The meaning of Realm and Wisdom in Taoism 什么是境智

The meaning of Realm and Wisdom in Taoism

"Jing Zhi" (境智, "Realm and Wisdom") refers to the relationship between the objective external realm ("jing") and subjective wisdom ("zhi").

According to Meng Anpai's Daojiao Yishu: "Realm takes 'boundary' as its meaning; wisdom takes 'decisive understanding' as its meaning." "The meaning of realm is external; wisdom is internal." The relationship between realm and wisdom is the relationship between the knowing subject and the known object. Meng Anpai believed that realm and wisdom cannot be treated as separate opposites. Though realm and wisdom differ, their foundation is identical: "Internally there is the wisdom-mind of all-knowing; externally there are the realm-dharmas of all things. Internal and external are not two; realm and wisdom are without distinction." All worldly dharmas and transcendental dharmas are contained within the one mind.

The meaning of Realm and Wisdom in Taoism

Tang dynasty Wang Xuanlan advocated that realm and wisdom arise interdependently: "When mind confronts realm, mind and realm mutually arise. When realm does not stir the mind, it is the mind's delusion that arises. The mind does not arise of itself; it arises because of realm. A realm without mind — the realm does not arise of itself; a mind without realm — the mind also does not arise of itself." In the opposition between realm and wisdom, wisdom is the primary aspect: wisdom determines and governs realm. "Mind and realm — always take mind as master." From this he argued that all phenomena are illusory. Wang Xuanlan also proposed that "the Dao resides between realm and wisdom," taking the Dao as the pivot connecting subject and object, thereby viewing cultivation as the continuous process of recognizing the harmony between subject and object.