What is Embracing Simplicity in Taoism?
The term originates from the Dao De Jing:
“Manifest the plain, embrace simplicity; reduce selfishness, desire few things.”
To embrace means to hold fast without letting go;
to be simple means to be unadorned and sincere.
What is Embracing Simplicity in Taoism?
Embracing Simplicity is an outlook on life in Taoism.
It requires practitioners to preserve their original nature and authenticity, not to covet glory or profit, and to keep away from material desires, thereby attaining the state of returning to one’s original self, which is the ideal of The Dao.
Laozi’s concept of embracing simplicity carries both sociopolitical significance — as in “I have no desires, and the people of themselves become simple” — and personal cultivation significance. It later became a life attitude pursued by Taoist practitioners.
Wei Boyang of the Eastern Han Dynasty wrote in the Preface to the Cantong Qi of the Book of Changes:
“I am a rustic man of Kuai State, a humble scholar in a secluded valley; I cherish simplicity and take no delight in power or glory.”
Ge Hong, the Taoist theorist of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, styled himself Master Embracing Simplicity. In the Preface to the Outer Chapters of Baopuzi, he stated:
“I aim to uphold constancy and not follow the changing world; I speak straightforwardly and truthfully, and avoid jesting. When I do not meet a kindred spirit, I remain silent all day. Therefore the people of my hometown all call me a man of embracing simplicity.”
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