Reconstructing the Research Perspectives of Personality Training in Zhuangzi through Mysticism

• Main Authors: HSIU-TE LIN, 林修德
• Other Authors: Kuan-Hung Wu
• Format: Others
• Published: 2015
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/84126154717821410084

博士 === 國立東華大學 === 中國語文學系 === 103 === The ‘Mysticism’ aims to explore the phenomenon of ‘Oneness between Heaven and Man’, and throughout the history there have been a good number of scholars recognizing the mystic characters of Zhuangzi. Nonetheless, since the recognition of ‘Mystic Phenomena’ still contains discrepancy in extent as far as mysticism researchers are concerned, the author proposed in this thesis to differentiate mysticism between two categories, i.e. broad sense and narrow sense. To be more specific, the narrow-sense mysticism regards ‘Being One with the Highest’ as the one and only mystic phenomenon whereas the broad-sense mysticism includes not only any individual in addition to oneself into mystic objects but also integration as well as mutual communication into mystic relationships. This thesis aims to probe into the possible contemporary practice can be triggered by the Gongfu (personality training) and ideas mentioned in Zhuangzi for understanding and embodying the Tao, and the narrow-sense mystic ideas in Zhuangzi are therefore adopted as the research object instead of the broad-sense investigation backed up by historical review. To be more specific, this research contains two research objectives: on the one hand to ‘reconstruct the research method applicable to Zhuangzi’s Gongfu for understanding and embodying the Tao with assistance from mysticism; on the other hand, to ‘execute the new research method in question to re-present the theoretic content and the practical wisdom of Zhuangzi’s Gongfu for understanding and embodying the Tao’. For the reconstruction of research methods, the author consulted the analytic model employed by researchers into mysticism to explore mystic words and further transformed the three strategies adopted in Zhuangzi to express the mystic words, i.e. Spillover Words, Metaphorical Words (also known as fables), and Valued Words (important quotations), into another three types, and they are (1) ‘Spillover words created under mystic experience’, (2) ‘Spillover-wording description of previous mystic experience’, and (3) ‘Fables of, or quotation-like interpretation of previous mystic experience including spillover-wording interpretation of morals’. As far as researchers into Zhuangzi’s Tao-understanding and -embodying Gongfu are concerned, the first type of words can no longer be observed nor studied, and the mystic messages can be acquired from the second and the third mystic words types are to be further divided into four levels in a top-down order, (1) ‘Spillover words used by the author to describe her/his previous mystic experience’, (2) ‘Spillover words used by the author to describe or record other people’s mystic experience’, (3) ‘Spillover words used to analyze the core morals of fables and important quotations’, and (4) ‘Symbolic or metaphorical narration of fables and important quotations’, from which this research departs. For the re-presentation of Zhuangzi’s ideas about Gongfu, Jung’s ‘Collective Unconscious’ was also referred to and moreover regarded as the core principle for understanding and embodying the Tao. In short, the principle stated in Zhuangzi for understanding and embodying the Tao is to be aware of the collective unconscious within our minds via mystic experience; however, such principle does not contain any fixed way of practice. Instead, when one is willing to at all times maintain an introspective attitude bearing valued thoughts, it indicates that one is walking on the right path toward the exploration of collective unconscious. If one can hold on to the attitude in question while getting along with others, one is able to not only transform one’s own body &; mind and reach a higher level, but also facilitate the world in becoming a more complete and consummate existence.