author of the Daodejing, real harmony comes when our thoughts, emotions and actions are united as one. We are what we are, because we think, because we feel and because we act. Any conflict between or among them will only make us less authentic, for we are meant to live in this world in a perfect balance like the day and night, summer and winter or yin and yang. And this balance is achieved when we know how to rediscover what holds our body and soul together and holds us together as fellow human beings. Only and only when this unity or 一is found, the ultimate peace or harmony is possible.
昔之得一者。
天得一以清。
地得一以宁。
神得一以灵。
谷得一以盈。
万物得一以生。
侯王得一以为天下贞。
Water never strives, and yet drills a stone. It resides in a lower place, and yet the vastness of ocean is formed. It moves wherever it finds its way, and is always able to find its home. Our mind, our heart, and our bodies are moved by their inner rhythms as we go with the flow. To use another metaphor, we are as one when we together join the cosmic dance. This is the insight from the Daodejing, an insight that is urgently needed when our relationship is turning sour, the voice of injustice is piercing our ears and our earth is bleeding.
