Is Meditation Mandatory for Daoists?

Is Meditation Mandatory for Daoists?

"Meditation" (also called seated contemplation or quiet sitting) is a foundational Daoist practice, sharing functional similarities with Buddhist zazen, meditative concentration, and the "full lotus posture." It encompasses natural cross-legged sitting, half-lotus, and full-lotus positions, evolving from ancient informal and kneeling postures. Meditation nurtures physical health, prolongs life, and enhances wisdom.

By relaxing both mind and body, meditation facilitates deep stillness. The Annotations to the Mysterious Pearl Heart-Mirror states: "When one empties themselves of striving, Dao naturally returns." The Daodejing teaches: "Block the senses, close the gates," "Attain utmost emptiness, guard perfect stillness," and "Empty the mind, fill the belly"—all guiding principles for entering stillness, the essence of meditation.

Beyond stillness, Daoist meditation emphasizes "forgetting"—sages and perfected beings merged self with nature in this state of self-object dissolution, awakening to cosmic truths. The Pivot of Dao notes: "Emptiness and indistinctness are Dao’s roots; I am born from emptiness, placed in non-being." The Scripture of Supreme Void declares: "From emptiness and spontaneity, Dao arises; true unity is serene." The Commentary on the Laozi’s Classic of Constant Clarity and Stillness adds: "Dao is non-action, purity, and luminous tranquility." Meditation also ignites insight into universal and existential truths. The Book of Changes observes: "In absolute stillness, one connects with all under heaven." Sima Chengzhen, 12th patriarch of the Tang-era Shangqing school, said: "The mind commands the body and spirits. Stillness births wisdom; agitation breeds confusion." As Daoism teaches: "Great Dao is realized through stillness." The Scripture of Great Peace affirms: "Stillness is the root of seeking Dao; persist in stillness, and Dao manifests." True meditation thrives in natural ease, achieving stillness through self-forgetting to unveil life’s deepest truths. The Pivot of Dao concludes: "At the peak of emptiness and stillness, Dao dwells and wisdom blossoms."*

Historically, meditation postures typically face south or north. Practitioners align the head upright, spine straight, lips lightly closed, tongue touching the palate, eyes half-shut, qi sunk to the dantian, and body fully relaxed. Non-action is essential—the Scripture of Cavernous Antiquity states: "Non-action returns the spirit; with spirit’s return, all things grow still." Meditation also requires inner observation. The Seven Slips of a Cloudy Satchel explains: "Illuminating the heart inwardly is called inner observation"—purifying the mind, stabilizing the spirit, and inwardly contemplating the self.