What is the Three Ones in Taoism? 什么是三一

The term Three Ones first originates from the Dao De Jing: “The Dao gives birth to the One; the One gives birth to the Two; the Two gives birth to the Three; the Three gives birth to all things.” It holds that the “Three” marks a crucial transformation, and the concepts are often used together.

What is the Three Ones in Taoism?

The text also states: “What is seen but not perceived is called the Invisible; what is heard but not heard is called the Inaudible; what is grasped but not attained is called the Intangible. These three cannot be further inquired into, and thus they blend into the One.” This means the great The Dao is formless, soundless, and colorless, unperceivable by ordinary sensory experience, hence named Invisible, Inaudible, and Intangible. Yet all three refer to the same reality—the Dao—which cannot be expressed in words or conceptual thinking.

Laozi explained the “Three Ones” from the nature of the Dao. Taoism adopted this idea and developed it into one of the key concepts in its doctrine.

Explanations of the Three Ones abound in Daoist scriptures, mainly covering topics such as immortal cultivation, life-nourishment, and the original Qi theory. Essential Instructions on the Three Ones of the Mysterious Gate quotes Master Meng: “The Three Ones nowadays are: Spirit, Qi, and Essence; Inaudible, Intangible, Invisible; Void, Non‑being, and Emptiness.” It also quotes Explaining Names: “Inaudible means sparse; Intangible means fine; Invisible means level. Invisible is Essence, Inaudible is Spirit, Intangible is Qi.” It states: “In function they divide into three; in origin they are always One.”

Baopuzi · Chapter on Earth and Reality says: “If one can know the One, all affairs are complete. Whoever knows the One lacks no knowledge; whoever does not know the One can know nothing. The Dao arises from the One, whose nobility has no equal. It abides in three forms, representing Heaven, Earth, and Humanity—hence called the Three Ones. Heaven attained the One and became clear; Earth attained the One and became stable; Humanity attained the One and came to life; Spirits attained the One and became divine.” Therefore: “If you wish for long life, you must understand guarding the One… Guard the Mysterious One, visualize your body dividing into three persons, and you may prolong life and escape death.”

Among Daoist teachings, the Nine Scriptures — such as Dongzhen, Dongxuan, Dongshen, Huangren, Taiqing, Taiping, Taixuan, Zhengyi, and Ziran — interpret the Three Ones in further ways. Besides the above content, they also refer to the Three Spirits (intellect, will, thought), Three Lights (void red, primal yellow, empty white), Three Colors (beginning blue, primal white, mysterious yellow), and the names of the gods in the three palaces within the body. The “One” also refers to specific regions in the human body.

Scripture of Great Peace states: “The One of the head is the crown. The One of the seven orifices is the eye. The One of the abdomen is the navel. The One of the channels is Qi. The One of the five viscera is the heart. The One of the four limbs is the palms and soles. The One of the bones is the spine. The One of the flesh is the stomach and intestines.”

Daoism teaches these are the vital points of the viscera and bowels. By constantly cultivating and “recalling them without cease, the spirit will arrive naturally, all will respond accordingly, all illnesses vanish of themselves—this is the talisman of longevity.” This is the “Three Ones” in cultivation arts. Thus Method of the Three Ones and Nine Palaces says: “The Three Ones are the spiritual source of the whole body and the life-root of all gods.”

After the Six Dynasties, Daoism also proposed the doctrine of the Three Cosmic Qi as the Dharma‑body. Scripture of the Nine Heavens’ Birth of the Gods states: “Sages take the Mysterious, Primal, and Original Qi as their body, meaning they share the subtle Qi of the three Heavens.” The Dao‑body is One, differentiating into Three Qi; the Three Qi merge to form the sacred body, namely the Dharma‑body of the supreme Daoist deity, the Heavenly Lord.

By the early Tang Dynasty, the Internal Alchemy Chongxuan School of Daoism further developed Laozi’s “Three Ones” teaching. The Daoist Li Rong wrote in Commentary on the Laozi: “The Inaudible, Invisible, and Intangible—none is sound or form, all beyond name and shape. Being and non‑being cannot question it; length and shortness cannot measure it. Chaotic and undivided, it is provisionally named One. The One is not One by itself; it is One because of the Three. The Three are not Three by themselves; they are Three because of the One. Because of the One there are Three, so the Three are the One’s Three. Because of the Three there is One, so the One is the Three’s One. If the One is the Three’s One, the One cannot be just One. If the Three are the One’s Three, the Three cannot be just Three. If the Three cannot be Three, there is no Three; if the One cannot be One, there is no One.”

Therefore, only by negating both the One and the Three, and forgetting all mental cognition and external objects, can one attain the mysterious Chongxuan state: “Vast and without limit, empty and penetrating without obstruction.”

In this way, the interpretation of the “Three Ones” takes on a strong philosophical and dialectical character.