What is the Meritorious Deedsin Taoism? 什么是功行
Paul PengWhat is the Meritorious Deedsin Taoism?
Also known as “completeness of merit and conduct.”
Some sects of Quanzhen Dao advocate tempering the mind repeatedly through both favorable and adverse circumstances until the mind becomes stable and undefiled by worldly dust.
What is the Meritorious Deedsin Taoism?This kind of cultivation that is neither attached to nor separated from the world is called “Gong Xing”, which combines cultivation within and beyond the secular world.
- “Gong” means inner merit: “abandon all worldly affairs, cultivate the mind inwardly.”
- “Xing” means outer conduct: benefiting all beings and helping others.
“Completeness of merit and conduct” refers to the dual cultivation of inner merit and outer conduct.
Records of Panshan says:
“Someone asked: What are merit and conduct?
The answer: Keeping silent is merit; speaking out is conduct.
What is keeping silent as merit?
Attaining the Dao in silence, without thoughts or worries, holding one’s tongue and forgetting words,
not seeking recognition from others, concealing one’s light and hiding one’s traces. This is keeping silent as merit.
What is speaking out as conduct?
Applying skillful means, teaching others to practice,
benefiting all beings, guiding them to the right path. This is speaking out as conduct.”
The theory of merit and conduct shows the world‑engaging characteristic of the Panshan lineage.
