Third‐Person and First‐Person Approaches to the Study of the Laozi
Third‐Person and First‐Person Approaches to the Study of the Laozi
Eschewing both the uncritical faith stance of Daoism's apologists as well as the reductionist tendencies among some contemporary secularists, Harold D. Roth preaches a middle path when it comes to analyzing and teaching the Daode jing. Since the Daode jing draws from a meditative tradition that utilizes breath control he suggests our teaching include a mix of both third‐person analysis (where we rely on the traditional tools of scholarship such as historical‐textual research, hermeneutical analysis, and contemporary philosophic reflection) and first‐person analysis (where we encourage our students to engage in simple meditation and breathing exercises that are tied to specific chapters and that add an experiential dimension to their study). He suggests this combination as a way of both discharging our scholarly responsibilities while demonstrating a healthy respect for the integrity and coherence of this ancient text.
Keywords: Daode jing, Tao Te Ching, Laozi, Lao Tzu, Daoism, Taoism, Chinese religion, nature, yin and yang, tranquility and activity, meditation, mysticism, experiential learning
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