Practicing Voidness

Dao dwells in Voidness

Zhuang Zi, IV, 3

     This Zhuang Zi’s sentence which is the motto of our blog, is not only a metaphysical statement, but it has profound practical consequences. Daoists uses it in their exercises of meditation (zuowang) as well as in the breathing ones (qigong). Even the daoist religious current (daojiao) utilizes it in its higher magic rituals.

     This sentence resumes the fast of the heart, profound practice, complex, esoteric and simple at the same time. It is esoteric in its more mystic sense because it can be said openly, but its accomplishment, its coming, is an inner experience, nontransferable and indescribable.

Voidness, potency of all

Practice 

To practicing it, daoists have devised the visualization of voidness, thus, in begining breathing exercises, we have to tune with the Voidness within us, try to feel the space within our body, in order that the breath can flow unobstructed. Voidness is not the nothing, is not a negation, however Voidness is Space.

In the same way that Dao dwells in Voidness, if we can generate Voidness within our body, original qi (hunyuan qi) can manifest itself. That deliver us from the conditioning of the body of flesh (called corpse in daoist terminology) allowing us to tune with the universal dimension of qi.

In meditation

Higher meditation in daoism is called zuowang, or sitting-forgetting, sitting in forgetting. Forgetting all psychological projections, fancies, conditioning processes, namely, the ego. It means to inhabit in a state of Alertness and Attention.

For all this, we have to make space, void. Leaving aside the ego, space is made, and this space which is unconditioned alertness is what invites Dao to dwell in the mind and perception. Because of this is called fasting of the heart, mind has no more the turbid food of fancy, and can rest and go in a state of serenity, inviting Dao, which having no obstacle will find the proper field to inhabit in the Heart (xin).

Daoist adept meditating, from The Secret of Golden Flower