The meaning of Essence of Mind in Taoism 什么是心体

The meaning of Essence of Mind in Taoism

"Xin Ti" (心体, "Substance of Mind") is a category in later Quanzhen Dao mind-nature theory, mainly having three aspects:

First, the original mind is the Dao. Xuanjiao Da Gong'an: "Observing the Dao with mind, the Dao is mind; observing mind with the Dao, mind is the Dao." From the perspective of cultivation practice, this explains that when worldly ties are exhausted, the original mind and Dao-body are connected.

The meaning of Essence of Mind in Taoism

Second, the original mind is nature. Zhonghe Ji: "When mind is empty and clear, then nature is fundamentally perfect and luminous; when nature is perfect and luminous, then there is no coming or going." "Mind submerges into its root, like a stream returning to where water stops." The substance of mind and the substance of nature are the same entity.

Third, all spirits have mind as their master. From the functional perspective, this reveals that the substance of mind is the master of spirit, consistent with the original spirit entity. Overall, later Quanzhen Dao absorbed Neo-Confucianism and Chan Buddhist theories, proposing the mind-nature system with the substance of mind as one of its key categories. This substance of mind, substance of nature, and original spirit are one reality with three names.