The meaning of Contemplation of Spirit in Taoism 什么是神观
Paul PengThe meaning of Contemplation of Spirit in Taoism
A method of cultivating both body and mind.
The Chongxuan (重玄, Twofold Mystery) philosophy of Taoism during the Sui and Tang Dynasty absorbed the thought of Mahayana Buddhism and adopted "contemplative practice" (guan xing, 观行) as the path for breaking through attachments and awakening to the Twofold Mystery. "Guan" refers to the examination and analysis of the world from the perspective of religious philosophy—understanding that all phenomena and sentient beings belong to the realm of true emptiness and wondrous existence (zhenkong miaoyou, 真空妙有), neither existent nor non-existent—thereby dissolving attachments and awakening to the Twofold Mystery realm. The Benji Jing (本际经, Scripture of the Original Ground) divides contemplative practice into two kinds: Qi Guan (气观, Contemplation of Qi) and Shen Guan (神观, Contemplation of Spirit). Qi Guan cultivates stillness (ding, 定), while Shen Guan cultivates wisdom (hui, 慧). The scripture declares: "Practicing the Two Contemplations leads to awakening to the supreme path of the Great Vehicle."
The meaning of Contemplation of Spirit in Taoism
The Daojiao Yishu (道教义枢), Chapter Five, "On the Meaning of the Two Contemplations," follows the Benji Jing in presenting the cultivation of Qi Guan and Shen Guan as the wondrous path to awakening and ascending to truth. It states: "Qi Guan is stillness—it penetrates both emptiness and existence, taking wondrous existence as its root; Shen Guan is wisdom—it penetrates both being and non-being, taking true emptiness as its foundation." From this it is clear that "Shen Guan" takes the cultivation of wisdom through the contemplation of emptiness as its guiding principle.
The contemplation of emptiness means, as the Benji Jing explains: "Comprehending that sentient beings possess no truly real substance, gradually awakening that even the finest particle has no true nature—all are empty and false—one enters Internal Alchemy and passes through the gate of the One Appearance."
