The meaning of Severing Karmic Ties in Taoism 什么是断缘

The meaning of Severing Karmic Ties in Taoism

"Duan Yuan" (断缘, "Severing Karmic Ties") is one of the cultivation methods proposed by Sima Chengzhen.

It means that those who cultivate the Dao should sever worldly ties and not be burdened by mundane concerns. Sima Chengzhen believed that secular life and Dao cultivation are diametrically opposed. Secular life can only cause one to lose one's true nature, exhausting the form and injuring the spirit. Therefore, cultivators must cut off connections with secular life and abandon affairs to practice non-action. However, worldly ties cannot be suddenly severed; they can only be gradually cut. Thus the key to severing ties lies in responding to things without intention, allowing the inner mind or true nature to gradually become independent from worldly conditions.

The meaning of Severing Karmic Ties in Taoism

This concept is closely related to the Quanzhen Dao emphasis on leaving the family and severing worldly attachments as prerequisites for cultivation.